Top 10 Best CPU Cooler for AM4 in 2026 – Expert Reviewed

Customer Review: “Solid fan for the build I have. Keeping a Ryzen 7 5800X at optimal temps. It’s not the quietest under full load, but for everyday use and gaming, it’s perfectly fine. The RGB looks nice and syncing with my motherboard was easy.”

Customer Review: “Perfect for a Ryzen 5 9600X. It cools well and isn’t super loud and looks good while doing it. Very easy to mount and performance benchmarks are right where they should be. Great budget CPU cooler for the Ryzen 5’s!”

Customer Review: “These AMD CPU Coolers work great except the thermal paste almost glues to the CPU. I recently tried to upgrade my AMD Ryzen 5 to 7. Ran computer for over 30 minutes and the CPU came off with the fan heat sink. I had to heat it up with a hair dryer to finally get the CPU to move. Did some checking and this is supposedly a well known problem. Recommendation is to remove the pre applied thermal paste on the AMD Wraith cooler. Then apply a good quality thermal paste on CPU. If you ever have to upgrade or change cooler you will have issues.”

Customer Review: “Why did you pick this product vs others?: Simple to install and keeps my overclocked Ryzen 7 5700G cool. The highest temperature I have seen was 73 C while playing Spiderman 2 on max settings. Ease of installation: 4 screws already in place and the pre-applied thermal paste made it easy to install, line it up on the holes for the AM4 bracket and screw it down. Fit: It fit perfectly in my tower and did not interfere with my RAM. Noise level: No different in noise level compared to my already installed tower fans.”

Customer Review: “My Ibuypower water cooler failed on my system. (I discovered this is very common). I was debating on either getting a water cooler or going to Air cooling. I checked a lot of videos online and this air cooler kept coming up in the top 5 replacement recommendations over and over again. Since I don’t do any overclocking and the fact that they are much more reliable, I bought this unit. It works really great. It cost so much less than a water cooler and (in my opinion) is easier to install that a water cooler unit with hoses and radiator and cpu block. Positives: Very Affordable, Cools very well, Very well made, Package comes with everything you need, Extremely reliable. Negatives: Can be a little difficult to install. The most difficult part was installing the fans. The instructions could be better. Its big, you definitely need to make sure you have enough room in your case.”

Customer Review: “Works great so far. 10900k at idle was sitting at around 30°c when the ambient temp in the room was 85°f. This does come with its own tube of thermal paste but I had some leftover Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut so I used that instead. Not sure how good or had the Thermalright paste is but its a pretty big tube of it, its enough for 5-6 PCs. Can’t comment on how loud it is, I couldn’t hear it but my room has a lot of background noise. All in all installation was fairly simple and it did include a 4pin splitter so if you only have one cpu fan header you can still run both fans that come with this cooler. And for the price its a no trainer. This cooler is essentially the modern era version of the Hyper 212 Evo.”

Customer Review: “Will it fit? This is obviously a very low profile cooler. But please do check out the dimensions. It fit even on my mini-ITX motherboard (that’s TINY), but do have some oversight with how things are spaced on your motherboard. The heatsink is short, but fairly spread out. Temperature talk/overclocking: Firstly, let me address something at least I was concerned with while I was researching this. YES, you can lightly overclock your APU while using this, just test stuff out until you find something that works. For example, I overclocked my Ryzen 3200g CPU to 4000mhz, and my GPU to 1500mhz. At least in games I play, I get 60fps while also staying around 55 degrees Celcius. That’s about 30 degrees BELOW what would be considered ALMOST dangerous for an APU. Noise and the noise adapter: The fan is much more quiet than any stock AMD cooler, and although it can be made even more quiet with the noise adapter, that’s because the adapter slows the fan down. In essence, the adapter WILL affect cooling performance, but most often that’s not even necessary. The fan is very quiet and cool on idle or with light workspace stuff. Installation: Installation is easily the only ‘flaw’ this cooler had in my case. To install it, I recommend taking the fan off the heatsink, place the heatsink upside down atop a well balanced, sturdy cylindrical object. Apply thermal paste to your CPU, then with your motherboard upside down, line up the heatsink holes with the holes on your motherboard. Keep your motherboard pressed down and balanced on the heatsink. Then take that metal plate included and put the PLASTIC side on your motherboard’s bottom. Keep it balanced, and lightly screw it in with the ‘cross’ method. Once the heatsink is secure, flip your motherboard. Now which direction the fan blows the air. You can screw the fan back into the heatsink so that it will blow the majority of air where you want it to. Now, clearly, that’s much more complicated, and arguably more risky than a standard installation. But with patience, top-of-the-line thermal paste, and some luck, it will be so worth it.”

