Which Cooling Setup Is Best for My Ryzen 5500 Budget Build?
Asked by
MellowCedar47
I'm putting together a budget gaming PC with a Ryzen 5 5500, RX 6700, and a DeepCool CH160 case. I'm choosing between four Thermalright TLC12 case fans with the generic AMD Wraith CPU cooler, or two case fans paired with a Thermalright AX120R tower cooler. Which setup would provide better airflow and CPU cooling? I'll mainly be playing games such as Valorant and Fortnite rather than 4K titles, and the fans would be non-RGB.
Answers
For a Ryzen 5 5500, the stock Wraith cooler is generally enough, especially for gaming. You don’t need four extra fans; one front or bottom intake and one exhaust should provide adequate airflow. I’d choose the cheaper setup and put the savings toward something else.
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The tower cooler will keep the CPU quieter and cooler than the stock Wraith, but it probably isn’t necessary for a Ryzen 5 5500 at stock settings. If the AX120R and two fans cost about the same as four case fans, the tower cooler is a reasonable upgrade. Otherwise, two decent fans plus the stock cooler is plenty for this system.
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MellowCedar47: That makes sense. I was mainly worried that the smaller CH160 case might cause cooling problems, but I’ll probably start with two case fans and the stock cooler.