What's the BEST BUDGET CPU Cooler in 2023? (Aliexpress Showdown)

New Additions in 2023 see BM6000 MT6, MT4, Jonsbo CR-1400, AIGO ICE400SE, Lanshuo and Wovibo WB-4A-12 in a HOT CPU cooler showdown, and I do say hot as we are putting these coolers up against the i7-13700K, in a low load gaming scenario, then a high load, then cinebench R23, and the results may (or may not) surprise you.
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Check out the CPU coolers I recommend here
Snowman MT4 s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dkx...
Snowman BM6000 s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DeF...
Wovibo WB-4A-12 s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDn...
Jonsbo CR-1400 s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DFW...
Chapters
00:00 Intro to the world of budget CPU cooling.
01:36 Snowman has now become Snowmen
02:24 Aliexpress Cooler breakdown, weight, platform support (AM4, AM5, LGA1700 etc.)
02:55 Returnal 1080p low settings benchmark shows a big L for the Aigo.
04:48 Noise Levels show a Big L for the Lanshuo
05:45 Why Some coolers are bigger but perform worse than others.
07:03 Cinebench R23
08:43 Horizon Zero Dawn shows the max threshold for the others, though great indicator for picking out the best.
10:21 Recommendations. Great price performance, all day everyday.
14:23 Question of the Day. How many seconds do you have your stress test running for?
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#PCGaming #GamingPC #CPUCooler

[@techyescity]

Forgot to add in the video, there will be lots of popular coolers out there that will perform similar to the ones in the graphs today. For instance the Deepcool Gammaxx 400 v2, would be very similar to the Wovibo (looks nearly identical in terms of actual base metal, probably come from the same factory before stamping). Deepcool's fan should be better though. Just make sure you aren't getting a lanshuo or a molten 400 from Aigo.

[@nabithshahid7309]

Please do a low profile showdown for small form factor builds for Aliexpress coolers.

[@axelded13]

why not try testing air coolers from thermalright? I own a frost spirit 140 (twin tower cpu air cooler) and it has been working wonders for me. even their 120mm fans are really good value as they perform well and have daisy chain headers so you dont even need to buy fan splitters/hubs

[@chovekb]

Was just about to write about that cooler lols and it's around 15-20 euro in the EU and yes the fan is good and silent enough. And still it's a 4 pipes, 1 radiator,

[@Mr1Tanker]

Yep, i have a pair of Gammaxx 400 V2's... work well on a 4790k and Xeon 1270 v3. Just stay away from the V1.. they use the god-forsaken stock Intel push-pins. 😠

[@Mr1Tanker]

@@mrsrhardy He wasn't comparing them against AIO's... he threw in the AIO to show how much you might lose compared to a top-of-the-line cooler. There is a difference.

[@PhoticSneezeOne]

A "non Aliexpress" best budget cooler roundup would be really appreciated!

[@Mr1Tanker]

Yes, i'm in Canada... and i don't want 15th Gen to be out before it's delivered from China. 😉

[@coolumar335]

In the US we have Thermalright as the $20-$25 air cooler option - their performance is on par with the Snowman (or even better for some variants) and you can get ARGB and white versions for only $2 more

[@oo.8330]

argb, lol

[@Ben-ld1qi]

Honestly I think you're right. I'm not from the US but we also got Amazon, and free shipping on eligible products (on a purchase over $49). I've been going back on forth on AliExpress trying to find a decent cooler, preferably 6 heat pipes and a black coating heatsink. But a lot of these coolers either look a bit toyish, or their loading mechanism isn't that great, or don't have a flat contact plate (without the heat pipes going through). And once you do find a decent cooler on Ali, they cost the same if not more than the Thermalright ones. As of now I recon I'll either go with the base models Thermalright BA120 ($27) or PA120 ($40) from Amazon. Unfortunately all the nicer looking Black/White/ARGB Thermalright coolers, on top of being more expensive, come with additional $15 shipping to my country instead of free shipping so I'll skip those. And the mounting mechanism on Thermalright is great and very easy to use, saying from experience having use the PA120 SE.

