The Best CPU Cooler and Case/Cooler Fan Buyer’s Guide – Fall 2022

By Ari Altman | Published October 28, 2022 | Updated October 28, 2022

Arctic LFII360 ARGBThe Best PC Cooling Advice, Based on the Best Reviews!

One of the most cost effective and easiest modifications you can make to improve your PC’s performance is to upgrade its cooling. While you can easily find hundreds of opinions on the best products out there, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to actually test well over 50 coolers and fans in real-world setups (not open benches or airflow chambers) to find products that actually work in, you know, a PC!

Our Latest Cooler and Fan Recommendations!

This guide lists our favorite coolers at every pricepoint, including two low-profile coolers, three towers, and two liquid models. But we didn’t stop there! We also list our favorite thermal paste and the seven best fans on the market, with specific recommendations for cases and coolers.

And take note: we update this guide on a regular basis to ensure that you always get the latest and greatest gear, not the same outdated coolers and fans that everyone’s been using for the past decade! For example, with our latest update, all but one of our cooler picks includes an Intel Socket 1700 bracket in the box, which is important since Intel’s CPUs have dominated the performance charts since Socket 1700 debuted.

Our Tips on Choosing a CPU Cooler

Here are a few suggestions we’ve put together based on all of our testing:

  1. Air Cooler Styles: Tower-style coolers will always outperform equivalent downdraft coolers of the same price. We only recommend downdraft coolers where neither towers nor liquid coolers will fit.
  2. Air Cooler Sizes: Among tower coolers, 140mm-class towers will generally outperform 120mm-class models. With that said, we’ve seen a huge improvement in 120mm coolers over the past year, and we no longer recommend 140mm coolers for most users due to their case fitment issues. The industry standard for cooler clearance is right around 160mm, which limits you to 120mm-class coolers, and many 140mm-class coolers also block RAM or expansion slots.
  3. Air vs. Liquid: Liquid coolers have two distinct applications where they excel. First, we recommend using 240mm models to provide excellent cooling where a good tower cooler won’t fit (meaning in mini-ITX or slim mATX and ATX systems). Second, higher-powered models with large 360mm radiators will exceed the performance of any air cooler. They bend the rules by exhausting hot air outside of the case, thereby hitting performance levels that aren’t possible with air coolers.

Our Tips on Choosing Case and Cooler Fans

Surprisingly, choosing a fan can be even trickier than choosing a cooler, in part because there is so much misinformation out there, starting with the specs provided by manufacturers. So here are our tips on how to sort through the chatter:

  1. The Bearings: The quality of the fan bearings has a lot to do with the overall user experience; standard sleeve or rifle bearings always sound rougher than fluid dynamic (or “hydraulic”) bearings.
  2. The Size: As with coolers, bigger typically is better. 140mm fans are almost guaranteed to provide more cooling at the same noise levels than 120mm fans, but there are exceptions. We’ve performed the most in-depth case cooling optimization analysis on the ‘net to show you why! More importantly, they fit in far fewer applications, so 120mm fans remain our primary recommendation.
  3. The Style: A fan is about far more than the airflow and static pressure metrics in marketing materials. People who rely on these specs to choose fans are fooling themselves, as is anyone who believes all a fan needs to do is move air. Fans can move air in very distinct ways: some are highly directional, moving air over long distances when unobstructed, others are short-distance specialists, with the power to push through tightly-packed fins or mesh. Our extensive real-world testing allows us to provide recommendations tailored to your specific needs!

Final Thoughts

Unlike a lot of other categories of PC components, CPU coolers and fans can be used in multiple systems over time, making them a very good place to invest in the best you can afford! If you decide to purchase one of the options listed below, please use the links we provide, which helps support further development of this guide and the extensive testing that backs up our picks!

Coolers

  • Low-Profile CPU Cooler

    ID-Cooling IS-47S

    $30
    If you need a cooler that has the same 47mm height and compact footprint as the stock Intel box cooler, look no further than the IS-47S. It offers a big uplift in performance, much lower noise, and tremendous value per dollar.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This will even work with the latest Intel systems, thanks to the socket 1700 bracket in the box.

  • Low-Profile CPU Cooler

    Noctua NH-L12S

    $60
    If your PC requires a low-profile cooler and has at least 70mm of clearance, you simply can’t do better than Noctua’s NH-L12S. It’s ultra-quiet, incredibly easy to install, and unbeaten in its size class with regards to performance. Note that in the default low-profile mode, it has about 35mm of RAM clearance, but in the taller 85mm mode (with the fan on top), it has about 50mm of RAM clearance.

