INTRODUCTION

   According to the latest sales charts we checked by several manufacturers around the globe it seems that CPU Air Coolers are still holding 1st place and are followed by AIO Liquid CPU Coolers (not very close) and complete custom water cooling kits. Custom water cooling kits may still follow in third place pretty much like always since because both of their price and installation difficulty they are still considered as enthusiast grade products but compared to even just 5 years ago they are much more popular right now and according to predictions unless something changes such solutions may get very close to AIO products. If you're reading these lines chances are that you're well aware that XSPC is amongst the leading manufacturers of custom water cooling kits and today we will be taking a look at their latest mid/high-end radiator the RX360 V3.

   As gaming and overclocking enthusiasts, we started XSPC over 10 years ago with the vision of offering world-class cooling products that don’t sacrifice reliability or quiet operation in the pursuit of ultimate cooling performance. Today, our product range has expanded to include everything you need to build the ultimate liquid cooling system, from water blocks, radiators and reservoirs to fixtures and fittings. Every component we create at XSPC is engineered to the highest standards with the highest quality materials, and delivers market-leading performance without sacrificing reliability. As XSPC continues to grow, we remain totally focused on our original values and vision - creating water cooling components with superior performance and reliability.

   Figuring out the size and fan capacity of a radiator is not hard so all you need to do is check the number next or before the model type. So as clearly stated by its name the RX360 V3 is an 360mm long radiator (excluding the top end where the tube holes are placed) that can accommodate up to three 120mm on each of the two sides (push & pull). Now although the length of the RX360 V3 is not something we haven't seen in the past the same can't be said about its thickness since it measures 56mm (46mm core thickness) making it one of the thickest radiators we've ever seen up close (we've seen a couple measuring 60mm in thickness). The 13 fpi split-fit design coupled with very low air resistance and excellent dissipation are two features which ensure that the RX360 V3 offers better cooling efficiency compared to similar solutions. Unfortunately since we don't currently have a similarly sized radiator in our hands we compare the RX360 V3 to the EX280 dual 140mm radiator which we received with the Raystorm 750 model a while back (of course we will bring more Radiators to compare in the following months).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

XSPC uses a long white box with just their logo and the name of the product at the front to ship their latest RX360 V3.

That this is the 3rd version of their RX360 radiator is made clear on the sides.

The radiator is placed inside a bubble bag and wrapped inside a piece of paper.

With the RX360 V3 you will also get two black chrome plugs to use with the empty ports along with 24 mounting screws (12x30mm 6-32/12x6mm).

THE RX360 V3

The RX360 V3 is a 398.5mm long, 130mm wide and 56 thick brass/copper radiator that weighs 1630g.

Although most similar solutions are 60mm thick 56mm is by no means small and to showcase that we compared it with a normal 30mm radiator.

XSPC has given the RX360 V3 2 rows of 21mm by 2mm brass tubes with 2 passes of water flow channels to allow for less flow resistance.

What we liked quite a bit was that the RX360 V3 features side/bottom G1/4” ports for easier mounting (although in most cases bottom ports are sufficient).

With the 3 bottom fans installed the RX360 V3 now measures roughly 81mm in thickness while if you decide to use six 120mm fans that number goes up to almost 106mm (for this test we used 3 and 6 Noctua NF-F12 noiseless fans).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY 

   Testing complete water cooling kits or individual radiators is no different than testing CPU Coolers and since we want all of you to be able to compare products we created a new and separate chart. For now we will be using the Raystorm 750 kit to test individual radiators but first chance we get we will try to bring something better so we can use for a much longer period of time and thus bring you far more reliable results. So once again single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of our 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 the room. When testing complete water cooling kits we use the Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste. 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 our test rig (when we 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 we use 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 we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the 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 we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we 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

   When i first saw a picture of the (upcoming back then) RX360 V3 a while back i was quite impressed with its size and design not only because it was quite thicker and nicer looking compared to normal radiators but also because at the same time it was also thinner compared to other similar solutions (56mm/60mm). Of course using an 4mm less thick radiator is not game breaking and I’m certain XSPC is well aware of that but whatever one can squeeze out in terms of interior space is always good especially for midi and normal full towers (monsters like the 900D are not really affected). However i think that the number one question in everyone’s mind is how did the RX360 V3 do and that's clearly shown from our charts since it surpassed the EX280 with ease. To be honest with everyone at first we did expect a larger performance difference since we were quite confident that three premium 120mm fans paired with an 360mm long 56mm thick radiator should greatly surpass two 140mm fans paired with an 280mm long 33mm thick radiator but that didn't happen for one very important reason, width. You see the RX360 V3 might be longer and thicker but it's also smaller in width (130mm/143mm) and so the EX280 ended up performing better than we had originally thought it would (which is certainly good news for people with towers that can fit wider radiators).

   The latest RX360 V3 Triple Fan Radiator by XSPC currently retails for USD105.95 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 107.15Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) so although it may not be very cheap still it offers an excellent price/performance ratio unachieved by its immediate and current competition. Of course for people who are willing to spend more to get the best possible cooling performance XSPC also offers the premium AX series of radiators (we will try to get one of those to compare against) while for people on a tighter budget the EX series should be more ideal. Regardless the latest RX360 V3 Triple Fan Radiator offers very good performance, is smaller than similar radiators and also costs less so what else is there for us to say other than that it gets our Platinum Award?

PROS

- Build Quality (Copper & Brass)
- Very Good Performance
- Side & Bottom G1/4” Ports
- Black Chrome Port Plugs Included
- Thickness (56mm)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- None