Best CPU Coolers We’ve Tested (2024): Thermals, Noise Levels, & Value Leave a comment
These exams will embrace outcomes from our new 250W and 200W Intel warmth hundreds along with our 200W and 123W AMD warmth hundreds. The classes this yr are for Finest General CPU Cooler, Finest Funds CPU Cooler, Finest Worth CPU Cooler, Finest Noise-Normalized Thermals, and Finest Mechanical Design. Let’s get began.
Setting Expectations
These Finest Of articles are supposed to get newcomers in control rapidly, so we gained’t go into the identical loopy depth we usually do for the standalone opinions. Every of the coolers that has a assessment can be linked within the description under to be able to discover the total particulars if you’d like them, together with all of the 3D laser scanning, strain maps, and drawbacks. This text can be extra of a flyover.
We’re testing each air and liquid coolers for this one. We’ve added loads of coolers to the charts that aren’t in our prior opinions, particularly examined for this round-up, so there’s new knowledge combined with outdated in right here.
Moreover, needless to say our noise testing methodology adjustments between charts. For the AMD platform, we use our outdated room-scale noise testing.
For our Intel platform we simply added, we’re testing in our hemi-anechoic chamber with a decrease threshold of 25dBA normalization in a noise flooring round 14 dBA.
As at all times, for cooler round-ups, we will solely talk about coolers we’ve straight had hands-on time with. There are a whole bunch of coolers on the market. We’ve a reasonably good cross-section of the massive choices, however in the event you don’t see precisely what you’re searching for, we’d encourage you to test different content material and increase your analysis.
You’ll find the total charts on our CPU coolers Mega Charts page. As a reminder, gamersnexus.net is a free web site that’s completely free from third-party advertisements and funded by the viewers. We simply received finished operating one other 18 cooler exams on a 250W and 200W Intel platform with noise-normalized leads to our hemi-anechoic chamber.
That’ll set us up. If you wish to try our Best CPUs and Best Cases round-ups, these are already reside. All of the assessment hyperlinks and product hyperlinks are within the description. Let’s get into it.
Overview: Finest CPU Coolers of 2024
Finest General CPU Cooler: ID Cooling A720
Runner-Up: Arctic Freezer 36
Original review | Newegg | Amazon
Up first, our class for Finest General CPU cooler this yr. This class requires the pricing to be aggressive, because it considers the worth, the construct high quality and meeting options, ease-of-installation options, the thermal and acoustic efficiency, and the whole lot else. Final yr, we gave this to the Peerless Assassin 120, which is certainly a GOAT and stays one. This yr, we’re giving it to 2 Thermalright opponents, relying on CPU: General, the ID-Cooling A720 will get the award this yr. For our Intel bench particularly, we’re giving a tied rank award to the Arctic Freezer 36.
Let’s begin with the Intel outcomes and the Freezer 36, since that one is remoted as a winner to only this bench.
Essentially the most closely weighted aspect in favor of the Freezer 36 (learn our review) is its worth. Arctic mentioned it’d improve the value inside simply months of launch, however seemingly by no means did. Even immediately, the Black mannequin that we examined is about $28 — an unimaginable worth contemplating its efficiency, no less than on our Intel bench, and fiercely aggressive with the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 that gained our award final yr.
Our new Intel 250W noise-normalized charts additionally embrace the Peerless Assassin 140, which was eradicated as a result of we found high quality management points and variance between our two models that resulted in a 2-degree unfold of outcomes, which is definitely large. Sadly, one of many Murderer 140 models we’ve got simply doesn’t have a very good strain scan or laser scan, whereas the opposite is ok. We have been capable of show the supply of the distinction was a mix of the coldplate and mounting {hardware}.
You may see the 2 entries for the PA140 right here. It’s not as a result of the white mannequin is best, however as a result of the opposite unit has contact points.
