I'm looking to do some very minimal overclocking and want to know if I can use the Thermalright Assassin X120. What are the limitations of air coolers for light overclocking on newer Intel CPUs?
4 Answers
Yeah, it depends a lot on the specific Intel CPU. The Assassin X120 is only adequate for lower wattage CPUs. For anything over that, you might struggle with cooling.
Honestly, I recommend at least upgrading to a dual tower cooler, like the Peerless Assassin 120. It’s not a huge price jump and the cooling performance will be significantly better.
I think that one might be too wide for my micro ATX case, though.
Exactly! Newer Intel CPUs can range widely in power requirements. You could have anything from a 285K to a 225, which can affect what cooler you need. So it's not a one-size-fits-all.
It really depends on what CPU you're using. For a 6-core with a TDP of 120W or lower, the Assassin X120 should be just fine. If you're planning on overclocking a higher TDP CPU, you might want to look into getting a beefier dual tower cooler to manage those temps better.
What about the new models? They vary quite a bit in wattage, right?