I'm looking for a CPU cooler for my Ryzen 7 7700X. I bought a Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120, but the heatsink and fan setup interfered with my RAM and motherboard, and my case is too small to raise the fan higher. I'm considering the Peerless Assassin 120 Mini or the Burst Assassin 120 EVO, but I'm open to other recommendations. I've also thought about using an AIO liquid cooler, although I'm nervous about possible leaks since I've never used one before. What would be a good compact air cooler for this processor, and is an AIO worth considering?
3 Answers
The Arctic Freezer 36 Black is worth looking at. It’s more compact, performs well, and has a clean appearance. I switched from a Peerless Assassin to one because the larger cooler caused clearance problems in my case. Just make sure the model you choose includes the correct AM5 mounting hardware.
Before choosing another cooler, check exactly which clearance is causing the problem. In your case, the Peerless Assassin’s front fan is colliding with the RAM when mounted on one side, while moving it to the other side causes interference with the motherboard. Since the case is too narrow to raise the fan, a shorter single-tower cooler or a compact dual-tower model would be a better fit.
The Peerless Assassin normally fits many cases, but compatibility depends on the case’s CPU-cooler height limit, motherboard layout, and RAM height. Measure the available cooler height and the space above the RAM before ordering. AIO cooling can work, but it adds a pump and more potential failure points; a suitably sized air cooler is simpler and avoids leak concerns.
I’m using an AM5 processor, so I’ll confirm that the specific version supports AM5 before buying.