Good aftermarket CPU cooler

[jnelsoninjax]

My wife's system is a Ryzen 5, and is running with the stock CPU cooler, and it is not enough to keep the system cool, I have been monitoring the temps and the CPU at idle is  around 65-76C and under load it peaked at over 90C, I don't think there is enough room to water cool the system, so I would like to change the cooler out. It has been a while since I have looked for an air cooler, what are some of the good ones to look at?

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Noctua coolers always seem to be the top go to option when I ask around.

https://noctua.at/

[Jim K Global Moderator]

If you're looking for a cheap but very good cooler for general purpose computing... you can't go wrong with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 (if it can fit into the case). 

 

Guess it depends on budget and what case you're working with.

[+Biscuits Brown MVC]

I've been using a Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black on my 3900x and it handles day to day very well.  I idle  below 45 and top out at maybe 80 if running the new Flight Sim (VERY CPU dependent). Most of the time playing a variety of older games (Skyrim, Witcher, Kingdom Come etc.) it never gets warmer  than the low mid 60s to 70ish. 

[jnelsoninjax]

16 minutes ago, Jim K said:

If you're looking for a cheap but very good cooler for general purpose computing... you can't go wrong with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 (if it can fit into the case). 

 

Guess it depends on budget and what case you're working with.

 I just bought that one for $41, and there is plenty of room for it, I would have gone with Noctura, but they are almost a $100, so I decided to go with the Cooler master

[Brandon H Supervisor]

4 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

 I just bought that one for $41, and there is plenty of room for it, I would have gone with Noctura, but they are almost a $100, so I decided to go with the Cooler master

yeah Noctua's can be a bit pricier when not on sale but they're worth every penny I hear. But Cool Master is a great runner up especially for that price and should meet your needs just fine  

[jnelsoninjax]

18 minutes ago, Brandon H said:

yeah Noctua's can be a bit pricier when not on sale but they're worth every penny I hear. But Cool Master is a great runner up especially for that price and should meet your needs just fine  

Oh I know Noctura is worth the price, I just wanted something a bit less considering my wife does not do as much stuff as I do on the computer.

[ThaCrip]

Given the price difference (i.e. $41 vs nearly $100) it seems the cheaper one is a no-brainer, especially if there is no significant difference (which I doubt there will be) to the life of the CPU by using the $41 cooler.

 

but on a side note... I wonder if it's possible for you to undervolt your CPU a bit? ; because that can cut back on peak temp noticeably. at least it did on my i5-3550 as for each -0.010v drop, it lowered my CPU temp by 1c. I can lower mine -0.130v for a 13c drop (which is the most I can lower mine and have a stable system) and I was not even using the proper i5 cooler that has a copper contact on mine, but I was using the stock i3-2120 heatsink/fan unit from my previous i3-2120 CPU.

[spikey_richie]

I know you've already bought, but for next time... I'm a fan (pun intended) of BeQuiet! coolers. They're generally similar in performance to Noctua, and are a little cheaper.