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CPU Coolers

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CPU Coolers guide

How to choose cpu coolers

CPU coolers dissipate heat from the processor into the case air or the building exhaust. Air coolers use a copper baseplate, heat pipes, and an aluminium fin stack with a fan. Liquid coolers use a closed-loop pump, soft tubing, and a radiator with two or three fans. Top air coolers like the Noctua NH-D15 G2 match the cooling of mid-range AIOs at lower cost and longer service life.

Air versus liquid

Premium air coolers cool a 200-watt Ryzen 9 9950X to acceptable temperatures under all-core load. 360 mm AIO liquid coolers handle 250 watts and above with margin. AIOs allow tighter case fitment in vertical layouts but add a pump as a failure point. Pump warranties on Corsair, NZXT, and Arctic AIOs run six years.

Compatibility

AM5 and LGA1851 socket support is standard on every current cooler. Top-down air coolers like the Noctua NH-D15 G2 stand 168 mm tall and may not fit in low-profile cases. Mid-tower cases accept 360 mm AIO radiators in the front or top. ITX cases typically accept 240 mm AIOs only.

Acoustic performance

Fan noise is reported in dBA at a given RPM. Premium fans like the Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 and the Arctic P12 Max stay below 25 dBA at typical loads. PWM control on every modern motherboard lets the fan curve idle near 600 RPM under low load and ramp under stress.

Thermal paste and contact

Coolers ship with high-performance thermal compound preapplied (Noctua NT-H2, Corsair XTM70, Arctic MX-6). The compound has a service life of 5 to 8 years in typical desktop use. Direct-die contact via delidding voids the CPU warranty and is a niche enthusiast modification.

CPU Coolers

Browse cpu coolers

Thermalright FW 360 Black CPU Water Cooler

TR-Trofeo Vision 360 ARGB CPU AIO Cooler

DC360 Pro ARGB AIO Liquid Cooler

GIGABYTE Gaming 360 Liquid CPU Cooler

FW 360 Ultra ARGB

ID-COOLING FX360 PRO

Corsair iCUE LINK TITAN 360 RX LCD

NH-D15 G2 HBC

NH-D15 G2 LBC

NZXT Kraken Elite 360

NZXT Kraken Plus 360 RGB

Noctua NH-D15 G2

Noctua NH-D15 G2 chromax.black

TR-Hyper Vision 360 UB ARGB CPU Water Cooler

FW360 SE ARGB V2 360mm

MSI MPG CORELIQUID P13 360 White

Thermalright FW360 Black

Dark Rock Pro 5 Air

Kraken Elite

NZXT Kraken Elite 360

TR Stream Vision 360 Black 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler

Thermalright Wonder Vision 360 TURBO ARGB

ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 280

Corsair iCUE LINK TITAN 360 RX RGB

Liquid Freezer III 280 A-RGB

Liquid Freezer WS360-4710

Liquid Freezer WS360-SP5

Liquid Freezer WS360-SP6

MAG Coreliquid A12 360

MSI CoreLiquid A17 MLG Edition

MSI MAG CoreLiquid I360 White

MasterLiquid 360 Ion

NZXT Kraken Core 360 RGB

NZXT Kraken Plus 240

NZXT Kraken Plus 360

Thermalright FW 360 White ARGB CPU Water Cooler

Thermalright Wonder Vision 360 Turbo

AQUA ELITE 360 V3

Kraken X63

Thermalright FW PRO 360 ARGB

Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 A-RGB

H100i RGB

NZXT Kraken Core 240 RGB

Noctua NH-D15

Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4

Noctua NH-D15S

Noctua NH-D15S chromax.black

Corsair HX1000i

H150i Pro RGB

MPG CORELIQUID P13 360

Noctua NH-U12S redux

X62

ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 240 - Water Cooling PC

Corsair NAUTILUS 360 RS

Kraken Z73

NZXT Kraken Plus 240 RGB

Noctua NH-D12L

Kraken X73

Liquid Freezer III Pro 280

Liquid Freezer III Pro 280 A-RGB

Liquid Freezer III Pro 420

Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 A-RGB

Noctua NH-P1

MSI MPG CORELIQUID P13 360 AIO

Noctua NH-U12A

Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black

ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro 360

Liquid Freezer III Pro 360

MAG CORELIQUID A13 360

MAG CORELIQUID A13 360 AIO

MasterLiquid 360 Core

Liquid Freezer III Pro 240

Liquid Freezer III Pro 240 A-RGB

MSI MAG CoreLiquid 360R V2

Castle 360EX

LS720

How to choose cpu coolers

Air versus liquid