Picking an AIO cooler used to come down to radiator size and brand loyalty, but the last couple years have shaken that up. Companies like Thermalright and Lian Li have been shipping coolers that outperform stuff twice their price, and even the “premium” brands are having to justify their markup with screens and software instead of just thermal numbers. If you’re building a new rig or replacing a dying pump, there’s genuinely more good options than ever, at basically every budget.
Below are four coolers worth your attention right now, covering everything from a straightforward workhorse 360mm to a compact 240mm that punches way above its size. We looked at cooling performance, noise, build quality, and price, since a cooler that’s 2C better but twice as loud isn’t actually a win for most people.
Our Top Picks:
- Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro (Best 360mm AIO)
- Thermalright Grand Vision (Best 360mm AIO Alternative)
- Lian Li Galahad II Trinity Performance 240 (Best 240mm)
- NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360mm
Arctic has been the value pick in this category for years, and the Liquid Freezer III Pro keeps that streak alive. It’s got a 398 x 120 x 38mm radiator with three 120mm P12 Pro fans that spin up to 3000 RPM, plus the brand’s signature VRM fan on the pump block, which actually matters if you’re running a high-wattage CPU on a board with mediocre VRM cooling. Copper cold plate, support for LGA1851, LGA1700, AM4 and AM5, and a 6-year warranty round it out. Pricing sits around $100-130 depending on whether you go A-RGB or the plain version.
What makes this one easy to recommend isn’t flashy specs, it’s that it just performs well without costing $300. Reviewers consistently put it near the top of the 360mm charts for thermal performance per dollar. No LCD screen here, which some people will miss, but if you just want your CPU cool and quiet without paying for a screen you’ll glance at twice, this is the one.
NZXT Kraken Plus 240mm
If the 360 is more radiator than your case wants, NZXT sells basically the same idea shrunk down in the Kraken Plus 240. Same 1.54-inch, 240×240 LCD on the pump top that runs through NZXT CAM for custom images, GIFs, or just temps, same 1,200 to 2,800 RPM pump, just on a 281 x 120 x 27mm radiator with two F120P static pressure fans instead of three. It supports the usual current socket lineup, LGA1851, LGA1700, LGA1200/115X, and AM5/AM4, and NZXT backs it with a 6-year warranty, which is generous for something in this price range.
MSRP sits around $139.99 for the non-RGB version, with the RGB variant running closer to $180. Buyer reviews are mixed on raw cooling, some call it merely average next to cheaper Arctic options, but pretty much everyone agrees the screen and build quality punch above the price, and the pre-applied thermal paste plus single breakout cable make it one of the easier AIOs to actually install. If you want the NZXT LCD look without paying 360mm or Elite money, this is the way in.
Lian Li Hydroshift II OLED Curved 360mm
This is Lian Li going all in on the “screen as the main feature” trend, and the numbers back that up before you even get to cooling. The pump head carries a 6.67-inch curved OLED running 2288 x 1048 at 60Hz with up to 500 nits, and it’s motorized, so it lifts and tilts up to 45 degrees through L-Connect 3 to match whatever angle your case demands. The display module attaches magnetically with a pogo-pin connector too, so you can swap or remove it without draining the loop. Radiator is a slim 400 x 122 x 24mm, and it ships in a few configs: the fanless version for people who want to run their own fans, the P28 with Lian Li’s own airflow-focused fans, and the TL version with the RGB infinite-depth look on the sides.
None of that comes cheap. Pricing runs from $279.99 for the fanless model up to $339.99 for the TL, and early reviews like TweakTown’s landed on it being genuinely well engineered but not a thermal chart-topper, good rather than best-in-class on temps. You get a 6-year warranty on the AIO itself but only 3 years on the OLED panel and fans, which is worth knowing given how much of the price tag that screen represents. If you want the biggest, flashiest display on an AIO right now this is it, just don’t buy it expecting it to beat the Arctic or Grand Vision on pure cooling per dollar.
Thermalright Grand Vision 360mm
Thermalright wasn’t exactly a household name in AIO coolers a couple years back, and now the Grand Vision 360 is beating NZXT’s flagship on thermals. Tom’s Hardware clocked it cooling an average of 258W in their noise-normalized test, which actually took the top spot away from the Kraken Elite 360. It comes with a 3.4-inch, 480×480 IPS screen on the pump head, a tube of their TF7 thermal paste (which tests well against other pastes on the market), and a serviceable refill port that isn’t hidden behind a warranty-voiding sticker, a small thing but a nice one.
At around $127-130, it’s priced close to the Arctic but delivers noticeably stronger thermals in third-party testing, with the tradeoff being Thermalright’s software for customizing the LCD isn’t the most intuitive to find or use. Three-year warranty is shorter than some competitors too. Still, if raw cooling performance with a display is what you’re after, this currently sits at the top of a lot of independent benchmark charts.