Lian Li GA-II Lite 360 Performance: An All rounder Liquid Cooler

I earlier tested Lian Li Galahad-II Trinity Performance 360 White and Galahad AIO 240 Silver. Galahad was the turning point for the Lian Li as the eye catching block design with customization quickly gained attraction and there was no stopping to Lian Li taking the design to next level with continuous innovation and refinement.

This time I am testing a mainstream variant from Lian Li which is GA-II Lite 360 Performance. Lian Li sponsored me on other media site with two coolers to be featured on test bench. I am doing an AMD test in this article.

These coolers are available in 240mm and 360mm sizes as well as in two configurations which are RGB and PBT. The difference being the fans. The RGB edition comes with ARGB fans whereas the PBT edition comes with non-RGB fans.

I am testing GA2L36PB which is non-RGB 360mm version. This cooler is compatible with Intel LGA 1700/1851 and AMD AM4/AM5 sockets. This cooler is not compatible with other sockets not even LGA115x/1200. Keep that in mind when shopping for the coolers.

The MSRP of this variant is USD 104.90 and comes with a 6-years warranty.

Specifications

Packing and Unboxing

The cooler is shipped inside the blue and black themed packing box which is Lian Li standard theme.

The cooler and accessories are tucked inside another carton for safe shipping.

The following are provided:

• 1x Intel Backplate
• 1x Mounting Bracket [It comes pre-installed]
• 4x Spacers
• 1x set of AMD AM4/AM5 Mounting Brackets
• 4x AMD Spacers
• 12x Radiator Screws
• 1x Thermal Paste Tube
• 2x Thermal Paste Honey Comb Applicator
• 1x User Manual
• 1x Safety Paper

Closer Look

Let’s start taking a look at the unit starting with the radiator.

Radiator

Keeping up with the trend in the industry, the 28mm thick non-RGB fans come pre-installed over the radiator.

Lian Li has used plastic covers on the side of these fans to create a unified and clean outlook. You can remove these covers and optionally can replace them with RGB covers that are available for purchase separately. I have also detached the extension cable from the fan assembly.

The last fan has a PWM extension cable.

The fans are PWM regulated using 4-pin connector.

The radiator on this unit is in 360mm size and measures 397x120x55mm including fans. The fin stack has has 12 channels for coolant flow with FPI count of 20. You can see a gap of 105mm between two opposite end holes on the main frame. I did not find any bend or broken fin.

Looking at the tube connection on the radiator, you can see a possible third port which is covered. This seems to be factory reserved. Don’t tamper with this port and its cover or you might lose the vacuum pressure. A serial number sticker can be seen as well. Lian Li has used clamps to conceal the tube connection.

You can see that fan assembly is bit thicker than the radiator assembly. The radiator house does not have any branding. The unit has rubber tube with nylon braided mesh sleeve. These tubes have a length of 400mm.

Block

I can see that Lian Li is ticking with circular design and basic foot print of the Galahad and later series of the liquid coolers and there is nothing wrong with this approach. They are the one to differentiate the circular design with something refreshing and new.

The block’s housing has a dimension of 76x76x67mm. The complete frame has two tone design. The diffuser on the top is frosted whereas the lower portion is matte black. One cool thing about the mounting is that Lian Li has provided a universal mounting bracket that can be used on Intel and AMD irrespectively.

Lian Li has provided cover or cap over the top. You can remove the install this plate in either of four directions so that Lian Li branding remains upright all the time. Not only that but the diffuser features a infinity mirror layout as well. The pump top has 16 ARGB LEDs.

Important Note:

Manufacturer is recommending installing the block with tubes facing down. The possible reason would to better align the cold plate with the die of the latest CPUs.

You can see 90ᵒ fittings on which the tubes are attached. This is where two cables come out of the main housing.

Lian Li has wisely made the pump PWM regulated. It is rated for 3800 RPM. On the product page, it is mentioned that this pump runs 3 dBA lower and 2.5ᵒC cooler than GA II LCD.  The ARGB LEDs are regulated by standard 3-pin, 5V connectors.

The cooler has a copper base. There is a protective sticker pasted over the base.

FANS

The peculiar design aspect on the fans is 28mm thickness. These fans are non-RGB in PBT variant. Each fan has 7x blades. Looking closely you can see a striped design. The center has Lian Li branding. Each mounting hole has anti-vibration pad which has inset so that the screw sits in flush with the surface of the fan.

The back side of the fan has four arms assembly. These arms are curved to provide a directed airflow. Each fan is rated for 0.27A at 12VDC. The power consumption of a fan is 3.24W.

Each fan has a cut-to-length power cable.

One connector of the power cable has proprietary connector.

The other end of the same cable has a proprietary socket.

Installation

We are not covering the installation steps. Use user guide/manual for that purpose. I only cover the important observations recorded during the installation. The overall installation of this cooler is simple and convenient. However, user is required to paste the Intel backplate over the back of the motherboard. I am against pasting anything over the motherboard.

Clearance

This cooler has a dimension of 397x120x55mm with fans. Make sure your case supports this dimension.

A-RGB Lighting

This cooler uses standard 5V, 3-Pin A-RGB connector on the pump housing making it compatible with RGB sync technology of motherboard manufacturers including:

• ASUS Aura Sync
• ASROCK-Polychrome Sync
• GIGABYTE RGB Fusion 2.0
• MSI Mystic Light Sync

I have tested the cooler on ASRock X870E Nova WiFi. The RGB lighting was responding well to the changes in the PolyChrome app.

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 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

This is an excellent performance from the budget cooler from Lian Li that clearly surpassed my expectations. However, the cooler is loud when fans are at 100% PWM speed. You can use custom fan curve or Auto PWM function to counter that.

Conclusion

I have been testing the premium cooling solutions from Lian Li. This time are around I got a chance to test its mainstream budget segment cooler which is GA-II Lite 360 Performance. These coolers are available in RGB and PBT editions in 240 and 360mm sizes.

This cooler uses industry standard aluminum radiator measuring 397x120x55mm with the fans. The fans come pre-installed on the radiator and they use covers on the sides for a unified look. The unit is compatible with Intel LGA 1700 / 1851 and AMD AM4 / AM5 sockets only. The cooler comes with nylon braided sleeved rubber tubes have a length of 400mm. Lian Li should consider increasing the length a bit more.

The pump top features a Lian Li branded cover which can be removed and placed in one of four sides so that the text remains upright regardless of the orientation of the block. However, keep in mind that Lian Li has recommended installing the tubes facing down. Pump top has thick diffuser surrounding the half section and it has 16 A-RGB LEDs. Did I forget, Lian Li has provided an infinity mirror design as well?

This cooler has three non-RGB black fans. Each fan is rated for up to 2500 RPM speed generating 73.14 CFM airflow at an impressive 5 mmH²O static pressure with 29.8 dBA sound level.

Installation of this cooler n AM5 requires 6 items. The streamlined mounting kit serves the convenience. Lian Li has provided a thermal paste applicator which renders a honey-comb design thermal paste over the base.

 This cooler has MSRP of USD 104.90 and Lian Li offers a 6-year warranty on this cooler. In my testing on both platforms, this cooler offers a fantastic performance though it is bit louder at full speed. It comes strongly recommended by us.

Pros:

• Thermal Performance
• High-Performance Fans
• Unified Look on pre-installed fans
• Fantastic A-RGB Lighting on block
• Infinity Mirror on Block
• Compatible with Intel LGA1700/1851 sockets only
• Compatible with AMD AM4/AM5 sockets only
• Streamlined Mounting
• Standard Connectors
• Price
• Warranty

Cons:

• Noise