Best CPU Air Coolers We've Reviewed (2023): Thermals, Mechanical Design, & Value

Sponsor: Thermal Grizzly Kryosheets geni.us/53ArNb and Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut Paste (Amazon - geni.us/Fsray )
We're preparing to retire our CPU cooler test bench and roll-out a set of AM5 and LGA1700 benches (to be run in tandem for the new coolers reviews!). It's an exciting time, but we wanted one last send-off for our long-time cooler bench. It's collected a lot of data for us over the years. This round-up looks at the best CPU air coolers we've tested so far and gives options in categories of best thermals, best overall, best design, and more. There are a ton more air coolers out there that we haven't yet tested, so remember to look around some more if you don't see one you like. We'll be adding those to our next test suite, too!
Find the written round-up here! gamersnexus.net/coolers/best-...
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RELATED PRODUCTS [Affiliate Links]
BEST OVERALL
Thermalright Peerless Assassin on Amazon: geni.us/SjIrJgn
Thermalright Peerless Assassin on Newegg: howl.me/ck44Iylye91
GN Thermalright Peerless Assassin review: • The Champ: $41 Thermal...
BEST VALUE
ID Cooling SE-214-XT ARGB on Amazon: geni.us/39Tgply
(No standalone review, but data is in this video)
BEST THERMAL DESIGN
Noctua NH-P1 Passive Cooler on Amazon: geni.us/voz2
Noctua NH-P1 Passive Cooler on Newegg: howl.me/ck44Or7dv8E
GN Noctua NH-P1 cooler review: • Noctua NH-P1 Passive C...
Article version of the NH-P1 review: gamersnexus.net/coolers/noctu...
BEST NOISE-NORMALIZED THERMALS
(200W) DeepCool Assassin IV on Amazon: geni.us/a0Zx
(200W) DeepCool Assassin IV on Newegg: howl.me/ck44PPQOmv6
(200W, 123W) Thermalright Peerless Assassin on Amazon: geni.us/SjIrJgn
(68W) Thermalright Assassin Spirit (has been updated) on Amazon: geni.us/jVPA
(68W) ID Cooling SE-214-XT ARGB on Amazon: geni.us/39Tgply
ULTRA BUDGET
(it's not actually good, though, but it works and is dirt cheap!)
Jonsbo CR-1200: www.aliexpress.us/item/225580... (not affiliate link)
GN review of CR-1200: • Testing the Cheapest P...
For something better but also still cheap, check the value category above.
BEST MECHANICAL DESIGN
DeepCool Assassin IV on Newegg: howl.me/ck44PPQOmv6
GN review of DeepCool Assassin IV: • Mega Size Air Cooler: ...
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Best CPU Air Coolers We've Tested
01:38 - Expectations & Coolers We Haven't Tested
03:35 - Best Overall Air Cooler
06:12 - Best Value CPU Cooler
08:59 - Best Thermal Design
12:28 - Best Thermals (Noise-Normalized)
16:09 - Best Ultra Budget
18:06 - Best Mechanical Design
21:47 - Wrap-Up: New Tests Soon!
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Host, Writing: Steve Burke
Video: Vitalii Makhnovets
Video: Tim Phetdara

[@GamersNexus]

Leave a comment and tell us what coolers you want us to test first on our new test benches! REALLY excited about our new benches coming out! We have a ton of cool things we're implementing now that we've had 3 more years to refine this. The biggest introduction will be the acoustic chamber for ALL cooler tests. The next is testing both AMD and Intel IHS designs, which we think will help a lot of people. We'll be running 4 CPUs, with each cooler being tested on at least 2 of them (e.g. high heat AMD and Intel or low heat AMD and Intel). SUPPORT GN's WORK! Grab a GN Modmat, Solder Mat, or Toolkit for 10% off for the next few days: store.gamersnexus.net/ Check out our Best GPUs round-up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3uql4Rrdsx1ack And our Best CPUs round-up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJjKf52foKuFg7M

[@commanderoof4578]

Its so irritating you never do low profile coolers!! Seriously why have a PC as large as my bed cabinet when i can have a PC thats about the size of a PS5... Low profile coolers are super important to test and add to these types of videos and yet... they are flat ignored

[@GamersNexus]

@@commanderoof4578 Rather than tell us how irritating it is, why not request specific coolers for us to look at? That'd be more productive and give us a better idea of what you want tested.

[@antimatt_r]

I like value for money and would like to see a couple specific Thermalright coolers - BA120 is a basic single tower design but shoves in another heat pipe to hit 6 total (would be cool to see if/how that changes things). The Ultra 120EX V4 is another I've been wondering about - apparently it's an older single tower design with two fans slapped on and I'm curious why they've kept it around so long. The stock fans on it (TL-B12) are intriguing as well Their Assassin line has become pretty popular and it has me curious about some of their other coolers as well

[@commanderoof4578]

@@GamersNexus cryorig c7 graphene there is a way to screw it in to have it at 90 degrees rotation offset for AM4 ask for details big shuriken 3 Thermalright AXP90 X53, AXP100, AXP120 ID cooling IS-55 I believe testing these would be a good start as they are mostly at the top end of what low profile coolers can do while ranging in comparability with bormal height ram or having a low profile ram requirement

[@sudd3660]

how about Noctua NH-D15S, it has all the features: 150mm fan, offset so you get better airflow out the back of the case. i have bought this cooler for all my pc's over the years.

