be quiet! Silent Loop 360mm Review – Bigger, Better, Silent

1. Overview
2. Design
3. Specifications and Features
4. Performance
5. Conclusion

Overview

Originally, the Silent Loop cooling system was offered in three versions: the 120mm, 240mm or 280mm. The Silent Loop cooling systems are produced in collaboration with Alphacool. Both the radiator base and the radiator are made of copper which prevents corrosion problems. The coolant can be refilled resulting in a long service life.

Until now, however, the Silent Loop series lacked a model with a 360mm radiator despite the fact that there are now quite a number of PC cases for the mainstream market that can accommodate this. be quiet! finally closes this gap with the new silent loop 360mm. It will be the most expensive AIO cooler in the range with an RRP of €159.

Design

be quiet! Silent Loop 360mm

be quiet! continue to use the same design for their new Silent Loop 360mm as they did with all the previous versions. The flat radiator pump unit is connected to the radiator by means of black hoses with kink protection. The spiral springs protect the hoses from kinking and while it would seem like it looks out of place at first glance, it actually fits well with the overall design. What is new, however, is that the pump now operates at 12 volts.

The Silent Loop 360mm pump unit is not only slim but with the brushed aluminium cover, it looks majestic in any case. Thankfully, be quiet! don’t include the horrendous RGB lighting that most companies deem a requirement.

The bottom plate of the cooler is made of nickel-plated copper. A plug can be seen next to the sleeved cable with a 3-pin pump connector. Cooling liquid can also be replenished here. be quiet! Recommend replenishing it every two-years with cooling fluids from Alphacool, Phobya or Aquatuning.

Compared to the 240 mm radiator, the 360 mm radiator offers 50 percent more cooling surface. However, the space requirement also increased considerably – after all, the copper heat exchanger is almost 40 cm long.

The Pure Wings 2 are also used with the Silent Loop 360mm. be quiet! Uses a PWM variant running at 600 to 2,000 rpm. The 120 mm fans are screwed to the radiator with the enclosed fan screws.

Specifications and Features

Full Specifications |
Dimensions radiator, incl. fan (H x W x D), (mm) | 397 x 124 x 55
Total weight (kg) | 1,7
Socket compatibility | Intel®: LGA 775 / 1150 / 1151 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011(-3) Square ILM / 2066
| AMD : AM2(+) / AM3(+) / AM4 / FM1 / FM2(+)
Maximum power capacity (W TDP) | 450
Backplate Mounting | Yes
Fan model, number | 3x Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM
Pump type | reverse-flow pump
Pump speed (rpm) | 2,200
Pump connector | 3-pin
Tube length | 390
Bend-protection tubes | Yes
Refill port | Yes

Performance

To test the overall performance of the cooler we first let it run for 30 minutes. We then monitor the temperatures using Real Temp. To test the cooler under load I ran Prime95 for 10 minutes.

be quiet! Silent Loop 360mm Performance

We measured a temperature of 17ºC after 10 minutes of having the equipment on, reaching a maximum temperature of 33ºC under load.

The temperature is really fantastic and says a lot about the good performance of the cooler, keeping it far from the maximum temperature of use, which is about 75ºC.

The fans were exceptionally quiet, while they were not “silent” as the name implies, they are inaudible over the sound of gameplay. Under full load, the fan is more audible but it is still much quieter than any cooler I have used before.

Conclusion

With the silent loop 360mm, be quiet has provided additional expansion of their portfolio in the right step. The pump, which is installed here, has additionally been improved a little bit in the range of the service life and thus sounds even quieter. Currently, the Silent Loop 360mm costs €159 and the Silent Loop 280 costs €135 euros. So we have a good all-in-one water cooling for every price range.

The Silent Loop 360mm operating at full speed (2000RPM) is quieter than any other AIO cooler on the market. You get the same if not better results without listening to your PC and wondering if it is about to combust.

Overall, the Silent Loop 360mm is one of the best AIO coolers on the market. With very quiet operation at very cool temperatures, it holds its own against almost every other all-in-one water cooling system. The slightly higher price compared to the competition could be a deterrent to those who don’t mind loud coolers but as they say, you get what you pay for.

Looking for more on be quiet? Check out our review of the Shadow Rock TF 2 and the beautiful Dark Base Pro 900.