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The CPU is one of the core components of the PC, and it gets very hot and very fast. It doesn't matter whether you are a casual user with a basic workflow or an avid overclocker aiming for the next world record. Without a dedicated cooler, even the best CPU is incomplete. We believe that when you upgrade your processor or build a new PC, choosing the best CPU cooler is crucial. In this article, we will introduce some of the best fan coolers for CPUs that you can buy. The fan cooler is essentially an air cooler, which mainly relies on airflow to dissipate heat, instead of using liquid coolant to achieve the same effect as a liquid cooler.
"Air cooler vs. liquid cooler" is a never-ending debate, and we won't go into it in depth, at least not in this article. Instead, we will only focus on the best fan coolers, so that even the most demanding CPUs can tame them without letting their temperature enter the danger zone. These are some of the best CPU fan coolers you can buy on the market right now:
Before we get into each individual item on the list, let us quickly understand a few reasons why you might want to consider a fan cooler instead of a liquid cooler for your CPU:
By the way, let's go into each individual project and learn more about their specifications, performance, etc.
Noctua is a very popular brand in the field of CPU coolers, and the company has launched many air coolers on the market. They haven't had a new air cooler for a while, but they have done a great job keeping some of the old coolers relevant. They do this by providing new installation kits for the new outlets. Therefore, Noctua NH-D15 is not necessarily a new CPU cooler. It has been around for several years, but it is still one of the most popular air coolers on the market. Nevertheless, it is still a considerable beast. The overall dimensions of 165 mm (height) x 150 mm (width) x 161 mm make it one of the largest CPU coolers you can buy for a CPU in 2021. It supports multiple slots, so compatibility is not a problem NH-D15 cooler.
Noctua NH-D15 adopts a symmetrical design, and the cooling fan is connected to one side of each radiator. The twin towers, as they say, include two 150 mm wide aluminum fin sets, and a pair of the best NF-A15 PWM fans in the industry. You can also get a low-noise adapter, a Y-splitter cable, and a tube of Noctua’s own NT-H1 thermal paste in the bundle, making it a comprehensive product in our range. The NH-D15 also comes with a six-year warranty, which is comparable to most other CPU coolers.
RAM compatibility can be a problem with a clumsy CPU cooler like this one, so please keep that in mind. Noctua provides 64 mm of clearance in single fan mode, while only 32 mm of clearance when using two fans. You will be forced to install the front fan (next to the RAM stick) in a higher position, which, to be honest, looks bad and is not good for overall performance. Either that, or you will be forced to switch to thin DIMMs. If you plan to install it in an existing version, we recommend that you check the RAM gap before purchasing this radiator. This is one of the main reasons why most people stay away from such large coolers.
If you do manage to successfully get it up and running, you will feast your eyes. Noctua NH-D15 can be said to be one of the best CPU coolers on the market. This is one of the CPU coolers, even if it is the most demanding high performance like Ryzen 9 5950X, it can be cooled in a way that many liquid coolers cannot. The cooling performance of NH-D15 is comparable to some complex 360mm AIOs. Despite its size and performance, it also happens to be one of the quietest CPU coolers around.
Noctua also released a black variant of NH-D15 at the end of 2019, called NH-D15 chromax.black. It guarantees the same level of performance with an all-black design. All components including fans, fan clips, heat pipes and heat sink arrays have been completely blackened. It is very suitable for those who do not like the conventional NH-D15 dual tone design.
DeepCool is a pretty good name in the community, and there are a lot of PC hardware and components on the market. It is also famous for manufacturing CPU coolers, some of which are widely used by enthusiasts due to their complicated structure. After the success of many large fan coolers, DeepCool quickly produced full-size air CPU coolers. DeepCool Assassin III is very similar to Noctua's NH-D15. If you are looking for an alternative to NH-D15, it deserves a place in your PC case. Assassin III is as big as Noctua NH-D15 CPU cooler, or even bigger. Its huge size will make you think twice before putting it into your PC and making room for it.
