TOP best CPU coolers: rating of the most powerful 2021 - Setafi

1 be quiet! DARKROCK TF

Price - 7,400 rubles

Topping our list of the best CPU coolers is the horizontal model from be quiet!. Usually people are skeptical about horizontal coolers because of the stereotype that powerful devices need water cooling or a tower. But the horizontal DARK ROCK TF with six heat pipes copes with CPU cooling just as well. The device is quite bulky, it will be like a tower cooler in size, only with a system for blowing the chipset and the VRM of the processor. The cooler supports a maximum TDP of 220 watts. The model supports all sockets of modern processors, which, due to their processing power, are heated to impressive temperatures.

The cooler consists of two sections with a pair of 135 mm fans from Silent Wings. To solve the issue of cooler compatibility with be quiet! made the lower section of the cooler, which cannot produce sufficient heat dissipation, more compact. The bottom fan is mainly needed to increase the airflow in the space near the socket. The main one is the top one. The two heatpipes that come from the bottom section hold the second section and are soldered to the base for greater efficiency. Due to its shape, the cooler is quite difficult to install - the upper section overlaps the nuts. Therefore, it is unlikely that it will be possible to quickly install it without taking out the motherboard.

It is worth noting the noise level during operation of the device - it is really extremely low. But it should be mentioned right away that in terms of efficiency it will still be slightly inferior to tower coolers - the difference between their maximum heat transfer will be a few degrees, which is not very significant. And this is logical, because more cooling fins fit.

Advantages:

• Silent
• Qualitatively assembled
• Cools effectively

Flaws:

• Inconvenient to install

2 Noctua NH-C14S

Price - 7,300 rubles

The main competitor of be quiet! In the CPU cooler market, Noctua has recently released its horizontal cooler model, the NH-C14S. In tests, the model is not inferior to the first place, and the fans and coolers themselves are of reference quality. The main difference between the NH-C14S is that it does not have a lower section - one with six heat pipes and a 140 mm fan, which is raised higher, is responsible for everything. Since 2019, AM4 has added to the list of supported sockets. Previously, the company offered NM-AM4 kits to retrofit devices that were in little demand due to the fact that the problem is solved for free with a needle file. The company did not specify what maximum thermal package the device supports. Instead, in the list of processors with which the cooler can work, she indicated the most powerful Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 9 3900X, mentioning in the description that during prolonged operation at maximum frequencies, the temperature can be too big.

You don’t have to worry that because of this cooler you won’t be able to use some RAM modules, since the main part was lifted into the air, a lot of free space was freed up below, which the modules can take RAM. In the description of the processor cooler, the manufacturer writes that the place for the first section is provided in case the user will want to install an additional fan for the chipset, VRM, and to improve airflow near the socket. The presence of a second fan will slightly affect the cooling of the processor itself.

The installation of the cooler is thought out, and there are special slots for access to the screws of the clamps. Due to its smaller cooling fin area, the Noctua NH-C14S is the second best CPU cooler of 2021 behind be quiet!'s DARK ROCK TF.

Advantages:

• Effective
• High build quality
• Silent
• It is possible to install an additional fan
• Compatible with all RAM modules

Flaws:

• Insufficient airflow around the socket (standard)

3 Deepcool Gabriel

Price - 2 400 rubles

The third place in the ranking immediately attracts attention with its low price, the presence of four heat pipes and an asymmetric design. The cooler does a good job of cooling the processor power circuits and at the same time does not interfere with the installation of RAM modules. Deepcool Gabriel is perfect for budget builds on boards that have a small number of phases. The main advantages of this model against tower coolers are its small size and the fact that in the second case you will have to install an additional fan to cool the CPU VRM.

Due to the small heat dissipation area of ​​2800 square centimeters, the manufacturer installed a 120mm fan that spins at 1900 rpm. Therefore, the device may be a little noisy. The classic cooler from Intel is inferior to Deepcool Gabriel in efficiency, significantly reducing the temperature of the processor. The cooler from Intel is mentioned here, since most of the company's buyers use equipment from Intel. Therefore, Deepcool tailors its products to work with Intel devices. Installing a cooler on sockets from AMD will be problematic.

Advantages:

• small size
• Efficiency
• Works well on VRM
• Low price

Flaws:

• Noisy
• Installation on AMD products is not thought out

4 Deepcool Gammaxx 400

Price - 1 600 rubles

Already the second model from Deepcool in this top, which is still distinguished by its low price and high efficiency. The predecessor of the Deepcool Gammaxx 400 tower cooler was most often recommended for budget builds. The new model kept the low price of 1600 rubles and became even more efficient in terms of cooling due to four heat pipes and a 120mm fan. It is also worth noting that the Gammaxx 400 has become thinner than the previous model - now there are no problems with installing RAM modules. The cooler works best with 95 watt processors, but it can also cool 125 watts (only in a well-ventilated case).

There are small gaps between the tubes, they are acceptable due to the support of a small maximum heat pack. In some models of CPU coolers, the base is a heat spreader, in this one it is more of an element for fasteners. There is no backplate, the device is installed on the socket frame. Due to the design features, high height and weight, the cooler is more suitable for AMD sockets and Intel processors on socket 2011. Among the shortcomings, it is worth noting the strange backlight of four diodes at the corners, an insufficiently powerful fan and noise at high speeds.

Advantages:

• Can be installed on the motherboard without removing it
• Sufficient heat dissipation in the near-socket space
• Small dimensions

Flaws:

• Noise at high speeds
• Strange backlight
• Low power fan