CPU Cooler Performance Tier List

[codex119]

How well would the DEEPCOOL Castle 360 RGB handle a 10900k at 5.0 ghz? Since its tier 2, can it keep it around ~70c without too much noise under load? 

[WoodenMarker]

On 2/7/2021 at 5:09 PM, codex119 said:

How well would the DEEPCOOL Castle 360 RGB handle a 10900k at 5.0 ghz? Since its tier 2, can it keep it around ~70c without too much noise under load? 

It should be fine for cooling. Your temps may vary but 70c is possible under load. 

[Freeam]

@WoodenMarker How would a EKWB AIO 360 D-RGB compare to a NZXT Kraken X73, in terms of cooling a R7 5800x? 

[WoodenMarker]

1 hour ago, Freeam said:

@WoodenMarker How would a EKWB AIO 360 D-RGB compare to a NZXT Kraken X73, in terms of cooling a R7 5800x? 

The EKWB AIO 360 D-RGB seems a bit better but the only direct comparison on that platform I see is from Gamers Nexus: https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3596-ek-aio-drgb-360-240-review-liquid-coolers

[Freeam]

20 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

The EKWB AIO 360 D-RGB seems a bit better but the only direct comparison on that platform I see is from Gamers Nexus: https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3596-ek-aio-drgb-360-240-review-liquid-coolers

Alright thank you for the response! The link was very usefull

[loolou78]

What tier should I consider for the 5600x ?

 

I see that the stock cooler is Tier 8 and I am interested in getting the Cryorig M9a which is Tier 7 because I can get it for cheap (25 euros here in France). Is it enough or does the 5600x need something better?

[WoodenMarker]

24 minutes ago, loolou78 said:

What tier should I consider for the 5600x ?

I see that the stock cooler is Tier 8 and I am interested in getting the Cryorig M9a which is Tier 7 because I can get it for cheap (25 euros here in France). Is it enough or does the 5600x need something better?

I recommend getting something more substantial if you're going out of your way to replace the stock cooler. Anything just 1 tier higher will often trade blows with the other cooler and isn't likely to be a significant upgrade. Try to go up 2 tiers or more for an upgrade.

Why are you planning to replace the cooler? What are you aiming to improve?

[loolou78]

26 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Why are you planning to replace the cooler? What are you aiming to improve?

I have ordered the 5600x but I don't have it yet, so I don't have a personal frame of reference. It's just that everywhere I read (mostly on reddit tbh), people say the stock cooler is trash, so I wanted to anticipate and get something better beforehand.

 

Or do you recommend I try the stock cooler for some time before deciding for a better one ?

[WoodenMarker]

12 minutes ago, loolou78 said:

I have ordered the 5600x but I don't have it yet, so I don't have a personal frame of reference. It's just that everywhere I read (mostly on reddit tbh), people say the stock cooler is trash, so I wanted to anticipate and get something better beforehand.

 

Or do you recommend I try the stock cooler for some time before deciding for a better one ?

The stock cooler is adequate. Whether or not results are satisfactory depends on you.

Try it out and see if you're happy with the results. If not, what you want improved will be more apparent. 

[b-tzu]

Hi !

Just watching the Tiers and I see in Tiers 2 Cooler Master Master Liquid Pro 120 and 140, but the Master Liquid Pro 240 is in Tiers 3. @WoodenMarker Is this normal ? 

I have the Pro 240, and I'm very disapointed that the AM4 brackets aren't available anymore, I can't use it on my new 3700X...

Considering buying a new one, I aim the Tier 1. 

 

Just for curiosity : How do you review every cooler, what is your protocol, are you doing it by yourself or youd collect a lot of reviews ? 

Do you run long time stress test to see how the cpu cooler handle it (like 5 or 6 hours) ? 

[WoodenMarker]

On 2/14/2021 at 1:12 PM, b-tzu said:

Hi !

Just watching the Tiers and I see in Tiers 2 Cooler Master Master Liquid Pro 120 and 140, but the Master Liquid Pro 240 is in Tiers 3. @WoodenMarker Is this normal ? 

I have the Pro 240, and I'm very disapointed that the AM4 brackets aren't available anymore, I can't use it on my new 3700X...

Considering buying a new one, I aim the Tier 1. 

 

Just for curiosity : How do you review every cooler, what is your protocol, are you doing it by yourself or youd collect a lot of reviews ? 

Do you run long time stress test to see how the cpu cooler handle it (like 5 or 6 hours) ? 

Thanks for pointing that out. It was a mistake and has been edited. 

The 140 and 240 seem to trade blows and outperform the 120.

