Best Air Coolers for 9950x3D & 9800x3D? (Help finishing new build)

Posted by fallendiscrete@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 47 comments

Hey Everyone,

Not a big fan of AiO's - mostly because the reason I had to make a new PC was due to a AiO leak :/... I got really lucky with being able to casually walk in a get parts.

Can someone please recommend the top 3 choices for the 9950x3d & 9800x3d?

Current New Build is:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950x3D
GPU: MSI SHADOW 3X OC GeForce RTX 5080 16GB
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B850-F GAMING WIFI ATX AM5
RAM: G.Skill DDR5 Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64GB (2 x 32GB) 6000MHz CL30 1.40V
Power Supply: Asus ROG STRIX 1200P Gaming 1200 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

The PC Case is the Asus ProArt PA602 Wood Edition ATX Mid Tower Case.

So far from research I'm seeing alot of recommendations for:
(1) → Noctua NH-D15 G2 91.58 CFM CPU Cooler
(2) → be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 air CPU Cooler
(3) → Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE CPU Cooler
(4) → Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO CPU Cooler

I'm kinda going for a Darker Wood/Metal/Glass look with coffee like contrast which is why I was pivoting towards the Noctua. I don't mind something stainless steel or even copper color/gold if possible but temperature/thermals are big.

Workload is mostly Architecture & Engineering + Renders with 4k Gaming in mind.

Could you guys please help me out with the CPU - Air Cooler recommendations?

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_JustWorkDamnYou_@reddit

Can't name a cooler offhand, but I will add that you'll want to make sure to factor your RAM height in to the equation when looking at coolers.

The G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB has a height of 44mm. So coolers like the Phantom Spirit and the Peerless Assassin, which have a 42mm clearance, will need to have the outside fan adjust up to make room. The Noctua has a 32mm height limitation before you hit that outside fan so that'll need to have the fan moved up a fair bit and bump the overall height off the cooler to 180mm. Pretty sure the Dark Rock Pro will support the 44mm RAM height but I'm not 100% on it.

While all this wont be a problem for overall clearance in the case (love the looks of the PA602 by the by) it is something to keep in mind. 2mm likely wont throw off cooling of the Thermalrights, but the Noctua would have a 12mm change in fan position. Also it looks like you're going for a nice looking build and that will throw off the look of the cooler, especially the lines of the Phantom Spirit Evo.

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Biscuits25@reddit

Ive got a noctua on my 9800x3d and the cooling is great. I did have a clearance issue with the second fan and my ram so i had to clip the fan higher up on the heat sink. But after using it a bit I took my second fan off and it didnt really make a big difference in temps as far as I could tell. I actually tuned down the fan curve and got it running around 80c max under load and its a little quieter than before. I ended up using the second fan as a case fan.

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_JustWorkDamnYou_@reddit

Yeah the DH15 is a beast and can run with one fan without too much of an impact. If I remember correctly the S variant of it took the outside fan off entirely.

siberian@reddit

I ended up with a Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE CPU Cooler and its super quiet and seems good enough for my 9800x3d.

qalmakka@reddit

The Phantom Spirit is also pretty good. I've one with my dad 9950X and it keeps it cool well enough.

insignificantKoala@reddit

Better or worse than peerless assassin?

The Phantom Spirit is supposed to be slightly newer and slightly better, but it's very marginal AFAIK.

Still the Phantom Spirit 120 SE manages to keep my Ryzen 9 9950X at full load (all cores at >5GHz) for a long time at less than 90C. This is a fine temp at full load for those CPUs TBH, they consume an unholy amount of current (so much so that I've noticed it on my electricity bill too lol). I have a feeling that the CPU could go even hotter and there'd still be some thermal headroom f

In general there's no point in going with an AIO below 280mm when a €40 air cooler is this good

IceSeeYou@reddit

Better, it's basically the successor. But not by a considerable amount, maybe a couple/few degrees

That’s what I thought too but then saw OP rank peerless assassin above phantom spirit

Oops yeah I edited my comment probably right as you replied with more detail haha. But yeah, I am not sure what that order is all about - the Phantom Spirit is just better especially at same price.

