Installation
As with most AIOs, the installation of the AZZA Cube 360 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, AZZA has included all of the necessary mounting hardware for a large list of both Intel and AMD processors, but they have also included a physical installation manual. I have seen quite a few companies move to digital versions of their product manuals, and while I appreciate their reduced waste, I still prefer a physical copy of installation instructions, and was happy to have them for this kit.
Our testing is performed with fans in a push configuration, so to get things started, I first needed to secure the fans to the radiator using the supplied screws.
One thing to keep in mind however, is the orientation of the fans with regards to their power and lighting cables. I mounted the fans to the radiator so that their cabling would be between the fan frames and our motherboard tray. That allowed me to easily route them behind the motherboard tray for easier cable management.
From the factory, the Cube 360 doesn’t have any AMD or Intel mounting hardware installed, and the pump housing itself doesn’t actually require any, so my first step of CPU block installation was to install the AMD mounting hardware for my Ryzen 7 1800X test system on the motherboard. This is a pretty trivial process that involves removing the factory AMD hardware and replacing it with the included standoffs.
With the standoffs in place, the included AMD bracket could be placed, and then loosely secured in place with four thumbscrews. This is where things get a bit tricky, as you will see shortly.
As opposed to most other AIO installations, you don’t use any mounts on the block to secure it to the motherboard. Instead you insert the base into the circular cutout, and then twist it into place. Once it is in the correct orientation, you simply tighten the aforementioned thumbscrews.
That all seems simple, except you have to make sure the thumbscrews are loose enough for the cooler base to slip between the top of the CPU heatspreader and the AMD mounting bracket. Then, if that wasn’t tricky enough, I actually had to remove one of the thumbscrews in order to be able to twist the cooler into place, as the corner of the housing was blocked by the screw.
I know it is probably a more affordable option to not have to design and include separate Intel and AMD brackets that attach to the block, but it does complicate the installation process, and I could see it really becoming frustrating for a first-time builder or someone without as much installation experience.
Next up is attaching the radiator to the top of the 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 cooler housing. While adequate to allow the radiator to reach the top of the case, I would have liked a bit more tubing length to allow for a bit more flexibility with regards to mounting options. I also made sure to thread the fan power and lighting cables through my case’s cable management openings in preparation of wiring everything up.
In order to power the Cube 360’s pump, I needed to connect the 3-pin power connector to my motherboard’s CPU_Fan header. This will allow me to not only power on the pump, but monitor its speed. Connecting the daisychained fans to my motherboard’s fan header was no chore, but while AZZA does list these fans as being PWM, they are indeed just 3-pin fans with ground, 12V, and tach lines. Next I connected the pump and fan’s 3-pin ARGB cables to my ARGB controller.
