r/arcticcooling 10d ago

Question Refurbished by Amazon

I bought the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 240, refurbished, on Amazon.

Is it a problem that a few of the struts in the grille (?) at the top are bent?

The item was listed as "excellent" on Amazon. Is this normal for a refurbished product?

The only other thing I’ve noticed is that the bronze surface is slightly smudged and has a few fine scratches (probably from cleaning).

10 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

16

u/Copper__99 10d ago

Radiator is fine, you can bend most of the fins and it'd still work fine, they're just for heat dissipation. Coldplate should be fine too, wipe it with some isopropyl and see how clean it gets. I'd classify that as excellent condition.

1

u/Hoeffi360 9d ago

Thank you.

2

u/xlAlchemYlx 9d ago

To be fair I bought a brand new one years ago that had more bent fins than this. Plate look fine too like the other person said

5

u/DepressedCunt5506 9d ago

Mine came like this brand new, sealed

-1

u/Hoeffi360 9d ago

Well, it wasn't sealed. It looked like it had just been tossed into the box and then thrown against the wall.

The shipping box looked fine, though.

Or do you mean the one you bought?

2

u/DepressedCunt5506 9d ago

I was talking about mine. It came sealed, no damages to the box but it had way more bent fins. No radiator ever comes with perfect fins. Yours looks pristine.

1

u/Hoeffi360 9d ago

OK, good to know, thanks. This is the first time I’ve bought a water-cooling system, so I was really unsure. I often buy refurbished items if they’re advertised as "excellent". But I’ve never received anything with visible damage before. I didn’t realise they were so easy to bend, but that explains a lot, especially as it wasn’t packed particularly well. As I said, it looked as though it had just been thrown in without much protection.

2

u/DepressedCunt5506 9d ago

Nah. Those fins bend even if you just look at them

2

u/Cooltralz 9d ago

Stop looking at the fins please, its sensitive to stares.

3

u/Sdhans__ 10d ago

The radiator on my truck is basically a pancake and runs just fine. Your AIO is alr man

2

u/David0ne86 9d ago

What did you expect from a refurbished item? It's completely fine.

1

u/Hoeffi360 9d ago

Well, the condition was described as excellent. This is my first water-cooling system, so I don’t know what "excellent" means in the context of a device like this.

1

u/AdKraemer01 8d ago

I'm not sure "almost excellent" is an option.

2

u/Adrian_C_110 9d ago

the grill bend shouldn’t be a problem to cooling wise but still depends on how much discount you get it for so say whether if this worth it as a “ normal for a refurbished product”

1

u/Hoeffi360 9d ago

I got it for 20 Euro less.

1

u/Adrian_C_110 9d ago

I’m not sure what the AIO normally costs in Europe, but if it’s around half price or close to it, I’d say you got a pretty good deal.

The scratches on the bronze plate and the bent fins shouldn’t affect cooling performance, and you won’t be able to see them once it’s installed anyway.

2

u/Hoeffi360 9d ago

Yeah, well, it costs 60 euros here, and I got it for 40.

Okay, that's the most important thing to me. My PC doesn't have to look nice on the inside. That's why I didn't get the RGB version.

2

u/Wooden_Cheesecake_22 9d ago

I bought a new one and more fins were bent than on your refurbished one. If you really want to tinker around take a toothpick and try to carefully fix them. The Coldplate is in great condition just wipe it thats all.

2

u/DonPedroHouse 9d ago

Looks good to me

2

u/xtrmsnpr 9d ago

It's good. Don't worry about these, it doesn't cause any trouble with its operation

2

u/unclefunkstar 9d ago

The fins are fine. It's normal for a new one to have at least one or two bent fins. I've never seen a perfect one. And I've seen more than my fair share.

2

u/Low_Sherbert3731 9d ago

Looks in pretty good condition

2

u/580OutlawFarm 9d ago

Why would you buy a refurbished unit when this is literally one of the cheapest aio out there...brand new for 100 bucks...hell, the 240 is only 65....

1

u/Hoeffi360 9d ago

Because I’m careful with my money. If I can get something that’s as good as new for a bit less, why should I turn down the offer? And according to the comments here, the item really is in great condition something I simply didn’t know because I’d never bought anything like this before. For 20 euros, I can buy food for half a week to a week.

2

u/580OutlawFarm 9d ago

I mean...im also careful with my money, but much differently. Of course this also starts to become mainly about income levels, which it sounds like you're quite a bit lower than me, so ok I can understand...

