Top 5 Best CPU Coolers for Gaming in 2024

You should pick your CPU cooler carefully, regardless of whether you want to design a PC that is silent when under load or achieve the greatest potential CPU overclock. The temperatures and fan noise of your system will significantly change depending on which CPU cooler is appropriate for your setup. It can even improve performance in high-end systems by maintaining higher boost clocks for longer periods of time. Every year, we test dozens of models of all-in-one (AIO) liquid coolers and PC air coolers. Our selections for the top coolers to regulate CPU temperatures are shown below. However, for even more fantastic cooler alternatives, make sure to visit our Best AIO Coolers page if you’re specifically looking for a liquid cooler.

There are a few things to think about if you’re unsure whether you want to use a liquid-cooled AIO (a pump connected to a radiator and fans) or an air-cooled AIO (a large metal heatsink with fans). Large air coolers typically require more vertical clearance off your best motherboard, which can limit the amount of internal room you can have in your PC case. Additionally, compared to liquid coolers, air coolers may be noisier and less effective in removing heat from the chassis and away from your CPU. But things aren’t that simple these days. There are other fanless air cooling solutions, like as Noctua’s Colossal NH-P1 if you’re willing to take an extreme approach.

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Last update on 2024-09-19 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

Top 5 Best CPU Coolers for Gaming in 2024

1.Corsair H150i Elite LCD XT

Last update on 2024-09-19 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

Over the years, I’ve used a number of Corsair AIO cooler models, and each has been reliable. Senior Editor at Android Central, Harish Jonnalagadda, is free to share his passion for custom-built computers and his appreciation for the H150i Elite LCD XT in his review. According to my expectations, it has virtually every luxury you could want, including a stunning yet understated 2.1-inch IPS LCD screen, and is still as easy to install as any other model from the same manufacturer.

If you’re okay with third-party software running continuously in the background, Corsair’s iCUE companion app is still, in my opinion, one of the better choices. Here, you can adjust the CPU block’s customized display and set the fan curves to your liking and RGB lighting, so it helps that it’s not a disastrous RAM hog. It’s available in black, too, if that’s a better fit for your build, but I can’t deny my desire for all-white aesthetic builds, and the H150i Elite LCD XT looks fantastic in an appropriately sized case.

In the liquid cooling market, Corsair is a major player, and its H line of products is regularly rated as some of the best available. My favorite thing about Corsair is that it’s always adding new features to its flagship products. In the past few years, these additions have included LCD panels, bigger radiator sizes, RGB lighting that integrates with the iCUE ecosystem, and white color options.

The newest model in the series, the H150i Elite LCD XT, retails for and is targeted towards enthusiasts who want to get the most out of their cooling system. The cooler’s primary features include a sizable 2.1-inch IPS LCD panel with Corsair’s most recent AF120 RGB Elite fans installed as standard.

I purchased the white H150i Elite LCD XT to match the 5000T RGB chassis, and it looks great with the case. The cooler’s visible portion is the white-colored shroud that connects over the pump block, which houses the LCD screen. The radiator and tubing are both white, while the pump block is painted black.

After the installation is complete, the wire is invisible and the pump shroud is attached magnetically. That being said, Corsair supplies mounting brackets for the majority of AMD and Intel sockets in the package along with everything else you need to install the liquid cooler. Brackets for Intel LGA 115X, 1200, 1700, 2011, and 2066 sockets are available, along with AMD’s AM4/AM5 and sTR4/sTRX4. You’ll also find the requisite screws for mounting the radiators and fans, and Corsair labels everything clearly.

The liquid cooler is reasonably simple to install, albeit there isn’t a handbook included with the product. A paper handbook would have made things a little simpler if Corsair had simply included one in the package. Instead, you’ll need to scan the QR code to obtain a digital copy. Other than that, the installation is going well. The longer tubing is one feature I like; the 450mm length made installing the cooler in the H5000T simple.

2.Noctua NH-D15

Last update on 2024-09-19 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

For those who are actively involved in custom PC building, Noctua is synonymous with quality and unmistakably has a creamy chocolate appearance. Though the NH-D15 is only one of the brand’s top-notch air coolers that work with a variety of desktop AMD and Intel CPUs, it’s not just about appearances. The enormous silver fin heatsink within your PC case is one of the only true drawbacks to going with a traditional air cooler like this one.

Once the NH-D15 installation is finished, it may become more difficult to reach and navigate certain components, so you’ll need to make sure they don’t interfere with other parts like RAM and motherboard VRM heatsinks. But once set up with your chosen airflow, it can support a variety of socket and processor combinations and look great through a transparent side panel. Then again, if you’d prefer a more subtle look, the NH-D15 chromax.Black is exactly as the name suggests, dropping the brown color theme for an all-black alternative.

