20 Best Cooler For I7 8700K (2023 Updated)

This is the first time I’ve installed an aftermarket cpu cooler. Only ever used the ones that came with the processor (which apparently they don’t anymore). I’ve been Argonauting my other PC for 15 years and this is the first completely fresh build since then (though I did bring over the Seasonic 850 platinum rated power supply that I had installed in the old one earlier this year; I put a Corsair 550 in the old one and still use it for mobile recording).

This is a workstation on which i do audio work and I’m angling toward silence. It’s an i9-10850k 3. 6Ghz running at constant 4. 8 for stability, and the temperature stays below 50 degrees Celsius easily so far in a dry 70 degree F ambient environment.

I am waiting on a set of Noctua case fans and am currently running the new system with the stock fans in the Fractal Define 7 which do not allow motherboard speed control. It’s not loud but it’s not silent.

I made an early attempt to overclock to 5. 2 GHz and the system broke to the point of needing to reinstall windows, but otherwise it’s been snappy and all programs are running better than I could have imagined before with seemingly no stress on the system.

Not sure how much this heatsink has to do with that, but it’s definitely not hurting. I guess I should also say that I’ve never manually overclocked before and thought I should try to get the most out of what I have going on, but might have done something wrong.

In any case, I’m sure this cooler was not the reason the 5. 2 overclock failed. I’m a little concerned about the weight of the heatsink but honestly once it was put together it seemed like it wasn’t pulling on anything too hard.

The screw system between the heatsink and the mounts was a little janky coming together. Only two screws, each on opposite sides of the processor. The male side is on the mounting brackets, and on the heatsink itself is a female screw with springs.

I’m not sure why there are springs; they may only serve to complicate the process of achieving an optimal mate between the plate on the heatsink and the processor, obfuscating the amount of torque you’re applying.

Mounting the heatsink to its own brackets was the hardest part. One screw would go in, then I would twist and twist on the other but the screw wouldn’t mate with the bolt. I went back and forth several times, easily getting the first screw to engage and being careful not to tighten it any more than necessary for it to simply be engaged, then moving to the other to try to get it to engage and twisting and twisting and it just wouldn’t.

This process did give me an opportunity to see that I had not applied enough thermal paste, then to see that I had applied too much and wipe it off the edges of things. (Microfiber cloth, 99% alcohol.

) Mounting would seem more stable to me if there were four screws through a structure integrated into the heatsink itself and then into the brackets that come in from behind the motherboard, but then it would be less modular and different models would have to be made for different processors and it would probably cost 7x as much and apparently this way is fine so.

let’s do it. Seems nice, keeps things cool. Just be careful not to bust anything when you’re screwing it all together.

This thing is awesome. It’s tall, but if you have the space for it in the case, it is worth it. Not too difficult to install, just pay attention and make sure everything is facing the right direction.

The offset is perfect to clear RAM with heatsinks on them. Lets my 11700K run full out with no thermal throttling even with a little overclocking. I did swap out the stock fan with a black one and added the optional second one.

Repurposed the original as an extra top exhaust. Came with all the extra hardware needed which is a nice touch.

Ah the old D15. In a field where tech moves so fast like computers a part being produced and considered high quality year after year is special. If you not the biggest stickler of minor noises from you PC I genuinely recommend this cooler.

Be careful tho the fins are sharp so when working on your rig you can easily draw blood. I’ve done it on both of these I’ve installed and well. Just just say it’s taken the blood needed to perform the black magic it uses to keep you cpu cool.

I compare the Z73 with Corsair’s iCue 360 Elite: The Kraken is well built and does what they say. Since reservoirs seem to be passe I like beefy tubes and bigger rads (for liq. volume). The Corsair iCue 360 has a thicker radiator (great if you’ve got a larger case) but the LCD hangs on the CPU block via magnets which can be bumped askew.

The Kraken probably holds fewer ml sadly but the numbers are fine and the LCD attaches solidly. At idle my Ryzen 9 5900 shows 43c and at half load 58c. Well below the 85-90 okay range. I suspect the sensor is off a tad because the BIOS consistantly showed 3c higher.