DeepCool Assassin III uses a two-tone design, heat pipes and heat sinks use bright chrome finishes, and the fans and plastic decorations use a black color scheme. It has seven nickel-plated heat pipes, starting from the bottom, running through the entire height of the two cooling towers. The heat sink stack also seems to have a good density and can fully dissipate heat. It includes a pair of Deepcool GamerStorm TF-140S fans with a speed of up to 1400 RPM. However, these fans will not operate as quiet as the fans installed on Noctua's NH-D15 cooler. You will also see a pair of smooth black spoilers on the top of each heat sink stack, although these are just for aesthetics, they do nothing to improve the performance of the cooler.
Assassin III is also a viable option for cooling some of the newer high-performance CPUs on the market. In many cases, it lags behind Noctua NH-D15, but it is not far behind. It also beats many other mainstream CPU coolers on the market, so you can think of it as an upgrade from these coolers. It is not the quietest CPU cooler, although you can adjust the fan profile to get a lower decibel reading.
In general, we believe that DeepCool Assassin III is an excellent alternative to Noctua NH-D15. It is also easy to put in your pocket, which means you can save money for some other components in your PC. Not to mention, it will also appeal to those who want to avoid RGB or any type of lighting. However, due to its huge size, it will still attract all the attention.
In addition to the obvious choice, we think quiet! Dark Rock 4 is also worth considering as an alternative to Assassin III. It is also a large CPU cooler with a huge heat sink, but is known for its quiet operation. Its cost is also slightly lower than Assassin III, so this is not a bad thing at all. RAM compatibility is still an issue with these large fan coolers, so it is best to ensure that there is enough space before installing these coolers. If you don't want to switch to thin DIMMs with smaller heat sinks, then you may want to check out some of the thin coolers in this series.
CPU coolers like Noctua NH-D15 and DeepCool Assassin III may be suitable for high-performance CPUs, but it is undeniable that they are bulky and are not suitable for most PCs. You really have to plan to build around these CPU coolers, because installing them into your existing PC case and ensuring they have enough RAM space is a daunting task in itself. This is where medium-sized coolers like Cooler Master MasterAir MA410M appear. It is not as big as a large radiator, so they are relatively easier to install and take up less space on the motherboard. The performance of MA410M is also sufficient to keep your CPU temperature within an acceptable range.
MA410M adopts four heat pipe design and high heat sink stack to dissipate heat from CPU IHS. The heat pipes are offset in pairs, allowing the average dissipation of the heat load. There are two 120mm MF120R fans on each side of the fin pack to provide continuous airflow. Each side of the heat sink has an open design, so that the plastic shell can evenly direct the airflow through the cooler. Addressable RBG LEDs are embedded in the side shell of MA410M. These lights produce a unique flickering effect and look great from the outside. These photos do not explain how good the RGB lights on this CPU cooler look. This is a very different effect you get from other coolers that support RGB on the market, because the light is basically inside the housing.
The overall width of MA410M is also very easy to manage. Unlike the large-size radiator, you don’t have to worry about the DIMM coming into contact with the radiator. The dual 120mm fan adopts a push-pull configuration, and can also be easily connected to the housing fan bolt by a thumbscrew-like method.
In terms of performance, MA410M is comparable to many other premium coolers on the market. In fact, it matches quiet! The performance of Dark Rock 4 is impressive because the latter is a large cooler with a double tower design. The fan of Dark Rock 4 is very quiet, so it definitely depends on your preference-powerful acoustic efficiency or better cooling and a smaller footprint?
In general, we believe that Cooler Master MA410M is a reliable medium-sized CPU cooler. You can also get thoughtful additional features such as a well-designed housing and addressable RGB lighting. At $70, we think it is the best choice for most users who want to upgrade from an older, relatively small CPU cooler. This is also a good cooler for those who wish to replace the stock CPU cooler for the first time. Its extensive compatibility with a bunch of CPU sockets also makes it easier to access.
There is also MasterAir MA620P TUF Gaming Edition, its cost is the same as MA410M, but the noise is less when cooling. Lower noise output will also affect cooling performance, so you may want to stick to MA410M. If $60 discourages you, we also added some budget CPU coolers.
