Ever since I tested it last year, the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE has been my go-to recommendation for anyone seeking a sensible, low-cost, yet still powerful CPU cooler. Making this already fantastic-value cooler even more appealing right now is a 15% off deal on Amazon, bringing it down to its lowest price yet.
If you’re rocking a CPU with fewer than eight cores – yes, even the brand new AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D – the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE will cool it just fine, and do so quietly. That’s why it’s my “best for most” choice on our best CPU cooler guide. The Noctua NH-D15 might be even quieter and have the capacity to cool even 16-core chips, and larger all-in-one liquid coolers can make for slick-looking installations, but you won’t find either of those for under $35.
In my Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE review, this dual-tower, dual-fan, 120mm air cooler comfortably coped with the 7800X3D, keeping this powerful eight-core chip ticking along at 79°C when all cores were running at full tilt. What’s more, this cooler is rated to deal with heat output of up to 265W, which comfortably puts the likes of the Ryzen 9 9750X within reach, though such a powerful chip will run quite a bit hotter.
Crucially, this cooler delivers its cooling power while remaining reasonably quiet, too. It can’t compete with the Noctua NH-D15 or Dark Rock Pro 5 for whisper-quiet operation, but I measured its noise level under full load as topping out at 46dB when measured from just 20cm away and installed in an open-air test bench. That translates to around 35dB at ear-level when installed in a case, and with the case sat under a desk. With a little tweak of your motherboard’s fan profiles and the cooler not maxed out at 100%, it remains effectively silent for desktop use – I use it to this day in my main work and gaming PC.
Compatible with basically every recent AMD and Intel CPU right out of the box, the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE will be a suitable upgrade for most PCs.
In terms of design and build quality, it’s a simple, no-frills cooler. However, it is available in a plain nickel-plated finish with black fans, a fully blacked-out finish, fully white finish, and there are ARGB fan options too. Crucially, while all their prices differ slightly, they’re all discounted right now and available for between $32.93 and $35.01. The all-black version is the cheapest, and you can grab it here.
Normally priced at between $36.99 and $38.99, these coolers are inexpensive even at MSRP, but who can say no to a 10% to 15% discount on Amazon. If you’re looking for a bargain to shake off the “everything in PC gaming is getting ludicrously expensive” blues, this little weekend treat is a great option. You’ll have to be quick, though, as this is a limited time deal, so it could end at any moment.
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