ID Cooling FX360 LCD Review
We are seeing the market being filled with budget segment liquid coolers offering decent performance and equipped with a display screen. The screen part has been glued to the high-end offerings for some time, taking a good chunk of your money.
I am taking a look at the FX360 LCD from ID Cooling, which is another addition in this segment, offering a good performance with a display screen and ARGB fans. This cooler has an MSRP of USD 89.99 with a 3-year warranty.
It is compatible with Intel LGA 1851/1700/1200/115x and AMD AM5/AM4 sockets, and it is equipped with the X25 mounting system, which provides a universal bracket for Intel and AMD, streamlining the installation with convenience.
Specifications
| Radiator Dimension | 396x120x27mm |
| Radiator Material | Aluminum |
| Pump Speed | 2900 ± 10% RPM |
| Pump Connector | 4-Pin PWM |
| Base Material | Nickel Plated Copper |
| A-RGB Lighting Connector | Standard 5V, 3-Pin |
| Tube Length | 420mm |
| Fan Dimension | 120x120x25mm |
| Fan Speed | 300 to 2000 ± 10% RPM |
| Fan Current | 0.15 A |
| Fan Connector | 4-Pin PWM |
| Fan Bearing | Hydraulic Bearing |
| Fan Airflow | 58 CFM |
| Fan Air pressure | 1.94 mmH₂O |
Packing and Unboxing
ID Cooling seems to have adopted the DeepCool style of packaging the coolers. The cooler comes in a cardboard box with a yellow and black finish. It is a slim design that reduces shipping weight.
The following are provided:
- 1x Intel Backplate
- 2x Universal Mounting Brackets
- 4x Universal Screws
- 4x Nuts
- 1x Tool for the Screws
- 3x Tube Clips/Clamps
- 1x Frost X45 Thermal Paste Tube
- 12x Radiator Screws
- 1x Installation Guide
Design: Radiator
The AS-120-ARGB V2 fans come pre-installed over the radiator. They use short-length cables for daisy-chain and each fan has a 7-pin proprietary connector. The extension cable has standard 4-pin PWM and 3-pin ARGB connectors on the other end, providing standard connectivity for your motherboard.
This cooler has a 360mm radiator made of aluminum material and has an overall dimension of 397x120x52mm. 52mm height includes the fans.
The assembly has 12 channels for coolant flow with an FPI count of 20. A gap between the two opposite end holes on the main frame is 105mm. Overall build quality is satisfactory, and I did not observe any bent or broken fins.
The tubes’ connection with the barbs is well concealed using clamps. You can see a serial number sticker on the radiator as well.
The side frame of the radiator housing has no branding. ID Cooling has used rubber tubes with sleeved braiding. The tube has a length of 420mm.
Block
ID Cooling has used a circular design on the block’s top. It has an ARGB ring surrounding the 1.48-inch screen, having a resolution of 240×240 px with a backlight of 300cd/m2. It is an 18-bit display capable of 262K color combinations. The block has a dimension of 73x69x57mm.
The black frame has no branding or design element over it. Two spring-loaded screws come pre-installed, making this a two-point contact design.
The rear of the block has 90ᵒ fittings on which the tubes are attached. Three flat cables can be seen coming out of the housing.
The pump is regulated using a 4-pin PWM connector. The pump is rated for up to 2900 ± 10% RPM speed. This is ID Cooling’s seventh-generation pump that uses ceramic bearings. Two connectors are for ARGB lighting. They are 5V 3-pin standard design. Last but not least, we have a 9-pin USB 2.0 connector for screen control via software.
The cooler has a copper base. It comes with pre-applied thermal paste. A plastic container is used to protect during shipping. It is good to see that ID Cooling has also provided a tube of thermal paste in addition to the pre-applied one.
AS-120-ARGB V2 Fans
ID Cooling has used AS-120 ARGB V2 fans on this cooler. A fan is rated for 300 to 2000 ±10% RPM speed. Each fan has five frosted spiral-shaped blades. The center has ID Cooling branding. They have used anti-vibration pads on the mounting corners.
A ring can be seen on the backside circling the blade assembly, which is held by 4 arms. The power rating of the fan is printed on the sticker. Fans are made in China.
The frame of these fans is quite sturdy. It has arrow markers showing the direction in which the air flows through the fan and the direction in which the blades spin.
ID Cooling has used proprietary connectors on these fans. Each fan has a 7-pin connector and a socket to daisy chain the fans. Since the cables are cut short, it would ease the cable management for a clean look.