Anyway, that eliminates the brand new PA140 even when solely the most effective entry have been right here. Of the remaining coolers, the Freezer 36 is the most effective performer after Noctua’s D15 G2 HBC. That is spectacular with the Freezer 36’s $28 worth. The G2, however, is $150. A few of this comes from Arctic’s mandate of a contact body for the Intel model of its Freezer 36, however contemplating that’s all included within the worth, it is a sturdy positioning.
One different be aware right here: The D15 2023 mannequin we’ve got right here performs just a little higher than our authentic D15 from a decade in the past, which is a results of minor tweaks or refinement in manufacturing processes alongside the best way. We talked about this within the G2 review. Should you’re on an older D15 from round when it launched, it’s possible it’s marginally completely different in efficiency immediately.
On to the A720: In our Mega Charts for 200W testing beforehand, the Freezer 36 fell behind in comparison with its Intel outcomes with the body. This reveals our selection that’s tied for the class: The A720, which was additionally among the many prime two performers for Intel and is the most effective performer behind the D15 G2 (learn our review) on this 200W, AMD noise-normalized take a look at.
The mixed chart-topping efficiency in each our AMD and Intel take a look at benches is what leads the A720 to the Finest General rank, with its comparatively excessive construct high quality and reasonable worth securing the place.
At $55, with occasional drops to $50, it’s aggressive with the most effective (just like the $150 G2) and manages a 55.2 diploma over ambient end result on our 200W AMD bench. This improves on the GOATed Peerless Murderer by 1-degree, which does have just a little little bit of a bonus in worth.
The Intel end result improved on the Peerless Murderer 120 (learn our review) by 1.6 levels.
We lately examined the Phantom Spirit as nicely, but it surely didn’t outperform our Peerless Murderer 120. The Phantom Spirit EVO has a barely smaller tower than the Murderer and likewise has an obstacle with noisier followers, present in our chamber testing. The Spirit’s fan RPM is greater than the Murderer, however that doesn’t matter when normalizing for noise.
General, for the A720, we predict it has surprisingly good construct high quality. The followers are well-fitted to the cooler, with the central fan sinking to profit VRM cooling as nicely. We just like the simplicity of the black mannequin that we’ve got. The mounting answer is general straight-forward and the bulked-up 7-heatpipe design helps with protection throughout the IHS. The cap plates are a pleasant contact with out overdoing the branding. The central fan additionally levels-out properly with the highest plates and every fan has rubber bumpers on the corners to scale back vibration, which benefitted it in noise normalizing. Its largest draw back is dimension, the place the 163mm peak makes it about 6mm taller than a Peerless Murderer 120. This might restrict some instances.
We expect ID Cooling and Thermalright each are price severely being attentive to in 2025, particularly with DeepCool’s disappearance from the US and the Freezer 36 can be price contemplating in the event you occur to go Intel.
Finest Worth CPU Cooler: Thermalright Frozen Prism
Original review | Newegg | Amazon
Our Finest Worth award this yr goes to the Thermalright Frozen Prism. Worth is judged by a mix of efficiency for the value, not simply pure worth. We’ve a Finest Funds class as nicely for what is solely top-of-the-line, low-cost coolers.
Thermalright’s Frozen Prism is an enigma: It’s $52.71 on the time of this writing. That is someway even cheaper than once we reviewed it. It’s low-cost sufficient that we stay skeptical of whether or not it might have some form of defect down the road. In some methods, it appears too good to be true. Considerations we’ve got may contain gunk build-up, however we’ve got no proof of any such points presently. What we do have proof of is spectacular efficiency: The Frozen Prism (learn our review) was a aggressive liquid cooler in our testing, brute-forcing a lot of its efficiency with a vastly protruding copper coldplate, nearly comically so. Our laser scans made this protrusion much more clear, with our strain maps displaying how the cooler leverages the design to brute-force excessive strain dead-center, which is the place the silicon usually sits.