    The Guru’s Tip

    While there are other coolers with similar dimensions, none can match the refined performance of the L12S!

  • CPU Cooler

    ID-COOLING SE-226-XT

    $45
    This cooler is the perfect pick for a mainstream PC Build. It offers robust cooling potential and nearly-silent operation thanks to an excellent fan blade design. And despite its hefty heatsink, it clears the RAM slots perfectly due to an offset setup.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This cooler includes a Socket 1700 adapter, making it one of the few low-cost coolers ready for Intel's latest CPUs!

  • CPU Cooler

    Scythe Fuma 2 Rev. B

    $66
    Offering amazing performance thanks to its big heatsink and dual 120mm fans, along with excellent compatibility thanks to its offset design and 155mm height, this is our favorite cooler at any price. The latest Rev. B version swaps out the “classic” grey fans with more on-trend black models, and ups the RPM level from 1200RPM to 1500RPM. To keep noise in check, the new Kaze Flex II fans use a specially-designed fan frame to minimize turbulence on heatsinks and maximize static pressure.

    The Guru’s Tip

    Due to its exceptional performance and compact size, this is among the top-selling coolers in the world.

  • CPU Cooler

    Deepcool LS520 240mm ARGB

    $110
    To keep a powerful CPU build cool, this 240mm liquid cooler will fit the bill. It provides exceptional performance for the price, thanks to its high-performance static pressure FK120 fans, which use a heavily-swept 9-blade design that are proven to work best on radiators. It also has great looks, due to the ARGB lighting built into both the pump.

    The Guru’s Tip

    One of the reasons this cooler works so well in small systems in particular is the short pump height and flexible tubes. Others may cause big compatibility issues, especially where the rad sits over the CPU (including our favorite liquid cooler, listed later in this guide).

  • CPU Cooler

    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black

    $120
    Noctua has always dominated when it comes to air-based cooling performance, and if you want nothing but the very best in high-powered air cooling, you want the NH-D15. The latest chromax.Black edition of course comes in all-black, which means you don’t have to make excuses for Noctua’s odd beige color schemes anymore! It’s the best air cooler on the market, period, and can beat nearly every 240mm liquid cooler too!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This model will cover the RAM slots, so unless you're using low-profile RAM, you'll need to raise the front fan, making the cooler effectively taller than its 165mm spec would suggest. Low-profile RAM is 35mm or below, so check your RAM specs and factor any height above that into the cooler's overall height.

  • CPU Cooler

    Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 ARGB

    $170
    To run a high-wattage CPU, you need extreme cooling, and we suggest you go straight for this awesome 360mm liquid cooler, which offers the best performance of any 360mm AIO on the market based on our testing! That comes down to its big 38mm-thick radiator, effective pump, and the best ARGB fans on the market, the Arctic P12 A-RGB models. They provide both great looks and superior performance at low noise levels.

    The Guru’s Tip

    The radiator on this model is 38mm thick, while most AIOs use a 27mm-thick radiator. That, combined with the superior fans, is why it's the best of the best. Just factor the size in when determining whether it will fit. It's about 64mm thick with the fans.

  • Thermal Paste

    Noctua NT-H2

    $13
    While all coolers come with thermal paste (also referred to as thermal interface material or “TIM”), you might want to consider investing in really good paste as well, since you probably won’t want to change it all that often. Our recommendation: Noctua’s NT-H2, among the best TIMs on the market. It’s the easiest to apply, needs no break-in period, and lasts for years. It will even improve Noctua coolers, which come with the less advanced NT-H1! Have a lot of coolers to install? Then go for the big 10g tube of NT-H2.

    The Guru’s Tip

    Every tube of NT-H2 comes with alcohol cleaning wipes - you get 3 with the 3.5g tube and 10 with the 10g tube, appropriately enough!

Fans

  • Fan

    Arctic P12 PWM PST

    $8
    Want to silence your system? Look no further than the excellent P12 PWM from Arctic. It offers fantastic performance at low noise levels, and comes in at a shockingly-low price. Plus, it’s the only fan we’ve found that excels when used on both coolers or as a case fan. And yet Arctic just piles on the goodness by also offering this fan in a value 5-pack, perfect if you want to upgrade a case and a cooler at the same time! The P12 is the best “Jack-of-all-trades” 120mm fan we’ve come across, and the price makes it an easy recommendation.

