INTRODUCTION

   One of the things one has to love about the PC industry is that no matter what system you want to build manufacturers have you covered. This became especially evident with CPU coolers which from the typical box and round shapes (used even today, especially for industrial applications) slowly evolved to U and C type high-performance ones aimed towards use with regular and mini systems. As if that wasn't enough watercooling kits and even AIO liquid coolers also made their appearance in the market at around the same time so again, no matter what you want to build the PC industry has your back. That being said AIO liquid CPU coolers have taken a large chunk of the global market due to their cooling efficiency and easy installation and well today i have yet another model on my test bench, the NANCOOL PRO 360 by Apexgaming.

   Apexgaming is a newly founded gaming company based in California. As a leading gaming brand, our mission is to “Make Gamers Better”. From power supplies, PC cases to accessories, we have a complete product line to fulfil your gaming accoutrement essentials. Everything we do is geared to bring you the ultimate and enjoyable gaming experiences. With experienced R&D team and young professionals, we are dedicated to create the most leading-edge technology, innovative and unique product designs possible. All of our gaming product families are equipped with excellent reliability, high performance and great efficiency. Designed with gamers needs in mind, Apexgaming brings gamers a new generation to the infinity of gaming entertainment. Quality is what defines Apexgaming! Whether you are a professional gamer, enthusiast, or a general gamer, Apexgaming is your trusted partner for the extraordinary gaming experiences.

   The NANCOOL PRO line of AIO CPU Liquid Coolers by Apexgaming currently includes 240/360mm models in both black and white colors. Just like with pretty much all AIO models in the market the NANCOOL PRO 360 consists by 4 parts, an 395mm long, 120mm wide and 27mm thick aluminum radiator, two 350mm long EPDM IIR rubber braided tubes, high-performance ceramic-bearing pump (3 phase, 6 pole DC motor with a speed of up to 3000RPM -+10%) complete with top ARGB LEDs (mirror effect) and an all-copper base (cold-plate) and three 120mm ARGB PWM hydraulic bearing fans (1800RPM/72.4CFM/30dBA/3.3mmH2O). As expected, both the three bundled 120mm ARGB PWM fans and the top of the pump are fully compatible with 3-pin 5V ARGB motherboard headers (ASUS Aura Sync, ASRock Polychrome Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion and MSI Mystic Light). It's been a while since we had something by Apexgaming so without further delay let's see how their NANCOOL PRO 360 performs.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The front of the box showcases the ARGB effect of the pump which is compatible with all the leading motherboard sync technologies (listed just above it).

A full product picture is placed on the left side of the box just over several 2D barcodes pointing to Apexgaming’ s social media pages.

On the right side we find yet another product picture and the product features in 3 languages.

Both the product specifications and warranty details are printed at the rear again in 3 languages.

As with most AIO's the NANCOOL PRO 360 is packed inside a formed piece of cardboard.

Along with the NANCOOL PRO 360 inside the box you'll also find a small thermal paste tube, 3 fan extension cables, backplate, user manual and all the necessary bits to install the AIO on Intel LGA 1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/1366/1700/2011/2011-3 and AMD AM3/AM3+/AM4/AM5 motherboards.

THE NANCOOL PRO 360

I was surprised to see that Apexgaming has all three 120mm ARGB fans pre-installed on the aluminum radiator (convenient for most) but other than that once again nothing really stands out.

With the fans installed the thickness of the NANCOOL PRO 360 is just over 53mm.

All three 120mm ARGB hydraulic bearing fans come with rubber pads on all corners.

There's also a fill/empty port on the far side of the radiator but it's obviously not meant to be used by end users.

The 350mm long EPDM IIR rubber braided tubes should be long enough for most PC cases, even large towers.

In terms of FIP (fins per inch) count the aluminum radiator of the NANCOOL PRO 360 sports 21.

The top of the pump/waterblock combo features a mirror like finish and beneath Apexgaming has placed several ARGB LEDs (very short video showcasing the top of the base is up on both TikTok and YouTube).

As usual both tubes rotate at their base to simplify installing the AIO.

The coldplate does have some machine marks on it but nothing that should affect efficiency in any way.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Testing complete water cooling kits or individual radiators is no different than testing CPU Coolers and since i want all of you to be able to compare similar products, i created new and separate charts (you can still cross-compare results however since we are using the same test rig). So once again single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of the test rig while dual/triple/quad (240/260/280/360/420/480/560mm) solutions with the radiator mounted at the top. For the dBA tests complete water cooling kits or radiators with bundled fans are measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting (PWM fans do that on their own without our intervention). Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside that said room. Finally, much like when testing CPU Coolers, it's very important to point out that just because a water cooling kit outperforms another when tested with my test rig (when i test complete water cooling kits) that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).

   To successfully record the load temperatures, I’ll be using the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded, I’ll wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can i deliver real world results to all of you based on real CPUs but i can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests (when fans exist in the bundle) are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the radiator. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here, we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Last time I had something in the lab by Apexgaming was back in 2019 so I was surprised when they reached out and asked from us to test some of their latest products, including the NANCOOL PRO 360. Well, as it’s quite clear from the charts the NANCOOL PRO 360 is actually better than expected, at least in terms of cooling efficiency and in a way even in noise levels (not low but not the highest either). Build quality is also quite good but I have to admit that I’ve seen better ones lately, especially from models with LCD screens on their bases. On the other hand, the ARGB illumination of the infinite effect base and the three 120mm fans looks very nice so no problems here either.

   You can grab your very own NANCOOL PRO 360 CPU Liquid Cooler by Apexgaming directly from their website for USD169.90 (Apexgaming.com) a price tag which may at first glance look much but based on both the specifications and performance of this AIO it’s actually not. Overall, the NANCOOL PRO 360 may not be the best AIO liquid cooler out in the market today but it performed extremely well and even managed to surpass many models in our charts (some far more expensive) and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Good Cooling Efficiency
- Infinite Effect ARGB Base
- ARGB Illuminated Fans
- Available In Black & White Colors
- Easy Installation

CONS

- Noise Levels
- Availability