Top air value
$17.90as of Sep 17, 11:38 PM UTC · In Stock
ThermalrightAssassin X 120 Refined SE
Single-tower air cooler · 148 mm
92 W headroom for about $18
AMD · Ryzen 5000 · AM4
A 65 W base, 88 W boost ceiling, about 72 W in games and a 90 °C junction limit. 66 of 70 coolers keep it in the Excellent band; every cooler below is scored against those numbers.
Reviewed by Farrukh Sufyan SarwarHow we estimate temperaturesPrices verified
Top air value
$17.90as of Sep 17, 11:38 PM UTC · In Stock
Single-tower air cooler · 148 mm
92 W headroom for about $18
Silent liquid pick
$53.90as of Sep 17, 11:38 PM UTC · Only 4 left in stock - order soon.
360 mm AIO liquid cooler · 52 mm
Estimated 51 °C under full load with quiet fan curves
Small-form-factor pick
$27.99as of Sep 17, 11:38 PM UTC
Low-profile air cooler · 67 mm
67 mm tall and still 70 °C at full load
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a Ryzen 5000 processor for the AM4 socket with a 65 W base power and a 88 W PPT package limit. That is 1.4× its base figure, so a cooler chosen from the TDP alone will be undersized for sustained all-core work; this site rates every cooler against the 88 W ceiling instead.
Ryzen parts boost until they hit the 90 °C junction limit or the PPT ceiling, whichever comes first, so a stronger cooler often yields slightly higher sustained clocks rather than just lower temperatures. In GPU-bound games the package draws about 72 W.
69 of the 70 coolers in the database ship with AM4 mounting hardware, and 66 of those (96 %) keep the Ryzen 5 5600X in the Excellent band with at least 25 W of thermal headroom under a sustained load.
By class: 19 of 19 dual-tower air coolers, 14 of 14 single-tower air coolers, 4 of 7 low-profile coolers, 15 of 15 240/280 mm AIO liquid coolers and 13 of 13 360/420 mm AIOs rate Excellent. The smallest cooler that avoids a throttling risk is rated 100 W (be quiet! Pure Rock Low Profile). The cheapest Excellent option is the Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE at about $18.
AM4 hardware is included with nearly every cooler made since 2017. The stock backplate is reused by most brackets, so check that yours is present before installing.
| Cooler | Type | Headroom | Full load | Height | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE~$18 | Single-tower air cooler | +92 W | 64 °C | 148 mm | Excellent fit |
| ID-Cooling SE-224-XTS~$25 | Single-tower air cooler | +92 W | 64 °C | 154 mm | Excellent fit |
| ID-Cooling FROZN A620 Pro SE~$27 | Dual-tower air cooler | +172 W | 55 °C | 157 mm | Excellent fit |
| Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition~$30 | Single-tower air cooler | +62 W | 70 °C | 159 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Assassin X 120 R SE~$30 | Single-tower air cooler | +132 W | 59 °C | 155 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Burst Assassin 120~$30 | Single-tower air cooler | +112 W | 61 °C | 155 mm | Excellent fit |
| Vetroo V5~$30 | Single-tower air cooler | +92 W | 64 °C | 158 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120~$32 | Dual-tower air cooler | +152 W | 57 °C | 155 mm | Excellent fit |
| Arctic Freezer 36~$35 | Single-tower air cooler | +152 W | 57 °C | 159 mm | Excellent fit |
| ID-Cooling IS-55~$35 | Low-profile air cooler | +42 W | 76 °C | 55 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE~$35 | Dual-tower air cooler | +157 W | 57 °C | 155 mm | Excellent fit |
| Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB~$36 | Single-tower air cooler | +152 W | 57 °C | 159 mm | Excellent fit |
| Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo Black~$40 | Single-tower air cooler | +72 W | 68 °C | 154 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright AXP120-X67~$40 | Low-profile air cooler | +62 W | 70 °C | 67 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE~$40 | Single-tower air cooler | +142 W | 58 °C | 160 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Frozen Magic 240 ARGB V2~$44 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Aqua Elite 120 V3~$45 | 120 mm AIO liquid cooler | +92 W | 64 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Frozen Infinity 240~$45 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +172 W | 55 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE~$45 | Dual-tower air cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 154 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 Digital ARGB~$46 | Dual-tower air cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 157 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Frozen Notte 240 ARGB V2~$47 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo Black~$50 | Dual-tower air cooler | +167 W | 56 °C | 157 mm | Excellent fit |
| ID-Cooling FX240 Pro~$50 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +172 W | 55 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Aqua Elite 240 V3~$50 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Frozen Notte 360 ARGB V2~$50 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +232 W | 52 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140~$50 | Dual-tower air cooler | +192 W | 54 °C | 157 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO~$50 | Dual-tower air cooler | +167 W | 56 °C | 158 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140 Digital~$52 | Dual-tower air cooler | +192 W | 54 °C | 157 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Frozen Infinity 360~$54 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +252 W | 51 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Scythe Big Shuriken 3 Rev.B~$55 | Low-profile air cooler | +42 W | 76 °C | 69 mm | Excellent fit |
