Asus ROG Ryujin II 360: A missed opportunity with a déjà vu vibe

Pavel Sekerka

2 years ago

Results – 39 dBA

The Ryujin II 360 represents the pinnacle of Asus’ liquid AIO cooler range. This water cooler is based on the seventh generation of Asetek coolers. It boasts a trio of top-of-the-line Noctua NF-F12 Industrial PPC fans, and the ROG Fan Controller is also included. The premium components, however, come with a higher price tag. So I’m curious to see if the Ryujin II 360 can live up to it, or if it will fit in with the average of other AIO coolers.

Key features of the cooler

According to Japanese mythology, Ryujin is the deity of the seas and oceans, quite a fitting name for a water cooler. At the heart of this cooler is a seventh-generation Asetek pump that handles the circulation of liquid between the cooling block and the radiator.

The radiator is cooled by a trio of top-of-the-line 120mm Noctua fans from the Industrial PPC series. Since Noctua doesn’t offer any fans with ARGB backlighting, logically these don’t feature a single LED either. Instead, they are completely rendered in matte black. Additionally, they are more durable within the iPPC design both mechanically and against dust or moisture intrusion.

Unfortunately, the radiator itself is only aluminium. Its thickness of twenty-seven millimeters also does not break any records or the usual conventions among AIO coolers. ASUS missed an opportunity here to stand out from the crowd and add a copper radiator to the high-end fans, for example, in a deeper version for more efficient cooling of the circulating liquid in the circuit. The 380 millimetre long tubes that connect the cooling block to the radiator are braided for increased durability and a more attractive appearance. As is usual with most water coolers, they are connected to the cooling block by 90° swivel fittings. This design simplifies installation and routing of tubes inside the computer case.

The contact plate of the block is made of copper and a thin layer of thermal paste is applied to this surface from the factory. However, the test sample that I had on loan no longer had this layer, which is why you won’t find it in the photos. And again, I don’t understand why there is no tube with additional paste in the package if you wanted to move the cooler to another build. This means that the installation of the cooler needs to be done flawlessly on the first try.

One of the main highlights of the Ryujin II 360 is the 3.5″ LCD display on the top of the cooling block. Here you can display a variety of data about your build, enjoy a look at one of the animations on offer, or insert your own text or image.

An interesting feature is the integrated 60 mm fan, which is hidden above the pump in the cooling block. This fan is designed to provide active cooling around the CPU socket, where the power delivery or M.2 SSD slot is typically located. However, it is quite noisy at maximum speed. The electronic connection between the top cover and the display is handled by contact surfaces next to the fan. This connection not only provides power to the pump and fan, but also a data signal to the ROG Fan Controller and the motherboard via an internal USB 2.0 connector.

The Armoury Crate app makes it very easy to control the speed of the pump, the integrated fan in the block or the fans on the radiator. You can choose one of four preset profiles or create and save your own. You can also change the display orientation from horizontal to vertical depending on how you have the block installed on your CPU.

As I mentioned before, in addition to the mounting kits for installing the cooler on all current CPU sockets, the accessories also include a central hub in the form of the ROG Fan Controller. It can be used for fan speed control, but also for ARGB backlight synchronization. The controller has a magnetic back for mounting in a computer case. Or you can use the supplied double-sided adhesive tapes from 3M.

The installation of the cooler itself is quite quick and easy, it is a generic Asetek block that has been used for many years in many AIO coolers on the market. In the package you will of course also find a set of screws and washers for mounting the fans to the radiator, or for mounting the radiator to the computer case. Unfortunately though, you won’t find a tube of thermal paste here. I have rather conflicting feelings about this, as I have dealt with the same situation with several premium AIO coolers. So you only have a pre-applied layer on the base of the block, which is simply incomprehensible for a cooler with such a high price tag. Especially when one realizes that basic air coolers at a tenth of the price don’t suffer from this shortcoming.

Pump, radiator and fan parameters

For perspective, I compared the ROG Ryujin II to premium coolers from other manufacturers that I have also tested in the past. Like the MPG Coreliquid K360, the Ryujin II 360 also has a large pump block due to the presence of an LCD display. However, again, I strongly criticize the presence of an aluminum radiator in this price range. This is at least partially offset by the six-year warranty.