Still great, but be aware. Hoses are long enough to reach any corner of my huge ATX case. I think I like the look of the iCue better. The Kraken display options are okay – I choose both CPU and GPU temps with a slow rainbow background.

You need to buy an extra controller to control the fan RGBs, which are included, but that brings the cost of the main kit down a tad. The iCue RGB controller is included with it’s higher price but the power connector needs duct tape to keep it from vibrating out of its socket.

That’s an easy fix but I have no similar issues with the Kraken. Some Corsair users have had red triangles of death on their LCD screens which prevents mboards from POSTing which is why I had to switch to the Kraken.

Both had pre-applied thermal paste with acceptable coverage just beware it’s easy to muck it against something when you need three hands trying to switch out the pre-installed Intel mounting connectors for the supplied AMD connectors.

Overall, I’m sticking with the Kraken Z73.

Amazing hardware. Keeps my 12900k cool much better than the MSI unit it replaced. BUT you’re required to use their Windows only NZXT CAM software for it to work correctly. Specifically, you need the NZXT CAM software to start with your Windows machine every time to set fan and pump speed curves.

If you start your machine without the software, the unit’s ability to cool is severely hindered. Your settings aren’t saved on the hardware. You HAVE to start the software for the settings to be applied.

In my opinion, this is a very poor engineering decision. For example: with NZXT CAM started, I can run Cinebench with PL1=PL2=241W without thermal throttling. However, restart the machine without starting NZXT CAM and run the same test, my 12900K thermally throttles within seconds and maintains 97+ deg C.

As far as I can tell (and I searched), you cant control the pump through the BIOS, it’s all software controlled. If the software crashes or exits (such as in between benchmarks or other resource intensive programs), the cooler no longer reacts to the CPU temperature and the CPU starts heating up without the pump and fans compensating for it.

I’m hoping to return this item since it’s beholden to clunky and resource hogging software. Furthermore, what happens if NZXT decides to stop supporting an older version of Windows or this product? There isn’t a version for Linux (although there is an open source alternative with limited functionality).

I’m pretty disappointed, considering how great the actual hardware is.

Works well straight out of the box. I’ve used the X53 in the past but upgraded to this for the larger radiator (2×140 mm fans, too) and the RGB to utilize in my new case. You have to make sure you install it correctly or else air bubbles may accumulate and the AIO won’t be as quiet as it can be – also long term use may create issues in the AIO.

Just make sure the pump head with the NZXT logo is lower than the intake point on the radiator. I installed mine in an NZXT H510 Flow case and had no issues. You can rotate the NZXT logo display on the pump head unlike the previous X52/X53 versions of this AIO pump.

My only issue with this product is the amount of cables connected to the pump head. There is a micro usb to mobo usb as well as a special connection that routes to CPU Fan and I believe SATA. Depending on your motherboard layout this can get annoying with cable management, but it is a slightly smaller cable now versus what NZXT used on the X52/X53.

Also keep in mind with the RGB model you need to have the NZXT AER RGB 2 system controller for controlling the lighting using NZXT CAM software. The NZXT “i” cases come with this but not any others. You can still connect the fans normally with any mobo, but you need the controller for the RGB lighting.

The fans daisy chain together with a nice short extension to let you do this within the confines of the radiator space, but that does take a bit of figuring out if you haven’t hooked up RGB 2 fans by NZXT before.

Rating 4 stars because of ease of installation/lack of super clear instructions, and the number of cables at the pump head that should be refined to make for cleaner setups.

My install is top-mounted, cooling a Threadripper 3960X. The product does what it says. It cools the CPU and it does it well. No problems there. It was straightforward to install, and even came with thermal grease preloaded on the heat sink plate.

The instructions could have perhaps been slightly clearer, but for anybody experienced in doing computer builds, not really a problem. But I’ve struggled with the software since day 1. My CPU temp cycles on a sawtooth wave about every 10s (this is a commonly reported problem on Threadripper systems).

