At the core of every PC is the CPU, and that core needs optimal cooling to ensure it doesn’t overheat, otherwise your PC could die. Gaming PCs and high-performance rigs especially need extra care and attention, which is why CPU coolers like our favorite, the Noctua NH-D15S, should be considered.
TL;DR – These are the Best CPU Coolers:
- Noctua NH-D15S
- Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO V2
- Corsair iCUE H100i Elite Capellix XT
- Corsair H60x RGB Elite
- Noctua NH-L9i
- Noctua NH-P1
- Cryorig H7
- be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
- Corsair A500
- ProSiphon Elite
When your CPU works hard, it gets hot. Like other components in your PC, if these get too hot, they need to slow down to cool down, which in turn reduces performance. By investing in a decent CPU cooler, your processor can stay cooler for longer, and perform better as a result. From air cooling solutions to liquid coolers, there’s a choice for every PC build.
Best CPU Coolers
1. Noctua NH-D15S
Best CPU Cooler
At $100, the Noctua NH-D15S is pricier than some other coolers, but it does a lot to earn its keep. For one thing, you can use it on a broad range of processors, new and old, so you get extra value from it by keeping it over multiple PC upgrades. Its wide compatibility is aided by the cooler’s asymmetrical layout with the fin stack offset towards the upper edge of the motherboard, while recessed lower fins ensure it’ll fit with almost any RAM up to 65mm in height.
If you’re looking for powerful cooling, the Noctua NH-D15S delivers and is ready to keep the beefiest Intel and Ryzen processors frosty. This cooler features two massive sets of aluminum radiator fins with six heat pipes to pull heat away from your CPU. Those aluminum fins can do some passive cooling, but Noctua has placed one outstanding 140mm PWM fan between them to keep plenty of air flowing through the cooler super quietly, thanks to a max noise level of 24.6 dBA. There are even extra fan clips included, letting you add a second fan, if it fits, for improved performance.
2. Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO V2
Best Cheap CPU Cooler
There's a good reason the Cooler Master Hyper 212 cooler has such incredible staying power: its design is simple, its performance is solid, and its price is low. That's no less true with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO V2 which has a few updates you should love all while keeping you on budget with your build thanks to the under $50 price tag. It features a new design with an asymmetrical tilt to provide better RAM clearance and revised brackets for easier installation. The new Sickleflow 120 fan should provide better airflow and air pressure, and if you detest the loud fan noise, it should be 10% quieter from the previous model.
The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO V2 is ready to kit out both your AMD and Intel builds alike, and it has made the brakets more universal, so it has got the LGA1700 socket used by Intel's latest CPUs. It features four heat pipes to draw heat away from your processor and send it out to a stack of aluminum fins. There are also x-shaped vents so hot air will head directly to the heat pipes. It really is an incredible value that should get you plenty of mileage and keep your temperatures in line.
3. Corsair iCUE H100i Elite Capellix XT
Best Liquid CPU Cooler
If you’re sold on liquid cooling your processor, then your best option is the Corsair iCUE H100i Elite Capellix XT. It's a 240mm cooler with socket support for the latest AMD and Intel processors, including AMD’s powerful Threadripper processors. A copper cold plate with thermal paste preinstalled pulls heat away from your CPU, while the cooler pumps liquid into a 240mm radiator fitted with two 120mm fans for ultimate cooling. You won’t need to worry about the fans being too distracting because even running at a maximum of 65.57CFM, the noise will top out at 34.1dBA.
Managing this AIO cooler is simple with Corsair’s iCUE software, which lets you control fan and pump speeds right on your PC. You can even monitor the CPU temperature, ensuring your settings deliver optimal processor performance. If visual flair is also your thing, there are customizable RGB LEDs with 33 on the pump head and 16 on the fans.