Noctua manufactures a large number of air coolers, and they have everything from the largest CPU coolers to low-profile devices suitable for small cabinets. Noctua NH-L9i is such a low-key CPU cooler. In fact, it is one of the best low-profile CPU coolers you can get for small (SFF) builds. SFF PC enthusiasts usually rely on AIO liquid coolers for cooling, because air coolers require a lot of space. When it comes to SFF construction, chassis gaps and even RAM gaps become an issue for most air coolers.
Having said that, low-profile air coolers like the NH-L9i can also control the CPU temperature to a large extent. Noctua NH-L9i is only 1.49 inches high and can be easily installed in the SFF version without causing any gap problems, whether it is RAM or PC case. In fact, the NH-L9i is only slightly higher than the height of the memory module.
Noctua's NH-L9i is only compatible with Intel-based platforms, but you can also purchase this variant of the precise heatsink with AMD bracket. NH-L9i is almost perfectly square with densely arranged heat sinks. The included 9.2 cm thin fan is located on top of the heat sink stack to push air through. Noctua said that this low-profile fan is enough to cool the CPU because the heat sink itself is very thin and there is a lot of airflow through the cooler.
The CPU contact surface is nickel-plated and polished with fine sand. As you would expect from Noctua coolers, the manufacturing quality is very good. The mounting bracket is factory installed, so you must purchase the correct variant to match your CPU socket. In typical Noctua fashion, this is also one of the quietest coolers around. The noise is almost completely inaudible, so it is very suitable for those who want to build the smallest SFF PC for low-noise operation.
It is understandable that the heat dissipation performance of NH-L9i is not excellent. It is still sufficient to cool mid-range CPUs, but we do not recommend using it for high-performance overclocking SFF builds. It is still better than a large number of other CPU coolers on the market, so if you come from a very basic or stock CPU cooler, you may still be worth the money. In addition, this is one of the few low profile coolers on the market, unless you want an AIO liquid cooler, your options for SFF construction are already very limited.
Noctua also produces an all-black variant of the NH-L9 cooler, so if you don’t necessarily like Noctua’s signature two-tone finish, you may want to check it out. However, this will cost you more money, so please keep this in mind. The Noctua NH-L9i, priced at $45, is not the most affordable CPU cooler on the market, but its working principle is the same as advertised, and the performance of this cooler is worthy of praise. We have seen this type of cooler make it into many small-sized configurations, and other conventional coolers are often difficult to adapt.
Cooler Master Hyper 212 has been out for decades. There is no doubt that it is one of the oldest CPU coolers on the market, and it is constantly updated to be compatible with all new CPU sockets. The company either manufactures a new version of the Hyper 212 cooler or just releases a new installation kit for the new socket. In fact, Cooler Master even updated Hyper 212 Black Edition to be compatible with the new Intel Alder Lake CPU, which is impressive considering that not many CPU cooler manufacturers have done so. Cooler Master Hype 212 Black Edition, as the name suggests, is an all-black variant of the original Hyper 212 radiator.
Except for the black paint, everything about the Hyper 212 Black Edition is the same as the original radiator. It uses a direct contact four-heat-pipe tower design with a minimalist style. There is a 9-bladed SF120R RGB fan on one side of the heat sink stack, which allows air to pass through the tower to dissipate heat from the CPU IHS. The top of the cooling tower has a brushed aluminum top plate with the Cooler Master logo. You can also see a pile of lids to hide the end of the heat pipe.
The installation of this cooler is relatively simple and will not cause gap problems. It leaves enough room for the DIMM to breathe, and it does not touch the side panel of the PC case. This is what we call a simple CPU cooler, designed to provide the best cooling performance. Unlike larger coolers that may or may not be suitable for most user situations, the form factor itself makes it a very popular choice. Hyper 212 Black Edition will not conflict with some of the other high-performance radiators on this list. However, it is a good choice for those who wish to replace the old cooler or even the stock cooler that came with the CPU.
If you are not going to overclock, the Hyper 212 Black version is very suitable for cooling mid-to-high-end CPUs. We think it is best used with a CPU like Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel's Core i5 CPU. It is also not the quietest cooler in this series, but it is less noisy than the Cooler Master MA410M we listed above. It is the best medium-sized CPU cooler we have chosen. As we mentioned before, Hyper 212 has many different styles. If you don’t like the all-black design, you can also buy the standard version of this cooler. If you want to add a little light to the settings, there is also a fan variant with RGB lights.