This causes the cooler fans to cycle speeds every 10s, and that’s very annoying. This should be mitigatable with Flow Control software, but because of the way Flow Control locks down portions of the temperature curve, I’ve only been able to partially mitigate it.

Further, there’s a control which suggests you can just set a flat fan speed, but it’s never flat (the cycle continues no matter how high I run the fans). Also, I don’t trust the numbers the software is reporting for CPU temperature.

Right now, the software is claiming the CPU is cooler than room temperature. Huh? Independent CPU monitoring software confirms that, indeed, the CPU is not cooler than room temperature. And the fans seem louder than necessary.

Not crazy loud, but definitely not quiet. And then, today, <2 months after purchase, one of the fans began to rattle at certain speeds. Argh! Noctua fans ordered, gritting of teeth until they arrive.

I mean it’s an alright aio cooler. Used it for 6 months now without any issues. But I would not buy again. Corsair h100 or h100i are much better at acoustics. Considering the same level of cooling performance.

Revisiting this review after going through some hard times with this AIO even before hitting the 12 months mark! Fans are louder than any cooler I have used on my builds. Pump started making gurgling sounds last month (10 months usage) which lead to a constant buzzing noise up to date.

Tried unmounting the radiator and swayed it to move the liquid around to get any bubble stuck at the pump up to the rad. Did not solve the issue. Short pipes so can’t be mounted vertically as front intake.

Priced is way higher than it’s actual worth. EVGA support experience: Submitted my support question on November 9th 2020 Got my Support RMA ticket number on November 25th 2020 Still didn’t submit the ticket number for opening an RMA coz I don’t have a replacement cooler.

Yes they expect you to either ship the item first, or pay them money via Paypal to get the replacement unit first. I’ve searched YT to see others experience with EVGA RMA system. Found a guy who got shipped 3 broken (refurbished) GPUs for his broken GPU replacement.

Thought to myself I wouldn’t want to get a refurbished replacement at all. Either new or none. So now I’m waiting for my local market to restock on AIO’s so I can purchase a NEW one before sending out my CLC280 to EVGA.

All in all, not a pleasant experience and definitely not the same level of customer service I was hoping for based on what I hear from youtubers. But hey, sponsorships are kinda cool.

To some it may be important as this pump uses a USB 2. 0 interface for controls of the lighting effects as well as the PWM fans. Some may prefer it like this; but I feel that the fact it needs software to interface with it via your USB interface.

I am someone who prefers to have all fans and pumps controlled at a motherboard level and the prerequisite of proprietary software to be able to control the fans when connected to the pump mechanism I think is an extra step that could have been avoided.

If EVGA is listening I think it would be a great idea to have one series where controls are at an OS/Software level like this one but also give an alternative line that enables Motherboard level fan control.

After all, not everyone runs Windows.

I got a used I5-8400 rig with OEM Intel cooler on its way out. Temps up to 85-90 deg c and audible fan imbalance were too much to take. I got this setup on a budget so this cheap solution was best reviewed and regarded a replacement for OEM cooler.

Product is good for the money. Not perfect. Like all people claim, mounting pins are just CHEAP and fit poorly. If you’re swapping OEM Intel cooler, just remove mounting pins all together from Intel cooler and transplant them to the Arctic product.

After this treatment, Arctic Alpine is a FIVE-STAR product. With fresh MX-4 paste instead of pre-applied MX-2 I’m idling 31, normal load 33-45 (depending on use), games 55-65 deg C with 80-90% fan speeds.

Undervolted to 1. 080 CPU core. One exhaust and two intake 120mm Arctic p12 PWM PST fans, custom fan curve with 620rpm base for all fans, controlled by PWM all installed in mATX case. 32 deg C and 32dB noise right in front of the case while writing this review.

It’s almost silent. Low vibration when going up and down, sturdy fan frame, smooth ball bearing and can almost cool the CPU passively all the way up to 50 deg C no problem, so fans never go above 620rpm base speed unless real load is on.

Again 120mm P12 PWM PST fans, night and day compared to stock case fans. Daisy-chained for single control signal, worth looking at if you don’t fancy Be quiet or Noctua prices.

