Best 120mm AIO 2021

[Trips]

Exactly as the title asks. Looking for the best 120mm AIO purely on performance/cooling (don't care about RGB)

I'm using an elite 130 case and the liquid master 120mm im currently using has a very load pump which makes me worried about whether its gona last. Aswell as the temp's when I'm gaming get me worried with a high of 89c on my 5600x.(idle 45-55)

So wanted to know if anyone's got recommendations for a good one.

 

I'm currently looking at the kraken m22 but the amazon page for it doesn't say it supports AMD boards but says the 140mm to the 360mm support it so I'm not shur if the 120mm will come with AMD mounts.

 

Thanks in advance

[curiousmind34]

1 minute ago, Trips said:

Exactly as the title asks. Looking for the best 120mm AIO purely on performance/cooling (don't care about RGB)

I'm using an elite 130 case and the liquid master 120mm im currently using has a very load pump which makes me worried about whether its gona last. Aswell as the temp's when I'm gaming get me worried with a high of 89c on my 5600x.(idle 45-55)

So wanted to know if anyone's got recommendations for a good one.

 

I'm currently looking at the kraken m22 but the amazon page for it doesn't say it supports AMD boards but says the 140mm to the 360mm support it so I'm not shur if the 120mm will come with AMD mounts.

In my opinion 120mm aios are dumb because most are beat by the NH-D15 (and are only 20 cheaper than the D15) which is similar to 240mm aios but is usually much less in cost. I know it doesn’t answer your question but I just wanted you to know that.

[WhitetailAni]

As an owner of the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 120mm, it's a great AIO.

I believe there's a slightly better $250 one (Eisbaer something) but the Liquid Freezer II comes with AMD mounting and keeps my Ryzen 5 3600 idling at 35C and max 75C.

[Haraikomono]

5 minutes ago, Trips said:

Exactly as the title asks. Looking for the best 120mm AIO purely on performance/cooling (don't care about RGB)

I'm using an elite 130 case and the liquid master 120mm im currently using has a very load pump which makes me worried about whether its gona last. Aswell as the temp's when I'm gaming get me worried with a high of 89c on my 5600x.(idle 45-55)

So wanted to know if anyone's got recommendations for a good one.

 

I'm currently looking at the kraken m22 but the amazon page for it doesn't say it supports AMD boards but says the 140mm to the 360mm support it so I'm not shur if the 120mm will come with AMD mounts.

 

Thanks in advance

you dont have many options in this field unfortunately since the cooling doesnt improve thath much:

 

Corsair H60

NZXT Kraken M22

or a EVGA CLC 120

[Haraikomono]

1 minute ago, FakeKGB said:

As an owner of the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 120mm, it's a great AIO.

I believe there's a slightly better $250 one (Eisbaer something) but the Liquid Freezer II comes with AMD mounting and keeps my Ryzen 5 3600 idling at 35C and max 75C.

 

 

Id like to get a refund for my 15 seconds of life

[Trips]

1 minute ago, curiousmind34 said:

In my opinion 120mm aios are dumb because most are beat by the NH-D15 (and are only 20 cheaper than the D15) which is similar to 240mm aios but is usually much less in cost. I know it doesn’t answer your question but I just wanted you to know that.

So i know 120mm aren't that great but i was using a nh-l9a-am4 which was great but the fan is situated right underneath my exhaust which I'm worried will cause a mess up with the airflow. I would reverse the fan on the CPU cooler but the screw's are sized to only go in 1 way on the fan unless i use a drill to widen the screw hole on the other side.

[WhitetailAni]

Just now, Haraikomono said:

-snip-

 

 

Id like to get a refund for my 15 seconds of life

Noted.

Adding "no refunds".

[WoodenMarker]

15 hours ago, curiousmind34 said:

In my opinion 120mm aios are dumb because most are beat by the NH-D15 (and are only 20 cheaper than the D15) which is similar to 240mm aios but is usually much less in cost. I know it doesn’t answer your question but I just wanted you to know that.

The Elite 130 is a good example where the best performing cooler may be a 120mm AIO.

There are thick 120mm's that perform as well as the NH-D15 or other 240mm's if not better and I wouldn't lump those along with slimmer 120mm's. 

15 hours ago, Trips said:

So i know 120mm aren't that great but i was using a nh-l9a-am4 which was great but the fan is situated right underneath my exhaust which I'm worried will cause a mess up with the airflow. I would reverse the fan on the CPU cooler but the screw's are sized to only go in 1 way on the fan unless i use a drill to widen the screw hole on the other side.

I wouldn't worry about messing up the airflow due to a downdraft cooler since the extra airflow towards the board can also be useful. That being said, the NH-L9a-AM4 also isn't very powerful. The Kraken M22 supports AMD sockets. The Amazon listing is probably just an error. 

Where are you shopping / located?

[Trips]

Just came back to say the liquid freezer ii 120mm is actually pritty good.

 

The idle temp dropped to 30-45c from 45-55c and max load is around 60-70c. Its honestly surprising how good this thing was from the old aio.