Database of test results for budget and mid-range coolers: forty-five models

Expert: Alexander Vladimirovich Sheremetev

*Review of the best according to the editors of expertology.ru. About the selection criteria. This material is subjective in nature, does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before purchasing, consultation with a specialist is required.

The processor heats up intensely during operation. This is due to the laws of physics and there is no way to get around them. Coolers, in turn, are designed to cool the processor to a temperature at which it will function normally. We have compiled a rating of the best coolers that are suitable for use with almost any processor - from a simple Celeron for an office typewriter to a high-performance Intel Core i7-7700K, which to this day remains one of the best gaming chips.

Rating of the best CPU coolers

Best passive model

1. Thermalright HR-22

This model looks quite attractive; the entire body of the device is covered with nickel plating. However, this cooler has a decent weight - more than 1 kg with overall dimensions of 150x120x159 mm. The basis of the radiator here is 8 tubes, made in the shape of the letter U, and each of them has a diameter of 6 mm - quite a lot for such a compact device as a cooler. The sole is slightly offset towards one of the edges, which does not have a very good effect on the stability of the structure. The tubes are located in special grooves.

The processing of the device is excellent - all surfaces of the product are carefully polished. The heat generated by the processor will be transferred directly to 35 fins made of aluminum, with the thickness of each of them being 0.5 mm, and a distance of 2.8 mm between them. This allows the device to use even small air flows. The three lower ribs have a shortened width. In total, the approximate dispersion area is about 1200 square centimeters. The plates have special cutouts that significantly improve the aerodynamic performance of the cooler itself. There is a through hole in the center of the product. It is designed not so much for efficient operation as for ease of installation.

Advantages:

• Very efficient passive cooling system;
• The device is supplied with a connection pipe for connecting a case fan.

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Disadvantages:

• The motherboard will be subject to a very significant physical load due to the mass of such a device.

Thermalright HR-22

The best tower coolers for gaming systems and overclocking

A tower cooler is a type of active cooling system. Its design involves placing the fan on the side of the radiator, allowing heat to be dissipated more efficiently. The main thing is to choose the right direction for blowing hot air.

An important advantage of a tower cooler is maintaining the performance of the radiator over time. The plumage is not covered with dust, so the efficiency of the airflow does not decrease.

Thermalright Macho Rev.B

Rating: 4.6

A good cooler for stock, including multi-core, processors, but it may not cope with cooling overclocked ones.

One of the most classic tower coolers designed for use with gaming and multi-core (6, 8 cores) processors is Thermalright Macho Rev.B. The device dissipates up to 280 W of heating power, is equipped with six direct contact heat pipes, an aluminum radiator and one fan that operates almost silently even at maximum speed.

The fan rotation speed ranges from 300 to 1300 rpm, and the air flow intensity is 16.9-73.6 CFM, respectively. The speed controller is external, so the specific performance can be adjusted independently for the processor or tasks used. The cooler is compatible with almost all existing chips and can be installed on LGA, AM (including the latest AM4) and FM sockets.

Advantages

• High performance and quiet operation;
• Relatively low price (lower than predecessors on the list);
• Compact, but the fan can cover the first RAM slot.

Flaws

• Less productivity than that of “colleagues”;
• Assembly and installation can be tricky, but instructions are included;
• Tall, 165 mm, this is worth taking into account when choosing.

How to find out if the cooler fits the processor?

To make choosing a CPU cooler as easy as possible, the manufacturer of these modules immediately indicates which socket it is intended for and its TDP (Thermal Design Power) efficiency. The last parameter is power dissipation, which determines how much heat such a design can dissipate.

To make it easier for you to determine how to choose a cooler for a processor, we will conditionally distinguish several groups according to power dissipation for certain types of tasks:

Another equally important parameter, especially for home PCs, is the noise produced by the fan at idle and under load. If the noise level does not exceed 25 dB, such a system is considered quiet. This depends on the design of the radiator and blades, and on the rotation speed of the fan. The latter value, as a rule, does not exceed 1500 rpm.

The durability of the fan is affected by the type of bearing (bearing): there are sliding (sleeve), hydrodynamic (FDB), and rolling bearings (ball). There are also modifications: slides with screw threads, ceramic rolling bearings, hydrodynamic oil pressure. The most optimal is a hydrodynamic bearing, which is not as expensive as rolling bearings, but its durability is comparable to them.

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The best mid-class coolers under 3000 rubles

Deepcool Gammaxx 300

Rating: 4.6

Ultra-budget tower cooler, good combination of price and quality.

