Good cooler for 12700f?

Drake5 · 21 Jan 2024 at 16:56

I want to change the cooler on my 12700f, currently it's a Cooler Master ML120L V2, temps are reaching about 78c when gaming but usually pretty stable around 70c and I think this might be too hot

Any recommendations ? Probably prefer an air cooler to an AIO

pastymuncher · 21 Jan 2024 at 18:55

Your temps are a tad on the warm side but are nothing to worry about really.

I have a 12600 non k cooled by a Thermalright Peerless Assassin PA120SE (ARGB version) and using the motherboard bios silent mode my cpu never goes over 55 degrees C when gaming and the fans never ramp up. If buying now the new price performance king is the Thermalright Phantom Spirit PS120SE which has a extra heatpipe and is just 90p more expensive than the PA SE120 for the normal version. The ARGB version is actually cheaper (under £30 which is a steal for a twin tower cooler) and the fans which are the same as on the PA120SE are excellent so that is what I would go for.

Drumroll · 21 Jan 2024 at 19:09

If the performance deteriorated over time, may be the CPU bending slightly. Had similar issue with the 12700K. A slow process, but after few weeks noticeable.
I suggest the Thermalright contact frame and some thicker thermalpaste (Gelid GC Extreme or Arctic MX6). It's relatively cheap, just don't overtighten, as it may cause issues. As modern CPUs boost as high as possible, and normally run hotter than ever, I found that the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut doesn't last as long, as constant 80-85C would cause pump out.
For air, I would suggest Thermalright, again, as they're absolutely great, despite their 35-40 pounds price. Phantom Spirit Evo looks great, with very subtle ARGB.
Note that not every cooler would necessarily perform as good, or as bad, on AMD and Intel. Hardware Canucks done some interesting testing.

Drake5 · 21 Jan 2024 at 19:15

pastymuncher said:
Your temps are a tad on the warm side but are nothing to worry about really.

I have a 12600 non k cooled by a Thermalright Peerless Assassin PA120SE (ARGB version) and using the motherboard bios silent mode my cpu never goes over 55 degrees C when gaming and the fans never ramp up. If buying now the new price performance king is the Thermalright Phantom Spirit PS120SE which has a extra heatpipe and is just 90p more expensive than the PA SE120 for the normal version. The ARGB version is actually cheaper (under £30 which is a steal for a twin tower cooler) and the fans which are the same as on the PA120SE are excellent so that is what I would go for.

I ordered the standard Phantom Spirit 120 earlier on not realising it was the no SE version. Is the difference with the SE version that it's just RGB?

Drumroll · 21 Jan 2024 at 19:20

Drake5 said:
I ordered the standard Phantom Spirit 120 earlier on not realising it was the no SE version. Is the difference with the SE version that it's just RGB?

Very little difference performance wise. The main difference would be the finishing of the cooler, one has the plate, the other has the end of the heat pipes exposed. Fans I think is the same.

Drake5 · 21 Jan 2024 at 19:25

Drumroll said:
Very little difference performance wise. The main difference would be the finishing of the cooler, one has the plate, the other has the end of the heat pipes exposed. Fans I think is the same.

If I did want to go with the SE version, that one that's ARGB, how do I know if my motherboard supports ARGB? It's a D660 Plus D4

Drumroll · 21 Jan 2024 at 19:39

Your motherboard should have both, RGB and ARGB. RGB is the older format, 4 pins. ARGB is the newer format, 3 pins. RGB doesn’t allow as much variants as ARGB. RGB sets a single colour for everything connected to that port. ARGB allows for a lot of effects. That’s where the Addressable from ARGB comes from.

pastymuncher · 21 Jan 2024 at 21:05

Drake5 said:
If I did want to go with the SE version, that one that's ARGB, how do I know if my motherboard supports ARGB? It's a D660 Plus D4

Directly above the 24 pin socket on your motherboard you will find two rows of pins. The set closet to the edge of the board is the 4 pin 12v RGB, the inner set of three pins is the 5v ARGB power and the set you would need to plug the ARGB plugs of the fans into. Don't worry about only having one header as the fans can be daisy chained with no problems.