Installation
As with most AIOs, the installation of the ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB White Edition is quite easy. As DIY PC building seems to be getting more popular each and every day, the option of AIO liquid coolers is sure to entice those wanting to have a more advanced build, and easy installation will go a long way towards not scaring off first-time builders. As I mentioned when I covered the included accessories, ASUS has included all of the necessary mounting hardware for a large list of both Intel and AMD processors, and they also included my personal preference, a physical copy of the installation instructions.
Our testing is performed with fans in a push configuration, so to get things started, I first needed to connect the fans to each other and then attach this “360mm fan” to the radiator using the supplied screws. This is a very simple process, especially with the magnetically connected fans. They all lined up perfectly with the radiator’s mounting screw holes, and with all of the fans in place I could move on to the next step.
One thing of note here is that I did not connect the fan cabling just yet, as I wanted to see how much easier it was going to be to maneuver the radiator an fans around in my case without the cabling attached. Let’s just say that it was a dream come true, and a feature of the fans that really made installation that much easier.
The Ryujin III utilizes somewhat of a universal mounting bracket on the cooler itself, requiring me to swap out the factory AMD motherboard mounts with those provided in the installation kit. This is an easy process that reuses the factor screws, and doesn’t take much work to accomplish – just make sure you orient the mounting brackets in the proper manner as shown in the image below.
With the thermal paste already applied to the cold plate, and the motherboard brackets in place, it was time to place the cooler onto the mounting hardware and secure it in place. Everything lined up perfectly, and the included thumbscrews threaded right onto the mounting studs.
One thing to note with the Ryujin III is that ASUS recommends installing the cooler with the tubes on the bottom edge as opposed to the typical right edge of the pump housing. This makes sure that the embedded fan can properly cool the surrounding VRMs, and so that the screen is placed in the correct orientation.
Next up is attaching the radiator to the top of our case. Just like attaching the fans to the radiator, attaching the radiator to the case is a simple task. Using the twelve included screws, simply align them with the appropriate mounting points on your case, and tighten. One thing I would like to make known is the relatively short tubing length between the radiator and pump housing. While adequate to allow the radiator to reach the top of our case, I would have liked a bit more tubing length to allow for a bit more flexibility with regards to mounting options.
As far as cabling connections go, the pump and fan’s PWM connector was attached to the motherboard header, while the USB cable for the LCD screen was routed behind the motherboard and around to a free USB 2.0 header. Back to the fan cabling, I opted to utilize the fan connection towards the top left of my motherboard which let me route the magnetic cable to the fans, snapping it right into place as the cable end got close to the fan housing. Simple, easy, and discreet – love it!
