The Best Liquid CPU Coolers

Gamers want to push their PC on performance edges to not compromise on a single element. The CPU cooler is the component responsible for keeping the CPU cool and enhancing your PC’s overall performance, but a low-end cooler can ruin your gaming. Suppose you were playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with 50% CPU utilization, but your game fps started to drop for a few seconds. Those few seconds were enough for the enemy to shoot you down and decrease your rank. If your CPU temperatures were high, it’s probably due to thermal throttling. An outperforming gaming rig has the top-performing CPU and a GPU, but it also has the best CPU water cooler. A CPU cooler that cannot remove the TDP will eventually cause the CPU temperatures to increase, thus decreasing the processing frequency. It is a technique used by CPU manufacturers to ensure that the expensive CPU does not fail at high temperatures but maintains operability at a slower pace. Picking the best budget CPU cooler would be difficult as it depends on the processor you own and its maximum heat dissipation requirement.

CPU coolers come in two main categories: Liquid coolers and Air based coolers. Since modern Intel and AMD CPUs may require up to 380W TDP, for example, i9-10990XE, all that TDP needs to be removed using the best AIO cooler. However, if you plan to use an air-based cooler, picking the best CPU air cooler with a 380W TDP rating would be so large that it will not fit into any ordinary PC case. Sometimes size never tells us about the performance, and the best CPU cooler requires as minimum space inside the chassis as possible. It should also be silent and make minimum noise which air-based coolers have difficulty maintaining. Liquid coolers have very high thermal design power, and since the heat dissipation is carried out via a radiator, the size of the radiator dominates its noise level and capacity. Liquid coolers also have unique designs and value-adding features that improve their effectiveness but to be sure that you buy an accurate product, let’s have a look at some shopping tips:

Our top picks

Quick Shopping Tips:

Socket Support: This is the most crucial specification a user should consider. CPUs come in different sizes. AM4 and LGA 1700 are the latest socket sizes by AMD and Intel. You need to ensure that the cooler you are about to buy supports your CPU or provides a bracket for proper mounting.

Number Of Fans: higher number of fans requires a bigger radiator, thus adding to the cost of the product. It does have the advantage of being quiet due to low operation. The higher fans also allow more overclocking headroom for CPUs with boost frequencies. You will have to select the right radiator size that fits your chassis.

Aesthetics: When it comes to aesthetics in CPU coolers, the top priority is the material used. Manufacturers have added value to their products by including customizable LCDs on top of their water blocks, RGB lighting on both the fans and water block, braided pipe sleeves, and tucked-away wiring.

Clearances: When buying a product, you need to be sure to fit it alongside other PC components. CPU coolers have pipes running out of the water block, and if they come out the side, joints will require space, and the block’s size may also restrict GPU. Your motherboard should have enough space between the PCIe slot and CPU socket to accommodate the AIO cooler. Check the block size and your motherboard clearance before purchasing.

The Best Liquid CPU Coolers: First look

The Best Liquid CPU Coolers: In-depth Review

Right off the bat, we can see that the Corsair iCUE H100i RGB Pro XT is an AIO unit that comes with a 240mm radiator. The heat is transferred to the air through two fans that sit on top of the densely packed fins. It is the best CPU water cooler in the market, considering that Corsair uses a copper-based cold plate. Copper has excellent conductive properties that help lower the temperature of the CPU surface better. Corsair has a long-lasting reputation for having the best liquid cooling system in their product lineup. They have tested it in the harshest conditions posed by an AMD threadripper 3970x, a 280W TDP processor. It managed to maintain 65.73°C throughout peak loads.

It comes with two powerful and quiet ML120 PRO fans that work between 400-2400rpm. They are magnetically levitated, thus operating at lower power and producing lower noise of 37 dBA. We were excited to see that the fans were made of white material, which led us to think it had RGB on the fans, but it did not. Many wires that come out of the water block are used to power the fans and pump along with RGB on the block, not the fans. The body of the fans uses rubber padding on edge to reduce any noise caused by the assembly. The radiator is made from aluminum material capable of removing heat, and in certain conditions, Corsair has added the feature of zero RPM. The fans will stop under low load conditions if the CPU temperature is maintained.

