CPU Cooler Performance Tier List

[WoodenMarker]

15 hours ago, csolols said:

Just found out that in my country it was not available. Could you suggest any other cooler that has similar performance or better?

Oh, you mentioned your currency in USD. Where are you shopping / located?

11 hours ago, Nomade said:

So after a long time of having my CPU(i5-3570k), I decided i was going to overclock it to get the best out of it before DDR5 come on the market and become not overprice (maybe 1 years after the release) . I plan on overclocking it to 4.4, 4.5 GHz if possible.

I think nh-u14s (70$) or nh-u12s wich is 10$ cheaper (nh-d15 seems overkill) are the best option but i found that AIO like masterliquid ml240L V2 at 65$ (i don't care about RGB but it's cheaper)   could be a better choice according to this tier list (ml240: Tier 2/ nh-u14s: Tier 4/ nh-u12s: Tier 5) and some other reviews. But i aslo found reviews who say that Noctua are much better compared with AIO of the same price.

 

So i'm a bit confused. What do you think about this? Maybe non-mentioned cooler are better choice ?

Another criteria is to buy a cooler wich can be re-used if possible into my next config (I think in 3 years).

Used of my PC: Gaming / Wants to be able to play at AC valhalla or Cyberpunk for example (not with 120fps or 4K ofc)

 

Curent config :

GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 590 Nitro+ OC 8 Go

Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45

RAM: 2*4G + 2*2G / 1333mhz

What features are you looking for in a cooler?

If it's just raw cooling performance, the ML240L V2 isn't a bad option. 

What case and ram are you using? Where are you shopping / located? Budget?

[Letgomyleghoe.]

I need a recommendation on which cooler to get for 30-40 usd. My case supports up to a 155mm tall cooler and my ram is also 45mm tall. I just want the best performer for the price. Thank you very much in advance!

[WoodenMarker]

2 hours ago, Letgomyleghoe. said:

I need a recommendation on which cooler to get for 30-40 usd. My case supports up to a 155mm tall cooler and my ram is also 45mm tall. I just want the best performer for the price. Thank you very much in advance!

What cpu?

[csolols]

6 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Oh, you mentioned your currency in USD. Where are you shopping / located?

18 hours ago, Nomade said:

I am from Malaysia, I just convert it directly from MYR to USD.

[Nomade]

10 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

What features are you looking for in a cooler?

If it's just raw cooling performance, the ML240L V2 isn't a bad option. 

What case and ram are you using? Where are you shopping / located? Budget?

Thanks for your consideration.

I want a decend cooler that can permite me to oc my cpu at 4,5Ghz in order to get better perfomance in recent games like cyberpunk. But i also want a cooler which can be re-used if i change my config in 3 years for example.

Case: Fractal R6 so i have a lot of space.

Ram DDR3:  2*4G : kingston KHX1600C9D3/4GX (on slot 1 and 3) + 2*2G Kingston 9905403-170.A00LF 2GB (on slot 2 and 4). 

I'm in France and i have 75€ or below of course of budget.

So if you have any recommandation , i will be happy to know it !

 

[WoodenMarker]

6 hours ago, csolols said:

I am from Malaysia, I just convert it directly from MYR to USD.

The SE-224 XT Basic is a good option from compu-zone: http://www.compu-zone.com/index.php/price-list-downloads/pc-related-everything-windows/pc-hardware-downloads-in-pdf

2 hours ago, Nomade said:

I want a decend cooler that can permite me to oc my cpu at 4,5Ghz in order to get better perfomance in recent games like cyberpunk. But i also want a cooler which can be re-used if i change my config in 3 years for example.

Case: Fractal R6 so i have a lot of space.

Ram DDR3:  2*4G : kingston KHX1600C9D3/4GX (on slot 1 and 3) + 2*2G Kingston 9905403-170.A00LF 2GB (on slot 2 and 4). 

