What are some Air Coolers that outperform top end AIO's?

Mike3k24 · Jul 11, 2017

Looking for a good either Air Cooler or AIO under $150

USAFRet · Jul 11, 2017

Mike3k24 :

Size (surface area) matters.
With the 120mm liquid coolers, most good air coolers beat them, and at a cheaper price.
Only when you go to a 240mm and above liquid cooler do they get better.

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

It would have helped to specify the CPU to be cooled. For one thing Ryzen needs a specific AM4 mount.

start here: https://pcpartpicker.com/

For AIR, these may be good but check:
a) mounting
b) DDR3/4 memory clearance
c) top PCIe clearance
d) case (see case web site) support for CPU cooler HEIGHT (i.e. 168mm or whatever)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/4vzv6h/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15

this is for AM4:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/shNypg/noctua-nh-d15-se-am4-1402-cfm-cpu-cooler-nh-d15-se-am4

LIQUID?
Lot of pros and cons, but in general I go with a good AIR cooler unless I'm forced to go liquid. I'm no expert so I'll just link one:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3XyxFT/corsair-cpu-cooler-cw9060026ww

Things to watch out for:
a) any known pump or other failure issues
b) pump and/or fan noise (some spin fans too high and don't have proper control to spin down)
c) case mounting (proper screw holes and no internal clearance with motherboard)

photonboy · Jul 11, 2017

BTW, don't forget to download the motherboard fan control software to optimize the fan profile (may not apply to some AIO liquid coolers which may have their own software).

Mike3k24 · Jul 11, 2017

Thanks for the help!

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What are some Air Coolers that outperform top end AIO's?

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