ASUSTeK Computer Inc., or ASUS for short, is a world-renowned and leading manufacturer of computer hardware that was founded in Taipei (Taiwan) in 1989. Since then, the manufacturer has been developing motherboards, graphics cards, notebooks, mini PCs, smartphones, monitors and other peripherals. Products from the internal brands Republic of Gamers (ROG) and The Ultimate Force (TUF) are particularly popular in the gaming community. With the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme, which we are testing today, the manufacturer has updated its portfolio in the area of compact water cooling.
The ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme is the flagship of its own series and, with a price of € 382.59 *, is one of the most expensive compact water coolers on the market. However, the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme offers a lot in return. The features include a pump block with an eighth-generation Asetek pump and integrated VRM fan and 3.5″ LCD display, three ARGB-illuminated fans with a depth of 30 millimeters or magnetic connection option and a radiator with a depth of 30 millimeters. Read on to find out whether this feature set justifies the high purchase price.
ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme review: Technical details
General specifications |
|
| Dimensions (with fan, L x W x H) | 399.5 x 120 x 60 mm |
| Weight (with fan) | approx. 2.0 kg |
| Compatibility AMD | AM5 / AM4 / AM2 / FM2 / FM1 / AM3+ / AM2+ / AM2 |
| Intel compatibility | LGA 115X / 1200 / 1700 / 1851 |
| Cooling capacity |
N/A |
| price |
€ 382.59 * |
| Warranty | 6 years |
Radiator specifications / heat sink specifications |
|
| Type | Soldered radiator |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 399.5 x 120 x 30 mm |
| Radiator material | Aluminum |
Fan specifications |
|
| Number of fans | 3 |
| Fan designation | ASUS ROG MF-12S ARGB Extreme |
| Bearing type | hydrodynamic sleeve bearing (FDB) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 120 x 120 x 30 mm |
| Fan speed | 0 ~ 2800 rpm ± 10 % |
| Max. Noise level | 36 db(A) |
| Max. Volume flow | 152.45 m³/h |
| Max. Air pressure | 5.15 mm H2O |
| Lighting | 8x addressable RGB LED (per fan) |
| Rated voltage (fan) | 12 V |
| Rated voltage (LED) | 5 V |
| Rated current (fan) | N/A |
| Rated current (LED) | N/A |
| Rated power (fan) | N/A |
| Rated power (LED) | N/A |
| Connection (fan) | 4-pin PWM |
| Connection (LED) | 3-pin 5V (ARGB) |
| Fan cable length | 600 mm |
| LED cable length | 600 mm |
Pump specifications |
|
| Dimensions | 89 x 92 x 108 mm |
| Cooling plate material | copper |
| Speed (pump) | 800 ~ 3600 rpm ± 10 % |
| Speed (fan) | 5100 rpm ± 10 % |
| Rated voltage (pump) | 12 V |
| Nominal voltage (LED) | 5 V |
| Rated current (pump) | N/A |
| Rated current (LED) | N/A |
| Rated power (pump) | N/A |
| Nominal power (LED) | N/A |
| Connection (pump) | 4-pin PWM |
| Connection (LED) | 3-pin 5V (ARGB) |
| Tube length |
400 mm |
| Miscellaneous | 3.5″ full color IPS LCD (640 x 480 px, 60 Hz) |
Packaging & scope of delivery
The fact that the Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme is a product from the ASUS ROG series is made clear by the manufacturer’s packaging design. The large cardboard box is dominated by the color black and features red accents and white lettering. In addition to a picture of the compact water cooling system, ASUS also has other product illustrations printed on the side to show the most important features. We also find a table with the technical data and a list of the packaging contents on the back.
Inside the packaging, a two-part chamber can be seen in which a thin and a thicker box have been stowed. The thin box in turn contains three further cardboard boxes in which the fans for the water cooling can be found. An additional plastic film protects them from scratches. The larger box contains the radiator/pump combination, a bag with the mounting accessories, connection cables, mounting instructions and a handful of stickers.
Unlike many other manufacturers, the radiator and pump are not just wrapped in a plastic film. ASUS has also placed two hard plastic covers on the radiator to prevent the fins from bending during transportation or unpacking.
Design & workmanship
The radiator of the Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme is made of aluminum and measures 399.5 x 120 x 30 millimeters. In terms of thickness, this is slightly above the typical standard of 27 millimeters. Visually, ASUS has kept the frame and slats in a subtle black. The embossed ROG lettering on the side adds a little pep. The radiator has no other eye-catching design elements or even lighting.