I always choose Arctic for my cooking needs because they perform at reasonable cost. I have purchased B-stock items from them in the past, as well as this LGA1151 fan and am never disappointed. You save a few bucks at the cost of the packaging showing some wear.

Its going in the recycling bin anyway, so its a non-issue for me. The cooler came brand new, with the thermal paste in tact with the plastic protective shipping cover and Im very happy with my purchase.

Thank you again to the team at Arctic for always delivering exactly what I need at a reasonable price and quickly to the front porch.

The heat sink has performed perfectly well as a replacement item. The product fan is quite and quite acceptable. The value for money is superb. The product by CCL arrived three days ahead of stated date.

I love this company and have had 20 years great service.

excellent

Perfect thanks nice and cold CPU

TranslateShow in original languageeinfach nur schön, gut verarbeiten, leise aber nicht unhörbar. ein Tipp vor Montage passende Teile raussuchen, AMD oder Intel, Restteile gleich wieder in den Karton.

WärmeleitPste ist nicht aufgetragen, aber in einem Tütchen dabei.

Typically installing a new CPU heatsink is reason enough for me to want to throw myself over a cliff. Prolimatech has somehow transformed this nerve rending experience into a dream. Installation kit is minimal, simple, quality, and effective.

I installed a Noctua NF-P12 120mm PWM fan with my cooler and it is breezy. My i7 3770k (@ 4. 2Ghz) just touches 90c on its worst core in a Fractal Design Define Mini case (sound insulated with minimal venting) under Intel Burn Test.

It sounds bad, but IBT is unrealistic and I’m using a very enclosed case. Other stress tests leave me in the mid 70s(c). Buy this heatsink if you want the good stuff. Add the Noctua fan if you want solid temps with virtually zero noise pollution.

Unusual design just enough clearance under horizontal part for ram (corsair dominator platinum ddr4 64 gbkkit fits) Is doing a good job at keeping it cool. (i7 8700k clocked at 5ghz on all cores) Temps rarely above 65c Heatsink fitted with two fans.

Technically this is a different listing, but matches the Prolimatech Megahalems Revision B cooler that I bought. I am sure this is the same, and if it isn’t then I bet it functions even better.

Be wary if building in Small Form Factor, likely the fan underneath will touch the memory unless you have low-profile memory, and some cases the fan on top will be too high to put the side panel on. (SSUPD Meshlicious).

Great performance and excellent cooler however.

Upgraded from the Wraith Stealth stock cooler and have noticed a ~15-20 degree decrease in cpu temps, and all this from a tiny form factor! One thing to note, only works in the lowest configuration with very low profile ram such as Kingston Fury Beast.

Its always a pleasure to buy a product from Noctua. Even before you unbox the product you can get the sense of a premium product from the package. Been using Noctua for years and hopefully will continue so for years to come.

Bought to replace an Intel HSF that was failing. 84W CPU and mATX mobo&case made a tower overkill and impractical. Chosen predominantly for having a proper mounting system, as the machine gets moved every once in a while and pushpin mounts are too unreliable.

But it’s SO LOUD. Even if this is going in a server in a dediacted room, it would STILL be too loud. For a desktop machine, it was beyond intolerable. I forced it down to 25% in BIOS (though it actually runs at 50% minimum) and it’s okay there – not great, but okay – but haven’t dared stress the machine since out of fear of that noise.

Fan speed also out of spec even for the standard 10% we give fans, at +12%, though I’m sure that would have been fine if the fan wasn’t defective. Recommended: No. The Intel HSF is the lowest bar there is, and this was even worse than that.

🙁 Mine was obviously a dud, since even a no-name Chinese brand wouldn’t sell something this bad deliberately, but yours may well be too. Have contacted Thermaltake for an RMA: we’ll see what happens.

But this is a CPU fan: it’s not like it’s an optional component. So unless they cross-ship, I’m looking at well over a week either without a machine or with the failing Intel fan back in. (To say nothing of all the hours wasted removing and installing fans).

