CPU coolers

Badgi

New member
So, I'm looking at buying a new PC and I'm wondering about the coolers on offer for the 12th Gen Intels. Are the stock AKASA coolers good? How do they compare to the PCS coolers?

These are the only fan coolers on offer for what I'm looking at and I don't really want to go down the liquid cooling route as I feel this will be a little overkill for my needs.

Cheers
 

Badgi

New member
Ok, I've been doing a bit of scouring on the boards and it seems the general consensus is that the 12th Gens run hot and air cooling may not be sufficient.

How true is this?
 

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
It depends what chip you're buying. If you're having the 12100 or the 12400, the AKASA cooler will be fine. Not amazing, but fine. For the mid-tier chips (12600, 12600K, 12700, 12900), I'd suggest you want something more: either a good air cooler or a good liquid cooler. For the top tier chips (12700K, 12900K), you want everything you can throw at it as they are hot. So this means a top-tier water cooler.

The next problem is the gulf in what PCS offers. They occasionally have their own air coolers in stock, and they're fine, especially for things like the 12600, but they don't have any top-tier air coolers. Likewise, their selection of Corsair liquid coolers is excellent, but the mid-tier stuff is only "OK" (the FrostFlow coolers are noisier and, anecdotally, less reliable in terms of pump failure). So there is a bit of a leap in what's available, which does make the mid-tier options markedly worse value.

So, all in all, your answer is "it depends". And the key thing is to make sure the whole build makes sense in toto. So perhaps you could post the whole of your planned build? And say (a) what you'll be using it for, (b) what monitor you'll be using, and (c) what the budget is?
 
Top