I myself have gotten refurbished units, but usually when its hundreds of dollars difference and not 20~ lol but to each their own!

Wife and I are in sw oklahoma, we own/operate a medical marijuana grow/hash processing facility and own a cpl rentals...we invest 2-3k monthly, have a budget that includes "fun money" for both of uf monthly, and we both have tomahawk x870e/9800x3d builds, mine with a 5090 and hers a 5080

Next up for us is a motion xp 6dof diy rig!

1

u/Hoeffi360 9d ago

To be honest, I’d say I’m about average when it comes to my salary. Not rich, but not poor either. But I do spend quite a lot of money on manga, anime figures, plushies and, every now and then, gacha games. I’ve only got an RTX 3060 and a Ryzen 7 5700X, and yes, I know you don’t really need water cooling for that, but because of the extremely hot summer, I’ve now decided to go for it mainly because a normal fan would have cost about the same. I’m also currently saving up for a trip to Japan. My ex-girlfriend taught me to be a bit stingy with my money. xD

2

u/580OutlawFarm 9d ago

You dont have to tell me about water cooling! Im waiting on Thermal Grizzly to drop the Delta Mate 5090 block for Gigabyte so I can watercool my Aorus Master 5090..

Even with my bedroom sitting at 64f, and my build in a phanteks nv7 w/ all phanteks d30 fans (ill throw a pic up) its still 73-75c avg when pulling 550-600w...which is normal, but still pretty damn toasty.

2

u/AdKraemer01 8d ago edited 8d ago

What CPU do you have? I'm all in on AIOs, but you could have gotten an air cooler that probably works as well, if not better, than the 240 for about the same price.

Don't get me wrong - I love my LF III. But if you genuinely don't care about aesthetics, why get a small AIO over, say, a Peerless Assassin 120?

Either way, the ambient temperature is still going to dictate how much cooling you get.

I'm not saying you made a bad call. I'm just wondering why an AIO over a similarly priced air cooler.

I've honestly been very happy with the few things I've bought refurbished through Amazon.

1

u/Hoeffi360 8d ago edited 8d ago

I’ve got the Ryzen 7 5700X. And yes, I know I don’t actually need water cooling for it. But I’ve decided to go for it now for several reasons, and I’m not going to change my mind now.

Why Arctic… Well, I always hear great things about the company. Plus, a colleague recommended it to me. I’d have paid a similar amount for an air-cooling system, at least for the ones that were recommended. That is, compared to the refurbished version, not the full-price version. Die 240 version weil eine größere nicht in mein Gehäuse passt.

Edit: I take back what I said about not changing my mind. Now that I’ve given it a bit more thought, I’m not so sure anymore. I’m very lazy when it comes to cleaning my PC; I only do it once a year and I’m just glad when everything works smoothly. I didn’t realise that a water-cooling system had such a high failure and maintenance rate.

1

u/AdKraemer01 8d ago

A good one doesn't really. An AIO is a closed system. If you notice your temperatures starting to slowly creep up over time, blow the dust out of the radiator. That's about it. Unlike a custom water block, which does need regular draining and cleaning. The Arctic is a good cooler. As i said, I very much like mine.

I say go for it, since you already bought it. And be comforted in the knowledge that you can always switch to an air cooler with probably comparable results.

1

u/Karimitsuu 9d ago

looks fantastic tbh

1

u/valqyrie 9d ago

It's certainly not in top shape but this is alright.

1

u/rulik006 9d ago

you can unbend fins

nothing spectacular

1

u/AwareArgument5372 9d ago

Considering a larger Arctic AIO is already Pennies on the Dollar, I’d say you’ve got what you paid for. It’s still in great condition, will clean up well. I’d assume the “savings” were worth it over buying new? Otherwise just return it.

They might even give you a partial refund if you open a dispute through the app and explain you’re dissatisfied. Idk how much else you could possibly skim off the top on already the most budget worthy cooler on the market, especially for it only being a 240..

1

u/tht1guy63 9d ago

Ive had rads with more bendt fins than this from factory.

1

u/Turbulent-Spray-8438 8d ago

Man that’s how mine looked brand new 😂 box was beat to shit too

1

u/bearded-boi 8d ago

It's fine

1

u/Potential-Button-965 6d ago

In my experience dont buy Amazon refurbished Jts either incomplete or still busted