I'm in France and i have 75€ or below of course of budget.

So if you have any recommandation , i will be happy to know it !

The Freezer 50 should be better: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/HtzFf7/arctic-freezer-50-cpu-cooler-acfre00065a

If you're aiming to save some money, the Kotesu is a cheaper alternative: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/7998TW/scythe-cpu-cooler-scktt1000

I'm not sure if the Kotetsu AM4 mounting hardware is included already so check with the seller in case you need it for the future. If it isn't there are AM4 mounting kits that will hopefully stay available in the future. 

[Letgomyleghoe.]

11 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

What cpu?

Overclocked 5600x

[WoodenMarker]

5 minutes ago, Letgomyleghoe. said:

Overclocked 5600x

Depending on how much you can spend, good options include:

Gammaxx 400 V2: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/x2JmP6/deepcool-gammaxx-400-v2-645-cfm-cpu-cooler-dp-mch4-gmx400v2-bl

SE-234-ARGB: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/P7qBD3/id-cooling-se-234-argb-565-cfm-cpu-cooler-se-234-argb

[Kurt Russell]

Is a SE-224 XT Basic good enough for a 5600x (with no OC)? Thanks in advance.

[WoodenMarker]

Just now, Kurt Russell said:

Is a SE-224 XT Basic good enough for a 5600x (with no OC)? Thanks in advance.

Yes, it's plenty for cooling. 

[Kurt Russell]

3 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Yes, it's plenty for cooling. 

Thank you!!!

[Jake0743]

Hi everyone, I've been referring to this list a lot to try and choose a CPU cooler and figured I might as well ask directly from the source.

My CPU is a Ryzen 5600X and I'm considering getting one of these coolers not necessarily for overclocking right off the bat, but moreso for lower sound levels and more thermal headroom in general.

I also want an air cooler, not a water cooler. So I was looking through all the air coolers and found what looks to be a really good value. It's the "Thermalright ARO-M14G 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler", it's in Tier 3, and it's 49.99 USD. I know price isn't a factor in this tier list, but considering that this is the same tier as the Dark Rock Pro's which are significantly more expensive, I'm strongly considering this cooler. (It looks like the only better air cooler is the NH-D15 in Tier 2.) I've also checked that the cooler fits in my case, with just 8 mm to spare.

I know this is probably overkill for a 5600X, but I was surprised at its low price in such a high tier. Are there cheaper coolers that would effectively give the same results with this CPU, or should I go for the Thermalright?

 

Edit: The NH-D15 isn't the only air cooler in Tier 2

Edited December 7, 2020 by Jake0743
wrong info

[WoodenMarker]

42 minutes ago, Jake0743 said:

My CPU is a Ryzen 5600X and I'm considering getting one of these coolers not necessarily for overclocking right off the bat, but moreso for lower sound levels and more thermal headroom in general.

"Thermalright ARO-M14G 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler", it's in Tier 3, and it's 49.99 USD.

I know this is probably overkill for a 5600X, but I was surprised at its low price in such a high tier. Are there cheaper coolers that would effectively give the same results with this CPU, or should I go for the Thermalright?

For low noise and good cooling, the ARO-M14 is hard to go wrong with. I don't see anything similarly performing with a more competitive price. The closest thing would be the Mugen 5 Rev. B but it's not that much cheaper at $46.59. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8GBrxr/scythe-mugen-5-rev-b-5117-cfm-cpu-cooler-scmg-5100

[Nomade]

9 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

The Freezer 50 should be better: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/HtzFf7/arctic-freezer-50-cpu-cooler-acfre00065a

If you're aiming to save some money, the Kotesu is a cheaper alternative: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/7998TW/scythe-cpu-cooler-scktt1000

I'm not sure if the Kotetsu AM4 mounting hardware is included already so check with the seller in case you need it for the future. If it isn't there are AM4 mounting kits that will hopefully stay available in the future. 