Customer Review: “Used this to replace the AMD supplied cooler in a small home media server. Seems to keep the CPU pretty cool, but it is only a 65W AMD CPU. Pros: Super quiet. At the speed it normally runs I can’t even hear it and barely noticeable even at full speed. Low profile, plenty of clearance with the top of the case in this small server case. Plenty of cooling for this CPU and could probably handle CPUs in the 125 watt range just fine as well. Cons: Nothing major but kind of awkward to install. You need to take the mother board out of the case since unlike other AMD coolers which mount from the top (though the stealth wraith that came with the CPU does need a new bottom plate under the mother board. This one screws in from the bottom. Not a big deal, especially if you’re just building things anyway. Unlike most coolers I’ve used, this one comes with a tube of heat transfer compound you need to apply rather than pre-applied to the cooler. Again, not a big deal, just something to be aware of. Overall, I like it and plan to buy another one for another server I’m building.”

Customer Review: “This is without a doubt the BEST budget cpu cooler you can get. It SIGNIFICANTLY reduces temps compared to the factory wraith cooler. It just plain works. My temps are much more regulated, the fan is surprisingly quiet (BeQuiet! is still quieter). Looks great, actually matches my stock case fans almost perfectly. Very easy to install, just torque down the bolts in a cross pattern. Overall, fit and quality is great. Love this thing.”

Customer Review: “The Thermalright Assassin X120 R SE is so good. It’s inexpensive, isn’t the most difficult to mount on an AM4 system, is quiet, and keeps temperatures super low while the CPU is under load. I installed mine onto a B450 board with a 5600G. Compared to the Wraith Stealth during a Cinebench R23 benchmark, 10-minute run, temperatures on average were 19+ degrees C cooler with the Thermalright Assassin X. The ARGB fan is nice and sturdy and while only 8-leds, it’s plenty bright and very quiet at idle speeds. For the cost, the performance is out of this world. I took a couple of stars off for the mounting system/ease of install as the brackets are a tad fiddley. I highly recommend installing the cooler before you put the motherboard into your PC Case. Other than that, this is a great product for those looking to get better temperatures for not a lot of money! A+++”

Customer Review: “It worked great and properly greased. I had to ship the PC and replaced the huge heat sink to avoid shipping damage. Low profile and very fast. Perfect for my AM4 Ryzen 7.”

Customer Review: “I snagged this Wraith Stealth AM4/AM5 Socket Fan CPU Cooler because my Ryzen 5 9600 build was running warmer than I’d like on the stock cooler that came with an older chip—nothing crazy, but during long gaming sessions or photo exports, temps would push into the high 80s°C and the fan would ramp up to noticeable levels. At under $10, I figured it was a cheap refresh for a compatible, low-profile option that wouldn’t require a full tower upgrade. This is basically the classic AMD Wraith Stealth design: compact aluminum heatsink with direct-contact copper heatpipes, topped by a 92mm-ish fan, 4-pin PWM connector, and pre-applied thermal paste. It mounts easily on AM4/AM5 sockets—simple screw-down brackets, took maybe 5–7 minutes total. Fits in tight cases without RAM clearance issues. Performance is solid for what it is—a stock-level cooler for 65W–105W Ryzen chips. Idle temps sit around 35–45°C in my case, and under gaming load, it holds the CPU in the low-to-mid 70s°C with the fan at 1500–1800 RPM. No thermal throttling, and it’s quieter than some older Wraith versions. For light overclocking or daily driving without pushing extreme boosts, it’s plenty capable and keeps things stable. The fan is PWM-controlled, so it idles near-silent and only ramps when needed. Build quality feels decent for the price. It’s not a miracle tower cooler (don’t expect 60°C under heavy Cinebench), but it outperforms some cheap aftermarket clones I’ve tried. Only nitpicks: Pre-applied paste is okay but fresh Arctic MX-4 helps a couple degrees. And if your CPU is a high-TDP beast (like a 7950X), look elsewhere—this is for the efficient Zen 4/5 chips. Noise is low but not silent at full tilt. For $10, this is a no-brainer refresh or spare if you’re on AM4/AM5 and want reliable, quiet stock-level cooling without fuss. 5 stars.”

