The presence of a liquid cooling system for a top-of-the-line computer has become almost mandatory. In addition to high performance, it offers a unique user experience thanks to its convenient mounting system. Of course, there are some nuances, which we will discuss in this detailed review. We tested the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 in working scenarios, measured temperature and noise levels, evaluated ergonomics, and compared it to competitors.
Content
| Technical specifications of Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 | |
| Fan diameter | 120 mm |
| Fan thickness | 25 mm |
| Maximum rotation speed | 2400 rpm |
| Pump rotation speed | 3000 rpm |
| Bearing type | hydrodynamic |
| Air flow | 72 CFM |
| Noise level | 38 dB |
| Illumination | Gigabyte RGB Fusion |
| Pump size | 88x88x78 mm |
| Length of the radiator | 360 mm |
| Dimensions | 394x119x27 mm |
| Additionally | built-in screen |
| EZ-Chain Mag | |
| Power supply | SATA |
| Warranty | 6 years |
The box contains an assembled water block with a radiator and three fans. The fact that there are minimal cables is immediately noticeable because only one of the three fans has wiring for connection. We’ll talk about this ergonomic solution a little bit below.
Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 has a basic package that includes mounting kits for different platforms. All current desktop motherboards are supported, and there is also a frame for AMD HEDT solutions. A quick start guide will help you understand everything.
The Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 differs from most 360 mm watercoolers in its special fan connection. Thanks to the successful design, the assembled system has a minimum number of cables, which simplifies the installation process.
The fans are connected one after the other in series. The magnetic attachment holds the coolers securely so that they can be picked up as a single unit. It looks beautiful, minimalistic, and modern against the background of classic cooling systems.
In fact, this type of connection is far from new; many manufacturers use it in their top components. Of course, this affects the cost, so it’s impossible to find a budget solution with EZ-Chain Mag technology, as in the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360.
All three fans are backlit, but are controlled via USB instead of the classic ARGB 3 pin connector. We connect the main fan to the main unit, and from there two cables go to the motherboard.
On the one hand, this is good, but on the other hand, you can’t configure the liquid cooling system at the BIOS level. To control the speed, you’ll have to install a proprietary utility.
The head unit has a built-in screen, which is excellent. The image is better than on MSI MEG S360 because the black color is more saturated. The picture does not give off gray, which is critical at night. In general, the design and ergonomics of the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 are excellent.
We tested the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II with the most powerful processor available at the time of the review. We used a 12-core AMD Ryzen 9 7900 with no power consumption limits, or rather 230 watts. This crystal is very economical, so it rarely exceeded the 170 W mark, although in fact it is much more difficult to remove heat from the new AMD Ryzen.
Intel Core i5-14600K with a TDP of 180 W is easier to cool, so you can’t directly compare Intel vs. AMD with the same TDP, and jokes about «stoves» don’t go further than memes on social media without direct confirmation. Seeing 80 °C in stress tests on AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is quite normal, especially with the use of inexpensive Arctic MX-4 thermal paste.
Anything below MX-4 can be sent straight to the trash, and for the best PCs it is recommended to use liquid metal. The fact is that the pyrometer recorded no more than 35-38 °C on the radiator when the processor heated up to 82 °C. Even with a liquid cooling system, it is impossible to quickly remove heat from a crystal with a small process technology if you do not use liquid metal.
The performance increase of AMD Ryzen 9 7900 relative to the 120W TDP was small. In Geekbench 6, we managed to get slightly better results than AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (from the official chart), but only in Multi Core. There was also a slight increase in Cinebench 2024.
Under load, the coolers rotated at 1800-1900 rpm in Balanced mode. There is no point in switching to more aggressive modes with such a processor. The manufacturer left them for such monsters as AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and Intel Core i9-12900K, 13900K, 14900K, etc.
During stress tests in the heat of the moment (inside the case), the sound level meter recorded 56 dB in Balanced mode and 62 dB in Performance mode. A meter away from the computer, 43 dB, and a meter and a half away, 41 dB. In idle mode, a meter away from the PC, we have 31–33 dB, but there is one nuance, which will be discussed below.
In general, the noise in heavy scenarios is adequate, given the 100% utilization of the hot processor. It was noisy in the room, but during games, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX in the reference design is louder than any CPU cooling system.
After prolonged testing of the processor, the air in the case almost did not heat up because the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II is set to blow. The hot streams of a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide are immediately removed from the MSI MPG Quietude. 100S. The heatsinks on the board showed 29 °C, 32 °C, 34 °C, 37 °C, and so on, which is very low at room temperature of 20-21 °C.
The main problem of the review subject is the high speed of the pump without load. Due to this factory setting, an unpleasant low-frequency sound is heard in idle mode, which was not present when using the watercooler of the competitor MEG S360 and the flagship Dark Rock 5 Elite air cooler. A sound level meter will not show this sound, but the human ear can easily hear it from three meters away.
This nuance manifests itself in idle time, and especially at night, when there are no extraneous sounds. One could forgive a similar problem in a mid-range liquid cooling system, but Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II is a top-of-the-line product for a considerable amount of money. Also, the manufacturer does not allow you to edit the pump curve, which is described below in the section.