Lian Li is slowly gaining a fair amount of gaming market share because they are durable and long-lasting at an unbeatable price. Lian Li Galahad is a 240mm radiator size best budget CPU water cooler. This Taiwanese brand has produced solid products, and Galahad is no exception. They have not only focused on the build quality of their product, but aesthetics have been given equal attention. The removal aluminum cap that is replaceable to change the aesthetics gives it the customized look that most gamers target. An overclocker can maintain 75C on a 105W TDP processor if you are an overclocker. In contrast, they ran the Cinebench R23 test at 100% pump speed and 80% fan speed. It comes with RGB on both the fans and the pump housing unit, and users have reported syncing it with the MSI Mystic Light.

The white aesthetics give it a premium feel, and using corrosion-resistant material throughout makes it long-lasting under rough conditions. It is the best liquid cooling AIO system that users can buy at an unbeatable price. It comes with a rotatable pump housing block to ensure that the logo is aligned under any installed configuration. The braided tubing is made from high-quality material and properly tuck in wires that supply power and control to the two 120mm fan units. The pump design is the trickiest for any manufacturer. Lian Li has done an incredible job in manufacturing a three-chamber design that keeps it from leaking and separates the pump part from the motor part, ensuring long-lasting performance. However, you need to acknowledge that the fan noise is higher than other brands, and there is no software control.

If you are looking for a product that makes your PC look industrial grade and ready to process complex algorithms, then Deepcool Captain 240 Pro V2 will suit your PC’s attire. It is the best ultra cheap CPU water cooler that can boost its cooling capacity to 250W, making it suitable for leading gaming CPUs in the market. With this cooler, throttling while taking fire from an enemy is a thing of the past. The U-shaped stainless steel pipe gives it a sturdy look and the stability that a pump requires. It comes with a dual-chamber pump design and a copper plate with micro fins to boost efficiency. The ARGB allows control via leading software like ASRock Polychrome Sync, MSI Mystic Light Sync, RGB fusion, and AURA sync.

When talking about the price/performance ratio, it is the best CPU water cooler that provides a balanced performance. However, it does not support LGA1700 right out of the box. You will need an external spare part to support the 12th generation of Intel processors. Compared to other well-established brands, the efficiency is lower, thus leading to higher noise levels. If you are not bothered by a ≤30dBA noise level, you do not need to worry about it being noisy. The price tag is very attractive for a 240mm cooler. The anti-leak technology provides peace of mind that your equipment will remain safe and operate reliably.

NZXT is known for its premium products with minimalist designs. NZXT Kraken X53 is their best 240mm CPU water cooler that, on the first look, gives it the classy feel NZXT fans like to maintain in their gaming rigs. The water block is built within a limited space and allows ample RAM, making it the best liquid cooling system with clearance. The noise/RPM ratio is excellent compared with other brands. It comes with a substantial 10-year warranty which indirectly states their confidence in the product. Pipes are made from rubber with nylon sleeves to tuck in wiring. It does not come with LGA1700 support right out of the box, but a bracket is available to support the 12th Gen Intel processor.

The future compatibility and socket support make it an excellent choice for frequent hardware changes. The product’s overall performance in terms of aesthetics and cooling properties is excellent, but we noted a few things during installation. The 400m pipe length was short, and managing them along with the wires was tiresome. The noise level on maximum load was 36dBA. It is also targeted at users with a Micro-ATX motherboard and chassis. However, the material used for manufacturing this product is top-notch. The lights are astonishing and come with CAM software that controls each feature of the CPU cooler allowing customized cooling.

EVGA CLC 280mm is the best 280mm CPU water cooler for a gaming PC running high-intensity first-person shooter games like PUBG and Overwatch. Streaming with software encoding can cause havoc on your CPU and increase its temperatures uncontrollably. To regulate the temperature within its operable range via a piece of equipment that costs fractional of its price is achieved through the best liquid cooling hardware. EVGA uses a unique design to facilitate assemblers the pipes run out of the water block vertically, allowing more space around the CPU area for RAM and GPU. The cold plate is circular with a pre-applied paste suitable for at-home assembly.

It comes in a plug-and-play configuration, thus not requiring and filling fitting to make it operational. As stated in the specs, the life span is 80000hours which is more than enough for any gaming rig working hours. We are not the biggest fan of how RGB is implemented on this CPU cooler, but it can be ignored considering the price point. The fans are Teflon sleeves that have lower performance than magnetically levitated fans. The features remain with a high price/performance ratio at this price point. Everything on this AIO cooler is controlled via EVGA software.