— Following up: as stated, I contacted the seller 22 Nov 19, 10:50am to get it replaced. That’s 10 days now, with no response at all.

Intel stock heatsink stoped being secured after it was removed to reapply thermal compound. The cheap plastics lock-in mechanisms for securing it to the motherboard became faulty. So got this inexpensive heatsink fan, which is 10 times better since it has a better mounting design which screws into a bracket you place under the motherboard.

Recommend this 100 times over cheap Intel stock heatsinks.

Recently the really loud stock CPU fan for my HP desktop stopped working (Error 90B) resulting in a thermal shutdown. Multiple trips to other sites revealed no specific product number that I could order to replace it.

Micro Center search brought up the ThermalTake as a low cost quality option. Installed in about 30 minutes after replacing the mounting bracket on the back of the mother board with the new one that is included in the package.

PC up and running again, super quiet fan.

I used Newegg’s custom build interface to construct what I thought was a sound computer, good for intense graphics processing. Within three weeks, the computer began crashing every other day, until one night when I got a sequence of Blue Screens of Death.

No troubleshooting could fix this, so I returned the computer to Newegg for a replacement. Recently I received an email saying they were converting this to a refund because one of their parts was out of stock.

Which one? Why not replace it with a similar product? Why not warn me in the custom builder that this was the wrong cooler? I couldn’t tell until I looked at my order again, and only the CPU cooler was not eligible to be placed on a wishlist.

Great communication, Newegg. Either the Noctua is a substandard product that can’t tolerate moderate usage, or I happened to get the one bad one in stock, and Newegg has no backup/replacements for it.

Gigabyte Aorus RGB motherboard, Gigabyte RTX 3070, G. Skill Trident Z ram, all blinking beautifully around or dam right obscured under the huge ugly Noctua NH-D15s. Seriously, Noctua make the best air coolers around but dam the original non Chromax is an eyesore.

So it was either another £90 for Chromax Noctua or an AIO. As this was only 20 bucks more at time of purchase I went with the X53 and boy I’m glad I did. Now instead of the huge ugly mass of steel and brown fans on the Noctua I have the stunning to look at Kraken x53.

Can confirm that the X53 will cool a 9900k OC’d to 5Ghz just as well as top tier air coolers. On gaming the Kraken x53 is flatout better keeping my cpu temps below 60C averaging around the 40-50C mark.

Prime pushes both coolers to their limits and they seem about equal here topping out at 91C on the hottest core. As I only benchmark for OC stability purposes hitting 91C when PC is pushed to its limits is fine as that is not my day to day usage.

So if your like me and primarily game, Youtube etc. this will keep you cpu cool even OC’d. If your pushing your PC to its limits video encoding or rendering or some such hours a day I would then recommend the 280-360 AIO versions if you want to try and keep your cpu in the 80Cs range if OC’d.

I got this to use as the cooler for a graphics card using an NZXT G12 adaptor, and have been very happy with the results. I used to get a lot of fan noise from the graphics card during gaming sessions, but now it is almost below the level where it can be heard at all.

The fitting process does require some familiarity with the rest of the PC, so if you would not know where to find a spare USB header on your motherboard for example it might take some time. I’m using this in an NZXT 510 case, and have found that this hits the wires going to the top front case buttons and USB port if you try to mount the radiator directly to the case with the fans behind, but is fine if you put the fans between the radiator and the case.

The CAM software to control the pump seems quite straightforward to use, and the extension cable supplied for the fans is long enough to be able to run behind the motherboard to keep things tidy.

Pros: Cryorig H7 Tower Cooler. An excellent purchase, for the price it provides unbeatable cooling. Are there better CPU coolers? Yes! But they cost at least twice as much. The Cryorig H7 has been used to cool my overclocked I7 7700k running at 1.

25v @4. 8ghz. Temps are in the acceptable range, pushing into the low 80’s on overclocking load tests and generally in the 60-70 degree mark in CPU intensive games. Cons: The mounting system is a little fiddly, I originally had the back plate on the underside of the motherboard the wrong way around, and then ensuring the clamps stayed in the right position while it was lowered onto the screws was a definite pain, but it eventually worked out.

