cooler to replace a AIO

[mingeroonie]

I bought the P120SE as a temp replacement while my AIO went back for warranty after reading the recommendations in this thread.

I cant be bothered to put the AIO back in now so the TR is staying there

 

[pastymuncher]

Can you not stick a third fan on the end there? Just for maximum overkill?

I did that to my Thermalright Peerless Assassin PA120SE which only has to cope with my i5 12600. The result is that the fans never spin up and the cpu never exceeds 52 degrees (CPU cooler silent mode set in bios) so it's dead silent now. Overkill I know but what the hell!!

 

[tamzzy]

The result is that the fans never spin up and the cpu never exceeds 52 degrees (CPU cooler silent mode set in bios) so it's dead silent now.

nothing is overkill! silence is golden

 

[trentlad]

I did that to my Thermalright Peerless Assassin PA120SE which only has to cope with my i5 12600. The result is that the fans never spin up and the cpu never exceeds 52 degrees (CPU cooler silent mode set in bios) so it's dead silent now. Overkill I know but what the hell!!

That's exactly it, on idle the fans literally don't even spin up. Absolute silence. These things go on sale, got mine when Linus Tech Tips performed a collaboration with Noctua finally offering something that wasn't egg brown and at a discounted rate.

 

[Helios1234]

I got myself a Thermalright Frost Spirit 140. It's been good so far. Nothing can beat Thermalright for the price at the moment. Noctua will have to pull something special with the G2 to make it worth it as much as I like them.

 

[ltron]

My Noctua NH-D15 keeps my 8700K between 40 - 75oC on average while it's overclocked to 5GHz.

I'm keeping mine because I already have one and it's great (although big), but any new buyer should seriously consider the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 (a newer upgraded version of the Peerless Assassin). Amazing performance and value although perhaps without Noctua's legendary support and component longevity.

 

[AgedIdiot]

Do agree that the NH-D15 is an excellent cooler - very quiet as well.

Cheaper can be found but .....

 

[Gray2233]

Do agree that the NH-D15 is an excellent cooler - very quiet as well.

Cheaper can be found but .....

The Thermalright Phantom Spirit is a third of the price and performs better in some testing. I like Noctua but they're frankly not worth the money at this point.

I appreciate that they have good customer support in that they'll send people free brackets for new sockets etc, but when you're spending better part of £100 I'd consider that a bare minimum personally.

These companies ultimately only care about the money in your wallet, I'll never advocate for brand loyalty.

 

[qbazdz]

What AIO do you have now?

 

[RedMogg]

Was looking for a reasonably priced replacement for the cheap ID Cooling 240mm AIO currently on my son's 3800X, as it doesn't seem to be doing so well in the summer.

Will check out the Peerless Assassin & Phantom Spirit (whichever comes in white, with the mandatory RGB).

Cheers all for the recommendations.

Edit: Peerless Assassin 120SE (White + ARGB) arrived - under thirty quid thanks to a particular sale.

Will install and report results.