I'm looking for a CPU cooler for my i9 13900K, and I'm trying to choose between the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 280 and the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO. My setup is in a Phanteks P350X case with an Asus Z790-P motherboard and a GTX 1080 Ti. I know the recommended cooler size is a 380mm, but that's not possible with my case. Can anyone share insights on whether either of these coolers will fit in my case, or suggest any better alternatives? I feel like these might be my best options.
3 Answers
I'd recommend checking your case's manual because it should specify the maximum cooler sizes. According to some websites, you can fit a 280mm AIO cooler in the front of the Phanteks P350X case. That said, I doubt the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO would be enough to handle the heat from the i9 13900K at full load. The 280mm option seems like a safer bet if you can make it fit.
Honestly, the 280mm cooler seems like the best choice here. If you're open to air coolers, you might want to consider the A720; it's a beast and keeps high-performance CPUs cool. However, it’s quite large, so you would have to check your case dimensions for fitment. But overall, if you can fit that 280mm, it should serve you well.
I recently built a PC with a 9800X3D using the Thermalright Phantom Spirit SE. Honestly, I was worried it wouldn't cool well enough, but it managed to keep the CPU below 55 degrees even while playing Cyberpunk 2077 on high settings. So, it seems like a solid option for mid-range CPUs, but I'm not sure how it stacks up against the i9 13900K since that might run hotter. Overall, if you can find a good fit for the 280mm cooler, it might be worth it for the extra cooling power.
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