With the launch of the new 7nm processors by AMD, the CPU market is booming. While the stock thermal solutions which come with the coolers are great, especially since they don’t cost any additional money, they simply do not cut it for people looking to get the most out of their brand new chips. That is where third party coolers come in, letting you get some extra bang for some extra buck. With a huge variety of brands and products to choose from, though, it can extremely difficult to make the right choice and that is where this list comes in. Let us jump right into our top picks for CPU coolers:
Best Budget Cooler – Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED
The successor to the widely popular Hyper 212 Evo, the Hyper 212 LED by Cooler Master features four direct contact heat pipes (each with a 6mm diameter) for continuous contact between CPU and cooler, a wide-range PWM fan with red LEDs and an all-in-one mounting solution for Intel and AMD sockets and costs just under three thousand rupees. It is extremely quiet, easy to install and can be upgraded to a push and pull with the addition of another fan and is great value for your money.
Premium CPU Cooler – Noctua NH-D15
The ND-D15 by Noctua is the successor to the multi-award winning cooler, NH-D14. As compared to conventional single tower heat sinks, the NH-D15’s six heat pipe dual tower design provides greater surface area, leading to better heat distribution and thus, performance. It is whisper-quiet even under load and outperforms most AIO liquid-coolers in terms of not only noise levels but also thermals. One thing to keep in mind, though is that it is extremely bulky. You should check the dimensions of your case and RAM before you decide to buy one.
Best All-in-One Liquid Cooler – NZXT Kraken x62
The Kraken series Pumps by NZXT are, simply put, drop-dead gorgeous. The pump head features an “infinity-mirror” design that really brings out the addressable RGB lighting. Besides the amazing aesthetics, it also features top-notch performance, with low noise levels and excellent thermals. Overall, not only does it give your processor the ability to stay cool, but also looks cool while doing so.
Further Reading: