If you look at the market right now it's quite easy to see that AIO liquid CPU coolers have overthrown the "regular" CPU air coolers, at least in the mid and high-end categories. This of course is not so much due to their increased cooling efficiency (which yes in some cases is quite considerable) and smaller size (at least when it comes to the pump itself) as it is due to the fact that as of late several electronics manufacturers have also released their very own solutions. Still AIO models released by early manufacturers seem to always enjoy higher popularity levels among consumers from all segments of the market, as expected really. Fractal Design is one such manufacturer and since they recently send over their entire Celsius+ Prisma AIO line i decided to start by testing the top of the line 360mm model first (i will probably cover both the 240/280mm versions in a separate review).

   Fractal Design is a leading designer and manufacturer of premium PC hardware including cases, cooling, power supplies and accessories. Based in Gothenburg and with offices in the US as well as Taiwan, Fractal Design has gained a global reputation for innovative design, elegant aesthetics and solid build quality. Fractal Design products are available in over 45 countries worldwide, and are still growing.

   As the name clearly states the Celsius+ Prisma series is the successor to the highly popular Celsius series released back in 2017 (review here) and is most likely also manufactured by Asetek. Now there are 3 main differences between the Celsius S36 and the Celsius+ S36 Prisma which i have here with me today, the new and improved pump, the three bundled 120mm fans and of course the ARGB feature. Yes the aluminum radiator is pretty much the same (403x123x30 - 21FPI) as are the two 400mm sleeved tubes (although this time over they can be rotated from the base), the copper base and the built-in fan hub (with the addition of two ARGB headers) but the new ceramic pump can reach speeds of up to 3500RPM with a maximum pressure of 1.46m H20 (as opposed to the 3150RPM and 1m H2O of the previous model). On the other hand, the new LLS-bearing Prisma AL-12 PWM ARGB 120mm fans well these can hit speeds of up to 2000RPM to produce 85.71CFM of airflow and 2.78mm H2O of air pressure with 32.7dBA of noise (2000RPM/87.6CFM/2.30mm H2O/32.2dBA for the previous ones). As for the ARGB feature consists by 6 addressable RGB LEDs beneath the glass top of the pump/base combo and 6 addressable ARGB LEDs on each of the 3 fans (the ARGB feature is compatible with all the major motherboard sync technologies including Gigabyte Fusion, ASUS Aura, Razer Chroma, MSI Mystic Light and ASRock Polychrome). Of course, just like with past products Fractal Design covers their entire Celsius+ Prisma line with a generous 5 year limited warranty.