We look for the best processor heat sinks and bring them to you in this Christmas shopping guide series.

Refrigeration is something very delicate and it is always worth erring in excess than in defect. We always reserve a part of the budget to install a cooler other than the factory one and we always look for a heatsink that guarantees us a low temperature in the processor. This is due to the fact that the less temperature we have in the processor, the better it will work and the longer we will extend its useful life. The heatsinks that the processors bring are very bad and to do a test it starts, as it may be that the equipment starts up they are worth, even to work a short space of time if we do not yet have the heatsink, but we do not see it viable for the medium and long term by subject of temperatures.

We have selected powerful and interesting options that will have the temperature of the processor at bay. Logically, the more we invest in this point, the more we will notice it in the long run. We have opted for a variety of heatsinks per heatsink block and three RL's. There are more options in both cases. If we have chosen to add so few RL solutions it is because of maintenance issues and problems that may arise. We will explain this more in depth in the corresponding section.

NOTE: By clicking on the image you will go to the purchase page of each product.

Air cooling

Raijintek Aidos

It may seem like a very simple heatsink and it seems not very powerful, but this heatsink offers us excellent dissipation for an extremely reasonable price. This heatsink is ideal for compact equipment since it is 136mm high, weighs just 325 grams and has a 92x92mm PWM fan, which works at a speed between 1000-2200RPM. The sound level is 29.87dBA and it is compatible with entry-level 1151 processors.

Alpenfohn Ben Nevis

Many of you will not know the German brand, but in recent years it has been launching high-performance and high-performance solutions. This fan is already a bit more powerful and will certainly keep the processor at an optimal temperature, preventing it from overheating. It has a height of 141mm, which makes it compatible with the vast majority of mini ATX towers on the market and has a weight of 670 grams. The fan in charge of cooling the system is a 120mm PWM with a sound level ranging from 8-20.2dBA. It supports a maximum TDP of 140W, which is ideal for Intel Skylake i3 / i5 processors.

BeQuiet! Pure rock

The Rock series from BeQuiet! It is a great alternative in terms of heatsinks, since it offers us high-performance heat dissipation systems and great features for a very interesting price. We have chosen this 155mm high and 660 gram heatsink, because we think it is a very interesting solution for mid-range processors, because it has a maximum TDP of 150W. It supports Intel Skylake processors and also the Broadwell-E, but for the latter, which are of extreme performance, we do not end up seeing a recommended option, a higher-end and more powerful heatsink is better. The fan of this heatsink is 120x120mm and is PWM with a sound level that ranges from 19.1-26.8dBA.

Alpenföhn Brocken 2 PCGH

If we opt for Intel Skylake i7 series processors, especially the i7 6700K (applicable to the i5 6600K), installing a good, powerful cooler that allows us to do a bit of overclocking without major problems, is ideal and this cooler does well. This processor is 165mm tall and weighs 985 grams, which is already weight. It has not one, but two 140mm fans running at a speed of 700RPM. The working speed of the fans may seem low, but they have a great air flow and that allows the sound level to be 18.5dBA constantly.

Enermax ETS-T50A-BVT

It is not possibly a solution that we would not recommend at first, but since we like the internal lighting so much in the configurations with chassis that have a side window, we have chosen to add this heatsink. This cooler has a maximum height of 139mm and has a 120mm fan. Said fan is PWM, something interesting, for work efficiency, operating between 800-1800RPM, with a sound level of 18.9-25dBA.

Cooler Master Hyper 212X

Quality / price ratio, it is possibly the best we can find, what is more, in many budgets we have recommended this heatsink that is very powerful and has a very reasonable price. The height of the heatsink is 120mm and a weight of around 500 grams. Something very interesting about the fan, which is 120x120mm, is that it is PWM and can work between 600-2000RPM with which the sound level ranges from 9-36dBA, which is very quiet. It is the ideal choice for Intel Skylake i5 processors and even some of the i7 family.

Noctua NH-D14

Noctua solutions are of excellent quality, with IP 55 in the fans, which prevents the entry of dust and water into the bearings, which is very important to take into account. We have chosen the highest-end heatsink, designed for processors that support overclocking. It has a height of 160mm, with a weight of 1240 grams and it has two fans, on the one hand the NF-P 12 of 120mm and PWM and the NF-P14 of 140mm and PWM located in the central area between the two dissipation blocks. and supports a third even 120mm. The two fans are PWM as we have said and can go between 900-1300RPM. This cooler has a particularity and that is that it supports RAM memories with heatsink, but that are less than 40mm high with respect to the dissipation block, being 35mm if we take into account the fan, but this can be raised a little to improve compatibility , although it loses some efficiency, so before buying it we must take a good look at the compatibility of the modules.

Cryorig R1 Universal

If we want our processor to remain almost impassive in terms of temperature when we load it, such as games, this cooler is ideal. Two blocks of dissipation fins and two fans, make this cooler a true beast of cooling. It has a height of 169mm, which is still a problem, but in quality towers, heatsinks up to 180mm in height are usually accepted without problems and it has a weight of 1215 grams. We have commented that it has two fans, which are 140mm and are PWM, working between 700-1300RPOM and a sound level of 19-23dBA, which is very low. It is compatible with all RAM memory on the market.

Liquid refrigeration

We have not added any RL systems with a single fan radiator, because their performance is equal to or below a block heatsink, therefore we have opted for high performance dual fan radiator solutions, which are excellent solutions that support a good overclocking to the processor and that we do not have scares due to excess temperature.

Attention: if you do not have advanced knowledge about hardware and you have never used liquid cooling and you do not know how to correctly maintain these systems, we do not recommend their installation, because a breakdown due to bad or no maintenance could pose a problem for our hardware, which it would burn. An incorrect maintenance task could also pose a problem in the performance of this system, causing overheating problems and other failures.

Cryrig A80

If we want an efficient, but striking solution, without a doubt this cooler is what we are looking for. We like this RL a lot, because the fans are of good quality and the 70mm PWM fan that has been installed on top of the processor pump is striking, which has a working speed between 1500-3000RPM with a noise level of 15- 27dBA, but at the same time, despite being positive, it is negative, since we add more sound level. It is a game between the positive and the negative aspect. The radiator fans are the QF140 of 140mm each one PWM, with a working speed of 600-1850RPM and a sound level of 13-39dBA. Being 140mm, we must ensure that the chosen chassis is compatible, because it may be that one of them does not accept such large radiators.

Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H115i

Quality, performance and design. When Corsair is put on, it does everything good, with great features and with a very careful design. This RL kit has two Corsair SP140L PWM fans, which we know is 140mm and has a maximum sound level of 43dBA. We have searched for data on the Corsair website, but there is no more information than what we have referred. Because it is a 140mm radiator, we must always check that our chosen tower is compatible, to avoid problems in the future.

BeQuiet! Silent Loop 120mm

A good option to keep our processor well cooled is this BeQuiet! Solution, very powerful and of high quality, which ensures that if we overclock, our processor is very cool, since it supports a TDP of up to 270W. This heatsink has two 2mm Alure Pure 120 fans that are PWM, with a sound level of 16.1-36.9dBA. We should not have problems installing it in medium and high quality chassis, since the vast majority specify that it accepts 120mm radiators in the front or upper area, without further complications.