After the big CPU cooler comparison 2018, where we tested numerous coolers on an AMD AM4 system, we would like to present another cooler test overview on OCinside.de today. In the second part of the cooler chart there is now an overview with selected CPU coolers from Antec, Arctic, Cooler Master, Cryorig, Enermax, Intel and LEPA that have been tested on an Intel Core i5 PC system. So you can easily find the right air cooler or AIO water cooler for the Intel PC or AMD PC and get a quick comparison of the cooler test results.

Intel and AMD CPU Cooler Review Comparison 2018
Cooler for Intel LGA 2066, 2011-3, 2011, 1366, 1156, 1155, 1151, 1150, 775 CPUs and for AMD Socket TR4, AM4, AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2, FM2+, FM2, FM1 processors.

Cooler test setup …

The following configuration is used as test system:
Intel Core i5-4460 @ 3200 MHz with 0.99 Volt
MSI B85M-E45 Rev. 2.0 Mainboard
2x 4GB DDR3-1600 RAM
MSI GeForce GTX960 4GB OC graphics card
Cooler Master 500W Silent Pro power supply unit
Cooler Master RC690 Case

We used the SpeedFan V4.51 Tool for the temperature measurements. The program Prime 95 used about 100% of the processor capacity. The CPU peak temperature was always measured, i.e. the highest temperature the processor reached in the test with the small-FFTs test of Prime95.

The coolers listed below were tested on the same system, so their results are comparable with each other. However, the results are not comparable with the test results from the first part of the CPU cooler comparison 2018, as they were tested with an AMD AM4 PC and not with the Intel Core i5 system.

The ambient temperature was about 20°C during the measurements.

The coolers were tested with different fan speeds.

The Boxed Intel Core i5 cooler, Arctic Freezer 33 Plus, Cryorig C7, Enermax ETS-T50 AXE, LEPA NEOllusion LPANL12 and Scythe Kabuto 3 are conventional air coolers.

The Antec H2O H1200 Pro, Antec Mercury 120, Arctic Liquid Freezer 120, Arctic Liquid Freezer 240, Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240, Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240 and the LEPA NEOllusion LPANL12 are pre-filled All-In-One water coolers – short AIO coolers – with integrated water pump and radiator.

CPU cooler test results …

In the following chart, all tested combinations are listed and each divided into two measurement results: Idle (blue) and Prime95 with approx. 100% CPU load (green). The different distribution of the cooling results, such as the very high idle temperature of the boxed cooler, but also the large difference at Prime95 load with full fan speed compared to the lower fan speed, is very nice to see.

Here the idle and full load temperature results are sorted alphabetically:

Here the idle and full load temperature results are sorted according to the total cooling result:

And in the following diagram all cooler test results with maximum fan speed are listed again for a better overview and have been sorted according to the total cooling result. The cooler with the best overall cooling result is listed above:

And here again all temperature measurements were listed in the tabular comparison:

Cooler Review Chart 2018 Temperature, volume and speed at 100%
Manufacturer, type, speed and cooler result	Idle	Prime95
Antec H2O H1200 Pro @ 1800 rpm	28 °C	49 °C
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240 @ 2000 rpm	28 °C	50 °C
Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 @ 2000 rpm	26 °C	52 °C
Antec H2O H1200 Pro @ 600 rpm	29 °C	54 °C
Antec Mercury 120 @ 2000 rpm	28 °C	55 °C
Arctic Liquid Freezer 120 @ 1350 rpm	28 °C	55 °C
Arctic Liquid Freezer 240 @ 1350 rpm	26 °C	56 °C
Arctic Freezer 33 Plus @ 1350 rpm	27 °C	57 °C
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240 @ 600 rpm	29 °C	57 °C
Enermax ETS-T50 AXE @ 2000 rpm	30 °C	57 °C
Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 @ 650 rpm	28 °C	58 °C
Scythe Kabuto 3 @ 1400 rpm	29 °C	58 °C
LEPA NEOllusion LPANL12 @ 1800 rpm	29 °C	60 °C
Arctic Freezer 33 Plus @ 500 rpm	30 °C	61 °C
Enermax ETS-T50 AXE @ 800 rpm	31 °C	61 °C
Arctic Liquid Freezer 240 @ 500 rpm	27 °C	62 °C
Arctic Liquid Freezer 120 @ 500 rpm	29 °C	64 °C
Antec Mercury 120 @ 500 rpm	30 °C	67 °C
LEPA NEOllusion LPANL12 @ 700 rpm	30 °C	68 °C
Cryorig C7 @ 2500 rpm	31 °C	69 °C
Scythe Kabuto 3 @ 300 rpm	30 °C	70 °C
Intel Core i5 Boxed @ 2000 rpm	32 °C	73 °C
Cryorig C7 @ 600 rpm	33 °C	>73 °C
Intel Core i5 Boxed @ 1000 rpm	34 °C	>73 °C

With a click on the respective cooler you get to the selected cooler review with a summary of the overall impression, assembly, price and if applicable a CPU cooler audio sample. The CPU cooler test reports are several pages long and can be found in the hardware reviews area under cooler reviews. In addition, OCinside.de has the well-known interactive Fit for Fan guide with direct cooler listening sample to determine which CPU cooler fits on which motherboard and how much space is available for the remaining components such as RAM and graphics card after assembly.

Tip: In the interactive Fit for Fan tutorial you can try on the CPU coolers virtually on the mainboard, missing coolers will be included in the next update.

Click here for the extensive CPU cooler comparison 2018 with selected coolers that we have tested on the AMD AM4 system.

For a comparison with other coolers, take a look at our CPU cooler chart 2016 on the Intel Core i5 PC. Here is our CPU cooler comparison 2016, tested on an Intel Core i7 PC system. And here is again our CPU cooler chart with CPU coolers before 2016. A direct comparison to our previously tested coolers is however not possible here, since the test system has changed fundamentally in the meantime.

Discuss in our forum and share experiences about the CPU cooler chart …

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Read on in the hardware test area with several hardware reviews …