The performance of each variant is more or less the same. Hyper 212 is not meant to break any record, but it is definitely a solid CPU cooler, and it won't bankrupt you. In our summary of the best overall CPU coolers, we also introduced this fan cooler, which includes the best air coolers and liquid coolers on the market.
Quiet! It is another popular and reliable name in the industry, which contains many PC components centered on low-noise operation. Many of their products have entered our other series, such as PC cases, power supply units and Moro. So be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 is the company's top CPU fan cooler, and it stands out for many reasons. First of all, it uses an all-black aesthetic design with two fans and color-coated aluminum fins, which looks great.
There is a 120 x 25 mm SilentWings fan on the front to move air through the first tower. It meets a second 135 x 22 mm SilentWings fan, which causes airflow through the second tower and finally blows it out of the cooler. This is very similar to the working principle of Noctua's NH-D15 CPU cooler, but it is worth pointing out that the fan sizes of the two are different. It helps the cooler to control the CPU temperature, so it can work as advertised.
The heat sink has an open design that maximizes airflow and allows heat to escape from all four sides. This, combined with the push/pull airflow of the fan, is very beneficial to the cooler to control the CPU heat output. The top of Dark Rock Pro 4 has a well-defined brushed aluminum top plate. It also has a lot of covers to hide the heat pipe. If you are wondering, Dark Rock Pro 4 has seven heat pipes. As you can see, this is one of the largest CPU coolers in the series, which complements products like Noctua NH-D15 and Assassin III.
But what is good for quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 is the overall noise output. Despite its huge footprint and two fans in the cooler, it is the quietest large-size cooler you can buy on the market. Not only does it beat all other coolers in the category in terms of noise output, but it is also almost inaudible even when the CPU is under heavy load. This is very impressive for a cooler of this size. If you think the Noctua cooler is quiet, wait until you hear or at least try to hear how quiet the cooler is. We think it is very suitable for those who want to create a silent PC for the recording studio.
As for performance, Dark Pro 4 did a great job. The low noise output is due to the relatively low fan RPM. Therefore, it runs a few degrees higher in the CPU temperature, but if you want a silent cooler, this is a fair deal. This is why Dark Pro 4 has no real competitors due to its low noise output. Noctua NH-D15 is close, but be quiet! If you want to equip a high-performance CPU with an excellent cooler while also reducing noise, then Dark Rock Pro 4 should be your choice. Just make sure your memory module has enough space, otherwise you will have to pick up some low-key sticks.
As you may already know, AMD's Threadripper CPU is one step higher than the company's mainstream consumer CPU. Simply put, Threadripper CPUs are powerful beasts, and it is not easy to tame them in terms of heat output. We are talking about CPUs with up to 64 cores, so it is not surprising to see the popularity of these chips. It is also worth pointing out that these CPUs also use different sockets, which means that your normal CPU coolers will not work together. Due to the large socket, you cannot even use the mounting kit to use a conventional cooler.
However, Noctua provides excellent CPU coolers for AMD's Threadripper series. Remember when we said that Noctua provides air coolers for everyone? Well, this is one of the best coolers on the market. Not only did it manage to cool a huge CPU like Threadripper, but it also kept it quiet. Yes, we are talking about Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3. It uses six copper heat pipes to dissipate heat along the fin set, while the accompanying fan blows the heat away from the cooler. Both the heat pipe and the mounting base plate are nickel plated to obtain a beautiful chrome finish, which is what we expect from many of these Noctua air coolers.
Only one of it contains a 140mm NF-A15 PWM, but the company says it is sufficient to remove the heat from the cooler itself. The installation is quite simple, including installing the tower, and then using wire spring clips to fix the fan. Due to the exclusivity of Threadripper and Epyc sockets, spring tension mounting bolts are integrated into the mounting base hardware. The overall footprint of this particular CPU cooler is very small. Yes, it is still larger than most CPU coolers in the series, but definitely not as big as the NH-D15 or Dark Pro 4. These radiators use a double tower design, which is prone to gap problems inside the PC case.
