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Keeping the processor cool is one of the most important aspects of a PC while gaming. If it heats up, the system will throttle performance to bring down the temperature and keep it stable. Additionally, high temperatures can also damage the components in the long-term.
There are different ways to cool the CPU like liquid cooling, passive cooling, and air-cooling. The best air-coolers will help your processor reach its maximum potential while maintaining a reasonable temperature. Unlike liquid coolers, it is low maintenance and the most common way to cool the CPU. Moreover, if you are overclocking your processor, a capable air-cooler will be a necessity.
An air-cooler works by attaching a heat-sink that is in contact with the CPU, which pulls the heat away. The heat is then blown away by a fan, directly cooling the chip. Before buying an air-cooler, you need to ensure that it will fit inside your cabinet, as heat sinks are usually quite large. You also need to check whether the cooler supports your CPU socket. This article lists the best air-coolers you can buy for your processor.
Top 5 air-coolers for processors
1) Cooler Master MasterAir MA410M - $70
This air-cooler is mid-sized and does not take up too much space inside the cabinet, which provides excellent cooling performance. It has a quad-heat pipe design that stays in direct contact with the chipset for efficient heat dissipation. Two 120mm fans attached to both sides, one for inflow and one for outflow, offer the most cooling.
A unique feature of this air-cooler is that it has a thermal sensor in the aluminum mounting base next to the heat pipes that provides temperature feedback and controls the RGB lighting. As the temperature rises, the embedded RGB lights can notify the user via a change in hue, which is also customizable.
2) Be Quiet! Dark Rock TF 2 - $85
It is a uniquely designed air-cooler that faces downwards instead of sideways like other coolers. The design helps keep other components like M.2 drives, RAM, and motherboard VRMs around the CPU cool as well. This cooler is excellent in quality that can withstand heavy overclocking and keep the processor stable. It can be considered a system cooler rather than just a CPU cooler as it helps keep the system cool as well, even more so in a cabinet with good airflow.
As the company's name insinuates, the fans are incredibly quiet and will only be heard briefly when running at high speeds.
3) Deepcool Assassin III - $95
This is an outstanding large-sized air-cooler that runs silently and keeps the processor cool even during overclocking. The sleekly designed cooler has seven copper heat pipes and two 140mm cooling fans attached to it. Fans have an easy installation that slips onto the heat sink using wire clips, and the height can be adjusted to have enough clearance for RAM slots.
As it is a huge air-cooler, it can only be installed in large cabinets. Hence, you need to ensure it will fit in your system before making the purchase.
4) Noctua NH-D15 - $99
This is an air-cooler with a solid build quality and incredible cooling performance. It is considered to be the best cooler by many in the industry. It is designed with 2 massive aluminum heatsink towers that house two 140mm fans in between that work together to dissipate heat efficiently. The six heat pipes are more than enough to keep the heat flowing and the fans run quietly when under average load.
It has good RAM clearance and the mounting system is user-friendly for easy installation. There is also a 'Chromax Black' edition, which is all black if the beige color is not preferable.
5) Noctua NH-P1 - $110
A completely silent CPU cooler requires good case cooling to keep the processor stable. This passive cooler has a unique design that is bulky but is capable of cooling high-end CPUs. It weighs over 1KG and has an extended heat pipe layout that evenly distributes the heat with two different materials used, aluminum for fins and copper for base and heat pipes.
If you want, you can attach fans to the cooler, which will destroy its passive function but help keep the CPU cool under further load.
