The £30 Best CPU Cooler Most PCs Actually Need, and When Liquid Cooling Is Worth It
For most gaming PCs, the best CPU cooler is an inexpensive air cooler, not a liquid one. Tom’s Hardware says most people should be happy with the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE, about £30 in the UK, and PC Gamer says the Arctic Freezer 36 is all most PC gamers really need. Go for a 360mm AIO, such as the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro, Tom’s Hardware’s top AIO pick, when you run a power-hungry chip like the Core Ultra 9 285K, which Intel lets draw up to 250W, under long all-core work, or when a tall tower will not fit your case.
Pick by your build:
- Gaming PC, mainstream CPUA single or twin-tower air cooler. Air picks
- Ryzen 7 9800X3DAMD rates it at 120W. Good air is enough. Ryzen guide
- Core Ultra 9 or Ryzen 9, heavy workA big twin tower or a 360mm AIO. AIO picks
- Small case or Mini-ITXCheck the height first. 45mm options exist. Low profile
- Tight budgetUnder $20 still works for most chips. Budget picks
- Intel LGA1851 boardLGA1700 coolers fit, says Intel. Intel guide
Hardvance sells CPU coolers, and the cards below show the picks from this guide that we sell. We have not bench-tested coolers. The performance verdicts come from Tom’s Hardware, PC Gamer and Club386, the sizes and socket support from each maker, and the CPU power figures from AMD and Intel, all read on 12 October 2026.
- Best CPU cooler 2026: what the testers agree on
- Air cooler vs AIO: which one do you actually need?
- Best CPU air cooler: single tower, twin tower or a big one
- Best AIO cooler: 240mm or 360mm?
- Best budget CPU cooler
- Best CPU cooler for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and other Ryzen 9000 chips
- Best CPU cooler for Intel Core Ultra and LGA1851
- Best low profile CPU cooler for small cases
- Will it fit? Height, RAM and socket checks before you buy
- What we would actually do
- Quick answers
The coolers on this pageArctic Freezer 36 and 36-S, DeepCool AK620, Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 and 240, and be quiet! Pure Rock LP. Each product page shows the current price.
DeepCool AK620 ZERO DARK CPU Cooler Black
In stock
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro 240 A-RGB CPU Cooler
In stock
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 Black
In stock
ARCTIC Freezer 36 A-RGB CPU Cooler
In stock
Arctic Freezer 36-S A-RGB Tower CPU Air Cooler with LGA 1851, LGA 1700, AM4, AM5 Support in White
In stock
Best CPU cooler 2026: what the testers agree on
Two of the top three UK search results for “best CPU cooler” were written for earlier years. OCinside’s comparison is titled 2021, and GeekaWhat’s page is dated April 2024 and never mentions LGA1851, the socket Intel’s current Core Ultra desktop chips use. So we went to the testers who have kept their lists up to date in 2026: Tom’s Hardware, PC Gamer and Club386. Their picks overlap more than you might expect.
| If you want | Cooler | Why | Who says so |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most gaming PCs | Arctic Freezer 36 | Single tower, 159mm tall, two fans, six-year warranty | PC Gamer’s best overall air cooler |
| Most cooling for the money | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE | Twin tower, 155mm tall, about £30 in the UK | Tom’s Hardware’s best air cooler for most people |
| Big, quiet air | Noctua NH-D15 G2, or the DeepCool AK620 | Twin towers, 168mm and 160mm tall | Club386’s best air cooler overall is the NH-D15 G2 |
| Liquid | Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 | Thick 38mm radiator, six-year warranty, $125 US list price | Tom’s Hardware’s best 360mm AIO, on Club386’s shortlist |
| Tight budget | Thermalright Assassin X 120 R SE, or the Arctic Freezer 36-S | Under $20 in the US for the Thermalright | Tom’s Hardware’s best entry-level pick; PC Gamer’s best budget pick |
| Small case | be quiet! Pure Rock LP | 45mm tall, rated for 100W | be quiet!’s own figures |
The pattern is clear. Every one of them puts an inexpensive air cooler at or near the top, and the same AIO, the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro, appears on two of the three lists. The sections below explain which one fits your processor, your case and your budget.
Air cooler vs AIO: which one do you actually need?
An air cooler is a metal heatsink with heat pipes and one or two fans that sits on top of the processor. An AIO, short for all-in-one liquid cooler, pumps coolant from a block on the processor to a radiator with fans, usually mounted at the front or top of the case.