I don't personally review any of the coolers. The list uses collected reviews. The review websites are linked in the Resources (spoiler) section of the post. 

https://thinkcomputers.org/raijintek-orcus-240-liquid-cpu-cooler-review/4/

https://www.madboxpc.com/review-cooler-master-master-liquid-pro-140-cpu-cooler/

http://thermalbench.com/2018/01/08/corsair-hydro-h150i-pro-cpu-cooler/7/

 

https://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/coolermaster_masterliquid_240_aio_review/5

https://megaobzor.com/review-COOLER-MASTER-MASTERLIQUID-PRO-120.html

 

Have you contacted Cooler Master for the AM4 mounting hardware?

[b-tzu]

43 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Thanks for pointing that out. It was a mistake and has been edited. 

The 140 and 240 seem to trade blows and outperform the 120.

I don't personally review any of the coolers. The list uses collected reviews. The review websites are linked in the Resources (spoiler) section of the post. 

https://thinkcomputers.org/raijintek-orcus-240-liquid-cpu-cooler-review/4/

https://www.madboxpc.com/review-cooler-master-master-liquid-pro-140-cpu-cooler/

http://thermalbench.com/2018/01/08/corsair-hydro-h150i-pro-cpu-cooler/7/

 

https://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/coolermaster_masterliquid_240_aio_review/5

https://megaobzor.com/review-COOLER-MASTER-MASTERLIQUID-PRO-120.html

 

Have you contacted Cooler Master for the AM4 mounting hardware?

Thank you for the complete answer

I asked them, but it is out of stock and they won't have it anymore. too bad

[WoodenMarker]

1 hour ago, b-tzu said:

Thank you for the complete answer

I asked them, but it is out of stock and they won't have it anymore. too bad

Ah, that's a shame. Where are you shopping / located? Budget?

What case and ram are you using? Are there any features you're looking for in a cooler?

[b-tzu]

2 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Ah, that's a shame. Where are you shopping / located? Budget?

What case and ram are you using? Are there any features you're looking for in a cooler?

I'm in France, and have not decided for a budget yet. I think about 80/100€ maybe, I saw the H100i RGB pro XT, or the liqmax 3 ARGB 360, and maybe the DeepCool Assassin III cause I like Air Cooling. 
I have a big case (NZXT Phantom 820) and Crucial Ballistix BL2K16G32C16U4R Ram (but maybe later I will change to a little case, like the Q300L) 
I'm looking for good passive cooling, low noise, and durability. My Pro 240 was always quiet, only a litle noisy in games (i was turning the fans to the maximum) 
 

[WoodenMarker]

36 minutes ago, b-tzu said:

I'm in France, and have not decided for a budget yet. I think about 80/100€ maybe, I saw the H100i RGB pro XT, or the liqmax 3 ARGB 360, and maybe the DeepCool Assassin III cause I like Air Cooling. 
I have a big case (NZXT Phantom 820) and Crucial Ballistix BL2K16G32C16U4R Ram (but maybe later I will change to a little case, like the Q300L) 
I'm looking for good passive cooling, low noise, and durability. My Pro 240 was always quiet, only a litle noisy in games (i was turning the fans to the maximum) 

I wouldn't recommend the Q300L since it has a pretty restrictive frame and not very good for airflow. 

The Liquid Freezer II 240 is good: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/c4MTwP/arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-240-563-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-acfre00046a

If you want to go with air and aren't heavily oc'ing, a cheaper cooler like the Fuma 2 would be plenty for cooling: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/YsHRsY/scythe-fuma-2-5117-cfm-cpu-cooler-scfm-2000

The NH-D15S is also a good option for slightly better cooling: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/xCL7YJ/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15s

[b-tzu]

13 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

I wouldn't recommend the Q300L since it has a pretty restrictive frame and not very good for airflow. 

The Liquid Freezer II 240 is good: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/c4MTwP/arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-240-563-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-acfre00046a

If you want to go with air and aren't heavily oc'ing, a cheaper cooler like the Fuma 2 would be plenty for cooling: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/YsHRsY/scythe-fuma-2-5117-cfm-cpu-cooler-scfm-2000

The NH-D15S is also a good option for slightly better cooling: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/xCL7YJ/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15s

Thank you for your complete reply

My previous case was a NZXT S340 Elite (not very good airflow, but excellent case otherwise) and i'm searching for a similar case.
The Q300L I installed it for a client and was impressed by the quality and the size, and airflow was correct after adding 2 120mm fans. 

But I'm still searching (passivly, my Phantom 820 is grat, just too big for my needs, not a lot of hard drives, mid range GPU).

