Phanteks Expands Glacier One D30 AIO Cooler Lineup with 420mm Model

[Peter_Brosdahl]

Phanteks has expanded its Glacier One D30 AIO lineup with the launch of the 420D30 in black or white color options for Intel or AMD processors. Phanteks introduced the Glacier One line with 240mm and 360mm models, featuring its low noise D30 fans with DRGB lighting that can be daisy-chained or connected via a single cable. The AIO copper plate comes pre-coated with thermal paste and Phanteks has also included additional compound. The 420D30 is compatible with most AMD and Intel processors including 14th gen CPUs. Three 140mm D30 PWM fans cool the 420mm aluminum radiator that is 27mm thick.

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[Grimlakin]

I guess with the new CPU's from Intel and who knows with AMD my old 360 MIGHT not be enough. Next up... double deep 360 coolers. 2x the radiator surface area!

 

[Niner51]

After using an Arctic 420mm I wasn't impressed with it over a 360mm AIO. Was running a 13900K at the time with minimal differences in temps between the two.

 

[LazyGamer]

I guess with the new CPU's from Intel and who knows with AMD my old 360 MIGHT not be enough. Next up... double deep 360 coolers. 2x the radiator surface area!

Stock, neither will pull >300W needed to saturate one of these. This is more about being able to leverage radiator surface area to keep fan speeds and thus noise down.

After using an Arctic 420mm I wasn't impressed with it over a 360mm AIO. Was running a 13900K at the time with minimal differences in temps between the two.

The biggest issue is the IHS that Intel and AMD are using. That interface, i.e. CPU die to IHS to cooler, is what really limits cooling effectiveness. See GPU AIOs handling double the heat output per surface area of the CPU AIOs as an accessible example.

For Intel, the bent IHS due to the LGA1700 clamping mechanism hurts a bit, and for AMD it's the extra-thick IHS they used to keep the package height of AM5 the same as AM4, despite using the shorter LGA socket for AM5. But in both cases, running direct die (the way GPUs do) results in massive increases in cooler effectiveness.

Leaving the IHSs in place, we wind up hunting for more cooling performance to make up for the poor thermal transfer of current IHS designs, but gains can only be marginal as you've experienced.

 

[Brian_B]

There is a point where adding more radiator surface area won’t do you any good, and your constraint is on the block and it’s contact area and efficiency

 

[Dan_D]

I guess with the new CPU's from Intel and who knows with AMD my old 360 MIGHT not be enough. Next up... double deep 360 coolers. 2x the radiator surface area!

For high end CPU's, 360 AIO's have been somewhat borderline at times for awhile now. Anything over an Core i9 11900K and they seem to struggle a bit or at least leave some room for improvement. Granted, that's the Intel side. AMD wise, its a different story.

 

[Niner51]

For Intel, the bent IHS due to the LGA1700 clamping mechanism hurts a bit

I have used the Thermalright Bracket with both coolers with same results.

 

[LazyGamer]

There is a point where adding more radiator surface area won’t do you any good, and your constraint is on the block and it’s contact area and efficiency

It's really the IHS that's in the way.

As long as you have IHSs you're limited in how much you can cool per die and IHS area. That's why a single 92mm tower can cool a 500W Xeon, but the best Noctua (3x140mm?) HSF will still struggle with 300W on an i9.

This is why you see direct-die kits for both AMD and Intel becoming more prevalent; they're risky, but they can also improve performance while reducing noise (the same way AIOs can do over an air cooler when the CPU is being pushed).

 

[LazyGamer]

I have used the Thermalright Bracket with both coolers with same results.

Same, that goes on every LGA1700 setup I have one on.

 

[Endgame]

I'm getting more and more convinced that a 280 AIO with good fans is the sweet spot for AIOs. Even if you go bigger, the pump and block aren't really of enough quality to show any improvements, so if you need more cooling than a 280, you might as well go custom loop.