[@dawsonpoe]

One category that I think should be added to this would be best low profile coolers. I think it would be interesting to watch for sff case users

[@GamersNexus]

Good idea. Maybe we can start testing some for the next round!

[@drog]

@@GamersNexus Jiushark JF13K *mini* would be really cool to see

[@joel6513]

@@GamersNexus ID Cooling IS-67XT or 55 would be nice.

[@kevadu]

Problem is, there's no standard for what 'low profile' means. An NH-C14S is lower profile than any tower cooler but still kind of massive compared to some of the options out there. But...if you can fit a NH-C14S in your case then it's going to perform much better than smaller coolers.

[@nbates66]

@@kevadu yeah thats the only really niggly part about wanting to do this sort of listing.

[@LordCohliani]

A low profile cooler category would be appreciated. For fans that are efficient given their case clearance in compact ATX builds.

[@GamersNexus]

We'll add that at least as a one-off round-up!

[@LordCohliani]

@@GamersNexus thank you!

[@jackhoward8]

@@GamersNexus Could you also please test new AIO's? benchmarks for AIO's are so rare. Like the new popular ones such as Lian Li Galahad II Trinity, Asus Ryujin 3 or EK Nucleus CR360

[@fahadmalik8862]

​@@GamersNexusI know you don't like SFFPC's but please Steve. Being able to transfer more heat off the ihs in a smaller size shows massive engineering advances and actually pushes thermal engineers to be creative.

[@TamiyaGuy123]

With the past few years showing good air coolers being pushed towards the dreaded three-figure price range thanks to RGB, 'blackout editions' and... just because, it's so awesome this year to see some proper, effective air coolers providing simple, efficient cooling without sounding like a jet engine and without breaking the bank. Nice to see a move away from a half-decent heatsink costing 25% the price of your CPU. And, as always, it's awesome to see you guys giving some really deep analysis into what makes a good cooler good - particularly the frequency analysis you've been doing recently (almost like you've resurrected the spirit of SilentPCReview!).

[@GamersNexus]

Long live SPCR! Mike Chin did phenomenal work to establish that part of this industry. We've loved working with him to learn about acoustics!

[@ziudra91]

Mistake first time builders make. Focus too much on esthetics rather than performance.

[@Z4KIUS]

I don't think anyone released a decent one this year sure, with busy stroad behind the window and roaring AC over the head they may seem fine, but for proper home use they are not

[@PSYCHOV3N0M]

​@@ziudra91Aesthetics. NOT esthetics.

[@chuck7952]

​@@PSYCHOV3N0M #INCORRECTLYCORRECTINGOTHERPEOPLE Esthetics (or aesthetics as it is sometimes spelled) is rooted in the branch of philosophy that is directly related to the relationship between the senses and matters of beauty, art, and taste.

[@JackDangerous]

I have the black Peerless Assassin on a 5800x3D and it's fantastic, can definitely recommend. Not having RGB fans is a big plus.

[@Avendesora]

Just got this exact setup yesterday! It's working fantastic so far, but I don't exactly have a lot of data yet obvs

[@sirmonkey1985]

yup have the same cooler on a 5800x3D after i saw GN's review, great cooler.

[@imnotusingmyrealname4566]

Thanks for thr recommendation but it's literally completely unavailable in Europe. Is it out of production? The last sellers to offer it stopped months ago.

[@prrocker9637]

Same I picked up thr peerless assassin SE when I got my 5800x3d because of their review the fact a $35 cooler is throwing hands with $100+ coolers made it a no Brainer

[@Avendesora]

@@imnotusingmyrealname4566 Probably just a region thing, since they're fully available on the US market.

[@ishiddddd4783]

Thermalright came in swinging, peerless assasin, phantom spirit, frost commander, all rivaling the very high end coolers available while costing (at least here) a fifth of the price

[@fluphybunny930]

Bought a Phantom Spirit 120SE. For £30 it is amazing how good it is.

[@UncleButterworth]

@@fluphybunny930 It really is great. Every review shows it being better than the peerless, but both are perfectly acceptable.

[@ravinkrishnan3183]

But thermalright fans don't last nearly as long as noctuas and other competitors right??

[@UncleButterworth]

@@ravinkrishnan3183 Then just buy fans? You'll still end up saving money.

[@erraldstyler]

​@@ravinkrishnan3183 Just replaced the fan on my Macho Rev B. Bought it used like 5 years ago. It started rattling and didnt spin over 50% anymore, but well it lasted a long time. Especially since my PC is *never* off. Just hooked a 120 Arctic on it. Could have bought a Noctua NF-A15 for 30 bucks which is a 140 with 120 mounting points, but had that 5 bucks Arctic 120 hangin around in a box... Yes, Noctua stuff is top notch, with long time good support, but its literally 2-3x the price while doing exactly the same.

[@georgeristo]

i love the aggressive b roll of a 2 dollar cpu cooler

[@brunoagostinho3539]

Just in time... ahaha... bought a 5700X To replace my old 4790K and I put a cheap cooler just to hold it and search for options... *literally* just in time this video

[@GamersNexus]

The 5700X is a great value CPU right now. The 4790K feels so recent still!

