Tech

Best CPU coolers

1. Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO

Best Air Cooler for Most People

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions: 110 x 125 x 157 mm
Weight: 28.57oz (810g)
Fans: (2) 120 x 25mm
Socket Support: Intel LGA 1700/115x/1200/2011/2066; AMD: AM5/AM4
Warranty: 3 years

Not long ago, Thermalight released its first Phantom Spirit 120 air cooler, which blew us away in terms of its tested performance and price, earning it a rare perfect score. But then, mere months later, the company returned with The Phantom Spirit 120 Evo, sporting updated fans with a dash of RGB and even better performance. The fans are also louder at max speed, but our testing shows you don’t need the fans spinning at 100% to achieve chart-topping performance with this cooler.

The Phantom Sprit 120 EVO cooled 238 watts in our benchmarking, a result only bested in air coolers by even larger coolers with 140 mm fans, like ID-Cooling’s A770 and Thermalright’s own Frost Commander 140. Even better, all coolers set to run their fans at a quiet 38.2 dBA, The Phantom Spirit 120 EVO EVO was actually the best-performing air cooler we’ve ever tested, beating out those larger, more expensive alternatives.

2. Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE

Best Big Air CPU Cooler

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions: 155 x 125 x 110 mm
Weight: 25.75 oz (730g)
Fans: (2) 120 x 25 mm
Socket Support: 115x, 1200, 1700; AM4, AM5
Warranty: 2 years

Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin 120 SE lives up to its name, delivering the best performance from an air cooler that we’ve tested on Intel’s Alder Lake at a price that undercuts the competition. In our tests, it performed so well when cooling our Core i9-12900K that we re-tested it multiple times to be sure the results were correct. The Peerless Assassin 120 SE cooled the CPU when it was drawing over 200 watts better than our tested competition, and at lower thermal/TDP settings, it performed much better than the competition.

The cooler’s two 120mm fans did their job of dissipating all that heat at low noise levels, making at just 34.5dB at max speed, and 33dB at 50% speed. It’s also available in in silver/gray, white or black, so it should fit in with most build themes if you care about matching aesthetics. Whether you care about value or not, you should consider this cooler for your next system build, so long as your case has room for it.

3. DeepCool AK500

Best Mid-size Air CPU Cooler

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions: 127×117×158 mm
Base Height: –
Weight: 36.7oz (1040g)
Fans: (1) 120 x 25mm
Socket Support: AMD AM4, AM5; Intel 2066, 2011x, 1200, 1700, 115x
Warranty: 3 years

DeepCool’s AK500 performs great in our testing when paired with Alder Lake’s Core i9-12900K at loads over 200W – and it keeps the CPU cool while running nice and quiet. Priced as low as $55 when we wrote this, the AK500 delivers an impressive combination of silence, performance, and value that’s tough to beat.

4. Noctua NH-U14S

Best AMD Threadripper Air CPU Cooler

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions: 171.45 x 151.4 x 52.3mm
Base Height: 25.1mm
Weight: 36.5oz (1035g)
Fans: (1) 140 x 25mm
Socket Support: AMD TR4, SP3
Warranty: 6 years

Best CPU coolers

1. Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO

SPECIFICATIONS

3. DeepCool AK500

SPECIFICATIONS

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