Inserting it onto the CPU whilst the motherboard was already installed in the case was difficult, would have been much easier if the motherboard was outside of the PC still.

This heatsink is awesome. Price is affordable and fit in my tower with plenty of room to spare. All of my ram was accessible after installing too. It’s extremely quiet and keeps my tower cool. Both where what i was looking for as i had a stock heatsink from radeon.

My tower would be very loud and hot to the touch. It’s a little difficult to install considering how easy the youtube videos make it out to be. First, you need a very long flat-head screw driver to make the bracket fit your cpu socket.

That seems often overlooked in the tutorials i watched. Second, this is mainly my tower’s fault, but you might have to remove your motherboard to access the back socket and fit the brackets. I wasn’t expecting to touch my motherboard.

It’s not something i’d like to do again, but considering the installation tutorials for the coolermaster, i’d say this was an easy process.

I bought this cooler about 1 month ago for a PC upgrade as my previous Ryzen 1600 stock air cooler did not provide adequate cooling at idle or under load now (idle 40-50C, under load 70-80C and up to 90C in Prime95 with an overclock).

Product components appeared to be of high quality with adequate packaging and protection from scuffs during storage and transport. Paper instructions were included however for a first time AIO user these were very difficult to understand and eventually I resorted to watching YouTube guides online instead.

Perhaps if NZXT produced a full video walkthrough rather than a general overview of the installation would be beneficial. Radiator, pump and fans were all great. I used my own thermal paste for the installation.

For Intel CPU users the pump is pre-assembled with the correct mounting accessories in the box. For Ryzen AM4 users such as myself some small disassembly and reassembly was needed before mounting. Due to the thickness of the fans and the radiator installation can be difficult depending on where you mount this in the case but otherwise the rest of the process was quite simple.

The Infinity Mirror itself looks incredible and colours can be adjusted in NZXT CAM (more on that below). The mirror can also be rotated to align it however you like. Once installed I overclocked my CPU again however I managed to achieve a higher CPU clock and at a lower voltage compared to using the air cooler.

Temps were 30C at idle or light loads (e. g. browsing, word processing, watching videos) and maxed out at 50C under 100% load in Prime95. Vast improvement to say the least. Colours, fan curve, pump speed, temperatures and more can be adjusted and monitored using NZXT CAM software.

The software runs well and is useful for benchmarking and monitoring how the system is whilst performing tasks. However this isn’t necessary for the operation of the cooler. Only downsides to the product I’d say were the amount of cables eminating from the pump (about 4-5 for power, fans, pump, USB and RGB [optional]).

Personally I don’t notice them as the cables are black against my black and red motherboard and they routed nicely between the RAM and GPU. However, for those who really enjoy the asethetics of their PC and the most optimal cable management it could put you off.

I’d reccommend having a look at images and videos online to see whether you are comfortable with it. The only other downside if I was being very honest is the pump noise can be a little too much at times for those sensitive to things like coil whine or higher pitched electrical noise.

Most of the time this is unnoticable unless you are in a very quiet room or the pump is working at peak performance. The pump settings can again be adjusted in NZXT CAM which can alleviate some of the potential noise issues.

For me personally I don’t notice them as I mostly work and play with headphones on but thought it was worth mentioning. My final closing comments on the Kraken X63 would be this is a fantastic product that provides excellent cooling, aesthetically pleasing Infinity Mirror with lots of customisation for a very reasonable price.

If you are concerned with having minimal cables and noise at all times then it would be worth doing a little more research before buying but otherwise a must-buy from me.

Aesthetically it’s awesome, a bit gimicky but I love it! Easy enough to install, I would note the following: It has heat sink compound already on and works a treat, just give your processor a good wipe before clamping the fan.

2 x 140mm fans on the radiator work well enough, my I5 5600 doesn’t rise above 40 degrees C. Check you have an extra USB pin set on your mobo, if not you will want an extension kit. The photos of the product show the pipes set at the top of the cooler, however, it’s strongly advised that these be set at the bottom of the cooler due to air bubbles.

