At first, we would like to thank be quiet! for sending us a sample of their Silent Loop 2 360mm AIO for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About be quiet!:

“be quiet! is a premium brand of power supplies, PC cases, water and air cooling and fans for desktop PCs. The products of be quiet! offer legendary quiet operation and first-class performance thanks to our passion for quality and precision. A special focus is on product quality and details. Which is why our very own experts lead product conception, design and quality control from our headquarters in Germany.

Exceptionally quiet operation

be quiet! lives up to its name: 20 years of experience in product development make be quiet! products amongst the most silent ones on the market.

Undoubtedly the fans are an integral factor in minimizing the noise levels of our products. That's why the be quiet! assortment features custom-developed fans like the Silent Wings, that are equipped with a variety of noise-reducing features such as special bearings, smooth-operation motors, optimized airflow and anti-vibration decoupling. Thanks to these fans, be quiet! products attain a perfect balance of ideal cooling performance and virtually inaudible operation.

Customers of be quiet! products are guaranteed to receive proven premium quality and the typically silent be quiet! operation.

Developed in Germany

Since its foundation in 2001, all be quiet! products are conceived and designed in Germany. The development takes place in close cooperation with our locations in Asia. The final quality control also takes place at our headquarters near Hamburg. This is how be quiet! ensures that every product meets our high standards.

This successful concept is not only regularly confirmed by awards from the European Hardware Association as well as renowned trade magazines and online portals, but also by the growing community and customers all over the world.”

 

SUPERIOR PUMP DESIGN - Whisper-quiet operation

Powerful pump with innovative 3-chamber design ensures the very high-performance Silent Loop 2 360mm is whisper-quiet at the same time. The second of its 3 chambers offers enough space for the coolant to spread out and thus reduces turbulences before it leaves the pump unit. In combination with the 6-pole 3-phase motor this results in a smooth and therefore silent operation.

 

WHISPER-QUIET OPERATION - Thanks to effective pump dampening

The massive dampening of the pump absorbs vibrations and therefore minimizes the resonances in the pump housing. This leads to significantly reduced noise and is key to the famously whisper-quiet be quiet! operation.

 

IMMENSELY HIGH COOLING PERFORMANCE - For low CPU temperatures

Silent Loop 2 360mm as an all-in-one water-cooling unit provides enough cooling performance even for demanding applications when the CPU is pushed to its limit. The pump, radiator and fans are all optimized to work in perfect technical symbiosis.

 

BIG COLDPLATE - For all consumer platforms

Having a high-density stack of fins on one side and a nickel coated plate on the other, the cold plate provides maximum cooling performance for the AiO. This makes Silent Loop 2 360mm the perfect water-cooling unit, especially for high-end processors and those with large surfaces. sTRX4 mounting is available separately.

 

SILENT WINGS 3 FANS - Impressive ratio of performance to noise

The Silent Wings 3 120mm PWM high-speed fan features 7 airflow-optimized fan blades, a 6-pole motor for less vibration and a durable fluid-dynamic bearing. The fan frame is equipped with funnel-shaped air inlets for extremely high air pressure, which makes the fan the perfect choice for radiators.

 

IMPRESSIVE ILLUMINATION - Lots of options and great visual effects

ARGB LEDs offer multiple colors and modes to individualize the look of the Silent Loop 2 360mm. The illumination can be synced with the ARGB adjustments of the motherboard. You can optionally use the wired ARGB remote controller to switch between modes and colors. The white illumination of be quiet! sign can be turned on and off for an external appearance of any taste.

 

EASY TO REFILL - Simplified refilling process for a long lifespan

An easy-to-access refill port makes for convenient handling, safe refilling, and comfortable maintenance. The coolant bottle included ensures a long lifespan.

 

Model: Silent Loop 2 360mm

Dimensions radiator, incl. fan (H x W x D), (mm): 394 x 120 x 52

Total weight (kg): 1.33

Socket compatibility:

Intel: 1700 / 1200 / 2066 / 1150 / 1151 / 1155 / 2011(-3) Square ILM

AMD: AM4 / sTRX4, TR4(optional, mounting kit (BZ008))

Noise level (dB(A)) @ 25 % / 50% /100% rpm: 17.7 / 23.9 / 39.8

Fan model, number: 3x Silent Wings 3 120mm PWM high-speed

Pump speed (rpm): 2800

Pump adjustable: 9V - 12V

Pump connector: 3-pin

RGB connector: 3-pin 5V Adressable

Tube length (mm): 400

Refill port: Yes

 

After trying out the cost-effective Pure Loop 240mm AIO, it is time to move to their high-end segment and check the Silent Loop 2 in its 360mm variant and see if it can cool our i7-12700K properly, while in maximum load. The Silent Loop 2 comes with a 3-chamber pump design, managing a smooth and silent operation, a big coldplate with a high-density stack of fins but also Silent Wings 3 fans for offering a high air pressure.