So, we have a productive liquid cooling system that can handle any processor on the market, including 300W models with an unlocked multiplier. It is recommended to use high-end thermal paste or liquid metal with the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II. The noise level under load is moderate, within normal limits, as are the temperatures, and in idle mode we would like to see quieter behavior.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is not a good fit for the hero of the review, if only because it has severe limitations at the physical level. It gets a slight performance boost relative to 90-120W TDP, but the conventional AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, 7950X, 7950X3D, Intel Core 12700K, 12900K, 12900KS, 13600K, 13700K, 13900K, 13900KS, 14600K, 14700K, 14900K will get a much larger power boost due to the lack of power consumption limits.
To manage the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II, you need to use a proprietary utility. Connecting via the internal USB does not allow you to configure the system at the motherboard firmware level. The Gigabyte Control Center utility is already well known to us and has proven itself to be a great success.
It is a simple and intuitive program with minimal functionality and a considerable consumption of RAM (up to 600 MB). With GCC, you can customize the backlighting of the fans, the image on the built-in display, and select operating modes. It also allows you to update drivers, BIOS if you have a Gigabyte motherboard, download unnecessary partner software (antivirus), etc.
The screen can display information about the processor, such as its temperature, frequency, workload, and power consumption. Users have a choice of several ready-made screensavers, can change their refresh rate, choose animations, or put their picture, GIF, or video. Fanatical fans of cat-like girls from anime already know what they will do with such a screen.
Setting up RGB backlighting is as simple as possible, but it’s worth noting that it can’t be automatically (only manually) synchronized with all other components in the system. Several display modes are available in the tradition of a bright New Year tree: cycle, pulse, flash, wave, rainbow, color change, and more.
The default color of the fan backlight was blue. During the customization, we chose the usual static red color to match the overall aesthetics of a boring, almost retired PC in red and black colors.
The most interesting item was the one about setting the fan and pump speeds. The minimum pump frequency is 2500 rpm, but in fact the sensors recorded at least 2600 rpm, even at zero load and 40 °C on the processor. It is impossible to adjust the blue curve, which is responsible for the pump.
Only two modes are available: balanced and turbo. The latter makes sense to use only with the most powerful processors that work for a long time at maximum load. As we have already mentioned, the problem with Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II is the noise of the pump without load, and it is impossible to change it programmatically.
Another nuance was the lack of automatic switching to zero rotation mode. This option is available, but only manually. We activate the Zero RPM profile and the fans turn off completely. Not bad, but why didn’t the manufacturer think to do it automatically when a certain temperature is reached?
In the Customized mode, it is impossible to lower the minimum speed below 1060 rpm or turn it off completely. It’s a shame that a high-end premium water maker doesn’t have such basic functionality that can be easily solved by software without interfering with the device’s design. It remains to wait for an update from talented programmers who will be given this task by marketers due to numerous customer complaints.
This section will contain only the subjective opinion of the owner of a similar three-section liquid cooling system, namely MSI MEG CORELIQUID S360. Both watercoolers are of the same size, same class, have built-in screens, so they are direct competitors. The black, serious and austere S360 performed well with Intel Core i9-14900Kwhich was reviewed last year.
The lack of fan backlighting in the S360 may be a disadvantage for some, while others will like the absence of unnecessary Christmas glow. In order not to stretch the text, we can consider the main differences between the two liquid cooling systems in the form of a few theses.
In Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360:
A gamer will not care about half of the disadvantages because under load, the video card becomes the noisiest component in the system AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, which was described in an anniversary article after a year of use.
The Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 and MSI MEG CORELIQUID S360 are quite quiet under high load, and the noise of the video card is even more so when their fans are on. They dissipate heat from the processor in about the same way, so they can handle 300W Intel or 200W AMD without any problems.
Personally, I liked the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 because of the correct connection, which all manufacturers should take note of long ago. After this SRO, it is unpleasant to get confused with cables from other manufacturers.
All premium liquid cooling systems and case fans should have a magnetic connection of this type. We can say that this is a new standard that most flagship models already use.
Since I use my computer in typing mode most of the time, the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 system was a nuisance, as it made more noise in idle mode than expected. So, as computer fanatic Jason Statham used to say: «The more cores you have, the more they sit idle».
The high price won’t make the Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 a mass product, but it’s not meant to be. This is a liquid cooling system for aesthetes who do not spare money on their computer. Moreover, such people spend a lot of extra money on fans at the price of a motherboard or on a case that is pricier than an entry-level graphics card. On average Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 sells for UAH 11,900, although you can find cheaper options, saving UAH 1,000-1,400.
MSI MEG CORELIQUID S360 — a competitor for serious people who don’t really like RGB backlighting. One of the best models on the market with top-of-the-line MEG GALE fans. The average price is 12,000 UAH.
NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB Black — a premium class dropsy. The model is equipped with a round screen and flagship features. A somewhat more expensive competitor to the review hero with a durable pump and a long warranty. The price is 15,500.
Asus ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB — liquid cooling system with almost no flaws. A premium solution with a huge screen for the best gaming PCs. The price corresponds to the status of the model and amounts to 15,600 UAH.
Thermaltake Floe RC Ultra 360 CPU & Memory — is a monster for owners of top-of-the-line PCs with the fastest DDR5. This liquid cooling system allows you to cool not only 350W processors but also RAM. Owners of selective RAM strips and Intel Z790 motherboards will appreciate it. The price is 14,200 UAH.