Plenty of vids online for clarifications. The CAM app works well, no problems as of yet. As I say, looks great and is keeping my CPU cool, very happy!.

It’s on the expensive side but the ability to monitor CPU and GPU temps at a glance without the need to run an overlay is very handy and the main reason for me buying it. It’s not the best AIO cooler but it’s up there and well in front in terms of looks/bling.

Installation was simple except it won’t fit with 4 sticks of RAM on the default position on an Asus TUF gaming Z490-plus motherboard. Luckily you can rotate it and then rotate the display using CAM so it’s not really a problem.

In fact by rotating it the tubes are now not obscuring my flashy RAM.

The video which demonstrates installation looks so easy, however it fails to tell you when you remove the pre-installed CPU brackets which come with probably most motherboards, there is a mounting plate on the underside of the motherboard.

This is important when you come to installing the standoff screws, as these go into the mounting plate. Additionally, when you come to screwing the CPU cooler into the mounting bracket, you’ll find the screws won’t reach the holes.

To Solve this I had to loosen all screws on the mounting bracket, turn the PC upright, and have someone push the mounting plate from the rear of the motherboard, while I screwed in the CPU cooler from the side.

That being said, it’s a great product and is installed very securely. Would advise having someone able to assist just in case.

I have used Scan for my PC builds for a long time now. I first used the store around 2008 or 2010. Recently had to replace an aftermarket cpu cooler for my “potato” AMD FX-8350 using an even older Arctic freezer 64 I had on my previous old Phenom.

The bearings just gave out. thought I’d try and squeeze a few more years use out of my PC before I really need to upgrade. again. AM3+ socket coolers are now harder to source given the newer cpus and mobos.

Scan gave me a choice of 2 , unfortunately only one fit my case. The Arctic Freezer 7xCO cpu cooler is designed for Always On servers but is doing a fairly good job in my PC. This years UK summer is slightly warmer than the last few years, ambient room temperature is around 26degC.

My old FX-8350 is currently sitting at 22degC (CPUID HWmonitor) on desktop. In games (Elite mostly) and audio/video editting it can get up 70degC which is considerabley less than it was before. Scan have always had instock what I have needed in the past, or they have Live Chat from the shop website if customers want a quick chat.

Items are always well packaged and protected. deliveries arrive by or sometimes before the due date. I would recommend Scan for anyone. Great Team. 11/11.

Bought this cooler along with an MSI MAG B560 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX Motherboard. Unfortunately, that motherboard has rather chunky heatsinks that are incompatible with the attachment method for this CPU cooler.

Not without using an angle grinder on a heatsink anyway. Even before that problem was discovered, when I unboxed the cooler, I was unimpressed that it relies on two slim plastic ‘lugs’ to support its substantial weight.

I was happier fitting the stock Intel cooler that came with the CPU. At least it fitted in seconds and didn’t look like it could fall off at any moment. The Arctic cooler went back in the box. At the price it’s not worth the hassle of returning.

You get what you pay for I guess.

It’s a little bit tall for a few smaller cases, so check it fits before you buy it. The fan’s mounted to the heatsink using rubber shock absorbers, and it’s a lot quieter than the stock heatsink I was using before.

I bought this to give a new lease of life to an old overheating AMD A8 (the 7600, if I remember correctly). The thermal paste which comes with the cooler has a nice looking copper colour, until you check the temperature of the CPU, realise it does nothing, then have to clean up the mess it makes.

Paired with some Arctic MX-4, however, it seems to keep my old CPU at 45-50 degrees under a moderate load, so I’m happy with it for the price.

Bought to replace an aging and under powered cooler on an AMD Phenom II X6 1045T. Fitted in ten minutes, including removing the old heatsink compound, and took 20C off the CPU temperature under load.

It’s not very loud either. It doesn’t come with thermal paste/heatsink compound so you have to buy that extra. The only minor niggle is that the cooling fins are very thin and easy to bend by accident.