[@brunoagostinho3539]

@@GamersNexus I gave the 4790K a good farewell, it was a delided cpu with liquid metal @5Ghz... but the 5700X even with a crappy cooler gave me 50% more fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider (one of the benches I tried)...

[@BGraves]

Why no amd wraith?

[@raiban0]

​@@BGravesit doesnt have it in the box

[@Keiseru]

​@@brunoagostinho35395ghz is a really good OC on a 4790k! Not a lot happened for many years after haswell... Even my 9900k loses big to the much cheaper x3d CPUs today. And there's no upgrades on my socket either. If I had bought a 3700x instead i could've upgraded to 5800x3d on the same motherboard! 😢

[@spilledmonster]

I’ve started researching pc parts again to build my partner their first pc and these round up videos have been a huge help!

[@doner69]

Just bought the Phantom Spirit 120. Such a great cooler!

[@GamersNexus]

Need to look at that variation on it!

[@walrider]

Yeah it's better than the Pearless and only costs 5-10€ more on Amazon where I am

[@ventilate4267]

​@@GamersNexus it's supposedly slightly better than the peerless

[@Hagop64]

@@GamersNexus It's 7 heat pipes instead of 6. It's the successor to the Peerless Assassin and I'm kind of surprised you haven't used it since it's been out for a while now.

[@ACE112ACE112]

how good is the thermalright phantom spirit 120 vs. the thermalright phantom spirit 120se

[@elikirkwood4580]

Based on your review of the Thermalright PA120 I picked up the black version on sale for the same price as the gray one. It was about a 10 degree drop compared with my hyper 612 v2 while running at a higher turbo. You guys are the best tech journalists in the world in my opinion and the work you do is invaluable to the community

[@Fluskar]

u guys are so clutch thank you so much. your recent vids have really helped me decide on the parts for my first ever pc build ^^

[@Y0URGRANDMA]

One thing to consider in value (especially on higher end) should be that because air coolers like these basically last forever whether or not the company has a history of offering cheap mounting kits going froward for new motherboards so you can continue to use it.

[@GuyMassicotte]

I listen to you for more than 6-7 years. Got to tell you. The job you do is awesome. All the datas. You are by far my favorite tech reviewer 👌🏼

[@ShiroKuroh]

I did the thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 with the Am5 thermalright contact frame with a 7800x3d and a b650 motherboard. Set board to 90, can manage 5.1 GHz with PBO setup per individual core. 20-30 minutes of tuning. Almost identical performance to Noctua NH-D15, Premium CPU Cooler with 2x NF-A15 PWM 140mm Fans on a 7800x3d with identical contact frame and 4 hours of tuning PBO per core to hit 5.2 GHz. Severely underrated cooler, glad you shown it some love. I don't have one, haven't had my hands on the deepcool Assassin IV, but that one looks hard to beat for best tower air cooler in that range.

[@plaidygami]

Thank you so much for posting all of these Best of 2023 videos. It's really great to have heavily-rested results to help us make better informed decisions and purchases.

[@TheKazragore]

I have a be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 air cooler and that thing runs almost whisper quiet in the Dark Base Pro 900. A good air cooler allowing you to not have to worry about AIO pump failures and fittings leaks is a true blessing, so your air cooler testing is very much appreciated!

[@thestrykernet]

Always love seeing these end of year roundups as it's great information and sometimes might pickup on something otherwise missed. In terms of coolers to test it'd be really great to see Thermalright's Frost Commander and Phantom Spirit, Thermaltake's TOUGHAIR 310/510/710, Cooler Master's MA624 and MA824, EKWB's Nucleus AIOs, Lian-li's Galahad II Performance AIO, SilverStone's IceMyst AIO (with at least one of the extra fans), Deepcool's LT series AIO and maybe some of their lower end air coolers for folks not in a place that can get Thermalright easily. If it's at all possible it'd be great if you could talk about the OEM for any AIO pumps you all end up testing. Also hoping Intel's forthcoming CPU design changes don't mess with the validity of your new test rigs!

[@NO0BIE659]

Seeing the Noctua passive cooler reminded me something, have you guys considered using the schlieren imaging on what how static vs airflow type fans flow through a radiator, for AIO and/or custom cooling, just as a side project or for fun? Although I think it would be too time consuming to set it up, especially with all the work going on behind the scenes.

[@InsaneFirebat]

You made me want to watch the NH-P1 video again. That's cool to hear you're still using them.

[@duckzor]

That quiet room looks so dope! Congrats on your accomplishments, and can't wait to see what the future holds! This is my favorite KZbin channel, so thank you!

[@sylvie_v2939]

I'm quite glad the Noctua Passive Cooler has won the thermal design category. I can definitely see the use case for high-dust environments where either passive cooling or a 0 RPM option would totally be suitable. I've worked on computers that are completely clogged with dust in industrial or pet settings and no amount of filters will help.

[@NostalgiaXV]

YES YES YES THIS IS THE EXACT VIDEO I WAS HOPING FOR! I plan to retire my good old Wraith Stealth soon, and this helps so much!!

[@iuhere]

this one video had a lot more information that I could watch just once, yes its long but useful and informational. THanks for sharing this one adn good luck for future ones.

[@StirfriedGerman]

It's rare to see such a clear winner across the board, thanks for making that clear ! Bought a PA120 ARGB for $19 ... local price where I live in China.