Customer Review: “I bought this as a solution to my MSI MAG Coreliquid 360R V2 is off being repaired under warranty. I seriously had my doubts, an AIO cooler for under $50 that would work properly. I went with ThermalRight because I have ThermalRight ssd heatsinks with pwm fans and they have lasted 3 years not a single issue. Well needless to say my doubts have been cleared. I have an i9 12900k LGA1700 socket, one of the hottest running consumer chips. This little 120 mm aio is holding it in check quite nice. Idle temps are 36°c to 38°c and under medium loads it may hit 62°c. Heavy loads 65°c to 72°c. The heavy loads im referencing are AI LLM and AI Training. I run the fans at 100% at all times and the noise is negligible at most. You ‘hear’ the fan and pump but its that low soft hum that really to me is a peace of mind to hear. It is compatible for intel and amd for several socket models. It comes with all necessary mounting hardware and they even throw in their name thermal paste. I use Artic mx-7, but i have heard good reviews on ThermalRights, so i kept it for back up purposes. Im very impressed and have to say ThermalRight is a good company! Install was a breeze. I didnt even need the manual. The manual is in Japanese or Chinese, but it had very easy to follow pictures, so anyone should be able to install it. Once my MSI cooler is back, I am moving this cooler to my i72600 back up rig and I know the temps will be even lower in that rig with a chip that doesnt run so hot. Overall, an amazing product with a low price point to boot!”

Customer Review: “Had to replace my old cooler it was not cutting it anymore. Temps were running in the 90C range when gaming. was getting tired of being throttled back. Anyway for the price got the 120 V3 cooler. I had another brand before until the pump went out so was on an older air cooler. Long story short installed this cooler it was fairly easy, with clean up and fan removals it took about 40 min. Started it up cooler was quiet was worried that maybe the pump wasn’t working but it has to be Idle temp right now is about 97F/37C, running the game that would overheat my CPU now runs at 123F/51C so it’s working! definitely worth the money not sure why people feel they need to 240 or 360 but then again I am not a heavy gamer. For my needs this cooler works great.”

Customer Review: “I recently installed the Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB in my build and I’m extremely pleased with the results. A few highlight points: With 6 heat-pipes and a dual-tower heatsink, this cooler handles high thermal loads surprisingly well for the price. It supports both Intel (LGA 115x/1200/1700) and AMD (AM4/AM5) sockets out of the box — easy to integrate into different systems. It is impressively quiet. According to the official spec the noise level tops out at ~25.6 dBA, which means minimal fan noise in daily use. The ARGB lighting is a nice bonus for anyone who cares about aesthetics, and it does not seem to compromise performance. My experience in use: Installation was straightforward (with the back-plate and mounting brackets included). After setup I noticed lower idle and load temperatures vs the stock cooler, and the system remained quiet even under sustained load. It also had good clearance around my RAM slots and GPU. In terms of value vs performance, this cooler really stands out. Minor note: You’ll want to check your case’s CPU cooler clearance, the heatsink is ~155mm tall. Also, if you’re doing extreme overclocking or very high-end CPUs at 300 W+ loads, this may not quite match the very top-tier 280/360mm liquid-coolers, but for most builds it gives excellent bang for the buck. Bottom line: If you’re looking for a high-performance air cooler that doesn’t break the bank, the Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB is hard to beat. Highly recommended.”

Customer Review: “Installed this cooler in my PC, and it’s honestly one of the best air coolers I’ve used. Temps dropped significantly compared to my old one, and it’s super quiet even under load. Installation was straightforward, and the ARGB lighting looks clean inside the case. Build quality feels premium, and the fans are smooth and silent. For its price, it’s an amazing value for keeping your CPU cool. It works perfectly as it is compatible with my R9 5900 XT. It has lasted around 2 years since I bought it and looks nice!”

Customer Review: “This cooler is a beast. I have it on a Ryzen 9 7950X and it keeps temps under 80°C during heavy rendering tasks. The digital ARGB looks amazing with my motherboard’s software. Installation was a bit involved but doable. The build quality is solid, and the fans are surprisingly quiet for their size. Worth every penny for top-tier air cooling.”

Customer Review: “Upgraded from a Noctua NH-D15 to this, and I’m impressed. Temps are similar but the ARGB is way more customizable. The AGHP tech really works—my case is mounted vertically, and cooling performance hasn’t dropped. Fans are quiet even at 2000 RPM. Only downside is it’s huge, so make sure your case can fit it. For high-end builds, this is a fantastic air cooler.”

Customer Review: “Solid fan for the build I have. Keeping a Ryzen 7 5800X at optimal temps. It’s not the quietest under full load, but for everyday use and gaming, it’s perfectly fine. The RGB looks nice and syncing with my motherboard was easy.”

Customer Review: “Perfect for a Ryzen 7 9600X. It cools well and isn’t super loud and looks good while doing it. Very easy to mount and performance benchmarks are right where they should be. Great budget CPU cooler for the Ryzen 5’s!”