[@kravenfoxbodies2479]

@@Ben-ld1qi I have the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE @ $35.90usd, it's mounted on a Ryzen 5 5600x/B550 in the Cooler Masterbox NR 400 mATX, playing Dead Space = kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4qmqnVnlrerY8U

[@Ben-ld1qi]

@@kravenfoxbodies2479 Seems to be doing pretty great, not going above 60c, can't see the fans RPM but I'm assuming it's probably quiet. The build I'm assembling is quite similar, p5600 + B550m + 2x16GB 3200 C16 (Hynix CJR, dual rank). I also have the base model PA120 SE and I have to say it is very well made. The mounting mechanism is very easy to use, solid heatsink. The stock fans were alright, not bad at all but also not that great. They were fine the first few months but then started making noises after a few months so I replaced them with Arctic P12 fans which ran quieter and cooler. Unfortunately I can't get the P120 SE with free shipping from Amazon to my country anymore, it's an extra $15. I can however get the PA120 for $40 with free shipping so I'll probably get that.

[@kravenfoxbodies2479]

@@Ben-ld1qi I run the cpu fans at the bios level in PWR mode, they only ramp up with power draw. I have replaced my memory and installed my top M2 drive, only front cpu fan needed removing. 4 x 8Gb Muskin @ 3600Mhz Cl 16 Single Rank is the new setup. Fortnite was kicking my ass with 16Gb of system memory.

[@RafitoOoO]

Snowman never disappoints. The BM6000 is good looking and performs well for the price.

[@endemion06463]

Never? How about in combination with one of the AMD X3D cpu's?

[@boboboy8189]

But in my country Malaysia, seller sell it at the same price as AK400.......

[@aaronhills4818]

Great video as always! You definitely should try the Jonsbo CR-1000.

[@greenprotag]

Love these roundup videos it's always nice to be informed about the market and where the value CPU coolers are. I personally have used the snowman T6S which is a six heat pipe single fan model I have used that particular CPU cooler on high TDP Haswell xeons for quite some time now and I'm seeing temperatures in the mid-60s with nice quiet fans. Now this is also slightly because the Xeons generally have really good heat dissipation but also these coolers at between 25 and $28 for me represent a very good value and if I keep the hardware they could technically be reused if I decide to retire the platform.

[@brendenweaver5107]

Snowman still on top!! I love those coolers. Thanks Bryan for passing down your knowledge!

[@devonmoreau]

Love these cooler reviews, good stuff! :D

[@kenmorris2858]

Great review. Cheers from Nova Scotia.

[@zett121]

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE for 39$ is also a killer cpu cooler.. very happy with it

[@mapesdhs597]

I've had good fortune picking up older Thermalright coolers, eg. I won two True Spirit 140 coolers on ebay in 2020 and 2022, the former for less than 10 UKP, the latter for 25 UKP. Years ago it wasy easy to bag the original 120mm TRUE RevC for a snip, but they're harder to find now, ditto the VenomousX. Of course socket compatibility may be a factor, depends on the build requirements.

[@Giggity-yt9nc]

@@RafitoOoO yeah I also face the same issue dur to tax imposed on foreign products being shipped.

[@shayeladshayelad2416]

Bought this one to replace aliexpress 6pipe mounted on them good fans and its great like the best of them

[@paulssnfuture2752]

Last time i bought one it was 1kphp or less than 20usd...

[@thetruejay20]

You beat me to this!!

[@pjohnson21211]

super happy I bought one shortly after your initial snowman find.....ZERO issues with

[@joaomartins4240]

This was a much needed video. Thanks for the work!

[@tfgdj94694]

Yep the argument with the missus makes perfect sense when describing fan noise

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Oh yes, been thinking about that recently. For so many years the 212 EVO was the recommendation, simply because if it's amazing price. But now we have many more comparable coolers that give it competition. (Would be nice to see the sockets listed the coolers support. Since you're also an old X58 enthusiast, and many people might be building LGA1366, LGA2011 or LGA115x systems, it would be nice to know which of them fits) And totally agree on the white noise argument. Always good knowing that the machine is running, without going to the level of annoyance. And for gaming you'll be having the game audio on headphones or speakers anyway, so it's hard to hear the cooler with that.