Tom’s Hardware puts it plainly: unless you are running one of the highest-end consumer processors under sustained work that loads every core, or you want the quietest possible system, most people should be happy with a lower-priced air cooler like the Peerless Assassin 120 SE.
- Choose air for gaming and everyday use, for the lowest cost, and if you would rather not have a pump.
- Choose an AIO for a Core Ultra 9, Ryzen 9 or similar chip doing long renders or compiles, or if a tall tower will not fit your case. Check your case has room for the radiator first: Tom’s Hardware notes that the Liquid Freezer III Pro’s radiator and fans are 63mm thick together.
Our CPU cooling guide goes deeper into how air and AIO compare, which way the AIO tubes should face, and why 95°C is normal on a Ryzen.
Best CPU air cooler: single tower, twin tower or a big one
Single tower: Arctic Freezer 36. PC Gamer’s best overall air cooler, and the quietest it had tested recently. It has two fans in push-pull, stands 159mm tall and comes with a six-year warranty, according to Arctic. PC Gamer tests on a Core i7-14700K and says the Freezer 36 holds up well, though that chip at full power would need a liquid cooler to reach its limits.
Twin tower for the money: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE. Tom’s Hardware’s best air cooler for most people. It was about £30 in the UK when we checked PCPartPicker’s UK price list on 12 October 2026, and about $36 in the US by Tom’s figure. Thermalright lists support for LGA1851 and AM5, and a height of 155mm. PC Gamer calls it a big cooler for the price of a small one.
Big and quiet: Noctua NH-D15 G2 or DeepCool AK620. Club386 rates the NH-D15 G2 its best air cooler overall. Noctua lists it at 168mm tall with a six-year warranty. DeepCool lists the AK620 Zero Dark at 160mm. If you want the very top of air cooling, Tom’s Hardware says the Thermalright Royal Pretor 130, around $50 in the US, is the best air cooler it has tested.
Twin-tower coolers are wide as well as tall. Thermalright warns buyers to leave room for tall memory modules, so check your RAM height if it has tall heat spreaders. Our RAM guide for Ryzen X3D covers the memory side.
Best AIO cooler: 240mm or 360mm?
Best overall: Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360. First on Tom’s Hardware’s AIO list as its best 360mm AIO, and on Club386’s shortlist. Arctic lists a 38mm-thick radiator, thicker than the 27mm of conventional radiators, a six-year warranty and support for LGA1851 and AM5. Tom’s Hardware says its default settings are arguably overkill even for a Ryzen 9 9950X3D or Core i9-14900K, so you can turn the fans down for less noise. Intel owners have one extra step: fitting the contact frame that comes in the box.
Cheaper 360mm: Tom’s Hardware names the ID-Cooling FX360 INF its best budget 360mm AIO, for its strong cooling and low noise.
240mm: Tom’s Hardware’s best 240mm is the Lian Li Galahad II Trinity Performance 240. The Liquid Freezer III Pro 240 is the 240mm version of Tom’s top AIO pick.
Which size? A 360mm radiator needs a case with three 120mm fan positions in a row at the front or top, and the Liquid Freezer III Pro 360’s radiator alone is 398mm long. A 240mm fits far more cases. Pick the 360 for the hottest chips and the 240 for everything else. Our cooling guide explains why the pump should never be the highest point in the loop.
Best budget CPU cooler
You do not need to spend much to beat a basic cooler.
- Thermalright Assassin X 120 R SE: Tom’s Hardware’s best entry-level air cooler, under $20 in the US. Tom’s says it gives essential cooling for most users but is not for overclocking, the fan clips feel flimsy and the warranty is one year.
- Arctic Freezer 36-S: PC Gamer’s best budget air cooler, a cheaper version of the Freezer 36.
- Peerless Assassin 120 SE: if you can stretch to about £30, Tom’s Hardware’s twin-tower pick gives you much more headroom.
AMD lists no cooler in the box for the Ryzen 9000 chips we checked, so a cooler is a real line in the build cost. Our guide to choosing PC components shows where the rest of the money matters most.
Best CPU cooler for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and other Ryzen 9000 chips
AMD’s and Intel’s own power figures, side by side:
| Processor | Maker’s power figure | What we would fit |
|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 9600X | 65W default TDP | Any decent single tower |
| Ryzen 7 9800X3D | 120W default TDP | A good single or twin tower |
| Ryzen 9 9950X3D | 170W default TDP | A big twin tower or a 360mm AIO |
| Core Ultra 5 245K | 125W base, 159W max turbo | A twin tower |
| Core Ultra 9 285K | 125W base, 250W max turbo | A 360mm AIO or the biggest air coolers |
AMD rates the Ryzen 7 9800X3D at 120W, so a good air cooler handles it. The best CPU cooler for a Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the same kind of cooler, because AMD rates that chip at 120W too. Our cooling guide covers why a bigger cooler unlocks little extra on X3D chips, and why the 95°C maximum AMD lists is not a fault.
