The Best CPU Coolers 2021

[amghwk]

IMHO, Noctua products are way overrated.

I'm using Dark Rock Pro 3 and Dark Rock Pro 4, and their cooling performances rival Noctua's while keeping near inaudible fans and being cheaper too.

I've used different types of AIO water coolers before but I seem to go back to these trusted air coolers. These be quiet! Dark Rock Pro series work wonders and rivals even the AIOs.

A good case with front mesh and correct placements of case fans with a tower air cooler work magic.

 

[mountains]

- Real Testing: Yes, there needs to be more product comparison reviews based on real testing like the old days, rather than these border-line advertisement/opinion pieces. We used to get real tests.

- Single 140mm AIO: I have been using an AIO for years. I have a single 140mm rad blowing out of the back. The performance is actually really good. You can't buy a single 140mm as an AIO anymore (only 120mm which are louder and move less air) and that has me frustrated. It works great! Nothing blowing out the top (bad because its louder, can't put stuff on top of your case). I hate putting AIO in the front 'cause it blocks my ability to have an optical drive and a separate HDD caddy there. Plus like you all have pointed out you are blowing warm air in to the case.

- Next Cooler?: My AIO is 6 years old and starting to get louder. It is not working as well as it once did. I have replaced the fan. Air does probably have a longevity advantage. I am weighing my future. I have a Noctua NH-D15 new in the box as an emergency backup. Maybe next build is a custom loop. Not sure. Maybe we can talk Arctic into making a single 140mm AIO.

 

[mountains]

- Real Testing: Yes, there needs to be more product comparison reviews based on real testing like the old days, rather than these border-line advertisement/opinion pieces. We used to get real tests.

- Single 140mm AIO: I have been using an AIO for years. I have a single 140mm rad blowing out of the back. The performance is actually really good. You can't buy a single 140mm as an AIO anymore (only 120mm which are louder and move less air) and that has me frustrated. It works great! Nothing blowing out the top (bad because its louder, can't put stuff on top of your case). I hate putting AIO in the front 'cause it blocks my ability to have an optical drive and a separate HDD caddy there. Plus like you all have pointed out you are blowing warm air in to the case.

- Next Cooler?: My AIO is 6 years old and starting to get louder. It is not working as well as it once did. I have replaced the fan. Air does probably have a longevity advantage. I am weighing my future. I have a Noctua NH-D15 new in the box as an emergency backup. Maybe next build is a custom loop. Not sure. Maybe we can talk Arctic into making a single 140mm AIO.

One thing I forgot to add:

- Air Bubbles: I saw on Gamer's Nexus some time ago their belief that a water cooler radiator should be elevated above the CPU, and the radiator should be oriented so that the tubes go into the bottom, not the top. This is to allow air bubbles to go to the top of the radiator and not risk getting in the tubes and causing an air pocket at the pump. This makes sense, but I was wondering about others' opinions. It furthur limits where one can mount the radiator.

 

[AMN3S1AC]

I have a Cryorig R1, and while a little cumbersome, it does a great job cooling my r5 3600, and then my 5800.

 

[ddferrari]

Take a look at the Dual Fan Deepcool Gammaxx 400 Pro or Gammaxx 400 Ex,, performance/value is great for about 50 bucks.

That video is a hot mess and unintelligible.

 

[systemBuilder]

Noctua NH-U12A all day long.

When I built a PC in 2017 the Noctua U14S outperformed 90% of dual-fan water coolers in terms of cooling performance and 100% of all coolers in terms of low noise. It was in a huge test of 16 coolers, 10 of them were water coolers (corsair, razer kraken, cooler master, etc.) Don't waste your money elsewhere - Noctua is a bargain. I've built 3 PCs with them now!

If you think about it a water cooler is no cooler than an air cooler it's just more complex because it first moves the heat from one place to another but must still use fan(s) to clear the heat and most water coolers have poor fans and need MORE open vent space in the PC! Now the cooling system has 2 bottlenecks (water system + radiators) instead of only one - now two things can go wrong, not just one! Also, metal is denser than water so it wicks heat faster which favors the air coolers!