How should you keep your CPU cool? From budget air coolers to powerful liquid AIOs, this guide will help you replace your stock cooler for something much better for very little money.
The Best CPU Coolers - 2025 Update
- Thread starter Amir Shoam
- Start date
It's not, these coolers have been around a very long time. OCing sandy bridge required just as much cooling back in 2012.
I've been overclocking since my athlon on socket 7. Now you need and aftermarket cooler for regular operation. I remember putting a zalmen 9700 on my FX-60 and kept getting told that that was over kill.
wiyosaya
Posts: 11,568 +12,664
I've been using Thermalright coolers for a long time. Personally, I've found no better value. Pretty much, Thermalright makes the best coolers, IMO.
I only wish Thermalright would go back to not shipping their brand fans with their coolers. They used to not include fans. I prefer Scythe fans as they are the quietest and their noise ratings are generally true, and I usually replace the Thermalright fan with a Scythe fan.
I only wish Thermalright would go back to not shipping their brand fans with their coolers. They used to not include fans. I prefer Scythe fans as they are the quietest and their noise ratings are generally true, and I usually replace the Thermalright fan with a Scythe fan.
I have a Phanteks T6 that cost 25 USD and is within 1-2C of the Noctua NH-D15.
The pump of my Swiftech H240-X broke and I don't feel like adding my own pump to the loop, despite it being modular and is able to cool quite well. Won't go back to AIO's and will stick with this T6 for years to come.
The pump of my Swiftech H240-X broke and I don't feel like adding my own pump to the loop, despite it being modular and is able to cool quite well. Won't go back to AIO's and will stick with this T6 for years to come.
I just bought a Thermalright Royal Pretor 130. It uses a 130 mm fan for the middle and a 120mm fan for the intake, to clear RAM sticks.
Tom's Hardware rates it as the best available cooler on the market, equivalent to lower tier AIOs. I'll probably keep it for the next 10 years. My only question is where to get a 130mm replacement fan in case this one dies. Thermalright doesn't have any 130mm fans on their site.
Tom's Hardware rates it as the best available cooler on the market, equivalent to lower tier AIOs. I'll probably keep it for the next 10 years. My only question is where to get a 130mm replacement fan in case this one dies. Thermalright doesn't have any 130mm fans on their site.
I miss those charts showing conductivity and dissipation.
Somehow, a 15 dollar thermalright cooler does a similar job as LianLi 2 section AIO with 13700k.
But thermalight has one noticeable advantage though. It does not fail after 2 years of use like my Gallahad AIO did.
That is 15 dollar cooler vs 120 dollar AIO cooler...
But thermalight has one noticeable advantage though. It does not fail after 2 years of use like my Gallahad AIO did.
That is 15 dollar cooler vs 120 dollar AIO cooler...
LimyG
Posts: 589 +252
A memories. I had a SandyBridge i7 2700k (4+4) and an Ivy bridge i7 3500k. 4 Real cores No H.T.
I over clocked both of them very successfully, and especially the Ivy Bridge which could hit over 5GHz! I ran it 4.9GHz as in those days 5GHz was almost unheard of without liquid nitrogen.
To the topic. Both of those CPUs, OCed with care and maxed out, I believe, didn't need the kind of cooler I use with my current i9-9900ks @5.21GHz all cores all the time.
I used Corasair original (sofwareless) H-100 for both earlier builds. Heat wasn't really the problem.
With top notch modern CPUs, even my i9 which is not modern at all, more powerful coolers are needed than in the Sandy/Ivy bridge days. I have no doubt about that.
Of course there are many variable, but overall I think it's safe to say, in 2025, the flag ship CPUs which are OCed, DO need more powerful cooling than a decade ago.
LimyG
Posts: 589 +252
The Noctua-NH-14 was a favorite among air coolers for many years. It's since been updated to the NH-15 and one that actually looks good, the Noctua NH-15 Chromax with black fans.
I bought one as an option when it was released but never used it.
There are two reasons. 1. The weight with 2 fans is 1.320 KG. That's alot of weight hanging on a cheap or not strongly built Mobo. After some time - (years?) I think it could cause some warping on the area near the socket. High end mobos often have 8 layers with 2oz of coppor so probably fine, but people building a high end system would surely get a better solution.
2. That product, above isn't over priced, but buying Noctua fans certainly seems overpriced. Plus other makers can pretty much match them now.
I had to decide between Arctic Liquid freezer 2 280mm, with a depth of 37mm without fans. Normally AIOs are 25mm. It's an excellent cooler and was reviewed as the best 280mm AIO at the time of purchase.
Plus, as my CPU makes a lot of heat, i9-9900KS @ 5.21GHz., an AIO is better as, as soon as load is off the CPU it almost instantly drops from 75c to 38c (a typical example). An air cooler can't do that. Over the years the extra time at high heat mounts up. Is it relevant? I feel it is but that's just my opinion.
I think that for an overclocked highend build, water cooling or a good AIO is necessary.
For more conservative builds air is fine. A good air cooler which is not as heavy as the Noctua NH-15.
Finally, the Arctic line are very good value, so when comparing to the NH-15 it does seem overpriced.
I don't want over a kilo of weight permanently pulling down on my mobo, so I don't think the biggest Noctua is really suitable for any situation. Highend - Water/AIO. Lower end, a good aircooler that is less than a Kilo. (2.2 pounds).
I bought one as an option when it was released but never used it.
There are two reasons. 1. The weight with 2 fans is 1.320 KG. That's alot of weight hanging on a cheap or not strongly built Mobo. After some time - (years?) I think it could cause some warping on the area near the socket. High end mobos often have 8 layers with 2oz of coppor so probably fine, but people building a high end system would surely get a better solution.
2. That product, above isn't over priced, but buying Noctua fans certainly seems overpriced. Plus other makers can pretty much match them now.
I had to decide between Arctic Liquid freezer 2 280mm, with a depth of 37mm without fans. Normally AIOs are 25mm. It's an excellent cooler and was reviewed as the best 280mm AIO at the time of purchase.
Plus, as my CPU makes a lot of heat, i9-9900KS @ 5.21GHz., an AIO is better as, as soon as load is off the CPU it almost instantly drops from 75c to 38c (a typical example). An air cooler can't do that. Over the years the extra time at high heat mounts up. Is it relevant? I feel it is but that's just my opinion.
I think that for an overclocked highend build, water cooling or a good AIO is necessary.
For more conservative builds air is fine. A good air cooler which is not as heavy as the Noctua NH-15.
Finally, the Arctic line are very good value, so when comparing to the NH-15 it does seem overpriced.
I don't want over a kilo of weight permanently pulling down on my mobo, so I don't think the biggest Noctua is really suitable for any situation. Highend - Water/AIO. Lower end, a good aircooler that is less than a Kilo. (2.2 pounds).
Revolution 11
Posts: 383 +676
That's the main benefit of air coolers, they are bulletproof. Unless you puncture the heat pipes, the only component that can mechanically fail is the fan which is dirt cheap and easy to replace.
Otherwise, the air cooler will work for decades. It is also super visible and audible when the fan does fail so troubleshooting is easy. No pinpoint leaks to worry about.
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
A hollow-core fiber cable just carried 51.3 Tb/s across 200 km- Win7user replied
-
Future robotaxis may not need brake pedals under new proposal
- axiomatic13 replied