Already have an AM4 cooler? Noctua says AM4 and AM5 use the same mounting system, and HotHardware notes that an AM4 cooler that does not use its own custom backplate is almost certain to fit AM5. Check your cooler’s instructions to be sure.
For the processor choice itself, our best gaming CPU guide and AM5 motherboard guide cover the rest of an AM5 build.
Best CPU cooler for Intel Core Ultra and LGA1851
Intel’s Core Ultra 200S desktop chips use the LGA1851 socket. Intel lets the Core Ultra 9 285K draw up to 250W at maximum turbo and the Core Ultra 5 245K up to 159W, so the bigger chips deserve a bigger cooler: a twin tower for a 245K, and a 360mm AIO or one of the largest air coolers for a 285K that works hard for long periods.
Here is the useful part: your LGA1700 cooler fits LGA1851. Intel says the mounting holes for the two sockets are in the same place, so backplates made for LGA1700 coolers line up with LGA1851. Noctua and NZXT say the same about their own coolers.
That matters, because many spec sheets have not caught up. We counted the coolers we list:
So if a cooler you like lists LGA1700 but not LGA1851, check the maker’s compatibility page before ruling it out. It is very likely to fit.
Best low profile CPU cooler for small cases
In a Mini-ITX or slim case, height decides everything. Look up your case’s maximum CPU cooler height before you look at anything else.
- be quiet! Pure Rock LP: 45mm tall, with a 92mm fan and three heat pipes. be quiet! rates it for 100W and pitches it at home theatre PCs and small gaming systems. That suits 65W chips like the Ryzen 5 9600X, but not a hot Core Ultra 9.
- Noctua NH-P1: the fanless option. Tom’s Hardware calls it the strongest fanless cooler available to typical users, at $119 in the US with a six-year warranty. With no fan of its own, it relies on your case fans moving air past it.
If the case is the problem rather than the cooler, our PC case guide covers cases with room for a full-size tower.
Will it fit? Height, RAM and socket checks before you buy
Three checks before you buy:
- Height. Compare the cooler’s height with your case’s maximum CPU cooler height. Leave a few millimetres spare.
- RAM clearance. Twin towers can overhang the memory slots. Low-profile RAM avoids the problem.
- Socket. AM5 coolers fit AM4 boards and the other way round in most cases, and LGA1700 coolers fit LGA1851.
| Cooler | Height | Sockets (maker) | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arctic Freezer 36 | 159mm | LGA1851, LGA1700, AM5, AM4 | 6 years |
| Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE | 155mm | LGA1851, 1700, 1200, 115x, AM5, AM4 | 2 years (Tom’s) |
| DeepCool AK620 Zero Dark | 160mm | LGA1851, 1700 and older, AM5, AM4 | See maker |
| Noctua NH-D15 G2 | 168mm | LGA1851, LGA1700, AM5, AM4 | 6 years |
| be quiet! Pure Rock LP | 45mm | See maker | 3 years |
| Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 | Radiator 398 x 120 x 38mm | LGA1851, 1700, 1200, 115x, AM5, AM4 | 6 years |
What we would actually do
- Gaming PC with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D or a Core Ultra 5: a Freezer 36 or Peerless Assassin 120 SE. Spend the difference on the graphics card.
- Ryzen 9 or Core Ultra 9 for work that loads every core for hours: a 360mm Liquid Freezer III Pro if the case takes it, or an NH-D15 G2 if you want no pump.
- Small case: measure first, then the Pure Rock LP for a 65W chip.
- Moving from LGA1700 to LGA1851: keep your cooler. Intel says it fits.
- Building on AM5 with an old AM4 cooler: check the maker’s page, then keep it if it uses the stock backplate.
Quick answers
For most gaming PCs, an inexpensive air cooler. Tom’s Hardware’s best for most people is the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE and PC Gamer’s best overall is the Arctic Freezer 36. For liquid cooling, Tom’s Hardware rates the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 its best 360mm AIO.
It matters most on power-hungry chips. A Core Ultra 9 285K can draw up to 250W, while AMD rates a Ryzen 7 9800X3D at 120W. For a mainstream gaming CPU, a good air cooler is enough and a more expensive one changes little. Make sure it fits your case, RAM and socket.
