Noctua has recently launched the NM-DD1 direct die kit in collaboration with Roman “der8auer” Hartung, a professional overclocker and direct...
Cougar's Forza 135 features quality German engineering and a sturdy build with solid black fans without flashy lighting. It's one of the best air coolers I've tested with AMD's Ryzen 7 7700X and should do well with any modern CPU.
EK Water Block's EIO Elite 280 D-RGB has serious cooling capacity whether it's set to a silent noise profile or running unrestricted. It's the first cooler I've tested that has managed to keep AMD's Ryzen 7 7700X under TJMax during rendering workloads, a feat I previously had considered impossible. For this impressive, chart-topping cooling capacity I am awarding the EK AIO Elite 280 D-RGB our Gold Award.
In my opinion, Fractal Design's Celsius+ line of coolers is one of the best on the market. The PWM mode offers high potential cooling capacity for workloads that need extra power, while the Auto (Silent) mode offers whisper quiet operation and cooling capacity capable of handling all but the most extreme loads without throttling.
Thermalright's Silver Soul 135 is one of the few dual tower air coolers available at a budget price point of $30-$35. It pairs best with a CPU like AMD's Ryzen 7 7700X or Intel's i5-13600K, but it can handle hotter CPUs well too.
DeepCool's AG500 performed well in our testing, especially when noise normalized for silent operation. At only $39.99, it won't break the bank either - this is firmly in budget territory. If you're looking for a good performing air cooler that isn't noisy, you won't go wrong with DeepCool's GAMMAXX AG500 BK ARGB.
Handling 66W loads with Ryzen 7700X and 156W with Intel's i9-13900K, BeQuiet's Pure Rock LP offers a compact size that will fit even the tiniest and most cramped of cases while still offering decent cooling performance and low noise levels.
At CES 2023, I stopped by MSI's booth and talked to their representative Cliff Y. He showed me a variety of exciting new products coming soon. Of particular interest to me is their upcoming MEG 342C OLED Ultrawide monitor and their upcoming GK71 Sonic Blues keyboard. I tested the monitor briefly at their CES exhibit, and it might just be one of the best monitors I've ever seen. They also showed off a variety of unique products - an EV charger, disinfecting robot, upcoming PCI-e 5 SSDs, and more!
hermalright's Frozen Notte 360 aRGB lives up to the challenge of taming Intel's most difficult CPU to cool - handling up to 309W in our most demanding test with the Raptor Lake i9-13900K. However, it achieves this at the cost of noise - it's the loudest cooler we've tested in this scenario.
For a limited time, customers in the continental United States (lower 48 states) can obtain a free mounting kit by contacting DeepCool with proof of purchase of either an AM5 processor or an AM5 motherboard (X670) to reserve