Even on AMD, which has less-centered silicon than Intel’s prior monolithic CPUs, the strain spreads broad sufficient that it’ll catch the whole lot.
In our 200W warmth load thermal benchmarks from the assessment, the Frozen Prism 360 ran at 49.7 levels Celsius over ambient when noise-normalized, whereas the most effective liquid cooler we’d examined on the time, the Liquid Freezer III, ran at 46.7 levels Celsius over ambient. That’s an enormous distinction. On the similar time, attaining such shut efficiency at beneath $60 was beforehand unprecedented.
In our prior take a look at bench configuration for Intel, utilizing a 250W warmth load on the 12900KS, the Thermalright Frozen Prism was a chart-topper when at 100% fan speeds. Should you have a look at the 53.2dBA noise ranges although, it was extremely inefficient in comparison with the Liquid Freezer III 360, which ran at 39.8dBA. That is over a 2x improve in perceived noise to the human ear for the Frozen Prism, but it drops solely a pair levels. That’s an inefficient trade-off, and though fan velocity might be lowered to compensate for noise, it’s clear the cooler isn’t some mastery of thermal and acoustic engineering.
What the Frozen Prism truly is, although, is a mastery of value engineering.
The Frozen Prism doesn’t have any actual quality-of-life options to talk of or something irregular. It delivers what it guarantees, which is affordable cooling. Our solely criticism of the bodily development, past some cheaper plastic-y really feel of some components, was the stiffer tubing. This may be labored round.
Thermalright has change into recognized for flooding the market with numerous choices, to the purpose the place it’s overwhelming even for its personal employees to recollect all of them at tradeshows. The corporate is saturating listings and driving costs down, which is ultra-competitive and in some methods good for customers. It’s additionally fairly cutthroat, and is why we now have name-brand coolers additionally dropping in worth. Following-up its success with the Peerless Murderer 120 in years previous, Thermalright is searching for a repeat in liquid. We’ll see how the Prism ages, however up to now, it’s aggressive, particularly in thermals. That’s why the Thermalright Frozen Prism 360 will get our greatest worth award.
Finest Funds CPU Cooler: ID-Cooling SE-214-XT
The subsequent award is in the identical vein, however easier: Our Finest Funds award goes to the ID-Cooling SE-214-XT ARGB and it’s difficult the GOAT in Thermalright. ID-Cooling is vying for Thermalright’s technique. Final yr, we praised it for its general worth — although it has been shifted into the pure price range class with the Frozen Prism’s addition to our charts.
The SE-214-XT ARGB has dropped in worth and is now someway $15.19 on the time of writing. We usually wouldn’t cite the pennies, however when 19 cents is over 1% of the full worth, it all of the sudden turns into related. The SE-214XT ARGB is an easy, 4-heatpipe cooler that revives the method of the outdated Hyper 212. It’s filth low-cost, its high quality is flimsy, its plastics really feel like they’re from McDonald’s toys, its coldplate is spartan, and but someway, the factor can deal with reasonable warmth hundreds. It gained’t deal with a 250W CPU in our take a look at suite with any stage of satisfaction, but it surely’s adequate for cheaper and decrease energy CPUs with customers on extra excessive budgets. This may even be a very good consideration in the event you’re shopping for a used CPU to save cash and want one thing that ticks the “adequate” field.
In our 123W warmth load on AM4 final spherical, the ID Cooling SE-214-XT ARGB held 58 levels delta T over ambient when at 37.9 dBA, which had it extra noise environment friendly for the end result than the lower-ranked Hyper 212 RGB cooler. It was bordering on Noctua’s aged NH-U12S (watch our review). The Thermalright Assassin Spirit (watch our review) ran on the similar noise ranges and just a little greater than 1 diploma cooler and is likewise an inexpensive cooler, however at $16.79, someway, and that is actually bizarre to say, it’s nearly 11% costlier. What a weird world of coolers we’re in.