The water hoses of the compact water cooling system are 400 millimeters long and are encased in a close-meshed nylon sleeve. ASUS has attached the hoses rigidly to the radiator and pressed them into plastic sleeves. The hoses were also fixed to the CPU block using plastic sleeves. However, the manufacturer has implemented two rotatable joints here, although these cannot be swiveled very far. Considering the price and compared to some competitor products, the type of fixation unfortunately looks a little cheap.
The heart of the ASUS Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme is undoubtedly the CPU block. Technically, this is based on an 8th generation Asetek pump and therefore has a ceramic bearing and a speed range between 800 and 3600 revolutions per minute. ASUS also installs a small 60 mm VRM fan above the pump with a speed of up to 5100 revolutions per minute. The pump and fan are controlled via a single 4-pin PWM connection.
What is particularly striking about the CPU block is the magnetic pump cover, in which ASUS has placed a color 3.5″ LCD with a refresh rate of 60 Hz and a resolution of 640×480 pixels. To transfer the data, the display must be connected to the mainboard via the internal USB 2.0 header and the corresponding ASUS software (ASUS Armory Crate) must be installed. Hardware information, the time or customizable GIF animations can be displayed. More on this in a later chapter.
The three included ROG MF-12S ARGB Extreme fans have a frame width of 120 millimeters and are 30 millimeters deep. The frame is black and the rotor has a milky white design. The latter consists of seven fan blades, which are connected via an outer ring. A special feature is the side and magnetic contacts, which allow the fans to be simply plugged together. The cable harness, consisting of a 4-pin PWM and a 3-pin 5V ARGB header, is also attached to the front or rear end of the fan trio in this way. The ARGB LEDs are also located in the fan hub.
Fully assembled, the ASUS Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme weighs in at around two kilograms, making it one of the heavier models. However, due to the total depth of 60 millimeters, you should check before purchasing this compact water cooling system whether the case offers sufficient space in the front or in the lid and whether other components such as the graphics card or the VRM cooler of the mainboard are in the way. Visually and in terms of quality and workmanship, the ASUS Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme leaves us with an excellent impression.
ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme review: Assembly
A test system mounted on a benchtable is used for the performance test. This allows us to rule out factors such as heat build-up in the case. The test system consists of the following components.
- AMD Ryzen 5 1400 @ 3.8 GHz at 1.175V*
- ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus*
- Crucial Ballistix Sport LT gray 32 GB DDR4-3000*
- TeamGroup T-Create Classic PCIe 4.0 DL*
- Gigabyte AORUS GTX 1060 6G*
- LC-Power LC550 V2.31 Platinum Series 550W*
If you want to install the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme on a motherboard with an AM4 or AM5 socket, the installation is very simple. First you have to prepare the pump block by removing the cover including the LCD display and then slightly moving the pre-assembled mounting frame and the spring-loaded screws. There is no need to attach an alternative mounting frame to the CPU block.
Then prepare the mainboard and remove the plastic struts of the AMD retention module. These are now replaced with the braces that ASUS provides with the mounting accessories. Simply use the screws that are already included with the mainboard or retention module to attach them. As the thermal paste is already pre-applied, place the pump block on the CPU and screw it in place. Finally, reattach the magnetic cover with display to the CPU block.
With Intel, the assembly works in a similar way. The only difference, however, is that ASUS includes a suitable backplate in the scope of delivery. The CPU block is then screwed to this backplate. Regardless of the socket, the protective caps are then removed from the radiator, the magnetic fans are plugged together and screwed to the radiator and the compact water cooling system is placed in the housing.
Overall, the assembly process was very simple and was completed quickly. All the assembly steps are clearly illustrated in the instructions in the form of pictures and text. In addition, all connection cables are long enough to be routed behind the mainboard tray. However, depending on the case and other hardware, the above-average depth of this compact water cooling system may mean that the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme does not always fit.
Cooling performance and volume
As already shown in the previous chapter, we use an AM4 system based on the Ryzen 5 1400 and the ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus as test hardware. The Ryzen runs overclocked with 3.8 GHz at 1.175 V CPU voltage. To heat up the processor, we fully loaded it with Prime95 for 30 minutes per scenario (small FFTs). We then read out the temperature of the CPU with the CPUID hardware monitor and the room temperature was always around 20 °C during the measurements.