[@someShadow]

If GN keeps being sponsored by Thermal Grizzly Kryosheet maybe you guys should actually do a review on this thermal pad as there is no info/review right now about its performance. It would be very informative to compare Kryosheet to TG Carbonaut, IC Graphite Thermal Pad, the thermal pad that is rumored to be the same thing but sold by the actual manufacturer Smart High Tech under the name FrostSheet and some commonly used thermal pastes like TG Kryonaut, Noctua NT-H2 or Arctic MX-4. Also, a comparation to Honeywell PTM7950 would be cool as that is supposed to be the ultimate TIM to use on CPU/GPU dies with performance similar to liquid metal but without most of the downsides and with very long lifetime without degradation.

[@SamLoki]

Great refresh Steve, amazing tests. You HAVE to take a look at the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 (successor to Peerless Assassin). It's an insane cooler!

[@andersjjensen]

Thanks for the tip about that one. At $60 it looks like a direct assault on the Noctura NH-D15 Chromax Black.

[@TheJgredsund]

I'm about to say the same thing. Phantom Spirit needs to be tested.

[@DavidLeAsdf]

@@andersjjensen $60 USD? shows as $40 on amazon for me (or $50 for the EVO)

[@ska042]

The frost spirit 140 is also very close in format to the NH-D15, it has a 140mm center fan. 120mm on the ram side though, which does help with RAM compatibility compared to the NH-D15. In the hardware Canucks tests, the FS got slightly better temps than the Peerless Assassin at low noise levels, but the PA ramped up further, so it got a bit cooler but also a lot louder. The FS was extremely similar to the D15 in those tests.

[@SamLoki]

@@ska042 the phantom spirit 120 does what frost spirit 140 does in a cheaper and smaller package. It's nuts!

[@alwaysemployed656]

Any air cooler brand is fine as long as you know how to set up the fans. I'm using the Cooler Master air cooler fin tower you can buy at any Best Buy to cool my i9. My fan configuration is I stack the fans on top of each other and screw them together through the corner screw holes, it's like they are soldered together. Think of it as a tunnel with multiple fan blades inside the tunnel spinning. I got 3 fans at the front of the fin tower to pull the air in and 4 fans at the back of the fin tower to pull out. Why 4 at the back and 3 at the front? Simple. The 1 extra at the back gives it more pull power to also suck in air through the side of the fins while keeping up with the 3 fan push coming from the front. My temperatures are exactly the same with open case and closed case because the Pull In and Pull Out power air exchange is very powerful, so open case makes no difference. My non-overclock temperature is always a steady 24c and my overclock temperature never goes over 70c. So "which brand this and which brand that" is more of a snake oil sale. It's all about the fan configuration.

[@Jamesssssssssssssss]

Love that you make videos like this. Love you guys!

[@jacendex]

I've used ID Cooling in quite a few PC builds. They make some excellent coolers and fans for the cost.

[@jamesm568]

Way better than Corsair crap.

[@alrecks619]

Have you tried the SE-207-XT? i've been considering them beside Thermalright Phantom Spirit/Peerless Assassin.

[@jacendex]

@@alrecks619 I have not used that one. But I have used the 224-225-226, they all worked very well on a few AM4 builds I have done, from 2700x CPU up to 5700x, cant really recall temps going over 60 celcius either workstation or gaming. They all come with 1x 120, PWM fan. The build quality and noise is far superior to the popular Arctic fans. On most of these coolers they come with extra clips to mount more fans should you choose. The Id cooling fans are perfect though, no need to switch them out.

[@joe9893]

I think one of the most impressive things is that the D15 is 9 years old. Nearly a decade since its release and it’s still within a degree or two of the most recent coolers. Not to mention you get two Noctua fans with it. I’m excited to see what their new D15 accomplishes.

[@kosmosyche]

I'm still rocking my NH-D14 from 2012. If memory serves me right, that's when I bought it for Core i5 - 3570k, then it worked with i5-8600k, now it is cooling AMD 7800X3D, and doing a really fine job (although this CPU is surprisingly easy to cool and non-overclockable, so it's an easy job)! Just had to order new brackets for AM5 platform. Original fans still work like new, quiet and efficient. You know, I sometimes feel bad for Noctua, I imagine it's not the best business model to make something this good, so it just keeps working and working forever. I paid them once in 11 years (apart for AM5 brackets which were less than 10 bucks) and don't see any reason to buy anything else cooler-wise from them or anyone else. 🤣

[@joe9893]

@@kosmosycheyeah I forgot to even mention the fact they send you new mounting equipment for free. They are definitely a company that focuses heavily on quality and cares about customers.

[@kosmosyche]

@@joe9893 Yeah, I didn't even bother with that. lol I think they need some sort of receipt, which is long since gone (I never thought this cooler would serve me that long tbh).

[@bliss_gore5194]

​@@kosmosychedont think theyre losing themselves out. Their coolers so good fellas might buy fans from them for their pc and so and so...

[@Z4KIUS]

two ancient fans that would be long deprecated if not for lack of a successor sure, they are decent, but they are far behind A12x25 in overall quality

[@Cinetyk]

"blown away" by the CPU coolers... I see what you did there :) Cheers and thank for all the excellent work over the years.

[@marcosousaesteves]

Blows my mind the amount and quality of work you guys are putting in! Thank you for your work and keep up!

