Arctic
Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360
$130
Released 2023-10
Best CPU Coolers · head-to-head
Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 vs Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
A sourced, side-by-side comparison. Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE is cheaper at $34.9. Every spec and price links to its source.
Thermalright
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
$34.9Cheaper
Released 2022
Which is better: the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 or Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE?
On the specs we track, they're closely matched. The Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE is the cheaper at $34.9.
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Full spec sheet
✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.
| Spec | Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $130 | $34.9 |
| Brand | Arctic | Thermalright |
| Released | 2023-10 | 2022 |
| Type | aio_liquid | air |
| Radiator or height (mm) | 360 mm | 155 mm |
| Fan count | 3 | 2 |
| Socket support | Intel LGA1700, LGA1851, AMD AM4, AM5 (LGA1200/115x via optional kit) | Intel LGA1851, LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156; AMD AM5, AM4 |
| Tdp rating (W) | — | — |
| Rgb | No | No |
| Noise dba max | 40 | 25.6 |
| Release | 2023-10 | 2022 |
Sources — Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360: arctic.de (verified 2026-06-15). Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE: thermalright.com (verified 2026-06-15).
What's the difference between the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 and Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE?
Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (5 of 7). Matching specs are omitted.
- Type: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 aio_liquid vs Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE air
- Radiator or height (mm): Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 360 mm vs Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 155 mm
- Fan count: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 3 vs Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 2
- Socket support: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 Intel LGA1700, LGA1851, AMD AM4, AM5 (LGA1200/115x via optional kit) vs Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE Intel LGA1851, LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156; AMD AM5, AM4
- Noise dba max: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 40 vs Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 25.6
What reviewers say
Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.
Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360
Only Tom's Hardware gave hands-on prose for this exact non-Pro model — two articles by the same reviewer. The verdict: quiet and a good value for gaming and GPU-heavy loads, but it fails maximum-strength CPU-only stress tests (minor thermal throttling), only matching good air coolers, and forces a warranty-voiding LGA1700 contact frame with limited socket support. (2 sourced reviews, 2 lab-tested.)
Praised: Low noise levels for an AIO — among the quietest in the charts; Good value for gaming and GPU-intensive workloads (gaming-load re-test); Low introductory price.
Flagged: Fails maximum-strength CPU-only stress tests; minor thermal throttling; Mediocre noise-normalized performance — only comparable to good air coolers; Forced use of a warranty-voiding LGA1700 contact frame.
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
Only one whitelisted tester, Tom's Hardware, ran a hands-on lab review of this exact model. That single review is overwhelmingly positive: the best-performing air cooler it had tested, whisper-quiet, at roughly $36. It averaged 61 degrees C over ambient in a 200W Cinebench load and 64 degrees C over ambient in a 200W OCCT load, beating pricier coolers. No meaningful downsides beyond air-cooling's inherent power ceiling. (1 sourced review, 1 lab-tested.)
Praised: Best-in-class air cooling performance for its class, beating pricier coolers at capped TDPs; Whisper-quiet acoustics; second-quietest air cooler tested at max fan speed; Exceptional value at roughly $36 for a dual-tower, dual-fan cooler.
Flagged: Cannot keep a 12900K under TjMax in uncapped Cinebench/OCCT without power limits, a ceiling shared by all air coolers tested.