| wdt_ID | CPU-Kühler | Temperatur Minimaldrehzahl (in °C) | Temperatur 50% PWM (in °C) | Temperatur 100% PWM (in °C) | Minimale Lüftergeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) | Minimale Pumpengeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 | Thermaltake TH280 V2 ARGB | 0,00 | 46,60 | 45,90 | 550 | 1.200 | 1.800 | 680 | 2.100 | 3.200 |
| 124 | Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 Atmos ARGB | 0,00 | 50,40 | 46,50 | 560 | 1.340 | 2.270 | 1.965 | 6.620 | 10.230 |
| 125 | be quiet! Pure Loop 2 240mm | 0,00 | 50,70 | 46,70 | 800 | 1.070 | 2.080 | 4.150 | 4.700 | 5.530 |
| 126 | Alpenföhn Panorama 2 | 0,00 | 76,00 | 66,80 | 450 | 1.450 | 2.720 | |||
| 127 | Alpenföhn Brocken 4 | 0,00 | 53,60 | 49,60 | 410 | 870 | 1.610 | |||
| 128 | AMD Wraith Stealth | 95,00 | 95,00 | 76,00 | 800 | 1.430 | 2.630 | |||
| 129 | Corsair A115 | 0,00 | 49,40 | 46,90 | 190 | 920 | 1.560 | |||
| 130 | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE | 0,00 | 49,50 | 47,50 | 350 | 1.050 | 1.680 | |||
| 131 | Thermalright Assassin X 120 SE | 0,00 | 53,60 | 50,60 | 340 | 1.070 | 1.690 | |||
| 132 | DeepCool Assassin IV (Silent) | 0,00 | 51,40 | 48,70 | 500 | 860 | 1.330 | |||
| CPU-Kühler | Temperatur Minimaldrehzahl (in °C) | Temperatur 50% PWM (in °C) | Temperatur 100% PWM (in °C) | Minimale Lüftergeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) | Minimale Pumpengeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) |
As can be seen from the table and the diagram, the CPU of our test system reaches a maximum of 60.8 °C (minimum speed), 43.6 °C (at 50% PWM fan and pump speed) and 41.9 °C (at 100% PWM fan and pump speed) under full load. These values show that the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme has a very high cooling potential. At full speed of all fans and the pump, however, this compact water cooling system is also extremely loud. Fortunately, the cooling performance is still very good at significantly reduced speeds and all moving parts have a wide speed range.
Reducing the pump to the minimum speed is also not recommended, as it emits a strange and audible humming noise and also loses a lot of performance. If the pump speed is reduced to 50% and only the fans are set to minimum speed, the CPU remains significantly cooler at 51.4 °C.
ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme test: Display and lighting
The three fans in the radiator of the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme provide attractive lighting. ASUS has placed eight ARGB LEDs in each fan hub, which can be controlled via a 3-pin 5V connection. The milky-white fans distribute the light evenly across the rotor blade. The lighting can be controlled both via ASUS Armoury Crate and via the OpenRGB software.
A special feature of the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme is the 3.5″ LCD display in the pump cover, which should impress with a resolution of 640×480 pixels and a refresh rate of 60 Hz. It is connected via a USB 2.0 header and therefore offers very individual personalization options. Be it the animated display of hardware information, the time or the display of customized GIF animations or static images. So there are no limits to creativity here. The display must be configured using the ASUS Armory Crate software.
Conclusion of the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme review
The difference between the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB and the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme is basically only the higher maximum fan speed and a slightly different pump cover. What remains is a stylish look with ARGB lighting and the colorful and customizable 3.5″ LCD, simple installation and excellent workmanship. Finally, the excellent cooling performance and the wide speed range of all fans and the pump are positive aspects of the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme.
What aspects did we not like so much? Basically, we found the appearance of the hose sleeves on the radiator or CPU block to be less appealing for the price range we were aiming for. In addition, the pump makes strange noises at lower speeds and is quite audible, regardless of the number of revolutions. Finally, the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme is one of the most expensive compact water cooling systems on the market with a price of € 382.59 *.
What justifies this price? The performance shown is excellent, but not that much better in comparison to significantly cheaper compact water cooling systems with 360 mm radiators. However, with the 3.5″ LCD, the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme has one of the largest displays on the market, with the exception of the HYTE THICC Q60. It also has excellent features overall. Whether this combination justifies the very high price is ultimately for everyone to decide for themselves.
- Excellent cooling performance
- Very good workmanship
- Chic ARGB lighting
- Full color 3.5″ LCD for hardware info or GIFs
- Simple mounting
- Wide speed ranges for fan and pump
- High price
- Loud fan at maximum speed
- Pump rattles at low speeds
ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme
Design
Processing
Assembly
Performance
Price-performance ratio
94/100
The ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme is an excellent compact water cooling system, both visually and in terms of cooling performance, with a simple mounting system and customizable 3.5" LCD. However, the purchase price is very high.
