When you're building a PC, it's easy to overlook your CPU cooler. Unless you're making an extravagant custom watercooling system, many of us just find something with good ratings, plug it in, and move on. Still, your cooler is one of your most important components, and picking a reliable one is critical for your PC's longevity.

Air coolers are favored for their low volume and affordable price, as well as their simplicity. While they're often a bit bulkier than their AIO counterparts, they still provide an enjoyable aesthetic and fantastic performance. We've gathered our favorite air coolers together into one list to help you find the perfect CPU cooler for your 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:upcoming PC build.

Updated on April 22, 2024, by Kenny Kimberly: I'm back! A few months have passed since this piece's original publication, so we've stepped back into this piece to clean up, clarify, and update some information. We've also added two new air coolers and better highlighted why you may prefer these coolers over an AIO. Enjoy!

Stylized as "be quiet!", this brand is well-known to anyone who's been building computers over the last decade or so. They're among the leading brands of air coolers, with one of their main selling points being the near-silence of their products. The Dark Rock Pro is one of their flagship products that helps solidify their reputation.

Utterly silent and phenomenal at cooling, the component is also affordable even at full price. The only drawback is that it's also very tall compared to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:other coolers, making clearance an issue. On some motherboards, it als💝o blocks one of the RAM slots, so check for this before buying.

Science proves that nothing is more annoying than going to put your RAM in while you're building your PC and realizing your PC cooler is blocking your RAM slots. Not only is this annoying, this can outright disqualify some coolers from use or force you to shift your RAM layout. Cooler Master agrees that this sucks and set out to fix the problem with their Hyper 212 Evo V2.

The Hyper 212 Evo V2 has a unique heat pipe layout that keeps it away from your RAM slots. It also has the company's stellar SickleFlow fans which help to provide an advanced airflow to keep your CPU cool. Best of all, these features are available at a steal of less than $60, making this a fantastic mid-range budget option.

Mini-PC's and builds that focus on compact form factors have become popular over the last few years. But as anyone who's shopped for an air cooler knows, the enormous heatsink blocks don't really mix too well with a slim, compact case. If you're looking for air cooling for a compact case, Noctua's NH-L12S is undoubtedly one of the best options you'll find.

This ultra-compact CPU cooler doesn't compromise on performance to get as small as it is. It still provides some of the best cooling you'll find in air coolers despite being about the size of a standard 120mm fan. The tiny cooler also shouldn't cause any issues with RAM clearance. If you want an air cooler but don't want the large heatsink blocks that other competitors like Be Quiet! offers, this is an unbeatable option.

Noctua's coolers are often touted as some of the best on the market. They've seen strong endorsement from tech-reviewing outlets with particular praise given to their brown-and-beige options. Since most coolers are black fans with some RGB options, this stylistic option helps them stand out.

In terms of performance, Noctua is tough to beat. The NH-DH15 CPU cooler is quiet and will help your 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:CPU stay cool. However, as with any air cooler, it's crucial to orient your fans in a way that helps air flow properly.

If you're looking for something 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:slim and stylish, the Hyper 212 Halo is an excellent choice. This option has dual-loop ARGB customization with an otherwi🍒se sleek, black aesthetic to help the colors pop. Helping that aesthetic is the jet-black color of the heat pipes, which helps them stay hidden.

The aluminum cover helps keep this fan system safe from any chance of being knocked around while also helping to disperse heat. One flaw is that this system's slimmer design makes it slightly less efficient than some of its bulkier competition. That said, this isn't an option that'll leave you needing better performance, either.

For a quiet fan, you can't beat Be Quiet products. The Shadow Rock 3 is an incredible option for anyone looking for affordability without sacrificing performance. You'll regularly find this component for less than $50 even without a sale, making it one of the best options for a budget PC. That said, as a gamer using this CPU cooler in my current build, you should expect it to block a RAM slot or two depending on your board.

Despite fitting in well with budget builds, the performance is far from cheap. Its installation kit makes it easy to mount from above, making lining it up with your CPU the only task that'll take some practice. Otherwise, it's whisper-quiet at 24 dB with a rotational speed that goes as high as 1600 RPM.

Looking for an absolute block of a cooler? DeepCool's AK500 ZERO DARK perfectly blends cooling performance and affordability. While not the cheapest option available, it comes close to anything that can boast a similar price. It also uses an enormous 90mm-thick heatsink to help draw heat away and disperse it evenly.

One drawback is that this cooler stands at 158mm tall, making it a snug fit in some cases. It also rests 🅘at 32 dB, which is louder than some competitors. As a trade-off, that noise and size match a rotational speed of up to 1850 RPM, making its performance difficult to top.

For PC enthusiasts who are looking for the cheapest option available, the Thermalright Peerless Assassin is a strong choice. We haven't named it our budget pick due to some performance concerns, but looking purely at the price, it's nigh-unbeatable.

This cooler is also quieter than most of its competition at about 25.6 dB. Part of this is due to its fan spinning slower than most competitors at a max of 1550 RPM. While this isn't our top choice, it's certainly one of the best ones you can find at its price.

FAQ

Are Air Coolers Cheaper Than Other Cooling Options?

Air coolers are often the cheapest options a⛄vailable. Some AIO coolers can rival the pricing, but these often perform worse. Air coolers are꧋ the favorite option for budget PC builds.

How Long Do Air Coolers Last?

With proper maintenance, an air CPU cooler will last as long as the rest of your system. The most important thing ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚis to dust their fans regularly, as dust can worsen air flow, which will make your cooler less effective🌺.

How Important Is Maintenance To My Air Cooler?

It would be best if you made a habit of cleaning dust out of your fans and any that gets into your heatsink. Proper airflow and heat dispersion are crucial to your CPU cooler's function. We recommend cleaning it out a couple of times a year. If you have pets, hair can get sucked into your fans, so change this to once every few months at a minimum.