[@JMCB.]

Here in the Philippines I got the Snowman MT4 for just ₱500.60 ($8.91) only. I got it last year (December) from Lazada. ❤

[@suleimanabutaha7935]

I used snowman coolers for a very long time and they were great. Recently switched to thermalright. They are excellent and price is great, also don't need to wait 3 weeks until its delivered.

[@ilovehotdogs125790]

Thermalright is great

[@redrush-hp9li]

So what? Most people only a cooler once

[@Aman-vl3db]

I was just about to purchase the Aigo ICE400SE, I Google'd and found this video. After viewing it twice I went and bought a Jonsbo CR 1400 just now. Thanks, and keep up reviewing this cheap stuff, not all of us have the money to go for the premium of even the mid-range items. Cheers from Malaysia! 👏👏

[@Thedzdev]

How is it?

[@KIRUTHIElijahMwangi]

Love these cooler reviews

[@markg1689]

Awesome video!

[@timcollins9800]

I enjoy your channel Brain..How does the Snowman m400 compare to the MT4?

[@ripcord895]

I see quite a bit of fan wobble on the mt4 (at video mark 11:08) you can see the fan is off-centre (I am not judging the wobble by the sticker placement but the fan housing around the centre) so if it does that good with defective fan, wow I am impressed !

[@DataDrifterOFC]

Hey great review man! Would you care to make a short follow up to this by popping say an Arctic P14 on every cooler to test the actual heatsink just so we could see how they perform? The fan costs peanuts so it would still make for a really cheap cooler and you never know, some of them could be absolute budget kings with a decent fan 🤔

[@korneldenes]

Köszönjük!

[@dianaalyssa8726]

Yay Snowman and fam.

[@frugalfun2.07]

One question, would any of these fans be suitable and compatible for a HP Z620? I ask because it has a custom cooler that is offset with a custom shroud. I'm newish to customising PC so wasn't too sure. I'm looking for quieter performance mainly. Thanks!

[@KARAOTI23]

Proud owner of the OG Snowman MT4 from back in the day!

[@ausfoodgarden]

That BM6000 looks like a great deal. Around US$34 including delivery to Australia. I've been using one of the old Snowman 4 heat pipe coolers for ages and it's performed well, but on a Gen10 i5. I'll need something a bit better for the i7-13700 I'll be getting. Nice review.

[@user-bq2yg7qe6e]

can you review scythe kotetsu mark 3, would love to see the comparison!

[@o.ruoroch9869]

Snowman makes such great coolers. Having said that, I got me an Arctic Freezer A13 X CO for my overclocked 5600g. Best 26 bucks I've spent in a long while.

[@DuneRunnerEnterprises]

Got the 2fan edition of the first gen Snowman. Cooling just fine.

[@Renaguard]

Man I'm gonna have to start rockin' that Jonsbo yo!

[@joaoc_PT]

Snowman ftw, got myself a pair for a future 2x 1366 build :D

[@dhgodzilla1]

You can buy CPU Cooler Adapters for changing a Push Pin to a Threaded Mount or Vice Versa. Done that many times with no issues.

[@dodgydruid]

My most efficient air cooler is my MK1 Cooler Master V8, I ran it atop a Vishera overclocked and it just chilled it all down like a pro, I would have had that on my Ryz 5 I currently have but finding the hens teeth AM4 adapter kit has eluded me. I also have my main rig inside a massif Cooler Master HAF XM with an extra top 240mm fan, a drawing in fan on the side door plus a big 240mm in the front panel and a pair of 120mm's up aft that like the two 240's on top just suck air out like a pro. I also have a drawing fan mounted to the back of the hotswap sockets which keep my HDD's nice n cool and a big beasty heatsink atop my NVME SSD as that can get a bit toasty hehe

[@crypcase150]

Cool optim hardware contact Mike 💙

[@anoldgamer9119]

+1 for the Thermalright Peerless Assassin. Idle temp around 27-28 degrees, under full load on my 5800x didn't go above 74 degrees (extended Cinebench run)

[@nuclearpcs2139]

my Man I have the Thermalright Ta 14 EX and the 5800X3d never gets over 64 it was on sale on 28 bucks

[@jb678901]

@@nuclearpcs2139 The 5800X3D's tend to run cooler than the 5800X's.