Thank you but why The Freezer 50 and not the nh-U14s or Scythe Mugen 5 PCGH edition if i could find them at the same price. I'm a bit scary of the Freezer 50 because you can't change fans and for a long term cooler that's maybe a bad point idk. And a 20€ cheaper ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO have a big difference because i saw a review where a guys have the same result with this and the Freezer 50 (1°C difference) but that seems strange?

[Jake0743]

26 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

For low noise and good cooling, the ARO-M14 is hard to go wrong with. I don't see anything similarly performing with a more competitive price. The closest thing would be the Mugen 5 Rev. B but it's not that much cheaper at $46.59. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8GBrxr/scythe-mugen-5-rev-b-5117-cfm-cpu-cooler-scmg-5100

Thanks, yeah the Mugen was the only one I saw that was similar in price. I was just a bit unsure about the Thermalright because it seems nobody I've seen on reddit/discord talks about it, whereas Scythe, Be Quiet, Noctua, etc. get mentioned a ton. It also might be hard to install, given that it's my first build and it's a very large cooler. But it's definitely on my shortlist.

[WoodenMarker]

1 hour ago, Nomade said:

Thank you but why The Freezer 50 and not the nh-U14s or Scythe Mugen 5 PCGH edition if i could find them at the same price. I'm a bit scary of the Freezer 50 because you can't change fans and for a long term cooler that's maybe a bad point idk. And a 20€ cheaper ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO have a big difference because i saw a review where a guys have the same result with this and the Freezer 50 (1°C difference) but that seems strange?

The Freezer 50 performs better. If a fan dies within the 6 year warranty, you can probably get replacement fans from Arctic. Can you link the result you're referring to?

If the NH-U14S is the same price, it's also a good option if you prefer a fan that's more easily replaced. If you were aiming to spend less, the cheaper Kotetsu performs similarly to the Freezer 34 eSports Duo.

1 hour ago, Jake0743 said:

Thanks, yeah the Mugen was the only one I saw that was similar in price. I was just a bit unsure about the Thermalright because it seems nobody I've seen on reddit/discord talks about it, whereas Scythe, Be Quiet, Noctua, etc. get mentioned a ton. It also might be hard to install, given that it's my first build and it's a very large cooler. But it's definitely on my shortlist.

The ARO-M14 is specialized for AM4 and is more recent so it's natural that it doesn't get as much coverage. I think Thermalright also isn't very proactive with sending out review units.

The Mugen 5 Rev. B is much easier to install so it's definitely a great option.

[Nomade]

7 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

The Freezer 50 performs better. If a fan dies within the 6 year warranty, you can probably get replacement fans from Arctic. Can you link the result you're referring to?

If the NH-U14S is the same price, it's also a good option if you prefer a fan that's more easily replaced. If you were aiming to spend less, the cheaper Kotetsu performs similarly to the Freezer 34 eSports Duo.

Ok thanks a lot for all your help. I will go for one of this, i will maybe choose nh-u14s because no problem with ram clearance vs Artic 50 and maybe can re-used more easily i think than the Kotetsu and a bit more efficiency.

 

For Freezer 34 eSports Duo, saw this guys on youtube that compare with other cooler but i think his test are not very accurate cause strange result : 

 

[WoodenMarker]

4 hours ago, Nomade said:

For Freezer 34 eSports Duo, saw this guys on youtube that compare with other cooler but i think his test are not very accurate cause strange result : 

The stress test wasn't heavy enough to clearly show the difference between cooler performance. An indicator of that is that the Intel stock cooler is still keeping temps in check. 

A heavier load would've increased the temp delta.

[BTGbullseye]

I just got my new 5800X today, so I tested my Arctic Liquid Freezer II 120mm on it.

 

Maximum temps I can get it to are 90.3°c, but even at that temp it maintains at least 4.2GHz all-core clock. (note that this is small instruction set power virus load testing)

Idles around 48°c.