An all-in-one liquid cooler. A pump on the processor moves coolant to a radiator with fans, usually mounted at the front or top of the case. It arrives sealed and filled, so there is nothing to top up. It suits hot processors and cases where a tall air cooler will not fit.
Not for most people. Tom’s Hardware says most people should be happy with a lower-priced air cooler unless they run a top-end processor under sustained all-core work or want the quietest possible system. A large AIO helps on the hottest chips and frees space around the processor.
For a Ryzen 7 9800X3D or other 65W to 120W Ryzen 9000 chip, a good air cooler such as the Arctic Freezer 36 or Peerless Assassin 120 SE. For a 170W Ryzen 9 9950X3D under heavy work, a big twin tower or a 360mm AIO. AM4 coolers usually fit AM5 boards.
No. AMD rates the 9800X3D at 120W, which a good air cooler handles. An AIO is a choice for looks, case layout or lower noise rather than a need.
For most processors, yes. A 360mm radiator makes more sense for the hottest chips, such as a Core Ultra 9 285K under long all-core loads, and needs a case with room for a 398mm-long radiator in the case of the Liquid Freezer III Pro 360.
Yes. Intel says the mounting holes for LGA1700 and LGA1851 are in the same place, so LGA1700 cooler backplates line up with LGA1851. Noctua and NZXT say the same for their coolers.
How we know
We have not tested these coolers ourselves. The verdicts come from the current best-cooler lists of Tom’s Hardware (latest update note June 2026), PC Gamer (August 2026) and Club386 (June 2026). Heights, sockets and warranties come from Arctic, Thermalright, DeepCool, Noctua and be quiet!, and for the coolers we sell we matched each maker’s page to the part number. CPU power figures come from AMD’s and Intel’s product pages, and socket compatibility from Intel and Noctua. The chart is our own count of the spec text on every published cooler listing on hardvance.co.uk. That text is our own listing copy, generated from supplier and manufacturer data, so the chart shows what the listings say rather than what fits. US prices are the testers’ figures, and the UK price of the Peerless Assassin 120 SE comes from PCPartPicker UK on the same day. Prices change, so check before you buy. All were read on 12 October 2026.
Sources
- Best CPU Coolers 2026: AIO and Air Coolers, Tom’s Hardware, with an update note dated 23 June 2026, read 12 October 2026. Peerless Assassin 120 SE, Royal Pretor 130, Assassin X 120 R SE, NH-P1, Liquid Freezer III Pro, FX360 INF and Galahad II picks, and the “most people” verdict.
- Best air cooler for CPUs in 2026, PC Gamer. Freezer 36 best overall, Freezer 36-S best budget.
- Best CPU cooler 2026: AIO and air coolers tested, Club386, June 2026. NH-D15 G2 and Liquid Freezer III Pro 360.
- Freezer 36 A-RGB and Liquid Freezer III Pro 360, Arctic. Dimensions, sockets, warranty and contact frame.
- Peerless Assassin 120 SE, Thermalright. Height, sockets and the memory clearance note.
- AK620 Zero Dark, DeepCool. Dimensions and sockets.
- NH-D15 G2 specifications, Noctua. Height and warranty.
- Pure Rock LP, be quiet!. Height, rating and warranty.
- Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD. Default TDP and no cooler in the box.
- Core Ultra 9 285K and Core Ultra 5 245K specifications, Intel. Base and maximum turbo power.
- Are cooling solutions designed for LGA1700 compatible with LGA1851?, Intel Support.
- AM4 and AM5 mounting, Noctua FAQ. Intel LGA1851 cooling, Noctua. LGA 1851 cooler compatibility, NZXT.
- Is your CPU cooler compatible with AM5?, HotHardware, October 2022. AM4 coolers and custom backplates.
- Out-of-date results checked: CPU Cooler Comparison 2021, OCinside; Best CPU Coolers to Buy in 2024, GeekaWhat, 29 April 2024.
- Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE, PCPartPicker UK, 12 October 2026. The UK price of about £30.
- Spec-sheet counts: every published cooler listing on hardvance.co.uk, 12 October 2026. Search figures: DataForSEO.
- Lead photograph: Close-up of computer detail by FOX, Pexels, cropped to 16:9 by us. AIO: Triple fan water cooler by Andrey Matveev, Pexels, cropped. Heatsink: Computer cooling heatsink by SHOX ART, Pexels, cropped. NH-D15: NH-D15 with black fans by Kaleb Kloppe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped by us.