[@leandroteixeira3399]

Cool to see the snowman bm6000, i have one but didn't test it yet, i will be using with a i7 8700k, like the test shown it can cool a 13700k, i think it will perform well with my cpu.

[@Noiconnotag]

What about thermal paste, is the GD900 still recommended ? I noticed there is a new version called GD900-1.

[@fewyearsbehind9333]

Epic test.

[@infiniterift]

5:13 Brian spittin' serious facts.

[@user-qg9oh2hz2e]

Can you add Scythe Kotetsu Mark 3 in the line up? There are many japanese reviewers compares it with DeepCool Ak400. But haven't seen any in english :(

[@hinchlikescake7592]

Not sure if they are readily available where you are but Thermalrights coolers are absolutely crazy value for performance. Maybe not so niche as these, but those guys will most likely have better QC than these coolers (being in the industry as long as they have). Plus better mount, paste and fan(s). Plus, can be bought from Amazon so returns are much easier if anything should go wrong. The AK120 single tower cooler found less that $25. And the dual towers PA120 and PS120 for sub $40; the latter being the newer, better model.

[@nabithshahid7309]

Please do a low profile showdown for small form factor builds for Aliexpress coolers.

[@ciberyacine]

what about using the igo ice for a ryzen 5 3600? would it be perfect for it?

[@davey5807]

its insane how it can be almost par on deepcool ak620 half of its price i would definitely change out the fan to much higher rpm im sure it will improve even more ngl ill be going with that snowman bm6000 or t6 new version black dual fan argb updated mount bracket too like the snowman bm6000

[@dodgydruid]

Is that a Watson tartan I see on that mug btw? As for footprint finishes, unless its a super cheapo cooler I always lap my heatsink's footprint going into the '000's grit, Brasso wadding and metal polishes and I have a very small piece of plate glass I use from my watercooling days for testing of true flatness and ascertaining the thermal paste "squish" pattern. I suspect my huge returns on my Coolermaster V8 MK1 was primarily down to me turning a fairly good baseprint into a perfect mirror finish. I am lucky that I am into watchmaking these days and have a very good bench polisher as well as a multi belt/disc sander which I have 4000 grit on the disc, abs awesome for truing baseprints as sometimes they do get knocked in transit, a heatpipe slightly dislodged or lifted.

[@MarcoGPUtuber]

Do they clip to AM5 boards?

[@BattleToads]

DeepCool AG400. Got it on sale for $20 ($25 now) and it's so good I'm slapping a $30 BeQuiet Lightwings on it.

[@eckostream3541]

Deepcool and Thermallight Cooler are so cheap now and they perform so well too. I've build a few with the DC AK400 and it does a fantastic job at 35-40$. I recently purchase a Peerless Assasin dual tower/fans 120m for less than 40$ Can new, since its comparable to Noctua's best at the price its a no brainer :P

[@Mohamedali-md3vi]

i have the MT4 and been thinking to add a 2nd fan to it but could't find the same fan if u can help out

[@greenbow7888]

Check out the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120.

[@qrit91]

Scythe Mugen Rev B. will always be my special, and probably fat baby

[@roderickverga6517]

Hi Bryan, could you check out the Snowman 6 pipe 90mm duel fan, I accidentally ordered one of these to use on my ryzen 2600, I think it is running OK, I know that if I have picked the 120mm fanned cooler it would have been better, what do you think of 90mm cooler.

