Best Cpu Coolers: Top Reviews in 2024

If you're building or updating your PC, you should consider spending money on a premium CPU cooler to keep it alive and operating efficiently. Because they come in a wide range of cooling systems and pricing points, every builder can select a top CPU cooler that works with their system and their budget.

1. NZXT Kraken Z-3

Important Specifications 

• Item Dimensions LxWxH: 18.8 x 7.1 x 5.8 inches

• Brand: NZXT

• Voltage: 12 Volts

• Wattage: 3.84 watts

• Cooling Method: Water

Product's highlights

The NZXT Kraken Z-3 is a great option if you're looking for liquid cooling, whether you want 360MM or 280MM. First of all, this liquid cooler offers complete customization so you can fine-tune settings and show your favorite photos and animated GIFs on its vivid 2.36-inch LCD screen, which can display 24-bit color. More importantly, it is simple to install and has remarkable liquid cooling performance.

Pros

• Total individualization

• Outstanding performance

Cons

• Expensive pricing

2. Corsair iCUE H115i Elite Capellix

Important Specifications 

• Brand: Corsair

• Voltage: 12 Volts

• Cooling Method: Water

• Compatible Devices: Computador

• Noise Level: 36 dB

Product's highlights

The legendary Corsair line of excellent liquid coolers is continued with the iCUE H115i Elite Capellix. With its split-flow copper cold plate and low-noise centrifugal pump, it provides excellent cooling, and its usage of Capellix LEDs produces dazzling RGB lighting. Additionally, in classic Corsair fashion, the RGB lighting can be customized using the company's exclusive iCue software. The Corsair iCUE H115i Elite is the ideal option if you're looking for a potent liquid cooling system that also has a stylish design.

Pros

• Maddening performance

• Luminous RGB lighting.

Cons

• Only a slight improvement over the prior model

3. Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML120R RGB

Important Specifications 

• Item Dimensions LxWxH: 6.2 x 4.7 x 1.1 inches

• Brand: Cooler Master

• Wattage: 200

• Cooling Method: Water

• Compatible Devices: Desktop

• Noise Level: 30 dB

Product's highlights

Cooler Master is fully aware of this and has jumped on the RGB bandwagon with the MasterLIquid ML 120R RGB. There isn't a single component that RGB can't improve. It also has some of the first addressable LEDs ever used in a liquid cooler. This all-in-one liquid cooling system has more to offer than simply good looks; it has an effective radiator and an oxidation-free pump. This implies that not only will it survive longer, but it will also keep your CPU cooler, all without taking up a lot of case space. For these reasons, it entered our list of the top CPU coolers.

Pros

• Brilliant RGB lighting

• Build quality

Cons

• A little pricey.

4. Corsair iCUE H100i Elite Capellix

Important Specifications 

• Brand: Corsair

• Voltage: 12 Volts

• Cooling Method: Water

• Compatible Devices: Radiator

• Noise Level: 36 dB

Product's highlights

Although it has a smaller form factor than its more powerful H115i Elite Capellix cousin, the Corsair H100i Elite is more than capable of keeping the fastest processors on the market operating comfortably cool even when under stress. This cooler is prepared for the upcoming generation of desktop processors and has sufficient cooling power to handle anything Intel and AMD can throw at it. It is compatible with both LGA 1700 and AM5 sockets.

If you're looking at the Core i7 and Ryzen 7 chips or lower down the stack, this cooler is more than capable of providing you with the cooling you need. We say just about because the most powerful Intel Core i9 and AMD Ryzen 9 chips can run especially hot. These chips frequently need a much more substantial 360mm AIO cooling unit to properly manage their thermals.

Pros

• Fantastic cooling ability

• Outstanding for lesser instances

Cons

• May have trouble with Ryzen 9 and Intel i9 chips that are running at a high temperature.

5. Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black

Important Specifications 

• Item Dimensions LxWxH: 6.3 x 5.91 x 5.31 inches

• Brand: Noctua

• Voltage: 12 Volts

• Cooling Method: Air

• Compatible Devices: Desktop

• Noise Level: 24.6 dB

Product's highlights

Many people believe that the Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black is the greatest air cooler currently available. It's a favorite of ours as well, so it's an obvious choice for our list of suggested coolers. It has wonderful fans that are a welcome black color rather than the really unattractive beige and maroon (sorry, Jacob(opens in new tab)), excellent build quality, and Noctua's packaging, accessories, and documentation are unmatched. It runs brilliantly.

Only 360mm AIO coolers actually perform better than it. You might find an air cooler to rival the Noctua flagship, but you won't find anything that truly surpasses it if you want one that can handle any consumer CPU on the market.

The NH-D15 also includes two 140mm fans, which move plenty of air while operating more quietly than their 120mm counterparts. You can always remove one of these if necessary if two of them are too loud for you.

Pros

• Fantastic cooling ability

• Under ordinary loads, quiet

• Solid construction

• Black-only excellent looks

Cons

• Under load, louder than you might anticipate

1. Does liquid cooling produce less noise than air cooling?

A liquid CPU cooler that is integrated into the CPU will often be quieter than an air cooler that is placed directly to the processor. That's because cooling radiator fans tend to be bigger and hence have more power to spin more slowly than air cooler fans. Although it is frequently adequately insulated, the water pump can make considerable noise.

However, because to their massive heatsinks and fans, some enormous air coolers may successfully compete with the noise an AIO liquid cooler makes. The Noctua NH-D15, for example, has two 140mm fans and operates silently. The most silent cooler would be one that was completely passive and had no moving parts. The most powerful, hotter CPUs, however, can be difficult for users to handle.

2. If I don't overclock my CPU, do I still require liquid cooling?

There are additional reasons you might desire an AIO in your system besides liquid cooling, which can surely offer your processor the thermal space it needs to operate pleasantly overclocked. The appearance is the most vain; having a Perspex peephole to display your components rather than a bulky, cumbersome heatsink is frequently preferred.

That may also contribute to using a chassis with a smaller overall size. Where an air cooler with a smaller, weaker form factor would normally fit, liquid coolers can frequently provide the thermal performance to run a high-spec CPU in a compact chassis.

3. How exactly does liquid cooling operate?

The coolant circulates through a closed-loop through a plate and cools the processor together with the fan and radiator that are also connected to your CPU. It is simple and much easier to install than a whole water-cooling loop.

You should carefully select your cooler whether your goal is to design a PC that runs quietly under load or to achieve amazing CPU overclocks. A crucial choice in any CPU upgrade or new PC construction is selecting the best CPU cooler for your processor. Especially if you're overclocking, the finest CPU cooler will have a significant impact on the temperatures, noise, and performance of your system.