[@Yuumizada]

Just got and installed the Thermalright PA 120 today, due to this channel's recommendation, working wonders, really. I just wanna thank you all for the hard work, you really help a lot of people choose the right parts with these tests (well, at least helped me and it worked lol). Keep them coming!

[@nttinvis]

Thats the one at 54.1 C at 8:11?

[@Yuumizada]

@@nttinvis yes, that one!

[@nttinvis]

@@Yuumizada is the rgb one the same?

[@Yuumizada]

@@nttinvis There is a ton of editions, PA Black, White, ARGB, SE... Basically the Black / White versions can come with or without RGB (the RGB is only on the fans AFAIK), and there is little to no difference between SE and non-SE versions (this guy has a small chart showing them - watch?v=M4AAqbv4m1A ).

[@nttinvis]

@Yuumizada i noticed it covers the ram, any good cpu coolers that dont?

[@flankenstein9467]

Would love to see the Noctua NH-U12A added to the testing, with 1 and 2 fan setup. Mine is paired with 2 Phanteks T-30's, keeps my 11700K all core 4.9ghz, under 82C at full load while drawing 249 watts.

[@CoolArrow78233]

Glad to hear it. Heard good things about it here and online. Absolutely satisfied with my peerless 120

[@meltedfusitediy6625]

Purchased the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 2x120. Replaced stock cooler on an I7 13700 , went from 80c to 43c steady after an hour of gameplay. Thanks for the review.

[@gucky4717]

Air cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE or Phantom Spirit for 35-50€ period... AIO cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 65-75€. 280/360 for 75-90€. Those are the best price AND performance coolers on the market in germany FYI the Phantom Spirit has one more heatpipe and is potentionally better then the Peerless Assassin. P.S. I use the Gletscherwasser AIO from Alpenföhn, a local german brand. They have a silent (at 80% RPM) pump in their AIO.

[@burnament]

I wonder where the Thermalright Frost Spirit 140 would end up in the charts or which Thermalright cooler performs best overall.

[@GamersNexus]

If people want to see that one, we can probably run it in the new round!

[@shredman59]

@@GamersNexus Yes, would like to see Frost Spirit and Phantom Spirit. Thermalright seems to be killing it.

[@burnament]

@@GamersNexus Would be nice, lets see what happens

[@ACE112ACE112]

@@ByTorAndMe why do different cpus have different best coolers when intuitively the coolers' performance shouldn't change based on the cpu

[@etyrnus]

@@ACE112ACE112 they address it in their video, and it would be interesting to see Steve and GN's take on it as well. A big factor appears to be the heat pipe placement on the contact plate.

[@cjm5002]

Your reviews have been pretty critical in my business as of late. I may not agree with some of your views and such but I want to still thank you for the testing you do! I've been able to expand my skillset to multiple areas in PC building due to that, like air cooling being a thing again with coolers like the peerless assassin. And thanks to this very review I now have a cooling solution in mind for my friends studio computer 9:39 ... keep it up gents!

[@jawashasalan56]

This is so well done!! Thanks!

[@DrBreezeAir]

I run an NH-U14S that's over 7 years old now on my 12600K, Noctua sent me the LGA-1700 adapter for free. It performs perfectly. I've never seen temps over 64 C degrees. I have plans to upgrade to a 13700K, hopefully, it'll be enough.

[@fnx427]

Same here. Got it for my 4770K, then 3700X, now 5800X3D and I expect to use it on my next upgrade too.

[@Lucas-hz4um]

I was really hoping to get some data on the new thermalright phantom spirit. I just bought the 120 evo version and it's a beast

[@PikkaKok]

I have the same fan whine with the DeepCool AK620 from last year. It was a bit of disapointment since pretty much no reviews mentioned this back then. Thanks for acknowledging it!

[@gufostanco220]

Yesterday I was wondering when you would upload a video on this topic. Here it is!

[@Quillraven]

Very happy with my Phantom Spirit on a 7900x. Very silent operation and keeps the CPU very cool. Can recommend it

[@UncleButterworth]

Yeah, it's hard to not recommend that cooler to people unless they genuinely don't need it, but you're only saving like 10-15 bucks so why not??

[@apollo-3744]

Went with the peerless assassin after watching your previous review. Absolutely amazing. My 5800X went from a very uncomfortable high 80s with the wraith prism (even after giving it a full clean and new thermal paste) to 52c max at full load and keeping there after 2 months. It was also ridiculously cheap. Really happy with it.

[@dt35591]

@@noir-13 I'm on a 5700X, but I had even lower temperatures (45C max iirc, definitely under 50C) with the PA when I was running it stock hitting ~4.1ghz all cores in Cinebench R23. After getting the overclock set I'm now hitting 4.8ghz all cores and maxing out around 69C, which is pretty nice. I'm guessing they had their PC in a pretty cold room like me and hadn't overclocked it.

[@Rey_Fantasma]

i bought a deep cool ak620 thanks to this man this year, been working fantastic

[@YourComputerSmith]

Thank you! You guys are legendary ❤

[@terrytaylor2104]

Very interesting, I may have to rethink my air cooler. I could have sworn you had reviewed the MA824 this year which had a strong rating. Was there any particular reason why it didn't make this year end round up Steve?