Picked this up on sale and very happy with it. Specifically wanted a cooler with a blue LED fan and this one looks great and operates quietly. Installing it onto the motherboard however was rather difficult and needed a second person to hold it down while I latched it in place.

The amount of force needed to hold it down just didn’t seem right and I was afraid of cracking the board.

Was skeptical at first because I had a noctua cooler on the other rig but I was surprised how good this cooler was especially if you’re on a budget. It’s not whisper quiet as the noctua but it does its job at cooling.

Good if you’re not overclocking; otherwise, consider other cpu coolers if you plan to overclock or you have a very expensive processor. The RGB is not that great, or, should I say, fake. You can’t control it.

The lights are fixed but not a dealbreaker though. Planning to replace the fan with a silent one. Some will find the mounting easier but I was struggling a little bit. I bent the fins when trying to take out the fan but it didn’t affect the performance.

Didn’t use the thermal paste because I still have the ones from Noctua. Overall, good cpu cooler. Keeps my rig less than 30c all the time. Haven’t tested this with graphically demanding games but will sure to update the review if this cooler holds well.

The tri-color LEDs are very effective. I installed this cooler on an X3470 which has a TDP of 95W but known to push out a fair bit more when it’s under boost, using the Cooler Master X5 case. It performed admirably keeping temps under control (typically no more than 50 degrees, 60 under extreme load) without getting excessively loud, I think with the fan cranked to full it could do even more.

It is relatively tall, so mind out for clearance (the mid-tower case I installed it in is not particularly small and only had about 5-10mm of clearance). The bracketry was easy enough to install, although I did have to remove the fan for installation and clip it back on once it was installed on the motherboard.

It is a little tricky to get the fan lined up correctly (have to get the clip between the correct fins on both sides) and I found a flat head screwdriver (Carefully!) was the best way to unclip it because I don’t have very strong fingernails.

All in all a very effective and attractive looking CPU cooler, especially at this price point.

this cooler is easy to install and looks pretty good for the price. included lights are nice aswell. Make sure that this will fit in your case, there are some bumps on the side that make it quite a bit larger.

not to loud and gives decent temps overall would recomend.

Lives up to its name. I swapped out my custom water cooling loop for air (bought a new GPU and didn’t want the expense of new blocks etc. ). I was worried about the potential noise but it’s really quiet; with headphones on I can’t hear it.

It is efficient – CPU temps are only about 10 deg C higher under load than using the water block (on an i7 5820 which is a spicy little meatball). It also looks quite nice in the case: it’s big enough to look meaningful without being so big that it fills the whole case.

In terms of fitting, it wasn’t so difficult although there are easier mounting methods on other coolers. All in all it was a great value for money purchase. Thoroughly recommended.

My deadout VPP water pump decided to go AWOL, leaving me with no cooler. My backup AIO also, for a laugh, decided to die on the same day right after installing. Had to emergancy purchace a cooler small enough to fit a case maxed out with behemoth radiators, yet powerfull enough to cool an old Haswell-E 5820K maxing out for long periods.

Bare in mind the CPU is back on stock voltage, but it ran at 40x all-core with absolutely no issue. At stock clocks it was completely inaudable in the DB900 (a quiet case) while maxing out. This is very impressive from such a slim cooler, knowing that Haswell chips are silly hot as soon as you break stock clocks.

I wouldn’t overvolt on this, but there’s certainly some overhead if you’re wanting to pip up those clock a tad without going too crazy. Pro: +++ Very impressive size-to-performance ratio +++ Lovely visuals, high quality +++ Veeeeery quiet.

Has a strange gritty sound but almost inaudable! Con: — Uses awkward small wrench nuts for mounting, why not use thumbscrews like everyone else? Fits the aesthetic I guess. Honestly a life saver, its a very pretty little thing, well made.

I’ve been watercooling for a while but has genuinly given me more respect for modern air-cooelrs. I’m looking at my broken £500 waterloop and feeling a little blue knowing that this £40 slim air cooler has done more for me in a single day than years of tinkering.

Absolutely recommend, most impressive. Kudos to be quiet!.