In our 14900KF 200W warmth load and with 100% fan speeds, examined as a substitute in our hemi-anechoic chamber that purchases from the shop assist fund, we landed at 60.6 levels Celsius delta T. That had the SE-214-XT ARGB because the worst performer on the chart, however nonetheless someway able to holding a steady working temperature. In different phrases, it’s high quality. The subsequent lowest performer is the Scythe FUMA 3 (watch our review) with its mixture of two followers, a large 9 diploma enchancment.
Our 25dBA noise-normalized testing nonetheless has it on the backside of the charts for this warmth load, however even at this barely lowered velocity, it’s nonetheless a succesful performer.
We wouldn’t name the SE-214-XT “good,” however we do assume it’s top-of-the-line at school at its seemingly impossibly low-cost worth, contemplating it additionally has to take a seat in freight to ship to wherever it’s bought. Should you want a cooler to only get a system going, it is a good worth. ID Cooling appears poised to problem Thermalright sooner or later.
Finest Thermals (Noise-Normalized) CPU Cooler: Liquid Freezer III, D15 G2
Liquid Freezer III original review | Newegg | Amazon
D15 G2 original review | Newegg | Amazon
Runner-Up: ID-Cooling Frozn A720
That is for the Finest Noise-Normalized Thermals, and since we’ve got each liquid and air coolers within the charts for this round-up, we’re assigning the award to 1 liquid cooler and one air cooler.
The Arctic Liquid Freezer III firmly receives the Finest Noise-Normalized thermals award each general and for liquid, however air can’t be anticipated to compete on the similar stage of liquid and enormous radiators (particularly when dropping fan RPM). For air coolers, the award goes to the NH-D15 G2 HBC for Intel (or LBC for AMD), with a runner-up award for ID-Cooling’s Frozn A720. We’ve listed the latter as a result of it’s $100 cheaper than the NH-D15 G2.
It is a thermal class, so we’ll deal with charts.
Beginning with the Liquid Freezer III (learn our review): Arctic’s revision of its Liquid Freezer II tried numerous new issues, like transport a compulsory contact body with its Intel variation. This complicates issues and isn’t at all times for the most effective.
We discovered that Arctic’s contact body was worse than different choices in the marketplace, however its cooler design was such that different choices couldn’t be used as a substitute. It was nonetheless higher than Intel’s ILM, although.
For thermals, the Liquid Freezer III is simply as spectacular as its predecessor, and its worth is equally aggressive. In 200W testing on AMD with our older noise-normalized method, the Liquid Freezer III was the clear chart topper once we restricted the pump velocity to 70% (which helped scale back noise and allowed greater fan RPM as a substitute). Working the pump at 100% and sacrificing a few of that noise price range for it, it was nonetheless tied for second place, behind solely itself and matched with a cooler that’s now banned within the US. The subsequent closest non-Arctic choice is the Trinity Performance from Lian Li, which is particularly performance-focused in its design.
In our Intel 250W warmth load thermals on a 14900KF (learn our review), additionally noise-normalized, the Liquid Freezer III with its necessary body climbs to the highest of the chart. It’s forward of the Frozen Prism by sufficient to not be margin of error or take a look at variance. It’s additionally forward of the Light Loop 360 and predictably forward of all of the air coolers.
The Liquid Freezer III stays a prime suggestion of ours, although we do discover its contact body answer irritating for Intel. On AMD, it’s a lot easier.
Shifting to the air coolers, the victor of the noise-normalized class on pure efficiency is the Noctua NH-D15 G2 HBC for our Intel 250W bench or LBC for AMD. Beforehand, we discovered that the G2 HBC outperformed even its closest competitor, the A720, by a pair levels. This hole alone is spectacular, as discovering greater than single-degree variations between air coolers is uncommon. Noctua’s work on the excessive base convexity cooler actually labored for Intel — but it surely’s additionally the recipient of our Finest Mechanical Design class, so we’ll save that dialogue.