Deepcool Gammaxx 300 has an excellent combination of price and quality. Of course, it is not very suitable for overclocked or gaming processors, but it copes well with heating mid-range chips or with average heat dissipation. In particular, the maximum power dissipation of the device is 125 W.

The cooler is compatible with almost all processor models. Necessary soles and fastenings included. The radiator is made of aluminum plates, which are complemented by three copper heat pipes.

The cooler fan is equipped with a proprietary hydrodynamic bearing, which ensures minimal operating volume. In particular, even under load it makes 21 dB noise. The rotation speed is 900-1600 rpm (the regulator is external, i.e. it can be adjusted), and the air flow is 40 CFM.

Advantages

• Simple, quick installation;
• Minimum operating volume;
• Rich equipment.

Flaws

• Relatively large-sized;
• The contact pad is made of aluminum, into which direct contacts of heat conductor tubes are built;
• Inconvenient latches with plastic “ears” that can break.

Zalman CNPS10X Performa

Rating: 4.7

Tower cooler, direct contact between heat pipes and the processor, rotation speed up to 2000 rpm.

Zalman CNPS10X Performa has a tower design, thanks to which it can cool even high-performance processors. In particular, it is equipped with five copper heat pipes in direct contact with the base plate, an aluminum radiator and a 120 mm fan with a rotation speed of 900 to 2000 rpm.

The fan is equipped with a classic plain bearing, but thanks to optimization, the noise level even under maximum load is up to 36 dB. In this case, the speed controller is internal, so the rotation speed is set automatically by the cooler.

The cooler is compatible with both modern and classic sockets. So, it can be installed on almost all LGA models (including LGA1151 and even LGA775), AM, FM and S. Additional mounts can be purchased for other sockets.

Advantages

• The design of the radiator allows for good cooling of processors even at low speeds;
• Quiet operation;
• Durability.

Flaws

• Difficult, inconvenient fastening. It is advisable to place the cooler on a removed motherboard with RAM already installed;
• It is advisable to replace the supplied thermal paste;
• Bulky and heavy.

Test of budget CPU coolers 2021. Will they be able to cool it?

Hello, dear readers of the site Uspei.com. Expensive and hot processors mean purchasing equally expensive air or water cooling. Or is it not?

There are many budget coolers on the market that, according to the specifications, should dissipate 130 watts of heat or even more. This should be more than enough even for top processors.

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The AMD Ryzen 3800X processor, whose declared thermal package is 105 watts, will help us find out whether this is true in practice. Well, here are the most popular budget coolers that I collected for this test.

Deepcool GAMMAXX 300

The first will be the real bestseller Deepcool GAMMAXX 300. It is not surprising that it is so popular: the declared cooling capacity is up to 130 W , a 120 mm fan, 3 direct contact heat pipes, wide compatibility, and, of course, the price.

What you immediately notice is its size . For such a modest radiator, a 90 mm fan would be suitable, but engineers found a way to use a 120 mm one: it is narrowed at the base, which made it possible to make the blade span much larger.

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The fan has a hydrodynamic bearing with a maximum rotation speed of 1600 rpm. The noise level is low ( 39 dB ), without extraneous hum or resonance.

3 six-millimeter heat pipes penetrate 33 aluminum plates. Well, it’s not very thick, but they are processed well; they can only be bent or scratched at the very edges.

By the way, there are reviews online where this model has 40 plates. Apparently, at the very beginning there were so many of them, but then the manufacturer decided that the cooler was too good with them, and in the next version they left only 33.

There are no special complaints about the quality of processing of the base: the sole is smooth, except that there are noticeable gaps at the tubes. But the base area itself turned out to be slightly smaller than the area of ​​the processor cover.

By the way, the base already had factory thermal paste (see thermal paste tests), but we will test all coolers with Arctic MX-4.

The mounting method is simple and straightforward: a pair of brackets with bushings are designed for mounting on Intel platforms, and a plate with hooks is designed for factory mounting from AMD. They are fastened with four supplied screws. The pressure on the processor is too large, so before installation it would be useful to bend the plate a little.

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Enermax ETS-N31

The Enermax ETS-N31 cooler is perhaps one of the most interesting and inexpensive solutions. In terms of price, it is now even cheaper than the popular Gammaxx 300 , although it can no longer boast of a 120 mm fan.

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Of all the coolers in my test, this is the smallest . Its height is only 115 mm, so you don’t have to worry about it not fitting into any old ATX case. 90mm fan with proprietary Twister bearing.