Cooler		Asus ROG Ryujin II 360	Fractal Design Celsius+ S36 Prisma	MSI MPG Coreliquid K360
Supported sockets		Intel 115x, 1200, 1700, 20xx; AMD AM4, TR4/sTRX4	Intel 115x, 1200, 20xx; AMD AM4	Intel 115x, 1200, 20xx; AMD AM4, TR4/sTRX4
Radiator dimensions (H × W × T)		394 × 121 × 27 mm	400 × 123 × 30 mm	394 × 120 × 27 mm
Block dimensions (H × W × T)		88 × 81 × 78 mm	86 × 75 × 45 mm	97 × 83 × 94 mm
Hose length		380 mm	400 mm	400 mm
Pump speed		2800 rpm	2800 rpm	2800 rpm
Radiator material		aluminum	aluminum	aluminum
Max RAM height		no restrictions	no restrictions	no restrictions
Warranty		6 years	5 years	3 years
Approx. retail price	Prodejní cena	€ 285	€ 230	€ 255

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The NF-F12 Industrial PPC fans supplied are some of the best on the market. These are industrial versions of the popular NF-F12 fans with a higher speed range and also with higher durability. The static pressure values are also very impressive for these fans. However, due to the relatively small thickness of the radiator, this does not bring much benefit. In fact, high static pressure values usually only make sense for thick radiators (typically above 40 mm). On the other hand, I fear that increasing the maximum speed will lead to unnecessarily higher noise levels without dramatically improving cooling efficiency. For commonly used radiators in AIO coolers, it is usually sufficient to use regular fans and rather focus on optimizing acoustic performance.


Fan	Noctua NF-F12 iPPC PWM	Fractal Design Prisma AL-12 PWM ARGB	MSI Torx 4.0
Bearing	SSO2	sleeve	double-row design
Max speed	2000 rpm	2000 rpm	2500 rpm
Max static pressure	3.94 mm H2O	2.78 mm H2O	4.29 mm H2O
Max airflow	121.8 m3/h	145.6 m3/h	131.5 m3/h

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Testing methodology

As a test processor and heat generator, I am now using an Intel Core i7-11700K on the ASUS TUF Gaming Z590-Plus WIFI motherboard. The entire setup is mounted on a Streacom BC1 frame with no fans to provide airflow. Acoustic shielding (acoustic foam on OSB boards) is installed around the test setup to eliminate ambient noise.

The Voltcraft SL-100 calibrated noise meter is placed perpendicular to the cooler in a fixed position relative to the motherboard at a distance of approximately 35 cm from the CPU socket. Stress tests are performed using Prime95 with a duration of 30-35 minutes. The coolers are tested at three standardized noise levels (36, 39 and 42 dBA) and finally at maximum speed. The tests are run in two sets according to the heat output of the processor.

The first set of tests is at 125 W, the enforced PL1 limit of the processor. The second set of power consumption is then about 205-210 W (4500 MHz at 1.285 V). However, this second level represents a very high concentration of heat per mm2 due to the small size of the chip itself. Thus, not all coolers can be expected to pass this set of tests at all noise levels. The highest temperature achieved is always recorded at the end of the test.

All data regarding temperatures and heat output of the processor is obtained from the HWiNFO64 application. The measured values are then corrected against the room temperature as the resulting Delta T value. If the heatsink fails a load with a Delta T value below 75 °C, the test is marked as a failure. Any higher value means a processor temperature over 95-100 °C and a risk of thermal throttling.

Results – 36 dBA

Results – 39 dBA

Results – 42 dBA

Results – maximum speed

Conclusion and rating

My impressions of the Ryujin II 360 cooler are somewhat confusing. On the one hand, it is a well-made cooler with very high quality fans, a large LCD display on the cooling block with a pump, or interesting accessories in the form of the ROG Fan Controller. Unfortunately though, the overall efficiency of this cooler is rather average. Moreover, the fans used are considerably overdesigned due to the thickness of the radiator and thus unnecessarily noisy.

So I’m experiencing a certain sense of déjà vu here – a premium cooler with a high price and attractive specifications on paper, but which doesn’t stand out in stress tests. I would have expected more innovation here in terms of cooling efficiency, such as moving away from Asetek’s generic base to a more sophisticated solution. Ideally with a larger contact area given that the Ryujin II 360 also offers support for AMD processors from the Threadripper range. For such an expensive product, it is reasonable to expect perfect execution in all respects. These expectations are only met in terms of workmanship or visual appeal. With a cooler, however, it should be all about its efficiency and here, unfortunately, the Ryujin II 360 falls into the gray average.


Asus ROG Ryujin II 360
+ Visually attractive design
+ Top-notch fans included
+ 6-year warranty
- Very high price
- No additional thermal paste included
- Significantly loud fan noise at higher speeds

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English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

Continue: Results – 42 dBA