[@robinjohansson3593]

4 pipes 120mm is much better than 6pipe 90mm dual tower dual fan,

[@ChowHound1337]

Thermalright is the winner hands down. They have a 50 dollar D15 equivalent and there's always 20-30% deals with them. Their entire product stack is amazing value in price performance and asthetics

[@potato-cu3ci]

i got a knok off of aigo400 for 4$ and mounted it at a 9400f. not bad for a low temp cpu :)

[@rotorglow6110]

Was hoping to see the Amazon "ID Cooling SE-214-XT" here at only $19. Though the Jonsbo I like the RGB on top of the cooler even though it's probably not addressable RGB.

[@raym7441]

Also a great choice and I agree, I have used these a lot as well. Solid coolers for the price!

[@dat_21]

120m fan, direct contact 4 heat pipes. RGB has a connection. For 20$ it's a really good deal.

[@HC-Alfred]

I've used those jonsbo coolers on ryzen 5 3600 and for those it's more than enough, but basically i wouldn't "risk it for the biscuit" with higher end cpu's

[@Lee___H]

Anyone got a link to buy the clear mounting anchors for the snowman? Broke 2 and need to replace them

[@andystech101]

In the UK Amazon is your man, no need to pay more than £20 for anything, 6 heat pipes, argb fan works a treat, white, black, sliver and free next day delivery

[@ssmtb]

I saw a reviewer that said the bracket system on mt6 for intel was pretty bad, anyone know if snowman have improved it?

[@philscomputerlab]

SNOWMAN!

[@MarcoGPUtuber]

Geezus Christ. You are giving me a run for my money! Good thing I don't have to compete with you on your videos!

[@philscomputerlab]

@@MarcoGPUtuber 😅🤣

[@Targetlockon]

YES Cooling it is snowing

[@tacticalcenter8658]

Anything on the same level as an ice giant or d15?

[@alertol]

Noise is important, on main main PC I have "hyper 212 evo" for 3 years now (everyone recommended it) and it's not good, I'm just to lazy to switch it for something good, for my other PC-s I use lower TDP cpu-s and more quiet coolers

[@itsdeonlol]

The OG Snowman is LEGENDARY!

[@lebraa]

5:17 dead man walkin'

[@danpazzo73]

Hi! Does anyone know if the Jonsbo CR-1400 is enough for an FX-8350? no oc...

[@NGreedia]

The dual fan cooler will be loud at full speed mainly due to the rear fan in pull config creates annoying acoustics. This applies to all tower coolers with a rear fan pulling air through the fins. Have the same issue with my as500 plus although it’s a very good cooler

[@donh8833]

If you normalize the performance : noise, dual towers are much more efficient. This means for a similar operating temp, they are quieter.

[@mrhappy8966]

I got my thermalright frost spirit 140 v3 for 35 usd including tax on amazon, I am more than pleased it went up to 50 dollars then next day its a chonk forsure.

[@iixixiboy3475]

Im currently using beQuiet pure rock 2 fx

[@idied2]

i wanna air cool muy Ryzen 9 5950X, but not really sure if they could keep it cool because i use it for cpu encoding for multi streaming, twitch and youtube. if its possible to cool it with an air cooler i'd use it

[@zaintzeylla]

Is the snowman mt4 enough for a ryzen 7 5700x?

[@blackknight50277621]

My to go cooler was and still is the CR1000

[@shayeladshayelad2416]

I had one strap good fans on them and u will get extreme results

[@cracklingice]

I'd love to see the BM6000 vs Dark Rock Pro 4 on something like X99 for a budget banger.

[@jeopaulogicana861]

i got my MT4 Snowman for like under 9$.and it is a very good value for money

[@Jodez23]

As many have said, the Peerless Assassin is a killer deal $/performance.

[@Jodez23]

@@eder60hz51 It's great. Scored it for $36 compared to deepcool or noctua.

[@jayvee8502]

I got the single fan version of of the BM6000 which is the MT6 black at $25 a year ago. Then bought the second identical fan with the clips for $6. Looks like i got a $30 BM6000. 😆😆

[@xTripleBR]

I blindly bought the BM6000 on sale, nice to see that its a good cooler

[@supersolidsnake7772]

Recently switched to the thermalright 120 SE and the performance is insane for the price. Can't beat it.