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The maximum rotation speed is 2000 rpm , and I cannot call it silent; you will definitely notice the noticeable mid-frequency howl. 41 aluminum plates are pierced by 3 copper heat pipes with a diameter of 6 mm, which are in direct contact with the processor base.

The base of the cooler is smooth and well processed. You won't be able to cut yourself on the aluminum plates, but you can easily bend them accidentally, so be careful when installing.

By the way, about installation: the mounting system is the same as that of most budget coolers: the fastening will either have to be bent or suffer from excessive pressure.

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Thermal paste is included in the kit, however, nothing else is indicated except the brand name.

PcCooler GI-UX4

The next cooler in our test is from PcCooler: the GI-UX4 model. By adding a couple of thousand, you get not 3, but 4 heat pipes and a 120 mm fan with circular lighting, the LEDs of which are hidden behind a plastic ring.

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The fastening system is still the same: you can’t do without suffering. 4 heat pipes with a diameter of 6 mm are in direct contact with the processor cover.

There are 32 aluminum plates strung on them, the edges of which are not properly polished, but you are unlikely to cut yourself on them. But it’s easy to bend along the edges, so be careful.

There are no complaints about the sole of the cooler: it is quite smooth, the gaps are minimal. The maximum fan speed on a hydrodynamic bearing is 1800 rpm with a fairly low noise level of 38 dB.

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The set comes with an unmarked bag. Judging by the consistency, the inside contains the supplied thermal paste. There is no information about it, so use it at your own risk.

Performa Aardwolf Optima 10X

The Performa Aardwolf Optima 10X cooler can be called the “brother” of the famous Zalman CNPS10X Optima, and this is not surprising: the factory that produced coolers for Zalman decided to create its own recognizable brand and enter the market with a lower price.

The price actually turned out to be significantly lower than a similar old model from Zalman; in our case, the cooler also acquired backlighting.

True, the strip with fifteen blue LEDs located in a circle on the inside of the frame was not covered with any plastic, so I would not place this fan near my eyes.

The bearing is also hydrodynamic, the maximum fan speed is 1700 rpm . Not much, but at medium and maximum speed the fan makes a very noticeable whine. (The noise level of 42.5 decibels is clearly beyond comfortable.)

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47 aluminum plates strung onto 4 copper heat pipes with a diameter of 6 mm , which is a lot, and they are processed perfectly: they won’t be cut or accidentally bent. The direct contact base is well processed, the gaps between the heat pipes are small.

The only tricky part was the fastening : the clamping is fine, but the metal pins to which the fastening arms are attached are not properly secured by the plastic clips-stands.

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This was probably done to ensure compatibility with AM3 and AM4 sockets at the same time, but I would like to see a better solution.

Aardwolf Performa 9X

Aardwolf Performa 9X looks slightly different from the older model: the same 4 heat pipes with direct contact, a 120 mm fan, and the radiator dimensions are similar, with just one less aluminum plate.

And you can’t say that the manufacturer made any compromises, setting the price tag at the level of the most inexpensive popular models.

The declared maximum 1500 rpm actually turned out to be 1700, but the fan on a hydraulic bearing is noticeably quieter than in the older model, without howling or resonances, although it cannot be called quiet either (41 decibels).

The rest is just a slightly different shape of the radiator and the location of the heat pipes in it.

Pure Rock from be quiet!

Pure Rock cooler from be quiet! - although the most expensive among those presented in the test , in the line of the German company this solution belongs to the budget class.

The main advantage of Pure Rock is the Pure Wings 2 series fan. It has a plain bearing , which is practically silent even at a maximum of 1600 (one thousand six hundred) revolutions per minute.

The sound level meter readings confirm this: 37.5 decibels is an impressive result. For lovers of silence who want to save money, this cooler is one of the best options on the market .

The workmanship is at the highest level: 48 radiator fins are processed perfectly and practically do not bend, 4 copper heat pipes with a diameter of 6 millimeters are pressed into a nickel-plated copper base, which is not the case with any cooler in our test.

The cooler is mounted on the AM4 socket using a factory reinforcement plate and plastic fasteners. But it should be noted that the pressure was still weak: the installed cooler moves a little on the processor cover.

Oh, yes, only horizontal radiator orientation is available for the AMD platform; owners of systems with four memory sticks should keep this in mind.

Zalman CNPS9X Optima

The Zalman CNPS9X Optima cooler is the younger brother of the updated line of Zalman coolers introduced in 2021.

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