Best 120mm Liquid Cooler For Processors
Liquid coolers offer a number of advantages over air cooling. There has been false assumption that the liquid cooling system are reserved for specialists or "geek", but it is now accessible to all those who want an efficient solution to cool their processors.
In addition to being aesthetic and very design, the water-cooling kit is easy to set up, configure and it has the advantage of adapting to a large majority of PCs.
That being said, if want a liquid cooler with efficient cooling capabilities and at the same time that fits inside your tower case? Then you should opt for an 120mm liquid CPU cooler. 120 mm liquid coolers prevent your processor from overheating to improve its processing speed. Hence you could use your system for long hours without getting worried about overheating and performance.
Therefore it is a good idea to invest in the best 120mm liquid cooler as it is efficient, noise-free and easy to install. But with number of models available in the market, it might get confusing to choose the best one for you. So here, I have curated the best 120mm liquid cooler to make this job easy for you.
Table of Contents
- List of Top 120MM LIQUID COOLER
- 10 BEST 120MM LIQUID COOLER REVIEW
- CORSAIR HYDRO H60 - best 120mm aio water cooler
- COOLER MASTERLIQUID - BEST 120MM Close-Loop Liquid Cooler
- NZXT KRAKEN M22 - BEST RGB LIQUID COOLER
- EVGA CLC - BEST BUDGET LIQUID CPU COOLER
- ASUS ROG STRIX LC LIQUID COOLER
- THERMALTAKE WATER 3.0 ALL-IN-ONE LIQUID COOLING SYSTEM
- ENERMAX LIQMAX III 120 MM LIQUID COOLER
- EK 120MM ALL-IN-ONE LIQUID COOLER
- SILVERSTONE TECHNOLOGY SST-PF120 LIQUID COOLER
- BETAZOOER 12CM LIQUID COOLER
- CUSTOM KIT OR COMPLETE KIT?
- How to choose a 120 mm liquid cooler
- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- CONCLUSION
List of Top 120MM LIQUID COOLER
10 BEST 120MM LIQUID COOLER REVIEW
1
CORSAIR HYDRO H60 - best 120mm aio water cooler
Features
Corsair Hydro H60, one of the best AIO 120mm Liquid Cooler, gives the feel of premium quality every time you look at it. One of the main components of Liquid Cooler is its fan, and with corsair, you have the control of this fan in your hand.
It has 120-millimeter Corsair SP Series PWM fan. The fan speed is adjustable between the range of 600 RPM to 1,700 RPM. One of the most noticeable things is its low noise performance. Even if you are using it at maximum speed, you won’t feel much difference in its noise level.
If you are worried about the installation process and its compatibility with socket sizes, then you don’t need to think twice. Just go for this cooler as it can fit in almost all modern CPU sockets, including AMD AM4, AM3, and AM2. For Intel processors, it matches with 1200, 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011, and 2066 sockets.
The mounting kit is provided with the cooler so that you could install it straight from the box to the machine easily. No matter if your system is idle or operating under heavy load conditions, this liquid cooler pumps away all the heat. The 120 mm liquid coolers has high-density radiator with a very convenient slim design that cools down your CPU to provide you the best cooling experience possible.
Pros
Cons
2
COOLER MASTERLIQUID - BEST 120MM Close-Loop Liquid Cooler
Features
It is one of the very attractive coolers in the list of all in one liquid coolers. If you are into simple hardware designs, you must give this cooler a shot. It is provided with an RGB lighting system that is fully customizable, so that you can to get the effects of the light you want.
The installation process requires just fastening of a few screws which is quite easy no matter what level of PC building you are on. The CPU socket support, including LGA2066, LGA2011-v3, LGA2011, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1150, LGA1156, LGA1155, AM4, AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2, FM2+, FM2, FM3.
To deliver the best performance and efficiency, this liquid cooler is equipped with a third-generation dual-chamber pump. Its newly designed SickleFlow RGB fan and air balance blades make the whole cooling process quieter than before that too, without compromising on airflow and pressure.
The large surface area of the fins on the radiator improves the heat dissipation process providing optimized cooling performance. If you are someone who gives preference to both eye-catchy aesthetic design and boosted performance equally, then this is the best 120mm liquid cooler option for you.