How should I start? As the best-performing air cooler, Noctua continues to impress in terms of quality and performance. It beats the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO by about 3 watts while maintaining the greatest overall TDP throughout testing on the AMD AM5 test bench, at 242.6 watts. It has a 2-watt advantage over the Intel LGA1700 test bench, with 323.0 watts against 321.5 watts. At maximum fan speed, the two coolers recorded the same 53 dBA.

Limiting the coolers to 45 dBA in the noise-normalized tests, the Phantom Spirit 120 EVO pulls in 231 watts whereas the NH-D15 G2 pulls in 234 watts on AMD, indicating a similar difference. But the difference grows between them on Intel, where power consumption is significantly higher, with the Noctua cooler pulling ahead by 12 watts. This translates to the NH-D15 G2 having a 1-3°C or larger lead over its closest competitors, including be quiet!’s Dark Rock Elite and DeepCool’s Assassin IV. Suffice to say, Noctua holds the crown again, but only in the purest form.

3.HYTE THICC Q60

Last update on 2024-09-19 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

The THICC Q60 is without a doubt the most luxurious CPU cooler I have ever tried, and it gets its moniker from being unusually bulky. With more hype than maybe necessary, HYTE, best known for its “fish tank” PC cases like the similarly extreme Y70 Touch, enters the AIO scene and pulls it off. The Q60 manages rising temperatures roughly as well as competitive 360mm rivals from other brands, despite the radiator’s nearly 280mm size. It also looks amazing while doing it.

That’s not to claim that everyone will find it ideal. Conversely, the THICC Q60 AIO’s appeal is rather limited due to its large internal space requirements within PC cases. However, HYTE never conceals this information in its advertising. It mainly emphasizes the display scene by allowing builders to highlight the most outrageous desktop they can build and top it off with animated imagery on its 5-inch display powered by a dedicated ARM processor.

Upon doing testing using an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D gaming processor, the Q60 demonstrated its substance and proved to be much more than just an attractive piece of hardware in my review. With every software update, HYTE’s companion app for the Nexus gets better, enabling users to swiftly manage cooling profiles and design unique fan curves that can be stored to internal storage. Although the MSRP is hefty, the price is somewhat justified for someone searching for something as rudimentary as the THICC Q60, who is probably prepared to fork over the cash.

With its ‘THICC’ label, which prominently references hip-hop jargon, this massive all-in-one cooler with a substantial 288 x 52mm radiator seems fitting when you open it. The gorgeous 5-inch IPS screen that hangs from the CPU cooler block is a great distraction, but you can’t ignore how enormous this AIO is. Its overall thickness is 84mm with two of its internal 120mm THICC FP12 fans pre-installed, so you’ll need to carefully consider where you want it to go in your PC case.

The HYTE presentation is really amazing; it combines a safe and standard presentation into a unique box. One accessory pack is included, which opens to reveal separate AMD and Intel mounting components, with the former already positioned around the cooling plate. My arrangement uses an AM5 socket, and swapping the front retention plate was laughably easy, replacing both halves with a firm pull and pushing the AMD equivalent into place. Clearance isn’t an issue for me, as I’m using the previously reviewed HYTE Y70 Touch PC case, which has extra benefits that I’ll point out later.

HYTE’s ultra-hip marketing slogan, “cables are just super gross,” fits in nicely here as everything centers around a single multi-functional connector that emerges from a pair of USB-C prongs. Depending on when you want to install the THICC Q60, I would highly advise attaching this connection to the radiator initially. I learned the hard way that although though this arrangement is in a 280mm form factor, it can be challenging to plug in the twin USB-C ends later. To finish the installation, you’ll need a spare USB 2.0 header on the other side of the cable, easy access to the CPU_FAN header, and a 6-pin PCIe power connector from your power supply.

4.Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE

Last update on 2024-09-19 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

Given that my gaming desktop contains a Peerless Assassin 120 SE, Thermalright is deserving of a spot on this list. I’m overjoyed with this incredibly cheap air cooler. How well it works is almost unfair given how inexpensive it is—it costs little more than for the majority of its shelf life. It is a recent addition and will go through a rigorous testing process before a more in-depth review at a later time. Nevertheless, it hasn’t malfunctioned during my first trial-by-fire speedrun of benchmarks, and installing it was usually easy.

It comes with mounting brackets with the proper standoffs for AMD and Intel processors. My motherboard’s default backplate pairs with AM4 risers to accommodate an AM5 socket, and it only took fifteen minutes to finish the process once I’d connected the Y-splitter to its headers and clipped on the dual fans. It’s here to appeal to anyone on a strict budget, but honestly, the Peerless Assassin would happily take pride of place in any mid-to-high-end custom build. It’s just that good.