Jumping into a more expensive category that provides higher performance, we ended up with Corsair iCUE H150i Elite on our list. It is the best 360mm CPU water cooler for enthusiast overclockers. The 360mm radiator size allows higher heat to be removed with lower airflow, thus reducing operational noise for a similar CPU with a 240mm radiator. As the name suggests, Elite is what corsair targeted here. It comes with a 2.1” IPS LCD screen on the water block with 480x480 screen resolution. Users can use the 30Hz display to showcase their team logo or any other aesthetic enhancement, thus making it the best liquid cooling system in the premium category. It comes with an iCUE commander core to provide a hub to control all the RGB lighting with an iCUE software and ensure sync.

With a 250w CPU load and 27C ambient temperature, this cooler maintained 38C. The split flow micro skived fins cold plate design works well, and the square shape sits comfortably on top of the processor providing maximum coverage. At this price tag and considering that users will use it for cooling overclock capable processors, we wanted to see a VRM cooler that will overcome the only con posed by a liquid cooler. However, the magnetic levitation fans with RGB control that sync with iCUE is a premium feature that a buyer requires. Despite having low noise, it can go to zero RPM under no load, which can be a frequent occurrence due to the size of the radiator.

Cooler Master is known to manufacture products targeted more towards mid-tier gaming rigs. Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240 Illusion is their best RGB CPU water cooler due to its eye-catching RGB implementation. The pump housing has a translucent dome that lights up with smooth RGB lighting controlled using a Gen2 ARGB lighting controller. The fans are MF120 Halo Fans from the premium cooler master grade line of products. Each RGB can be easily synced using leading RGB software likes Polychrome, Mystic Light, and Aura sync. You can either use the software or the controller to change lights without any software.

It supports the latest LGA1700 socket but requires an additional mounting bracket to make it work. It is suitable for small chassis as the length of the tube is ideal for an ATX motherboard anything larger than ATX would make it difficult to manage. The overall aesthetics are sleek with an all-white body and stealthy RGB implementation. The performance of the fans is impressive, with <30dBA noise levels at 100% fan speeds. The noise to performance ratio curve is also friendly and looks good compared to other higher-priced coolers in the market.

Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora is one of the manufacturer’s proud products. Alphacool provides the most subtle and sci-fi implementations of RGB on their best refillable CPU water cooler. The key feature is its ability to fit any type of enclosure since it is expandable, refillable, and modifiable. It comes with RGBs that can be addressed via a controller or motherboard, making it capable of syncing with your overall battle station theme. We haven’t seen any manufacturer in our list providing a copper-based radiator in terms of material. Copper radiators are the best for heat transfer and perform far superior against aluminum-based fins. In return, the material lets the fans run at lower speeds and eventually reduces noise levels.

The quick-release fastener design is on point for DIY cooling kit installation, making it the best liquid cooling kit with customization. The radiator is powerful enough to support the cooling of a GPU as well. Alphacool only uses brass at thread inserts as they require toughness, and copper is too soft for this application. However, compared to other top brands that manufacture fans, Alphacool fans are noisy and have a higher noise/rpm ratio. The fans run at a max speed of 2000rpm at 0.95mH2O static pressure. Overall the built quality and expandability land on our list of best CPU coolers.

Final Words

Most of the processors with overclocking capability do not include a cooler. Since the processors with overclocking capability have greater value, the market share for a CPU cooler in gaming products has risen. The performance of the CPU is now directly linked with the performance of a cooler. Owning the best CPU water cooler is the proper way to build a gaming PC. Air-based coolers occupy space and have higher noise levels. Liquid-based coolers have lower noise due to the higher number of fans. They easily fit into a chassis with mounting options and provide unique features such as a water block display for statistics or a simple logo. They also have higher TDP support for CPUs. The noise to load ratio is significantly better than air coolers.

If you buy a liquid cooler from our list, ensure that the radiator’s dimensions are compatible with your PC case. The piping is long or short enough to allow proper routing and cable management. Also, clearance around the water block is equally essential, considering that RAMs and GPUs have grown. If you own a large chassis or a motherboard that is EATX in terms of dimensions, then it’s better to go for a product that allows expansion options via leak-free couplings. Investing in a decent cooling kit will lead to better CPU performance, and if aesthetics are your concern, it will provide a premium look to your rig. It’s the best investment you can make for your PC. We hope you find the right tailor-made product per your requirement from our list of coolers.

Frequently Asked Questions