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The Ryzen 5 5600X is one of the most popular gaming CPUs for budget PC builders. It offers exceptional performance and even comes with a Wraith Stealth cooler.
Although this is a good cooler for daily use, it gets really loud at full loads and sometimes, can’t even cool the 5600X properly.
In this video, we will be looking at 2 CPU coolers, starting with the best budget and then the best value cooler that will let the Ryzen 5 5600X shine at its full potential.
So let’s get started!
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition – Best Budget CPU Cooler For Ryzen 5 5600X
The Cooler Master Hyper 212 is perhaps the most legendary lineup of CPU coolers. Since 2007, it changed the landscape of what to expect from an air cooler on a budget which makes it perfect for budget CPUs.
If you’re looking to overclock your CPU or even use it for extended periods on a full load, the stock AMD Wraith cooler gets really loud and can’t keep up the CPU’s demands.
The Hyper 212 Black Edition is exactly the same cooler but with a massive overhaul to the design and better compatibility with newer sockets. It’s pretty much all-black everywhere including the metal pipes and fan.
The Hyper 212 Black Edition also has perhaps one of the broadest support for CPU sockets. You can use it on the latest Intel LGA 1700 socket or the AMD AM5 socket with a bracket. But the support goes all the way back to AMD FM1 socket from 2011 and the Intel LGA 775 socket from 2004!
This reinstates a lot of confidence when it comes to longevity and since the copper pipes are nickel-plated, it’s even more assuring because this helps in preventing copper corrosion.
The new 5-blade Silencio fan is also a significant step up over all the previous fans which runs quieter while offering the same level of performance. The Hyper 212 maxes out at 2000 RPMs but usually stays around 1200 to 1400 RPMs during heavy loads while staying right under 1000 RPM during idle. Even at 100 percent fan speed, the Hyper 212 maxes out at 40 decibels and is just barely audible.
My major nitpick with the Hyper 212 Black Edition is that Cooler Master still hasn’t changed the method of installing this cooler. It is still the same old design which requires mutual effort from the front and the back of the motherboard at the same time.
I do forgive Cooler Master to some extent given how affordable the cooler is all the while offering such a range of CPU socket support.
The Hyper 212 also literally ushered the age of affordable CPU coolers. Thanks to that, there are now far too many to choose from and it’s never been easier to get an air cooler that suits your needs.
In conclusion, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition continues to lead the way in low budget CPU coolers. For under $30, it is still the best cooler for almost any CPU at a TDP of about 150 Watts. If you’re struggling to keep your CPU cool and don’t have a lot to spend on a decent air cooler, the Hyper 212 Black Edition is just what you need.
To sum up what I like is the…
Excellent performance
Silent operation even under maximum load
Gorgeous design
Extremely affordable
On the downside…
Difficult installation process
RATINGS:
Design and Aesthetics: 8.5/10
Cooling Performance: 9/10
Noise: 9/10
Features: 7/10
Value for Money: 9.5/10
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 White ARGB – Best Value CPU Cooler For Ryzen 5 5600X
Thermalright has been making great CPU coolers for a long time but along the way they kind of lost their popularity. Their resurgence in the market with their Peerless Assassin lineup of coolers has certainly attracted a lot of attention and has rightfully made their competition nervous.
The Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 White ARGB is the perfect pairing for CPUs like the Ryzen 5 5600X because you can completely max out their performance without spending a fortune to get top-of-the-line cooling performance.
The Peerless Assassin 120 also has great socket support. For Intel, it supports almost everything in the past 15 years from the LGA 1156 all the way to LGA 1700 and even the extreme edition or Xeon workstation sockets like the LGA 2011 and 2066. For AMD however, the Peerless Assassin 120 only natively supports the AM4 and AM5 sockets, which is still perfectly acceptable.
The entire base of the cooler is built upon 6 thick nickel-plated copper heatpipes that have a decent gap between one another. The maximum height of the entire cooler is 157 mm which is enough to fit inside any modern case and should even fit in ITX cases. The entire cooler is completely coated in white which gives it a clean uniform look which can easily match any white PC build.
The rest of the cooler has plenty of evenly spaced thin alumium fins that are cooled by 2 120 mm ARGB fans. You can control the lighting of the fans and even switch it off if you’re not a fan of RGB.
After taking a closer look at the fans, they are nothing special and not very powerful. I can understand why Thermalright decided to use two fans instead of redesigning new ones as it is more cost-effective. The fan speeds range between 800 and 1550 RPM and the cooler is barely audible in any scenario.
At 1550 RPM, which is the Peerless Assassin’s max speed, it runs at an acceptable, but slightly high, 47 decibels. This is the main area where I think the Peerless Assassin falls slightly short. Two decent fans can already get 90 percent of the results but my suggestion would be to reduce a few blades and make them wider and more aerodynamic. This would increase the efficiency and make the Peerless Assassin an unstoppable force.
For now, the ideal scenario for the Peerless Assassin 120 is around 1200 RPM which is roughly 80 percent of the maximum speed. This way, the fans easily manage to keep temperatures down while staying right under 40 decibels which is barely audible in any given situation.
Rest assured, the overall performance of the Peerless Assassin 120 is still excellent and other cooler manufacturers should be rightfully worried. Take for example the Noctua NH-D15, which is acclaimed to be the gold standard when it comes to air coolers.
While Noctua has certainly built one of the most impressive air coolers of all time, I find it very hard to justify its high price. The Peerless Assassin 120 nearly matches the NH-D15 in terms of fan noise and heat dissipation, and at $100, you should be considering an AIO to cool your CPU anyway.
All in all, the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 is currently one of the most underrated CPU coolers. It easily outperforms coolers far more expensive and is flexible enough to even handle some of the hottest CPUs. For under $50, you don’t need to spend a lot to get the same level of performance as some of the most expensive CPU coolers like the Noctua NH-D15.
To sum up what I like is the…
Top-of-the-line performance
ARGB fans included
Extremely price competitive
On the downside…
Fans need to be quieter at high RPM
RATINGS:
Design and Aesthetics: 8.5/10
Cooling Performance: 9.5/10
Noise: 7.5/10
Features: 8.5/10
Value for Money: 9.5/10
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
So what do you think? Which of these is the best CPU cooler for the Ryzen 5 5600x?
Or do you think another CPU cooler is better?
Tell us in the comments below.
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