4. Corsair H60x RGB Elite
Best Compact Liquid CPU Cooler
The Corsair H60x RGB Elite is a compact but powerful AIO liquid cooler that keeps a small footprint, making it perfect for those tight on space around the CPU. You get a copper cold plate on the pump to pull heat away while it delivers liquid to the 120mm radiator fitted with a 120mm fan, ensuring your PC’s internals are nice and frosty. It does all of this quietly, with the cooler reaching only 28 dBA running at max settings.
Being an all-in-one option, you don’t have to mess around with priming and filling or spend a ton of money, as the Corsair H60x RGB Elite will set you back less than $100. You even get individually addressable RGB LEDs, with 16 on the pump head and eight on the fan for lighting effects that can match the rest of your PC build using the standard 5V motherboard ARGB header for easy control.
5. Noctua NH-L9i
Best Low-Profile Cooler
While many tower cases have more than enough space for beefy coolers, many mATX and ITX cases have constraints to how much you can pack in. In those cases, you'll need to think carefully about what kind of CPU cooler you can fit. Noctua's NH-L9i cooler is an extra low-profile option that can let you build out that sleek, small form-factor PC of your dreams.
The Noctua NH-L9i may not be offering as serious of cooling as other contenders on this list, but that's more or less a given for a compact PC. That said, it is still offering a sizable radiator and packs on a quality Noctua fan. The combination is enough to cool a wide variety of Intel chips, excluding many of Intel's unlocked models and Extreme Editions. With a separate mounting adapter, it can even support AMD chips on an AM4 socket. And, where compactness is only one piece of the puzzle, an included adapter will let you run the fan in a low-noise mode that drops the fan speed to 1,800RPM to lower the max fan noise down to just 14.8dBA.
6. Noctua NH-P1
Best Passive CPU Cooler
What kind of cooler doesn’t make any noise? The kind that doesn’t use any fans, doesn’t have a water pump, and has no moving parts to speak of. That’s what you get with the Noctua NH-P1. This doesn’t look like your normal cooler, as the heatsink and fins are designed very differently in order to let heat better escape the fin stack without the aid of a fan.
The Noctua NH-P1 can fit onto a ton of systems including those using the latest LGA1700 socket from Intel and the AM5 socket from AMD. But, passive cooling isn’t as aggressive as active cooling, so you’ll have to mind your component pairings. Impressively, Noctua boasts cooling performance that can keep up with a decent variety of strong-performing chips, including most AMD Ryzen 5 models (except overclocked X variants) and some 12th- and 13th-Gen Intel Core i5 models. However, if you don’t need dead silence, you can slap on one of Noctua’s quietest fans and dramatically increase the cooling capabilities of the NH-P1.
7. Cryorig H7
Best Hyper 212 EVO V2 Alternative
Why would I even bother suggesting a cooler that costs more than the 212 EVO when I already said the 212 EVO is all you need? The main reason is the H7 offers a bit more clearance which makes swapping RAM sticks easier, and it just takes up less room, so your build looks better. Plus, its smaller size doesn’t really come with any drawbacks; the H7 is slightly quieter and runs as cool (if not cooler) than the 212 EVO.
The H7 fits both AMD and Intel sockets, although again, you will likely need a bracket for AM4. There is a lot of debate as to whether the H7 is an “EVO killer,” and honestly a lot of people are just tired of the 212 EVO as it's been around forever. So, if you’re willing to spend more, and are tight on space, the H7 is the way to go.
8. be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Best Silent Cooler
The be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 is true to its name, and is one of the quietest CPU coolers money can buy. It can whisk away up to 250w of heat, which is an excessive amount. It can do this thanks to its massive 6mm copper heat pipes.
More importantly, it's designed to operate in near silence. Even with two or three fans strapped on and spinning as fast as possible, it'll only achieve a maximum 24.3dBA. It'll set you back a pretty penny at $90, making it one of the more expensive air coolers on the market, but if you demand silence, this is the cooler for you.
