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In this comparison article, we looked at 5 different coolers from Deepcool, Scythe, Arctic, Cooler Master and even OCUK Tech Labs to find the best cooler for AMD's new AM4 platform.
While it is hard to draw a clear-cut winner, the OCUK Tech Labs 240 AIO topped both charts for raw performance. It is also very good value at just £72.94, though its fan are slightly too high-pitched for our liking.
Deepcool's Captain 240 EX also performs very well, but it has the advantage of some very funky visuals, while its fans are very quiet even under load. At £72.48 from Ebuyer it is even cheaper than the OCUK AIO, so it does just nudge ahead in our eyes.
Much the same can be said of Cooler Master's MasterLiquid 120 liquid cooler. It ships with two fans out of the box, while it is also nice and quiet. Despite its smaller radiator, it is still very competitive when compared with the other 240mm liquid coolers on-test, and that makes the MasterLiquid 120 ideal for those looking for top performance in a small package. It costs £69.95.
While I did initially encounter some coil whine issues with the Arctic Freezer 33 Plus, the issue was pin-pointed as a faulty fan and Arctic quickly issued a replacement. In its fully-functional state the Freezer 33 Plus is easy on the ears while providing very solid performance at a low cost, making it a very good option for those looking for a smaller air cooler.
Our last cooler, the Scythe Mugen 5 PCGH Edition, actually impressed me the most. It is not the best-performing cooler, though it is still very competitive, but it is absurdly quiet. I mean, it is seriously quiet – in a case, even under load, you would be hard pressed to make out the whirr of the fans. At £51.43, it also represents decent value and I can't recommend it enough.
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Awards:
Deepcool Captain 240 EX – Worth Buying
Cooler Master MasterLiquid 120 – Worth Buying
Arctic Freezer 33 Plus – Worth Buying
Scythe Mugen 5 PCGH Edition – Must Have
KitGuru says: Testing 5 different coolers for the AM4 platform has been quite revealing. While all performed within 6 degrees of each other, I was most impressed with the Mugen 5 PCGH as it is the quietest CPU cooler I have ever used.
Thx, for the Scythe Muggen PCGH Review. Waiting a long time for a review of the pcgh version.
Why not the CM MasterLiquid 240? It’s the same packaging, pump, braided tubing just with the larger radiator. I picked it up around a month ago and was surprised to find the AM4 kit inside, surely a first. It cost me £69.99 and I’m sure it would have walked away with an award.
Where’s the Arctic Liquid Freezer 240, the best value in a Ryzen cooler right now?
Over all, this isnt a good look for the stock coolers relative, and surely performance & life sapping, absolute numbers.
I saw no mention of cooling chipsets, which could get seriously warm with onboard sata raid arrays etc.
I think i would pay a premium for a multi heatsink unit.
A simple Cheap ass suggestion.
Contrive a $20 12v tire pump, jetting air via the hose onto the stock wraith heatsink fins at the base via an inserted ball inflating nozzle e.g.
a fan on the compressor head & BoyleS law, should mean the air jet is quite frigid (& pulsing, which may help).
u could even contrive a reserve “tank”/extra cooling, using any tire.
Two questions about your idea; cost? noise?
Tyre type compressors are generally noisy and move little volume of air
It wouldn’t do .much to cool itema
Just wonking.
Cost is cheap as i said, noisy if close – yes.
Quiet ~modern fridge compressors I hear, use “free piston” pumps, a concept i just love.
The mechanically unconnected piston, is reciprocated magnetically.
Yep, not much volume, but precisely targeted and frigid. u already have volume from the existing fan which remains, but as we see, it has its limits..
I also like the idea of two opposing jets (~as per prev post), directed at the hottest, base center of the processor heatsink – create a mini hi pressure, pulsing cyclone there.
The notion is not “always on”, its a turbo mode if needed – like gaming. If CPU cooler, ryzen auto overclocks – simple.
with a tank, as described, it could run quiet for some hours – borrow a colleagues spare tire & deflate that – he wont mind 🙂
i wish they tested the stock wraith cooler.