| be quiet! Pure Rock Pro 3~$55 | Single-tower air cooler | +112 W | 61 °C | 155 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 Vision MAX ARGB~$58 | Dual-tower air cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 157 mm | Excellent fit |
| Thermalright FW360 ARGB~$59 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +252 W | 51 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Cooler Master 240 Core II~$60 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Noctua NH-L12S~$65 | Low-profile air cooler | +32 W | 79 °C | 70 mm | Excellent fit |
| Scythe Fuma 3~$65 | Dual-tower air cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 154 mm | Excellent fit |
| MSI MAG CoreLiquid A13 240~$70 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Noctua NH-U12S~$70 | Single-tower air cooler | +92 W | 64 °C | 158 mm | Excellent fit |
| be quiet! Dark Rock 5~$70 | Single-tower air cooler | +122 W | 60 °C | 162 mm | Excellent fit |
| be quiet! Dark Rock Elite~$85 | Dual-tower air cooler | +192 W | 54 °C | 168 mm | Excellent fit |
| Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360~$95 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +282 W | 49 °C | 63 mm | Excellent fit |
| Cooler Master MasterAir MA624 Stealth~$100 | Dual-tower air cooler | +182 W | 55 °C | 165 mm | Excellent fit |
| Corsair Nautilus 240 RS ARGB~$100 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +172 W | 55 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Noctua NH-D12L~$100 | Dual-tower air cooler | +132 W | 59 °C | 145 mm | Excellent fit |
| Noctua NH-U12A~$100 | Single-tower air cooler | +142 W | 58 °C | 158 mm | Excellent fit |
| be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5~$100 | Dual-tower air cooler | +182 W | 55 °C | 168 mm | Excellent fit |
| Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB~$105 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +282 W | 49 °C | 63 mm | Excellent fit |
| Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 A-RGB~$110 | 420 mm AIO liquid cooler | +302 W | 49 °C | 63 mm | Excellent fit |
| Noctua NH-D15~$110 | Dual-tower air cooler | +162 W | 56 °C | 165 mm | Excellent fit |
| Noctua NH-D15S~$110 | Dual-tower air cooler | +152 W | 57 °C | 165 mm | Excellent fit |
| Cooler Master Atmos II Stealth 240~$120 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +192 W | 54 °C | 63 mm | Excellent fit |
| NZXT Kraken Plus 240~$120 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +172 W | 55 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 6~$120 | Dual-tower air cooler | +192 W | 54 °C | 168 mm | Excellent fit |
| Corsair Nautilus 360 RS~$130 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +232 W | 52 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Lian Li Galahad II Trinity 240~$130 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +172 W | 55 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| NZXT Kraken Plus 280~$130 | 280 mm AIO liquid cooler | +202 W | 53 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| NZXT Kraken Plus 360~$130 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +242 W | 51 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Lian Li Galahad II LCD 280~$140 | 280 mm AIO liquid cooler | +212 W | 53 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| MSI MAG CoreLiquid I360~$140 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +232 W | 52 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Corsair iCUE Link Titan 240 RX RGB~$150 | 240 mm AIO liquid cooler | +192 W | 54 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Noctua NH-D15 G2~$150 | Dual-tower air cooler | +192 W | 54 °C | 168 mm | Excellent fit |
| Lian Li Galahad II Trinity 360~$160 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +242 W | 51 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Corsair iCUE Link Titan II 360 RX RGB~$179 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +262 W | 50 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| Corsair iCUE Link Titan 360 RX RGB~$190 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +252 W | 51 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| NZXT Kraken Elite 280 RGB~$232 | 280 mm AIO liquid cooler | +212 W | 53 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB~$300 | 360 mm AIO liquid cooler | +252 W | 51 °C | 52 mm | Excellent fit |
| be quiet! Pure Rock Low Profile~$43 | Low-profile air cooler | +12 W | 88 °C | 45 mm | Acceptable fit |
| Thermalright AXP90-X47~$30 | Low-profile air cooler | +7 W | 90 °C | 47 mm | Throttling risk |
| Noctua NH-L9a-AM4~$55 | Low-profile air cooler | -23 W | 90 °C | 37 mm | Throttling risk |
| Noctua NH-L9i-17xx~$55 | Low-profile air cooler | -23 W | 90 °C | 37 mm | Incompatible socket |