Introduction
Today will again be using our new AIO test platform that is capable of putting out enough heat to make even the devil sweat. We do this to test AIO liquid cooling solutions that are likely to be used with some of today’s most demanding CPUs. So, on the bench today is the ASUS ROG Ryujin 240 liquid CPU water cooler (90RC0030-M0AAY0) which is currently the 240mm AIO cooler entry from ASUS. This is also a ROG branded product so we expect it to also be more of a flagship product than entry-level.
ASUS ROG Ryujin 240 Overview
The ASUS ROG Ryujin 240 is an all in one (AIO) CPU cooler that is designed to work on a wide variety of sockets The supported CPU socket includes Intel and AMD with Intel’s LGA 1150/1151/1152/1155/1156/1366/2011/2011-3/2066 and AMD’s AM4/TR4*. It supports ASUS Aura Sync RGB.
*The mounting bracket is bundled with TR4 CPU Package, not in the RYUJIN’s package according to ASUS.
Water Block
The water block used by ASUS today is different from many of the others we have seen to date. The water block design features a round copper base plate with pre-applied TIM.
The cube-shaped water block includes the pump (and fan) and measures approximately 100x100x70mm. This makes it one of the larger water blocks on an AIO we have seen to date.
Pump
The pump used with the ASUS ROG Ryujin 240 AIO is unique in our reviews in that it includes an OLED display and a fan. The embedded 1.77″ full-color OLED display can be controlled via the ASUS AURA SYNC system. It displays useful system information such as temperatures.
Video Credit: ASUS
The other unique feature, the embedded fan, is supposed to result in excellent performance and provide extra cooling for your CPU VRMs and an M.2 slot. The embedded PWM fan features a fan speed of 4800 RPM +/-10% at 31 dB(A). The claimed airflow is 19.41 CFM at a static air pressure of 3.23 mmH20.
Radiator
The 240mm radiator liquid CPU cooler is designed to hold two 120mm fans and measures 272 mm x 122 mm x 27 mm. By our count, the aluminum radiator sports a density of 21 fins per inch.
Fans
The included NF-F12 fans are PWM fans provided by Noctua. The NF-F12 fans support a listed fan speed of 450 to 2000 RPM +/-10% at a reported noise level of up to 29.7 dB(A). The stated airflow is 71.6 CFM with a static pressure of 3.94 mm H2O.
RGB
The addressable RGB led lighting features in the water block are certainly interesting today as they go above and beyond the normal abilities we see. Besides being able to change the RGB patterns using ASUS AURA SYNC software, the onboard OLED can display system information when using compatible ASUS motherboards. Additionally, the embedded OLED is programmable such that you can display GIF and JPG images at a resolution of 160 x 128 pixels on your pump. The RGB connectivity and image display ability are proprietary and lock you into ASUS’s ecosystem. However, unlike the lock-in, we saw with Corsair, and their iCUE software, we get expanded features in the trade-off for open support. So, while being locked in with software is always much less user friendly, at least there is a decent trade-off as we gain something out of the lock-in other than just being stuck.
Let’s move on now to our test setup and installation of the ASUS ROG Ryujin 240.