For the CPU cooler, I will try to OC the maximum under 60°C at full charge, so I need a good cooler. I was aiming to the Tier 1 only. 
The Arctic liquide freezer II 240 is out of stock everywhere in France ( Edit : I just found it on a watercooling oriented website, at 90€)

The Scythe Fuma is tier 3 (while the Fuma 1 is Tier 2) and cost about 70€
The NH-D15S is also Tier 3 (and cost 66€), while the D15 is Tier 2 (and cost 90€)
Or I have the LiqMax III ARGB 360 that cost 88€ and is Tier 1 
Still don't know what to choose, and the AMD stock cooler is hurting my ears very bad  

[WoodenMarker]

2 hours ago, b-tzu said:

My previous case was a NZXT S340 Elite (not very good airflow, but excellent case otherwise) and i'm searching for a similar case.
The Q300L I installed it for a client and was impressed by the quality and the size, and airflow was correct after adding 2 120mm fans. 

But I'm still searching (passivly, my Phantom 820 is grat, just too big for my needs, not a lot of hard drives, mid range GPU).

For the CPU cooler, I will try to OC the maximum under 60°C at full charge, so I need a good cooler. I was aiming to the Tier 1 only. 
The Arctic liquide freezer II 240 is out of stock everywhere in France ( Edit : I just found it on a watercooling oriented website, at 90€)

If you can get the Liquid Freezer II 240, it's hard to go wrong with.

The Q300L cane be adequate for airflow but there are plenty of better options available. You can get better airflow with cases like the 

PS15: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/7PyV3C/silverstone-precision-ps15-microatx-mid-tower-case-sst-ps15b-g

or NR400: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/kPjJ7P/cooler-master-masterbox-nr400-wo-odd-microatx-mid-tower-case-mcb-nr400-kgnn-s00

[b-tzu]

7 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

If you can get the Liquid Freezer II 240, it's hard to go wrong with.

The Q300L cane be adequate for airflow but there are plenty of better options available. You can get better airflow with cases like the 

PS15: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/7PyV3C/silverstone-precision-ps15-microatx-mid-tower-case-sst-ps15b-g

or NR400: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/product/kPjJ7P/cooler-master-masterbox-nr400-wo-odd-microatx-mid-tower-case-mcb-nr400-kgnn-s00

Even if I pay 90€ for the F2 240, as I was launched at 60€?

There is no better 240 aio at this price ? Like the Corsair I told you in my previous post ? 

[WoodenMarker]

31 minutes ago, b-tzu said:

Even if I pay 90€ for the F2 240, as I was launched at 60€?

There is no better 240 aio at this price ? Like the Corsair I told you in my previous post ? 

It's still a decent option.

The H100i RGB Pro XT is an excellent performer as well. If you're mainly after cooling performance, it should be slightly better. 

[b-tzu]

Thank you very much for all your answers. 
I’m searching for the best price for these watercooling. 
and thx to you now I’m looking for the silverstone ps15 (the ps5 is still out of stock everywhere, how can I found the ps15 ?? ^^) 

[MultiGamerClub]

I have a ML360R on my 1700 processor, soon to go on a 5600x in 4 months if it even ships at all..

 

Is tier 1 the supposed starting tier for decent coolers?

[WoodenMarker]

12 hours ago, MultiGamerClub said:

I have a ML360R on my 1700 processor, soon to go on a 5600x in 4 months if it even ships at all..

Is tier 1 the supposed starting tier for decent coolers?

The ML360R would be plenty of cooling for the 5600x. 

Tier 1 contains the best performers. Coolers in lower tiers generally perform worse. 

[MultiGamerClub]

19 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

The ML360R would be plenty of cooling for the 5600x. 

Tier 1 contains the best performers. Coolers in lower tiers generally perform worse. 

OH.. I picked it up for 100€ something as it was on sale in norway compared to its normal 150/190€ price

 

Well then

 

5600x seems to be out of stock everywhere, so it might take a while before i get it.. (Will cancer my order on friday this week if the company havent gotten a confirmed date tho lol)

[CalvoUTN]

So, I'm about to buy a 5900x or 5800x processor. The case is a Corsair 400c. I'm buying in Argentina so there is a lack of options and some are way to overpriced. As of now I'm looking at:

 

- ID-Cooling SA 224XT. Cost: 7000$ 

- CoolerMaster MA620p. Cost: 11000$

- CoolerMaster 212 White ed. turbo. Cost: 11000$

- ID-Cooling Auraflow X 240. Cost: 13000$

 

I'd rather not go with an AIO because I've read that the durability is not has good as an air cooler. Prices are in pesos argentinos and can be converted to dollars dividing them by 160.

 

What should I do? If I have to spend much more than that, I'd be better going for the 5800x. I'd rather have the 5900x tho, but I'm hitting a hard border in my budget. I've seen the 224XT perform almost as good as the X 240, and just around 5% worse than a Noctua NH-D15.

[WoodenMarker]

1 hour ago, CalvoUTN said:

So, I'm about to buy a 5900x or 5800x processor. The case is a Corsair 400c. I'm buying in Argentina so there is a lack of options and some are way to overpriced. As of now I'm looking at:

- ID-Cooling SA 224XT. Cost: 7000$ 

The SE-224-XT should be adequate for cooling.