I would love to see something like the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 tested with 2x NF-A14 industrialPPC-3000 PWM fans. Let them power down to basically nothing at idle, and run up to full on screaming 3000 rpm under load (presuming you use noise canceling headphones).

 

[LazyGamer]

I'm getting more and more convinced that a 280 AIO with good fans is the sweet spot for AIOs. Even if you go bigger, the pump and block aren't really of enough quality to show any improvements, so if you need more cooling than a 280, you might as well go custom loop.

Main reason for the popularity of 360mm AIOs is that many cases allow for the 120mm fans but not the 140mm fans. Further, and this is just from personal research and direct experience, there's a greater variety of fans for 120mm, and the best 120mm fans tend to be better than the best 140mm fans.

So, regardless of surface area differences between 280mm and 360mm AIOs, the 360mm units tend to come out on top overall.

I would love to see something like the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 tested with 2x NF-A14 industrialPPC-3000 PWM fans. Let them power down to basically nothing at idle, and run up to full on screaming 3000 rpm under load (presuming you use noise canceling headphones).

Those fans are exactly what you'd want in an industrial application - and absolutely not what you'd want if you had to be in the same room as them when they're doing their business. Noise per decibel is far higher than needed in order to hit their reliability rating (same for the 120mm versions).

Phanteks' D30-140, 30mm thick 140mm fans as the name implies, just became available and are what I'd probably pick today, since they are thicker, have a pressure-optimized fan blade design, are directly linkable, and are able to be used with standard PWM fan headers and three-pin 5v ARGB headers for lighting.

 

[LazyGamer]

surface area differences between 280mm and 360mm AIOs

Wanted to add some numbers here, comparing total fan area in mm squared:

Fan Size (down) # of fans (right)	1	2	3
120mm	35531	71061	106592
140mm	48361	96722	145083

Note that the 360mm AIO has nearly 10,000 square mm of additional fan area. A good 280mm should be very good, but it's not quite where a good 360mm can be.

 

[Endgame]

Main reason for the popularity of 360mm AIOs is that many cases allow for the 120mm fans but not the 140mm fans. Further, and this is just from personal research and direct experience, there's a greater variety of fans for 120mm, and the best 120mm fans tend to be better than the best 140mm fans.

So, regardless of surface area differences between 280mm and 360mm AIOs, the 360mm units tend to come out on top overall.


Those fans are exactly what you'd want in an industrial application - and absolutely not what you'd want if you had to be in the same room as them when they're doing their business. Noise per decibel is far higher than needed in order to hit their reliability rating (same for the 120mm versions).

Phanteks' D30-140, 30mm thick 140mm fans as the name implies, just became available and are what I'd probably pick today, since they are thicker, have a pressure-optimized fan blade design, are directly linkable, and are able to be used with standard PWM fan headers and three-pin 5v ARGB headers for lighting.

Note: I'm using NF-A14s in my current custom loop. They are fine at 750rpm for running when the system isn't in heavy use. They are also fine at 2000 rpm when running with noise canceling headphones.

 

[Endgame]

Wanted to add some numbers here, comparing total fan area in mm squared:

Fan Size (down) # of fans (right)	1	2	3
120mm	35531	71061	106592
140mm	48361	96722	145083

Note that the 360mm AIO has nearly 10,000 square mm of additional fan area. A good 280mm should be very good, but it's not quite where a good 360mm can be.

The question I have is - can the pump and block integrated into the AIO make much use with the extra area? I'm sure my D5 with an Optimus Foundation Block can see some benefit to the extra space, but I have little faith that a whole AIO that costs less than the foundation block gets anything out of it.

 

[LazyGamer]

can the pump and block integrated into the AIO make much use with the extra area?

Sure; how much is always relative to the condition and composition of the CPU / GPU being cooled of course.

Note: I'm using NF-A14s in my current custom loop. They are fine at 750rpm for running when the system isn't in heavy use. They are also fine at 2000 rpm when running with noise canceling headphones.