On AMD 200W testing when noise-normalized, we additionally discovered Noctua’s D15 G2 LBC (or its flatter mannequin) to be the present greatest noise-normalized air cooler end result, behind solely an enormous stack of liquid coolers.
As some honorable mentions for runners-up right here, since most are available in the market for one thing cheaper, the ID Cooling Frozn A720 Black takes a clear second place in each our Intel and AMD CPU cooler testing. The Frozn A720 nicely balanced between the two platforms. It’s a comparatively massive tower which will have some clearance points in some instances, however its $56 price-point makes it one of many extra reasonably priced, aggressive coolers, and it’s $100 under the D15 G2.
Finest Mechanical Design CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 G2
Original review | Newegg | Amazon
The subsequent award is for Finest Mechanical Design. This covers the full execution of each bodily characteristic of the cooler: Stress distribution, laser scans, ease-of-installation options, a extremely usable design, aesthetics, and the cooling itself. This yr, we will simply give it to the Noctua NH-D15 G2. Like final yr’s winner for this class, which was the Murderer IV, Noctua’s NH-D15 G2 isn’t a very good worth cooler (it’s $150, which is insane for an air cooler) — however this class isn’t for worth. We will nonetheless recognize the engineering.
It’s extraordinarily well-built and takes cautious consideration of things usually ignored by different cooling options. The NH-D15 G2 was secretly creating one thing just like what we confirmed with some custom-made Scythe cooler coldplates that we had Scythe make early this year, which was making an attempt to recreation the coldplate convexity to raised match the CPU warmth spreader’s floor concavity or flatness.
Noctua was engaged on this for years and launched three fashions: The usual G2, HBC (or high-base convexity), and the LBC (low base convexity, sorry, Lengthy Seashore Metropolis) fashions subtly modify the convexity or flatness of the coldplate to raised pair with deeply deformed Intel thirteenth and 14th Gen CPUs or with the relative flatness of AMD’s AM5 and AM4 CPUs with the LBC. Commonplace is supposed to work on something. We used our 3D laser scanner that we purchased for cooler testing on the D15 G2 and found that the names actually match the curvature.
We discovered that this wasn’t a gimmick and that there have been precise, measurable and repeatable variations in benchmarks.
Noctua additionally lands on this checklist for its cautious consideration to element on the followers, which it pairs and matches with slight RPM offsets deliberately so as to keep away from a possible beat frequency phenomenon that might be annoying for some customers. We’ve an interview with one among Noctua’s staff members to speak concerning the engineering subjects behind this.
The D15 G2 additionally had glorious strain distribution as a mix of its mounting {hardware} and the coldplate, proven in our mixture of strain maps throughout AM4 and Intel.
An included washer mod added some additional fine-tuning and small touches, although it was additionally clearly an try and try to bulk-on a value-add with the excessive worth.
Thermally, the D15 G2 didn’t blow away any of the opposite coolers by huge margins. It’s a very good cooler, however spending $120 greater than competitors doesn’t imply it’s all of the sudden competing with a 360mm liquid cooler. The G2 with the HBC answer and a washer mod ran at 52.5 levels delta T in our assessment outcomes for the 250W Intel warmth load, which was higher than coolers just like the Peerless Murderer by a number of levels (and is spectacular), however predictably behind a high-performance liquid cooler. The physics simply gained’t help beating water and the large floor space of a radiator. Being life like about efficiency expectations is wholesome, although, and Noctua by no means claimed that.
We recognize what Noctua has finished with its mechanical and thermal engineering. The corporate might transfer slowly, however so far, it has moved with goal. As we mentioned in our review, that is the kind of factor you purchase you probably have your coronary heart set on it and might afford it. You might be shopping for Noctua’s identify with the G2 and, likewise, its help. It has already delivered one free replace for house owners of G2s with a comparatively minor rattle grievance.