 

Note that this is entirely stock operation, no tweaks or adjustments to the CPU beyond enabling Spread Spectrum. (for no particular reason)

[SavageNeo]

On 12/7/2020 at 11:44 PM, BTGbullseye said:

I just got my new 5800X today, so I tested my Arctic Liquid Freezer II 120mm on it.

 

Maximum temps I can get it to are 90.3°c, but even at that temp it maintains at least 4.2GHz all-core clock. (note that this is small instruction set power virus load testing)

Idles around 48°c.

 

Note that this is entirely stock operation, no tweaks or adjustments to the CPU beyond enabling Spread Spectrum. (for no particular reason)

Seems reasonable on 120mm aio. Should try to undervolt a lil bit to maintain under 90c

[BTGbullseye]

5 hours ago, SavageNeo said:

Seems reasonable on 120mm aio. Should try to undervolt a lil bit to maintain under 90c

Actually, that's just the target temp. I used Ryzen Master with an auto overclock, and it bumped up the speed significantly for anything not pushing it to maximum stress. 100% all-core workloads are not something that's going to be common on this system, and even if it does happen, it's going to exceed the speed all-core of the best my 3600 could do single-core. For gaming, I can get this chip up to 4.95GHz on any of the cores, just not all at once with maximum load.

[Ruboka]

Hey what cooler would be a good choice for ryzen 7 3800x if you are going to overclock it? I dont know many coolers
Nh u 12s or Nh u14s? or a dark rock 4? the problem is also the 14s is just 1mm smaller than the max height of coolers for the case(Nr600). would it still fit or are those numbers not 100% correct?
Would like to get a good recommendation for a cpu cooler.

[WoodenMarker]

36 minutes ago, Ruboka said:

Hey what cooler would be a good choice for ryzen 7 3800x if you are going to overclock it? I dont know many coolers
Nh u 12s or Nh u14s? or a dark rock 4? the problem is also the 14s is just 1mm smaller than the max height of coolers for the case(Nr600). would it still fit or are those numbers not 100% correct?
Would like to get a good recommendation for a cpu cooler.

The specifications should account for manufacturing tolerance so a cooler listed at 165mm in height should fit in a case that lists 165mm of clearance. 

What ram are you using and what features are you looking for in a cooler? Budget?

[Ruboka]

1 hour ago, WoodenMarker said:

The specifications should account for manufacturing tolerance so a cooler listed at 165mm in height should fit in a case that lists 165mm of clearance. 

What ram are you using and what features are you looking for in a cooler? Budget?

Hey the ram that is going to be used is the patriot viper 4 blackout. The cooler should not be too expensive. 55€ give or take. It should cool the ryzen 7 3800x after it is overlocked. planned on using the 1usmus clocktuner for ryzen to overclock the cpu. The oc should be good but nothing overkill if this helps. Say the d15 from noctua would be great but expensive and this level of cooling is not sth that would fit the budget.(or is there a budget cooler with excellent cooling?) The noctua cooler are also quite quiet which is nice.
So sth in budget with reasonable oc and "silent"ish noiselevel.

[WoodenMarker]

On 12/11/2020 at 12:53 PM, Ruboka said:

Hey the ram that is going to be used is the patriot viper 4 blackout. The cooler should not be too expensive. 55€ give or take. It should cool the ryzen 7 3800x after it is overlocked. planned on using the 1usmus clocktuner for ryzen to overclock the cpu. The oc should be good but nothing overkill if this helps. Say the d15 from noctua would be great but expensive and this level of cooling is not sth that would fit the budget.(or is there a budget cooler with excellent cooling?) The noctua cooler are also quite quiet which is nice.
So sth in budget with reasonable oc and "silent"ish noiselevel.

ARO-M14 is good: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/zV6qqs/thermalright-aro-m14g-736-cfm-cpu-cooler-aro-m14g