ICE, thanks

TheSasosam@reddit

Thats what I have, everything is working fine

Sarionum@reddit

Love thermalright. They make incredible coolers for insane prices. Glad they chose to buy their manufacturing facilities so they can continue without a middle man. Excellent company.

Oh I was wondering how they kept the pricing so low on their stuff

Yep. They're serious about making an impact in the cooler space. And they're succeeding. Great company, though and through.

HeroofKvatchonReddit@reddit

I second this, Thermalrights quality at the prices they sell at is almost impossible to beat

nikerbacher@reddit

I have the phantom spirit, but the fans weren't awesome, so I put in bequiet rad fans. So, I should have just gotten the darkrock. Noctua is obviously the best in class, but it's twice the price so it's just how premium you want to get with it. They have creamic bearings and rubber stoppers to dampen vibration.

Scarabesque@reddit

Dark rock pro 5 (4 was even worse) tested poorly with am5. Check hardware Canucks.

Reksawoscar@reddit

I have phantom spirit with the 9950x3d and it works very well.

dulun18@reddit

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140

https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-Peerless-Assassin-Cooler-Desktop/dp/B0D8TGF7ZL?th=1

i would go with the one with 140mm fan for the 9950X3D

nickw1372@reddit

thermalright phantom spirit or peerless assassin are amazing for the price

nhd-15 g2 if you want the best possible but its very expensive

SLI_GUY@reddit

I'm using the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140 on my 9950X3D. With a CCD0 undervolt of -30 and CCD1 of -10, gaming in battlefield 2042 temps stay below \~75c with my RTX 4090 blowing out hot air inside the case.

homerpsu1@reddit

A Frozn A620 classic gold and black might fit but will most likely be unavailable... I prefer this box type aesthetics compared to the thermalrights... Noctua NH-D15 G2 would be my 2nd choice not considering price/performance.

https://www.idcooling.com/product/list?category_parent=25&category=103&name=FROZN

Bassmekanik@reddit

I use a Noctua DH-15 Chromax with my 9800X3D and its spot on.

It previously kept my 5800X chilled out too.

Not cheap, but very good. I have heard the Peerless assassin is almost as good at a third of the price, but Im pretty sure my (absolutely massive) Noctua will be fine on whatever my next PC upgrade will be in 5+ years too.

raydialseeker@reddit

If 9950x3d then get the hawktuah. Otherwise go phantom spirit

acrazyr@reddit

thermalright royal pretor 130 black or phantom spirit 120 evo

PrimeTimeMKTO@reddit

As everyone else has mentioned Thermalright is solid. Phantom Spirit 120 SE keeps my 9800X3D around 52 in Tarkov and 49 in Cyberpunk. Max recorded temp since undervolting to -30 is 58.

YoSpiff@reddit

I have a Peerless Assassin. Works well. When I was building my last system it was always one that was highly rated in reviews.

chrisdpratt@reddit

Using an NH-D15S with my 9950X3D.

Hugh_Jassman@reddit

What are your temps like?

ScornedSloth@reddit

Go with the phantom spirit. Low price, almost identical cooling to the peerless assassin and a bit quieter.

working_one@reddit

I went phantom spirit with the rgbs for my 9800x3d.

Rankork1@reddit

I’m using the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE on my 7800X3D. Loving it.

Runs fairly quiet & cools pretty well.

Snoot_Boop_Snek@reddit

I use a thermalright peerless assassin with two noctua fans on it so it's quiet when it throttles up. Then I have 5 slower cheaper case fans (quiet at the low rpm) on the front (3) inlet and back (2) exhaust. That's keeping my 9800x3d at 65C Max at 100% usage.

MotoChooch@reddit

What are your temps running Cinebench R23?

Played with my fan speeds so only my CPU fans ramp up with temp not the case fans.

vedomedo@reddit

I mean… sure you had a bad experience but a good aio will rarely if ever leak.. I’ve used them for 10+ years with no issues.

KFC_Junior@reddit

peerless assasian. only better air cooler is the overpriced nhd15. otherwise just get an aio

Phantom Spirit 120 works well

Thermalwright makes incredible air coolers

PA120/ps120/royal pretor are extremely similar

cold-corn-dog@reddit

"I got really lucky with being able to casually walk in and get parts."

Microcenter?

fallendiscrete@reddit (OP)

Yup!