Pros
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3
NZXT KRAKEN M22 - BEST RGB LIQUID COOLER
Features
Kraken series is known for featuring and improving the quality of their pumps to make them capable of displacing more liquid with each generation, and NZXT Kraken m22 120mm liquid cooler consists of these kinds of pumps only. It is designed to achieve supreme cooling with the maximum efficiency possible.
It is provided with CAM software that is compatible with the Windows 10 operating system. By customizing the software you can manage the performance with precision and make changes within seconds. You can also track pump speed and liquid temperature too by using this software.
The software gives you full freedom of adjusting not only the fan’s RPM but also RGB LED configuration, and you don’t need to rely just on a desktop to monitor as it has a mobile application available to have precise and sophisticated control at your fingers.
An infinity mirror design, amazing colors and lighting, CAM’s software integration, high-quality pumps, fan and radiator make NZXT Kraken m22 120mm liquid cooler stand high in the market. If you are looking for the best 120mm liquid cooler where you want to track all the statistics of its performance, then this cooler is best for you.
Pros
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4
EVGA CLC - BEST BUDGET LIQUID CPU COOLER
Features
If you are into plain and simple looking models, then EVGA CLC 120 mm All in one CPU Liquid Cooler is the simplest looking in the list, but provides the best overclocking experience. As simple as it looks, it is even simpler in installing and operating.
The installation process very straight-forward, all you need to do is just unbox and plug it. Completely self-contained that doesn’t require any filling or custom tubing. All the wirings of this liquid cooler are designed intelligently in a way that you could avoid messiness in the wire connection, making it an even more desirable model to purchase.
EVGA CLC is provided with a copper base to transfer the maximum heat possible to cool down the system more efficiently. Curved fan housing reduces the noise. The sleeve bearings of the fan are made of Teflon, which increases their life span by making them highly resilient.
One of the best features of this model is you can swap or customize these fans making this liquid cooler last in the long run. Simple yet powerful machine performance, premium quality components and low noise level make this liquid cooler the best 120mm liquid cooler in the market.
Pros
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5
ASUS ROG STRIX LC LIQUID COOLER
FEATURES
All the people who are fans of customization mark your presence here as the Asus ROG Strix All in One Liquid Cooler is the best 120mm liquid cooler to feature 1.77-inch customizable LiveDash color OLED that displays useful system information like temperature, voltage, fan speed and frequencies.
Not only can you track the data, but you also can decide how your display is going to look. You can personalize your Livedash OLED by anything you want-customized images, logos, animations etc., using settings arranged simply in a flow from top to bottom.
The ROG radiator fan is tuned in a way that it could deliver optimum performance and superior cooling solutions with Ryuo radiators. The fan is tuned to achieve optimum airflow and static pressure, which automatically improves the radiator performance. PWM pump and fan control by fan Xpert deliver quiet performance while keeping the overall system cool.
Aluminum pump coverings and reinforced sleeved tubing increase its durability. Talking about its compatibility with sockets, it’s compatible with Intel LGA 115x, 1200, 1366, 2011, 2011-V3, and 2066 while AMD support includes the AM4 and TR4.
This makes it unique as most of the liquid coolers don’t support TRWith harmonized lighting effects, amazing customization, superior build, and powerful performance, this liquid must not skip from your eye if you are ready to pay a little more.
Pros
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6
THERMALTAKE WATER 3.0 ALL-IN-ONE LIQUID COOLING SYSTEM
FEATURES
If you are looking for pocket-friendly options with a good build and amazing performance, then Thermaltake Water 3.0 ARGB Motherboard All in One Liquid Cooling System is the best 120mm liquid cooler option that you can explore. The feature that caught my attention was its RGB lighting.
Both pump and fan are included in it. There is an RGB LED on the header of the pump, and the RGB radiator fan makes it super attractive. You can select from 18 million colors with 7 light modes and 8 full light preset colors. You have the whole control in your hand with the RGB controller provided.
This lighting system can also be interfaced with US aura, Gigabyte RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, ASROC polychrome. Provided with tube lengths of (360)400mm, (240)326mm, (120)326mm with reinforced sleeves effectively decreases the loss of coolant by slowing down the evaporation.
The large surface of the radiator provides excellent heatsink. Highly compatible with almost all modern CPU sockets, this liquid cooler is fairly easy to install, even for beginners with easy-to-read manual and tool-less installation.