Installation
We don’t cover installation steps in our content. You may refer to the installation guide for that. We only report observations recorded during the installation. The washers on the backplate studs are loose. They will remain so until you install the mounting kit on the socket. No need to try to press them inward, hoping to tighten them. Other than this, I have nothing to report. The provision of a tool is a nice option, though you are actually dependent on it, given the particular design of the kit.
Clearance
This cooler has a dimension of 396x120x52mm with fans. Make sure your PC Case supports this dimension. Also, you need a spare USB 2.0 header on the motherboard.
A-RGB Lighting
This cooler uses a standard 5V, 3-Pin A-RGB connector on the pump housing, making it compatible withthe RGB sync technology of motherboard manufacturers, including:
- ASUS Aura Sync
- ASROCK-Polychrome Sync
- GIGABYTE RGB Fusion 2.0
- MSI Mystic Light Sync
The cooler is tested on the ASRock X870E NOVA WiFi motherboard, and it was responding well to the changes in the PolyChrome Sync app. It is also tested on MSI MPG Z790 ACE MAX and worked fine there as well.
Software
You can download the display software from the ID Cooling website. It has three main pages. The first page shows the key components and their stats. The last page shows the available settings, including the firmware update option. The middle page is where the action is performed. You can perform a whole lot of customization from there. I like the fact that action is completed with a single click, instead of selecting an action and then clicking on Load, Apply, or Save; whatever option is given. Customer interface is simple as well.
Above are some pics of the display screen.
Testing
The following configuration is used for thermal testing:
- AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
- ASRock X870E NOVA WiFi
- GSkill TridentZ NEO RGB 32GB 6400MHz CL30 DDR5 kit
- ASRock Phantom Gaming RX 7600 Graphics Card for Display
- Biwin Black Opal X570 Pro 4TB NVMe SSD
- Fractal Design ION+ 2P 860W Platinum PSU
- Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout
Here is the settings table for testing:
| Settings | PBO Enabled [243W] |
| Clock (MHz) | Auto |
| Voltage (V) | Auto |
| Thermal Paste | Noctua NT-H2 |
| Thermal Paste Application | Dots Method |
| Test Run Time | 30 minutes |
| Idling Time | 10 minutes |
| All Fans Speed | 100% PWM Duty Cycle |
| Pump Speed | |
| Stress Software | CINEBENCH R23.2 |
| Monitoring Software | HWINFO64 |
I am reporting absolute temperature in the graph because the room temperature was at 22°C throughout the day. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.
Result
ID Cooling FX360 LCD has a decent performance and is comparable to DeepCool LM360 on the AMD platform. However, in my testing on the Intel platform, LM360 has a better performance than FX360 LCD. The fans are almost silent. It seems like ID Cooling has preferred silence over performance. It has delivered the outcome.
Conclusion
I have tested the FX360 LCD, which is a new mainstream cooler from be ID Cooling. I would rather call it an entry-level cooler that has been given a facelift with a display screen. This cooler features an aluminum radiator having a size of 396x120x52mm with the fans. It is compatible with Intel LGA115x / 1200 / 1700 / 1851 and AMD AM4 / AM5 sockets. It is rated for 350W TDP.
This new cooler is equipped with a new 7th generation pump operating at 2900 RPM and has 50,000 hours life expectancy. It uses ceramic bearings and is PWM regulated. The nylon braided sleeved rubber tubes have a length of 420mm.
The pump top has a circular 1.48” screen that is surrounded by an ARGB ring. The screen has a resolution of 240×240 px with a brightness level of 300 cd/m2. It is an 18-bit capable of 262K colors. The thermal paste comes pre-applied on the copper base.
AS-120-ARGB V2 fans come pre-installed on the radiator, and each fan has a short-length cable using a 7-pin proprietary connector. The extension cable offers standard 4-pin PWM and 3-pin ARGB connectors. These fans use Hydraulic bearings. Airflow rating is 58 CFM, and air pressure rating is 1.94mmH₂O. The sound rating is 27.2 dB(A) max.
Installation of this cooler is simple thanks to the streamlined X25 mounting mechanism. It needs 10 items on both Intel and AMD platforms to install the kit on the socket. This count comes from the universal mounting.
FX360 LCD has an MSRP of USD 89.99 and comes with a 3-year warranty. This cooler has a form and function combined to provide possibly the best value liquid cooler on the market, offering good thermal performance with excellent form and silent fans. It has all that you would need.
Pros:
- Thermal Performance
- Silent ARGB Fans
- Subtle A-RGB Ring Lighting on Block
- 1.48” Display Screen
- Software Customization
- Compatible with Intel LGA1700/1851 sockets
- Compatible with AMD AM4/AM5 sockets
- Noise
- Price
Cons:
- Small Display Screen