Founded in Taiwan in 2001, Thermalright made a name for itself as a competitor in the cooling market in previous decades with products like the all-copper SP94 cooler and special editions like the HR-07 memory cooler, which offered a complete heatsink with two heatpipes for DDR2 RAM. Fans, thermal pastes, air and liquid coolers, and an assortment of accessories are currently offered by the company.

Following our earlier evaluation of DeepCool’s AK500, a few of our readers requested that we evaluate the Peerless Assassin 120 SE from Thermalright. After contacting us, Thermalright sent us a sample to evaluate. It has two 120mm fans and a dual-tower radiator, but will that be sufficient to beat Intel’s 12900K and secure a place on our list of the best CPU coolers? The brevity of the response is yes, but we’ll have to put it through testing to find out just how good it is. First, let’s check out the cooler’s specifications from Thermalright.

I do two main stress tests, Cinebench and OCCT, for ten minutes each, to see how far a cooler can dissipate heat. Even while it might not be much time, it is enough to test the limitations of most coolers, both liquid and air.

With an enforced 200W CPU power restriction and with power constraints removed, I stress test in Cinebench with an MSI Z690 A Pro DDR4 motherboard and a Be Quiet Silent Base 802 computer case. When power constraints are lifted, Cinebench testing can only be passed by the most capable coolers.

I avoid testing OCCT without power constraints because doing so causes even the greatest AIO coolers to abruptly throttle when CPU package power consumption rises to over 270W.

5.Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240

Last update on 2024-09-19 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.

The Liquid Freezer II 240 can manage high-end gaming processors with a large power draw that often run on the hotter side without breaking the bank or emptying your wallet, even with its small radiator. To be sure, the RGB-laden option is more visually appealing than the strange UFO-styled pump, and the CPU cooler block isn’t that pretty, but is that really the point? Arctic continues to be the best value AIO choice if you’re creating a PC with functionality over style.

It comes in multiple sizes with radiators ranging from 120 to 420mm (really) and is compatible with a wide variety of Intel and AMD processors. However, if money is tight, the 240 is more than plenty, and it even works well with a mid-range setup.if you’re not interested in extravagant rainbow lighting or you’re passing on a transparent PC case side panel entirely. The ugly VRM fan on the CPU block at least serves a purpose, helping to further dissipate heat from your processor, so this is the perfect example of function over form.

I use two main stress tests, Cinebench and OCCT, each lasting ten minutes, to determine the upper bound of a cooler’s capacity for heat dissipation. Even while it might not be much time, it is enough to test the limitations of most coolers, both liquid and air.

I run both an enforced 200W CPU power restriction and power limits lifted when doing stress testing in Cinebench. I’m utilizing a Be Quiet Silent Base 802 computer case and an MSI z690 A Pro DDR4 motherboard in this test configuration. When power constraints are eliminated from Cinebench testing, only the finest cooling can pass.

I never test OCCT without power constraints because when I try, the CPU package power usage spikes to above 270W and it throttles with even the slightest amount of power the best AIO coolers. Instead, I test at 200W to give coolers a chance at passing. I also include 140W to give data comparable to a CPU like Intel’s i5-12600K. 95w results are also included to give data closer to low-TDP CPUs such as AMD’s Ryzen 5600X or Intel’s i5-12400.

How to choose the best CPU cooler

The right cooling for your CPU will depend on a few key considerations. Since compatibility is key, you must examine both your CPU and the socket that connects to it. The 14th generation Intel Core i7-14700K, for instance, shares an LGA1700 socket with the 12th and 13th generations of CPUs. While AMD Ryzen processors are more of a generational change from AM4 to AM5, coupling a cooler with Intel chips is a little easier because of cross-generation socket compatibility. Fortunately, AM4 coolers share many of the same brackets and are essentially the same as AM5.

For information on Core desktop processors, see the official Intel support page. Similarly, for Ryzen equivalents, visit the official AMD support page.

After you’re confident in compatibility, performance is the next priority. If you’re building a custom gaming desktop with a power-hungry processor that draws around 120W TDP, you’ll benefit from coolers like all-in-one (AIO) variants with larger 360mm radiators and triple-fan setups. Simply put, the more power a processor uses, the hotter it’ll get. My top choice for the best AIO is the Corsair H150i Elite LCD XT specifically because it’ll handle practically anything, which is why the price can be so high. For those choosing more modest, power-conscious processors, the phenomenal Peerless Assassin 120 SE is an affordable marvel that handles thermal control without breaking the bank.