Pros
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7
ENERMAX LIQMAX III 120 MM LIQUID COOLER
FEATURES
Enermax Liqmax III, 120 Liquid cooler, brings out the most incredible features on the table for you. Its dual-convex blade fans deliver high air volume and pressure. Its dual-chamber design isolates the pump from heat.
Combined with Central Coolant Inlet (CCI) structure that incorporates Shunt Channel Technology (SCT) on the cold plate injects coolant on the hottest spot to prevent heat surges and shortens the coolant flow path resulting in better thermal conductivity.
Designed to sync with motherboards having a 5V 3-pin addressable header, the capacity to produce 18 million RGB illuminations, super impressive airflow, unique fan and pump design, an easy installation makes it the best 120mm liquid cooler to purchase.
Pros
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8
EK 120MM ALL-IN-ONE LIQUID COOLER
FEATURES
EK 120mm, All in One Liquid Cooler, is the fully self-contained solution for you if you are just a beginner, as it has the most simple, no assembly kind of installation system.
With pre-applied thermal paste and tool-less mounting, you just need to attach the plate at the back of the motherboard and screw on the CPU block, which has diamond-cut rotary fittings.
The CPU water block is universally compatible, supporting Intel 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 1200, 2011, 2011-3, 2066 and AMD, AM. PWM fans are made of industrial-grade material, can either be controlled by the motherboard or standalone fan controller to give you a high-performance liquid cooling system.
Pros
Cons
9
SILVERSTONE TECHNOLOGY SST-PF120 LIQUID COOLER
FEATURES
Integrated with beautiful addressable RGB lighting on the water block and fan, this multi-chamber All-in-One cooler gives you an RGB Controller with ten lighting modes and freedom to adjust brightness and color-changing speeds when motherboard control is not available, making it one of the best 120mm liquid coolers. It has an automotive-grade radiator.
With anti-corrosive properties, it has the ability to survive elements like vapor, liquid and grease. PWM fans have unique ribbed edge fan blades to suppress air turbulent noise resulting in optimized airflow and pressure, while rubber pads on the fan reduce the vibrations.
3 phase, six-pole design & an automotive-grade sine wave generator ensure maximum performance with the lowest noise possible.
Pros
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10
BETAZOOER 12CM LIQUID COOLER
FEATURES
The BETAZOOER Liquid CPU Cooler is one of the best options in the market to get effective cooling even in high load times. It has two 120mm HB Series magnetic levitation PWM fans for great airflow and static pressure.
Supported by CPU sockets Intel LGA2066, LGA2011 v3, LGA2011, LGA1151, LGA1150, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA1366, AMD AM4, FM2+, FM2, FM1, this CPU Liquid cooler adds a touch of brilliance with its Green LED-lit pump head and dynamic multicolor RGB.
Standing strong in terms of ratings by users in the market, this is the best 120mm liquid cooler & total value for money product in the market.
Pros
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. How does a liquid cooler work?
Liquid CPU coolers keep heat away from your CPU with liquid, a heatsink, and one or more fans. On a cooler, the heat produced by your processor is transferred to the radiator using copper heat pipes and then extracted via the fans mounted on the block.
2. does 120mm liquid cooler leak?
Every type of cooler has its advantages and disadvantages. Likewise, liquid coolers have a few drawbacks, and leaking is one of them. But, it's not like what you think. The chances of leaking are very rare and can be avoided. We recommend changing the fluid in your custom cooling system every 12 months to remove particulate build-up and ensure optimal thermal performance.
3. liquid cooler is safe to use?
Yes, it is completely safe to use a Liquid cooler. In other words, it is more efficient and often quieter. If you are looking for the lowest possible temperatures or want a quieter solution and don't mind a slightly more complex installation process, liquid cooling is probably the best option.
CONCLUSION
It might feel that components like liquid coolers are not that necessary at the initial stage if you are not a tech person. But to have a durable system in the long run and to get optimized performance, it is super important for the system to cool down at a comparable rate.
So investing in the best 120mm liquid cooler is a smart move to protect the system from overheating. But there are few factors you need to take into consideration like compatibility with sockets, good radiator, reliable pump and fan system as you are spending handsomely on it. After reading this guide, compare wisely and choose accordingly. Happy shopping.