[@fateunleashed9680]

I recently got the Arctic esports 34 dual fan for my 7800X3D and love the price to performance it has. I vote to test this cooler on the new test benches just to honor a great cooler from before!

[@V0LK4N]

are you having spikes ? sometimes my 7800x3d jumping 75 very fast nad later going 60

[@ruuukuxp]

I got the Thermalright Phantom Spirit based on your recommendation of the Peerless Assasin. My i5-12400 with Intel stock cooler went from 100 degrees running HD2 to 60 degrees. 40 degrees difference! Thanks for your hard work in testing all these coolers out there.

[@deuswulf6193]

Picked up the Thermal Right Peerless Assassin as a cheap temporary solution awhile back for a 7950x3D build. It was so good I never bothered replacing it.

[@ericjodoin7682]

For Thermalright, could you do a review on the Phantom Spirit 120 (7 6mm heat pipes instead) and the Frost Commander 140 (4 8mm heat pipes)? Also to consider for low profile installation: SI-100 (75mm), AXP120-X67 (67mm) and AXP90-X53 (53mm) I know Noctua would be better but Thermalright prices them about to 35-40% of Noctua's prices

[@tarron3237]

Small correction: The FC140 has 5 8mm pipes

[@manoftherainshorts9075]

The best thing is Noctua would NOT be better. Even Peerless Assassin 120 is better than D15 noise normalized testing. Noctua didn't design new top-end coolers in a long time, it's time for them to finally do something, they are just too outdated and too expensive.

[@Flying_Jorts]

I just put together a 7800X3D build with a Noctua U12A. Keeps the chip super cool with the offset mount. Expensive though.

[@isaacr7416]

Phew i just bought the thermalight peerless assassin bc of your similar video a year or so ago. Glad its still on top!!!

[@MaxKuznetsof]

Great video as always, can’t wait to see new be quite elite review.

[@00wheelie00]

I watch this cooler videos every year, yet my NH-D15 has been functioning flawless for years now.

[@I_saw_that956]

I was looking at getting one myself, I hear the longevity and performance is amazing, does it live up to the hype in your opinion?

[@conorstewart2214]

@@I_saw_that956 if you haven’t gotten it already then hold off and wait for the new version on Q2 2024.

[@jduvel]

Nice to know my Dark Rock Pro 4 is still up there. Always wondered why GN never took a look at it, so it's great to see the results at long last. Such a quiet, performant cooler.

[@thealien_ali3382]

Noctua dh15 for the win baby

[@FenrirAlter]

Costs way too much for getting outperformed by 40-50€ Coolers and also problem with AM5 platform

[@jduvel]

@@FenrirAlter What's wrong with it on AM5? I saw bequiet said they don't need a conversion kit for AM5? Also, I'm very impressed with these new cheaper coolers, but I bought it years ago and they either didn't exist back then, or were not well covered by reviewers and i had no idea of them. I'm just happy it is right up there with a nh-d15, which was the main alternative at the time (peak covid times).

[@FenrirAlter]

@@jduvel it doesn't have a good contact on am5. The noctua has a 5€ kit that reduces temps by a lot. Also if u normalize by sound. You can legit just reduce the fan speed of louder coolers and they will still cool better than the be quiet!

[@vqa33]

@@FenrirAlterthis video don’t include the Be quiet! Elite…

[@NetNeelsie]

Thank you again for these reviews.

[@VengeanceFalls]

Love your channel man . Video setup is nice and slick. Much cooler and no bs like another channel I know of. “Cough” LTT

[@FirestormX9]

NH-D15 still performs within around 5-6 degrees in most cases relative to the current best performers. After over a decade. Holy freakin shit, what a design!

[@kimnice]

Wonder what the next gen NH-D15 can do when it launches Q2/24?

[@FirestormX9]

@@kimnice yeah I am really looking forward to it

[@CasualBudgetGaming]

Hey Steve love your videos. I wish you'd make more videos about itx builds. There is a lot of great itx coolers out there, for example the id cooling is-55 which I myself am using. Keep up the good work!

[@ChaseMcDude]

this video could not have been better timed!! thx i'm currently looking into air coolers because i wanna buy one for my little brother as a christmas gift

[@MikeDaveYapOfficial]

For everyone setting eyes on the budget Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120, I highly suggest you spend a bit more to its better successor, the "Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 7 heatpipes". With the prices I see online, spend a bit more and you'll be able to get the ID-Cooling ZOOMFLOW 240XT Budget AIO

[@trajectoryunown]

I've been waiting for this one for quite some time.

[@danieloberhofer9035]

I'd just like to thank you for all the effort you put into these reviews! Just bought the Peerless Assassin 120 for my wife's new build and it's awesome! Keeps the 7800X3D at around 50-55° C while gaming. So - Thanks, Steve! ;)

[@AlexanderAhjolinna]

still happy with my Scythe Fuma 2 ...I do wonder when the reviews of Scythe's new models will arrive, it would be nice to see how much has changed

[@3D_foos]

i was coming to say "still happy with my Scythe Fuma 2" glad to see i'm not the only one. it is starting to show it's limitations but it's been a contender longer than most.

[@stevenvanderkolk3613]

Fuma 3 has been reviewed on Hardware Canucks

[@br0wnbrownbrown]

Hey GN, unrelated to the video but when is the full steam deck OLED review coming? Looking forward to it!