The heat dissipation performance of Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 is also very good. Facts have proved that it can prevent the CPU temperature from exceeding the danger zone. The fan only reaches its maximum RPM when the CPU is under load. It is one of the quietest CPU coolers in its class, which is not surprising considering that it is from Noctua. Under heavy load, it is quieter than most other large mainstream coolers such as Cooler Master MA410.
The Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3, which sells for $90, is not the most expensive cooler on the market. In fact, considering that it can cool the high-performance Threadripper CPU while maintaining low noise output, this is a great deal. Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 can even be said to be better than Noctua NH-U12S TR4-SP3. Cooler Master MasterAir MA621P is also a good choice, but it is larger than U14S, you may not be able to install it on the motherboard. Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 also performed well, making it one of the best Threadripper CPU air coolers.
Last but not least, we have another air cooler from Noctua. We chose Noctua NH-P1 as the product worth mentioning in this series simply because of its unique operation. Yes, the NH-P1 does not have a fan, which means that technically speaking, it does not meet the requirements of an air cooler. However, this passive CPU cooler does not use any liquid to remove heat from the CPU. This is why it eliminates the possibility of any/all accidental damage that mainly keeps people away from AIO. In addition, it relies on the chassis fan to regulate the airflow and control the CPU temperature. Noctua NH-P1 did it all without any noise at the same time, which is awesome. Even the most demanding high-performance CPU on the market, its cooling effect is impressive.
However, Noctua NH-P1 is one of the largest CPU coolers you have ever seen. The density and thickness of the fins make up most of the large size of the cooler. Yes, it is bigger than the NH-D15 air cooler, so you can imagine the huge size of this thing. Since there is no cooling fan, the heat sink of the radiator is fully responsible for cooling the CPU. NH-P1 also has a grid of horizontal cutouts, which Noctua says helps with natural airflow. The direction of the heat pipe on Noctua NH-P1 is also different from NH-D15. NH-P1 has a copper base and heat pipe, and the heat sink is made of aluminum.
However, installing Noctua NH-P1 is not a simple task. It is also worth pointing out that NH-P1 cannot compete with all high-performance CPUs on the market. Not to mention, passive radiators like this cannot be overclocked. You can achieve it by keeping the ambient temperature low or increasing the airflow of the chassis, but we think Noctua NH-P1 is best suited for use with mid-range CPUs such as Ryzen 5 5600. Of course, it can handle heavy CPU loads while performing resource-intensive tasks such as games, but it is best to use it with a mid-range PC, which does not necessarily mean breaking the limit in terms of performance.
Noctua has developed a set of guidelines for those interested in purchasing this passive cooler. The company even recommends a PC case that works well with the NH-P1. Therefore, it is safe to say that you really have to invest in building a completely silent PC to buy this radiator. So yes, NH-P1 is not a CPU cooler for all PCs, but it works very well when used with the correct components.
The Noctua NH-P1, which sells for $100, is a bit expensive, but you pay a high price for its performance without using any fans. It achieves goals that most other CPU coolers cannot achieve with complex cooling solutions and aggressive fans that spin at high RPM.
Well, that's all in the series of the best air CPU coolers we can build and buy for your PC right now. Our product line reflects the evolving market, so we tend to update this article with newer, more efficient and more powerful coolers. We think Noctua NH-D15 is the best fan cooler you can buy right now. Even when paired with some of the most powerful CPUs on the market, it is known for its excellent cooling performance and low noise operation. If you don't mind a large cooler, DeepCool Assassin III is also a good choice. We also added options such as Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition for those who don't want to spend a lot of money on air coolers.
As always, you can also make some suggestions in the comments below, in case we end up missing important content that you think deserves a place in this series. From the release of Windows 11 to the release of AMD’s AM5, to the release of Intel Alder Lake, many things have happened in the computing field, so be sure to join our XDA computing forum to connect with some like-minded PC enthusiasts and have meaningful discussions . Also, if you are building a new PC setup, be sure to check out our collection of the best monitors and best webcams to see if you can find some good options among them.
XDA »Buying Guide» These are the best CPU fan coolers you can buy in 2021
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