9. Corsair A500
Best Flexible CPU Cooler
If you want a cooler that's easy to install, can work around the rest of your kit, and will look great in your case, then the Corsair A500 is our pick. It puts two 120mm fans onto a hefty aluminum heatsink with four heatpipes to handle cooling on CPUs with up to 250W TDP. It manages that by blowing a considerable 75 cubic feet of air across the heatsink every minute.
A solid perk of this heatsink is that it can flex to fit your rig if you're using extra tall memory modules. The fans use a sliding and locking mechanism, so it's easy to move them to exactly the right position. The cooler also supports a wide range of Intel and AMD sockets.
10. ProSiphon Elite
Best CPU-Mounted AIO Liquid-Cooler
So, you want the cooling of a liquid cooler but don't want to deal with finding somewhere on your case to attach a radiator or running hoses that could potentially leak on your expensive PC components? Well, the ProSiphon Elite from IceGiant Cooling solves that with an all-in-one cooler that attaches a large 240mm radiator directly to its base for liquid cooling that all happens right above your CPU. You'll want to make sure you've got room for your RAM with this cooler, though, as it takes up a lot of space over the motherboard with 48mm of clearance for your memory modules.
This isn't your typical liquid cooler with a beefy pump. Instead, this design is gravity-driven, using an evaporator to transfer heat away from the CPU into the radiator and using condensers and gravity to send the cooled fluid back toward the CPU. The kit includes all the mounting hardware you need for a variety of Intel and AMD platforms, including Threadripper. And, it comes with four 120mm fans to set up in a push-pull configuration. It's recommended you also install exhaust fans on top of your case, as the common front-to-back case airflow won't be as effective with this cooler.
How to Pick a CPU Cooler
When it comes to finding the best CPU cooler for you and your PC setup, there are many factors to consider, with the most important being compatibility. You want to find an option that fits your specific CPU socket. Luckily, many coolers offer relatively universal support for common socket types, but some older models aren’t always compatible with the newer Intel LGA1700 or AMD AM5. You also want to ensure your CPU cooler actually fits in your case with your PC’s other components, so check the height, radiator size, and other specs before purchasing, paying close attention to higher-end options that are often bulkier.
How you plan on using your PC plays into what cooler you’ll need. Do you plan on overclocking and pushing your rig to the extreme? Are you using the latest top-tier CPUs? Then you want a high-end cooler with exceptional cooling potential, offering a large radiator, lots of heat pipes, and maybe multiple fans. One spec to pay particularly close attention to is the TPD of your processor, and then grab a cooler offering a TPD rating that exceeds that, especially if you’ll be overclocking.
There are two main cooler types to choose from: air and liquid. Air coolers offer a great performance-to-price ratio and last a long time, but for those who need extremely powerful cooling, they aren’t always the best option and can get bulky. Liquid or AIO coolers, especially high-end models, are often better at keeping temperatures down and generally have lower profiles to fit better in your setup. However, they cost more and need more upkeep. There are other cooler types, though most don’t work as well as air and liquid.
Beyond that, you should also consider your budget. CPU coolers have a wide price range from $30 to over $200.
Liquid CPU Cooler vs Air CPU Cooler
Air CPU coolers are more affordable than liquid coolers and are a better option if you’re not running a high-powered gaming PC. They also tend to be easier to install, making air CPU coolers a beginner-friendly solution. However, unless you invest in near-silent air cooling (which is hard to achieve), you’re going to notice the difference in noise between air and liquid cooling.
Liquid cooling, on the other hand, is very quiet. It’s also more efficient for high-performance builds like gaming PCs. Since more power is required, and high temperatures can be achieved, liquid cooling can bring temperatures down more effectively and quickly. And, with the option to invest in an RGB liquid cooler, they look pretty cool too.
The only real drawbacks of liquid cooling are the cost and hassle of installation. If you’re a beginner PC builder, you may feel more confident installing an air cooler than liquid cooling.
Kevin Lee is IGN's SEO Updates Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.
Danielle Abraham is a freelance writer and unpaid music historian.