 

Since we are dealing with a 360mm radiator, the box Silent Loop 2 comes in is quite big and comes fully sealed with a transparent plastic film:

 

 

 

On the top cover of the packaging, we will note a photo of the whole cooling solution, together with the size of the radiator:

 

 

 

On one of the box sides, we will be informed regarding the be quiet! brand but we also have a table with the complete technical specifications:

 

-overall technical data

-tech data of the cooling unit

-tech data of the Silent Wings 3 PWM high-speed fans

 

 

 

 

 

Some more info about the product can be found by accessing the QR code:

 

 

 

The main product highlights are available on the bottom, along with the product code name and serial number:

 

 

 

After lifting the top cover, we will find some documentation:

 

 

 

Here we do have a leaflet concerning product disposal, but also some words regarding warranty:

 

 

 

 

The guide offers drawings and written instructions to successfully complete the installation:

 

 

 

The AIO and its hardware bundle is well packaged and sorted:

 

 

 

 

A closer look does reveal the fan adapter/extension cable, three cable ties, a RGB controller and its power cable but also the mounting screws:

 

 

 

The fan adapter cable does allow connecting three PWM fans to the same motherboard header:

 

 

 

 

The long screws will be used for mounting the supplied fans onto the radiator, while the smaller ones are for mounting the radiator onto the chassis:

 

 

 

A RGB controller is supplied in case we do not connect the ARGB header directly to the motherboard:

 

 

 

The controller needs power via a two-pin connector:

 

 

 

Power will be supplied from a SATA Power cable coming from the power supply:

 

 

 

The ARGB remote does come with three control buttons, one is the Mode selector and the other two are Next and Previous; the modes are the following:

 

-illumination

-color

-speed

-brightness

-special effects

 

 

 

On the back side of the remote we do have a subtle be quiet! logo:

 

 

 

The AMD / Intel retention mechanisms are packaged in separate bags, and we will also receive a small tube with thermal compound:

 

 

 

After opening the Intel bag, we will note adapters for different sockets, but also a multifunctional backplate along with the mounting screws and special screw nuts:

 

 

 

The dedicated screws will be mounted onto the backplate and will be secured with the supplied rubber grommets:

 

 

 

 

The mounting adapters will be mounted after installing the nuts, in which the final screws will get mounted themselves:

 

 

 

Silent Loop 2 comes with three Silent Wings 3 120mm PWM high-speed fans, which feature 7 airflow-optimized fan blades, a 6-pole motor for les vibration and a durable fluid-dynamic bearing:

 

 

 

Here is a closer look on the fan frame as well:

 

 

 

The screw holes have rubber padding in order to help with vibration dampening:

 

 

 

On the back side of the fans, we will note their internal code name, the power rating (12V at 0.37A) but also the maximum operating speed (2200RPM):

 

 

 

The bottle of extra coolant is pre-mixed and is ready to be used; it has a total capacity of 100ml and helps to top off the internal liquid when needed:

 

 

 

The large radiator comes with a matte black finish, without any flashy logos on the sides. One of the fill ports is located near the top tube:

 

 

 

The second fill port is placed on the side:

 

 

 

The opposite side of the radiator does sport a similar look:

 

 

 

The brushed aluminum pump cover does have a professional look; while the logo does always remain white, the frame does come with ARGB lighting:

 

 

 

Coming out of the pump we will see one female and one male ARGB connectors:

 

 

 

 

The male connector does come with a plastic cover, in order to avoid bent pins:

 

 

 

 

Same type of plastic protection is available for the ARGB controller as well:

 

 

 

Silent Loop 2 does come with a nickel-plated copper cold plate:

 

 

 

By using the supplied screws, we can easily mount the fans onto the radiator:

 

 

 

The next step would be to mount the radiator assembly onto the case:

 

 

 

After installing the mounting adapters and using the right amount of thermal compound, we can go ahead and install the pump:

 

 

 

 

After turning on the test computer, the ARGB lighting around the pump head is clearly visible:

 

 

 

 

Test Setup:

 

CPU: Intel i7-12700K @ Stock

CPU Cooler: CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display Liquid CPU Cooler

Motherboard: EVGA Z690 CLASSIFIED LGA1700

RAM: Neo Forza Faye 2x16GB DDR4600

Video: XFX Radeon RX 5700XT Ultra THICC III

Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W

SSD: Silicon Power US70 1TB PCIe 4.0

Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840

 

We have performed the IDLE-Full Load temperature test with the help of the AIDA64 Stress Test module, while recording the temperatures in detail via HWINFO64 utility. The ambient temperature during testing was kept at a steady 24.5 degrees Celsius and the performance profile in our Windows 11 Pro installation was set at default (Balanced).

The second part of the test included the HWBOT X265 4K Encoding workload, which is more stressful via AIDA64 one, which we did run four times and recorded the maximum temperature.

 

 

Here are the detailed Noise / Fan RPM results of the whole assembly; our fan header from the EVGA Z690 CLASSIFIED was set with the SMART profile, due to no dedicated controller for the fans as in CORSAIR AIO tests. The test results will vary depending on the fan curve set on a specific motherboard.

 

 

The 360mm variant of the Silent Loop 2 AIO from be quiet! can easily fight with the high-end coolers from other companies and comes with a competitive pricing. It packs Silent Wings 3 PWM fans, a 3-chamber design pump that is quiet during operation, while the ARGB effects can be offered via motherboard header or the included wired remote. The installation process is easy if you follow the written instructions, while the whole assembly can be refilled with the supplied coolant bottle when needed, a feature other brands do not offer.

 

The newer revisions of this cooler are compatible with LGA1700 socket out of the box, which is great! The only negative we could remind is regarding the ARGB cable length: the ARGB female connector which goes to the motherboard header won’t reach if your headers are in the lower area of the PCB, as with the EVGA Z690 CLASSIFIED, so if you do not have a cable extension you will be forced to only go with the included wired ARGB controller.

 

The be quiet! Silent Loop 2 AIO 360mm is priced quite competitively at about 137 Euros.

be quiet! Silent Loop 2 360mm AIO is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to be quiet! for making this review possible!