[@GamersNexus]

Patrick's been working on it. He had a vacation planned right when it dropped, so we had a pause in the middle. We're hoping it's done this week, but will see!

[@TriggerBlister]

Built my first rig over a year ago the Peerless Assassin 120 still cooling my 5800x below 54* C. I also maintain a clean dust free case which helps. I used Thermal Grizzly Aeronaut paste in case anyone was wondering.

[@willmarks4541]

The amount of effort you all put into these test and the final accuracy of your results is incredible. The devils are often in the details, and you always seem to notice them. Keep up the amazing work

[@blundy1]

The $2-$3 cooler is amazing for what it is. I could see it being modified for other purposes at that price.

[@DJFPaul]

Except it's not 2-3$ as the price it disguised in the shipping. It's a 18$ cooler. And you're not gonna combine cart with any of those "special" prices.

[@blundy1]

@DJFPaul Even at $18 its still cheaper than an Assassin X.

[@endless2239]

​​​@@blundy1you could get it for $8 with standard free shipping (for new users), or even $6 with a very shady shipping company XD

[@dremy746]

Another great cheap cooler is the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE. It's pretty much just the Assassin but with an extra heat pipe, which leads to better thermals, and it's about the same price as the assassin (~$33). I bought one to cool an i9 9900K and it has worked well.

[@UncannySense]

the number of heat pipes doesn't neccesarily suggest better cooling as it pertains to the abilty of making contact with the specific CPU. Performance is about the same, so it just comes down to price and aesthetics really.

[@MeneIwen]

While the Phantom Spirit indeed performs a bit better than the Peerless Assassin, a extra heat pipe is no "magic less degrees", it's all about a balance of Size, material, Placement too which matters as much (& more) than quantity of heat pipes!

[@Caesar2001]

@@MeneIwen Tell that to Noctua engineers, their new cooler will have 8 heat pipes. Stfu when you don't know anything about cooling but listen to youtubers telling you that more heat pipes = bad. Obviously the pipes need to be put in a good place to work well Einstein

[@MeneIwen]

@@Caesar2001 I'm sorry heat pipe man I will never have a balanced opinion ever again and now want 50 heat pipes on my fan cooler, thank you for the knowledge!!

[@Caesar2001]

@@MeneIwen DARN RIGHT!!

[@alanmoore78]

Thank you for this final send-off for the AM4 testing platform. I plan to stay on it for the foreseeable future, and it's great to know there are still some outstanding performers that work well at a reasonable price. My Thermaltake UX100 no longer has working RGB lighting but it keeps my 1500X happy for now. I'm also happy to see that ID-Cooling unit that's below $20 is good enough for a value recommendation. Unless I find an X3D chip (5600 or 5800) it'll be sufficient for whatever 3700X or 5700X I end up with when I make that change. The Peerless Assassin 120 for $33-35 will easily cover the X3D model if I go that route.

[@kipakiki79]

it is a great job! it is really awesome and I appreciate very details explanation. I have a lot of confusion for the cpu cooler since there is no performance indicator. it helps a lot. Thank you.

[@FlyingShoe]

"Blown away" I see what you did there Mr. Punny man

[@Densoh]

Would have love to see a "Best Low-Profile" air cooler given the popularity of mini-ITX systems. Maybe next year!

[@yukisnoww]

Another banger to finish off my sunday, thanks steve.

[@HAFBeast91]

Thanks Steve

[@LawrenceAngeloVargas]

got the Deepcool AK620 because of Steve's review last year. then suddenly felt out of place this year because of Peerless Assassin, but yet again we have Phantom Spirit. Still glad we have this improvements on Air coolers.

[@mileshigh47]

The Peerless Assassin has been my go to! I have probably installed 20 or so this past year, insane value! Hard to believe my NH-D15 was quadruple the price. 🥴

[@jamesm568]

NH-D15 is still my go-to air cooler, but it is expensive, but it is also the best from a more well-established company.

[@colesym84]

There are still swathes of people who will either recommend only either a D15, or a Hyper 212 for budget. Aside from personal noise profile preferences, there is very little reasoning.@@jamesm568

[@bocahdongo7769]

​@@jamesm568It was crushed both thermal and acoustic by newer Frost Spirit 140, with only $50. Seems like Noctua going way tooooo comfortable on its seat

[@3ndlessPain1984]

the spirit is only a few dollars more and cools better overall

[@jamesm568]

@@bocahdongo7769 Depends on your build as some people don't like non-premium brands to be seen in there premium built PC. Got a lot of quality choices out there though.

[@stalkholm5227]

I don't know if this is too much to ask: Could you add *fan* normalized testing to your suite? It would help discern how much of the cooling performance is from the cooler, and how much is from the included fans.

[@justwinclassic]

GREAT IDEA

[@itsdeonlol]

Thanks Steve for this!

[@AliYassinToma]

One of the best videos ive watched all year.. only improvement id say is a shorter intro.. but thats my personal preference and i can see people getting confused if they are not that tech literate..

[@thaddeuscosse9527]

Its one of the few things in the PC space that you genuinely have budget options. I'm running a Thermalright Assassin X 120 se for 15 bucks. Just amazing value.