[@philiprobar]

I use one with an Intel 12600k, it works great on an open test bench.

[@kareemshtayeh6476]

Can you try the wovibo 6 heatpipes cpu cooler with two fans its about 42 usd

[@AintPopular]

compare them with thermallight or deepcool

[@Chris-yc3mm]

Been looking for a lga775 cooler for a few days now. Most coolers either don't support it or if they did they no longer include the mounting hardware. Will take a look at that snowman mt4 since it claims to still be compatible

[@TheBackyardChemist]

maybe you could get a used NH-D14 if someone kept all the mounting brackets for it

[@techzonekid]

the video that i need

[@no1be4me2]

I'm using a Arctic 280 cooler aio on my 5600x CPU pair with a b550 tomahawk motherboard and lian-li case my temps run from 30 Celsius up to 55 Celsius when the CPU is working it's little butt off when I was building my computer I paid 240 Canadian off of Amazon it was a little steep but trying to give my CPU longevity...

[@cobaltgaming948]

Would have like to have seen these compared to a Gammaxx and H212 as they aren't that much more expensive and readily available rather than a 6 weeks wait from China.. Snowman is good but my fan played up after 12 months.

[@138trip]

anyone used the jonsbo cr1400? that's the only one available where i live needs to know how it perform

[@jccarriedo309]

can get the Jonsbo CR-1400 locally in my country for 16 USD shipped. build quality is really decent and has ARGB on the top plate. Also the included fan is one of the few available 90mm ARGB fans in the market (can buy it separately).

[@azntactical4884]

I am a fan of the CR 1400. I have a few builds with it.

[@freshmaker6441]

how bout the noise ? i use 1200 why sound bit noise

[@martinbadoy5827]

The Wovibo looks like the Vetroo V5 ARGB cooler in white

[@christopherpalmatier6479]

I used a jonsbo cr-1400 on my i5 10600kf and it would go up to about 95°c under a cinebench r23 run. I upgraded to a uphere 120mm cooler I found on Amazon for about $50 usd and it now only gets up to about 70-75°c under the same test.

[@boboboy8189]

That's jonsbo is quite pricey in my country. Even if we buy it straight from china..... Snowman is cheaper

[@petertrex]

Just buy AK400 or ThermalRight with a bit of money for much better reliability of fans if you are using them for your own build, but if you wanna cut some budget for flipping maybe. I had some bad luck personally with snowman's fan hub (the baring) so I do avoid them but that's just my thing

[@Targetlockon]

Yes

[@josephdias5859]

snowman kicks ass

[@khmerghost]

Haha, with all of these shiny rgb air cooler or not i just went with a server cooler that runs on 7 8k rpm. 30 celcius difference. Funny thing is it is quite smaller than any of these cooler.

[@markos.1082]

What is the height of wovibo wb-4a-120? Still looking for a 120mm fan white air cooler for all white nr200p. This might be it if fits with TG panel. Not a lot of room for a 120mm. If somebody has a recommendation, please do recommend 😉

[@robinjohansson3593]

149mm

[@dirkjewitt5037]

I consider the EK-AIO basic 240, used or refurbished at $90 and less, the best budget CPU cooler. It's not $20 but it comes with some of the best radiator fans on the market and an EK made pump. This cooler will sustain a large amount of CPU's on the market, making it an incredible value.

[@boboboy8189]

AIO is not a good for a long run. Meanwhile air cooler only need to replace fans

[@l2pn]

Please do a video on thermalright peerless assasin ❤️

[@jb678901]

GamersNexus did a review and the Thermalright Peerless Assassin performed exceptionally well, irrespective of its competitive price point.

[@Jacob-hl6sn]

IDK about these, I would buy be quiet or noctua cpu coolers to make sure that the fans are quiet.

[@xFlowRS]

ID-Cooling SE-224-XT V2

[@daytimerocker3808]

I think the $20 120mm thermalright tower cooler is the best bang for buck