I'm sure, but not everyone wants to have headphones on all the time? And such a solution restricts microphone choice to headset mics or low-sensitivity dynamics that you have to have 2" (literally) in front of your face?

 

[Endgame]

Sure; how much is always relative to the condition and composition of the CPU / GPU being cooled of course.

The below chart from GN is an example of what I mean - the Artic Liquid Freezer II 360 with 10.2% more mm2 is only yielding a 2.6% improvement to cooling performance with fans running 10% faster in RPM when compared to the 280mm version. My guess is if you ran the 140mm fans to get the same RPM / DBA, the performance would be the same between the two AIOs. I'm guessing it's the block and pump that is having the most impact on limiting performance, not the size of the rad

I'm sure, but not everyone wants to have headphones on all the time? And such a solution restricts microphone choice to headset mics or low-sensitivity dynamics that you have to have 2" (literally) in front of your face?

I haven't had any speakers attached to my PCs since my children were born - if I want to hear anything sound wise from the PC, it's headphones for me. And that's not really much of a loss, since I was using headphones 100% of the time prior for the attached mic. I've never had anyone complain about the fan noise while talking, but I generally don't do THAT much talking when playing MW:O or whatever.

 

[Brian_B]

I'm getting more and more convinced that a 280 AIO with good fans is the sweet spot for AIOs. Even if you go bigger, the pump and block aren't really of enough quality to show any improvements, so if you need more cooling than a 280, you might as well go custom loop.

I would love to see something like the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 tested with 2x NF-A14 industrialPPC-3000 PWM fans. Let them power down to basically nothing at idle, and run up to full on screaming 3000 rpm under load (presuming you use noise canceling headphones).

This has kinda been what I have always thought too

 

[LazyGamer]

I'm guessing it's the block and pump that is having the most impact on limiting performance, not the size of the rad

It's really the IHS. If that wasn't a factor (direct die, or far greater IHS area with 100% coverage by the block with perfect mating), then the difference in radiator performance would be larger.

I haven't had any speakers attached to my PCs since my children were born - if I want to hear anything sound wise from the PC, it's headphones for me.

I don't have children, just a spouse in graduate school, and when they're home - same for me. Though I do have a set of 5" studio monitors with a 10" sub for when I can 'rock out'. Total overkill though.

And that's not really much of a loss, since I was using headphones 100% of the time prior for the attached mic. I've never had anyone complain about the fan noise while talking, but I generally don't do THAT much talking when playing MW:O or whatever.

Most of your VOIP software is going to do what would be considered advanced sound processing, automatically. Gating, limiting, compression, as well as intelligent noise reduction are all in the cards.

The fan noise is more for you, though personally for me, I'd also like to be able to use a decent condenser mic without having massive amounts of bleed.

 

[Endgame]

It's really the IHS. If that wasn't a factor (direct die, or far greater IHS area with 100% coverage by the block with perfect mating), then the difference in radiator performance would be larger.

If this is the case, and the IHS is 100% the limiting factor, there wouldn't be improvements going to a custom loop with a top end water block. While I haven't been following waterblock development over the last year or two, my assumption is high end waterblocks, with a pump like a D5, are still dramatically better than an AIO.

 

[Grimlakin]

If this is the case, and the IHS is 100% the limiting factor, there wouldn't be improvements going to a custom loop with a top end water block. While I haven't been following waterblock development over the last year or two, my assumption is high end waterblocks, with a pump like a D5, are still dramatically better than an AIO.

I'd be hard pressed to say yay or nay to that honestly. All of the work I've seen with custom loops is for astetics and getting overall heat down not just CPU.

Outside of the swimming pool heat sink LTT is doing... and even then the change isn't HUGE for the systems over a standard water block. It's super resistant to increasing temps once it plateaus. But other than that... it's just neat from a thermodynamics solution.

But yea looks seems to me to be the main thing. Oh and spending like money is free.