[@jubuttib]

This would have been great to know on FRIDAY... Nah just kidding, awesome review compilation! I've had my D15 for years and years now, and it's kinda awesome to see that finally the rest of the industry has caught up and even surpassed it, at a better price too. =)

[@amacielbr]

Yeah. I've been using my NH-D15s for 5 or 6 years it's good to know that I can replace it for something better for a fair price.

[@weirdodude1173]

Good stuff. Thumbs up!!

[@dunkelheit843]

I recently built a computer where I used a mini-ITX motherboard and also needed a low profile cooler. Noticed that these boards has become very limiting lately of how much space they leave for such a cooler, so ended up using a Noctua NH-L9x65. It works ok but run on the hotter side. Would be interesting to see a comparison with other coolers which would work in this scenario.

[@Kostek]

I'm using Noctua NH-D15 and it's really great.

[@farrellbeast]

I love my D15. Happy that the air cooler market is finally catching up, but still a bit sad seeing the D15 pushed down the list a bit

[@Kostek]

@@brentsmith7013 i'm using it currently on a test bench with 14700k.

[@Gilgame22]

The only problem is that the NH-D15 is one of the most expensive air cooling options, costing about $80 more than the Peerless Assassin and it performs slightly worse. The NH-D15 has been around for ten years and it has had to accommodate changes to computers including overbuilt VRMs and CPU 'buckles' that hold the CPU down. There are new issues arising from design flaws, or other issues that complicate cooling. The 1700 socket in particular has an issue with inconsistent pressure across the surface of the CPU, which means that the coldplate at the bottom of the heatsink and the CPU itself have imperfect contact, even with correct application of thermal paste. It seems that the Peerless assassin does a better job with this, at least with AMD CPUs.

[@scip11]

The best value cooler is the Noctua NH-D15S, bought it for my Athlon x4 750k 8 years ago , then used it on a 5820k, now it is on my AM5 7600X. Only had to get a new mounting kit, the fan is still working flawlessly.

[@gabrielpoenaru531]

I love the work you are doing guys. I am curious, how "soon" is the next methodology coming up? I am looking to build an am5 system and I am curious if it's worth to wait 2-3 months to see your tests as well. Keep up the good work!

[@lauris.marcenoks]

Thanks will be waiting fur the next silent cooler videos

[@whitebox96]

Do you think that the Scythe Fuma 2 is no longer a good purchase?

[@barrelrole]

is it possible to put too many fans in your case? i just use a stock wraith cpu fan.

[@GamersNexus]

Yes, definitely. Great question too. If you don't have them pointed the right way, you can end up exhausting cool air before it hits the CPU (or just running it in an unoptimized way, especially for noise)

[@barrelrole]

​@@GamersNexusThanks for the reply GN . I always appreciate the high quality investigative work you guys do! It helped me enormously in buying parts and building my ryzen pc the last 3 years

[@MikeMatzke]

The Noctua NH-U14S is working great on my LGA4677 system, its just HUGE!

[@amb1valentchaos625]

I bought a peerless assassin based of your recommendation as well as I assume plenty of others did. That being said I was wondering when individual testing will be coming out for fans. I’m super interested in seeing actual fan performance curves with real best efficiency points. it would also be very cool to see said testing be done comparing fans best efficiency points comparable to others and what noise levels are produced. I think it would be dope to know that for instance a peerless assassin with noctua fans or be quiet fans would be the ultimate air cooling combination

[@TRC_WA]

I paired my 7950x3D with a Noctua NH-D15. Decision based entirely on Noctua's reputation. Cost was not an issue. I recently added the new offset mounting bars and my already amazing temps dropped an additional 2C. Couldn't be happier. The CPU barely sniffs 75C under max all core burn tests. Everyday use temps obviously much lower. Water cooling not needed.

[@commanderoof4578]

That is very much not normal temperatures that will be with eco mode on or something equally as dumb Ryzen 7000 series isnt ment to be used base on being X temperature its ment to be based on what frequency it runs with your cooler 89c is what your should be running 24/7 when actually at full load

[@TRC_WA]

@@commanderoof4578 Not sure what you're trying to say. I am running on performance mode... and never get close to 89C... I'm also gaming in 4K with a 4090 with minimal CPU load.

[@MrHamof]

@@commanderoof4578That's the regular model, not the X3D model. The X3D runs at a lower power level to avoid cooking the stacked cache. That said, I don't remember how the non X3D chip in the 7950X3D behaves so maybe it's still weird.

[@commanderoof4578]

@@TRC_WA what im saying is your CPU is being gimped somewhere somehow because those temperatures are wildly to low under full load as the IHS on the 7000 series is the thickest to ever be on a ryzen CPU restricting heat transfer

[@TRC_WA]

@@MrHamof Yep it's all about the lower power and thermals. I've never used any of the recent non-X3D chips so I have no basis for comparison but what I can say is this is my first AMD system since 2001... and temps are a helluva lot better than any of my recent Intel builds (4790k, 7700k, 10900k)... with an air cooler.

[@aylim3088]

Blown away, huh?

[@Gamecapturevideo]

Thanks Dad Steve.

[@Wahinies]

Thank you for this analysis GN, continuing on into 2024 with quality content makes papa proud

[@keptinkaos6384]

Well this is timely for me building a new system in December, cheers Steve.

[@592Johno]

Ahhhh I just got the DeepCool AK620 Dark, it did well in your tests so it was a no brainer for me.