Some viewers got upset that I couldn’t test the Rosewill PB240 AIO liquid cooler on the AMD Athlon 25W AM1 processor. Rosewill claimed AM1 socket compatibility on the box. That wasn’t true. Without a compatible mounting bracket, I couldn’t mount the cold plate on the AM1 socket.
Since I don’t have long hair like Steve at Gamers Nexus, I can’t get the Newegg-owned company to admit their mistake. If I can’t test the AM1 processor with the AIO, I’m testing the AMD Athlon 3000G 35W AM4 processor.
Does your AMD Athlon AM4 processor need an AIO?
Disclaimer
Before I deep dive into today’s topic, I need to make a disclaimer. The Rosewill PB240 AIO liquid cooler is no longer available. I bought mine for $50 US and tossed it into my junk box last summer.
The Rosewill PB240 RGB AIO liquid cooler is currently available for $83 US at Amazon. I expect the actual performance between the non-RGB and RGB versions of the AIO to be identical.
Rosewill PB240 AIO Liquid Cooler
The Rosewill PB240 AIO liquid cooler looks like every other AIO on the market. A cold plate attached with a pair of tubes and a pair of 120mm fans attached to the radiator. The only major difference is the pump built inside the radiator and not on top of the cold plate. I noticed a few issues while mounting the AIO on my test PC.
The top tube elbow of the cold plate sits on top of a tall capacitor. Not a problem if the tubing is pointed straight up from motherboard. If the tubing is angled to either side, the bottom of the elbow will rub against the capacitor.
You could rotate the cold plate to have the tubing come out on the other side of the socket. If you don’t mind the Rosewill logo being upside.
The tubing is stiff, and, depending on your case, mounting the radiator could be an issue.
Test PC Setup
I’ll be comparing the be quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 air cooler with the Rosewill PB240 liquid cooler AIO. My test PC has an AMD Athlon 3000G processor, 8GB G.Skill 2666MHz RAM, and an Asrock Pro4 B450 AM4 ATX motherboard. I’m using the Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste.
The Athlon 3000G processor will run stock speed at 3.5GHz and overclocked at 3.8GHz. Fans are set to full speed in the BIOS to provide maximum cooling headroom.
For each round of testing, the Cinebench R23 multi-processor test ran three times on each cooler. I averaged the three high temperatures reported in HWInfo for each cooler for each round.
The ambient room temperature while testing was 28C.
Athlon 3000G Stock Speed (3.5GHz)
The first round had the Athlon 3000G running stock speed at 3.5GHz.
- The be quiet! air cooler had an average high temperature of 55C.
- The Rosewill AIO had an average high temperature of 52C.
The AIO decreased the average high temperature by 3C or 6%.
Athlon 3000G Overclock Speed (3.8GHz)
The second round had the Athlon 3000G overclocked at 3.8GHz.
- The be quiet! air cooler had an average high temperature of 58C.
- The Rosewill AIO had an average high temperature of 53C.
The AIO decreased the average high temperature by 5C or 9%.
Does The Athlon 3000G Need An AIO?
Does the Athlon 3000G processor need an AIO? The short answer is no.
The 35W processor doesn’t generate enough heat to justify using a 240mm AIO. If you must have an AIO for the Athlon, an 120mm AIO is all you need. Rosewill has the PB120 in both non-RGB and RGB versions.
If you plan to upgrade the Athlon processor to a Ryzen processor in the future, installing a 240mm AIO wouldn’t hurt.
Should you get the RGB version of the Rosewill PB240 AIO?
You might want to consider other AIOs and price points before getting the Rosewill AIO. I still prefer the be quiet! Pure Loop AIO that I have in my editing PC. Of course, I’m a biased be quiet! fan boy (pun intended).