    The Guru’s Tip

    We want to make clear that this is neither the best heatsink fan, rad fan, nor the best case fan (each of which you'll find below). It is the best all-around fan for the price, and if you are on a budget, this fan is what you want in every fan location in your system.

  • Case Fan

    Scythe Kaze Flex 120mm Fan

    $14
    Scythe has been in the cooling business for decades, and we actually have some of their fans from the early 2000s still running in our systems! What makes the Kaze Flex and its predecessors so good are the high-quality fluid dynamic bearings Scythe uses, plus a unique fan blade design that allows for extraordinary cooling even at a quiet maximum speed of 1200RPM. In our testing, the Kaze Flex has proven to be the best 120mm case fan on the market! There’s also a black version of this fan available for a few dollars more with a boosted max of 1500RPM.

    The Guru’s Tip

    Of note: our testing has shown that in cases that can fit 2x140mm fans or 3x120mm fans in the front, you will be better off with 3x120mm if you're using a high-TDP video card.

  • Heatsink Fan

    Scythe Wonder Snail 120

    $17
    We’ve tested nearly every fan on the market, and when it comes to CPU heatsink performance, the Wonder Snail from Scythe is simply the best. Yes, that means better than Arctic, better than Noctua, better than all the rest. And the very best part is the price, which in typical Scythe form is way below the competition, despite quality and performance that aims straight for the top!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Two caveats: this is not a case fan, and we do not recommend you buy it for that purpose (go for the Scythe Kaze Flex instead), and it's not the best radiator fan. That honor goes to the fan below!

  • Radiator Fan

    Phanteks T30-120 Triple Pack

    $86
    If you want the best 120mm radiator fan on the market, bar none, you simply must go for the Phanteks T30-120. That “30” in the name refers to a thickness of 30mm, and some people think that’s cheating, but this fan is so far ahead of the competition (yes, we’re looking at you, NF-A12x25!), that if you have the extra 5mm, quit making excuses for the previous market leader and buy it! We’ve tested all the leading radiator fans on the market, and the T30 is in a league of its own, opening up temperature deltas of 3-4C over the next closest competitor (the aforementioned NF-A12x25).

    The Guru’s Tip

    As with nearly all of our fan recommendations, this one is very specific. It's the best 120mm rad fan. It won't work on many heatsinks, due to many fan clips not being long enough. Honestly, it's best utilized to maximize the performance of a 360mm rad, for which the screws are included with the fans.

  • Slim Fan

    Noctua NF-A12x15

    $20
    Need the best slim fan in the business? Skip all the ones you’ve read about in forums dating back ten years ago and step up to the best ever made: the NF-A12x15, a 15mm-thick, 120mm-class wunderkind. Released in late-2017 after years of painstaking research and development, it’s vastly superior to any other slim fan, thanks to its use of a metal hub and exclusive SS02 hydraulic bearing. All other slim fans use scratchy-sounding sleeve or ball bearings, because no one else has the expertise to slim down a hydraulic bearing like Noctua does. Note that this model is also available in the Chromax.black color scheme for around $5 more.

    The Guru’s Tip

    When used on coolers and radiators, this fan will actually outperform most 25mm-thick fans!

  • ARGB Fan

    ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB

    $16
    Arctic started with its proven P12 design and made it even better with the ARGB version. It adds not only very slick ARGB effects, but also a stabilizer ring at the blade edges, rubber bumpers on the corners, and a 0dB mode, allowing it to spin smoothly down to zero with a low PWM signal. In our shootout, this fan performed amazingly well, beating even the P12! Basically, if you’re looking for the best all-around ARGB fan on the market, whether for heatsink, radiator, or case fan applications, this is the one!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This fan does not include an ARGB controller box, so make sure your motherboard has a 3-pin ARGB header. There is no adapter for use with older 4-pin RGB headers.

  • Fan

    Scythe Kaze Flex 140

    $17
    Need the best all-around 140mm fan on the market? This one’s easy: it’s the Scythe Kaze Flex 140. Offering the best case fan cooling, amazing radiator cooling, and quiet operation, it’s unbeatable. The fact that it’s also less expensive than its competitors is icing on the cake!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Important caveat: when using this as a case fan, do not be tempted to run it at its maximum RPM of 1800. That's a very high RPM for a 140mm fan, and it's best reserved for use on a radiator.

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