Proper cooling for your processor, or CPU, is very important - but thankfully the choices we offer here at Puget Systems will all get the job done. In general, stock cooling (the heatsink / fan unit that comes bundled with a processor) is fine if you aren't concerned about noise or overclocking - and we have other upgrade options if you want better cooling (keeping the CPU running cooler, which is key if you want to overclock) and / or quieter operation.

Please note that not all of the options listed will fit in every case we carry. Due to size or shape of the cooler, or to the airflow setup in the case, certain incompatibilities exist. If you select something that won't work we'll be sure to let you know, and if you are unsure of what the best choice is you can feel free to contact us at sales@pugetsystems.com.

This Supermicro heatsink and fan unit is a mid-height CPU cooler for Intel's Xeon Scalable processors. It fits well in tower and 4U rackmount cases, and can effectively cool even the highest wattage Xeon chips in this series. With a 92mm fan it isn't as loud as more compact, 2U size coolers - but it isn't built to be quiet either.

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The Noctua NH-U12S is a high-end heatsink and fan cooling system. The slim 45mm heatsink shape ensures compatibility with tall RAM modules, and the 120mm Noctua NF-F12 PWM fan allows for automatic speed control balance cooling with low noise operation. Held in place with a secure, multi-socket mounting system, the NH-U12S is a complete CPU cooling solution that combines outstanding performance, quiet operation and excellent compatibility. Due to its height, this cooler is limited to only tower cases.

Puget Professional Advice:

William George (Puget Labs Technician) Says: Noctua fans and heatsinks are of the highest quality, and extremely quiet (at least the band-aid colored ones). This particular model is designed to work with Intel's mainstream processors, and should be a great addition to our product line.

Jeff Stubbers (Technology Consultant) Says: This is an ideal CPU cooler for processors. I recommend this over the Corsair Hydro H60 (unless you plan to have your processor overclocked), as this CPU cooler does an excellent job cooling those processors, has less moving parts, and is our most quiet CPU cooler. [E]

John D. (Senior Production Technician) Says: This is the version of the Noctua 120mm tower cooler that works with Socket 115x systems. I've been really impressed with the performance from this line of coolers. The performance is excellent with great reliability and very little noise thanks in large part to the high quality fan Noctua uses.

Oscar Tirado (Technology Consultant) Says: This CPU coolers primary focus isn't on aesthetics. The band-aid fan can throw the color scheme off, but if you can get past that part, you'll have one hell of a cooler! Noctua is well known for their premium cooling components. If noise is a concern, then you will not be disappointed with this cooler. It includes an NF-F12 PWM; one of the quietest 120mm fans on the market. If reliability is a concern, well, Noctua has your back here too. This cooler comes with a 6-year warranty. Yes, you read that correctly, a 6-year warranty! A little ridiculous if you ask me, but hey, it shows you that they really stand behind their product.

This Corsair Hydro series cooler is a self-contained CPU liquid-cooling solution with a copper base. It is designed as an all-in-one alternative to the normal CPU heatsink/fan units found in most computers. The advantage the Corsair Hydro offers over air-cooling is the ability to keep hot-running processors at lower temperatures. This allows the use of higher wattage CPUs, and can allow better overclocking performance as well.

This specific model, the Hydro H60, uses a single 120mm fan to mount and cool the radiator. That means it only works in a chassis where there is a 120mm fan mount near the CPU, and where the airflow layout allows for both fresh air intake over the radiator and nearby exhaust of the hot air as well. For mounting it comes with hardware to fit almost all modern Intel and AMD sockets. This third revision features several upgrades: a SATA power connector for the pump, more flexible tubing, an improved copper cold plate, increased surface area on the radiator fins, a higher quality 120mm fan, and a white LED backlit logo.

Puget Professional Advice:

Jeff Stubbers (Technology Consultant) Says: This is a very nice self-contained, fully-sealed liquid cooled CPU cooler. These have been very reliable, and is the go-to choice when you plan to overclock your processor. If you are not overclocking, then I would recommend the air-cooled CPU cooler option which will be more quiet and have less moving parts that may potentially fail.

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With the NH-U12DX i4, Noctua is bringing their expertise in quiet CPU cooling to the world of Intel's Xeon E5 server / workstation processors. Traditionally there have been very few low-noise cooling options for the Xeon platform, as noise level is not typically a concern for such systems. When a server or high-end workstation needs to be operating in an office or other quiet environment, though, the Noctua NH-U12DX i4 is a good choice. It is also quite slim, allowing for easy access to the RAM modules typically found just to either side of the CPU socket. Due to its height, this cooler is limited to only select tower cases.

In some situations the fan supplied by Noctua with this cooler is not an ideal match for other hardware in our systems. The fans spin too slowly for some motherboards to detect, causing the fan speed throttling to malfunction. In other instances, more powerful fans are needed to handle higher wattage CPUs. As such, when selecting this cooler please note that the fan may be changed during assembly to a model that better suits the needs of the computer as a whole.

Puget Professional Advice:

Jeff Stubbers (Technology Consultant) Says: This is a great choice for CPU cooling when not having your processor overclocked. This does a great job cooling your processor, has less moving parts, and is more quiet than liquid-cooling alternatives.

John D. (Senior Production Technician) Says: The Noctua NH-U12DX i4 is a really great CPU cooler for Intel Socket 2011 systems. The color scheme on the fan is a little odd, but this cooler's performance is exceptional in every regard. It mounts quickly and easily but is also very secure, and cooling is very good while also being very quiet. Highly recommended.

Josh Raye (Product Manager) Says: After checking the NH-U12DX out, I have zero doubt in the quality of this thing. It feels exceptionally solid, the fins are thick, the finish where it contacts the CPU is flawless -- just ask anything in regards to it's quality, and I will confidently tell you this is first class. If / when I move back to air cooling, Noctua will be the first name I look up.

Oscar Tirado (Technology Consultant) Says: First, let's start off by saying, I am a huge fan of Noctua. So this review may be a little biased. When you think of Noctua, the word that instantly comes to mind is, quality. This heatsink is no exception to that. The NH-U12DX i4 really shows how good Noctua is at designing heatsinks & fans. It will cool any (Intel Socket 2011) Processor & do it silently. If you can deal with the odd color scheme & afford to pay a little extra, you will not be disappointed.

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The Noctua NH-U12S TR4-SP3 is a high-end heatsink and fan cooling system for AMD's TR4 socket, which is used by the Threadripper CPU platform. The slim 45mm heatsink shape ensures compatibility with tall RAM modules, and the 120mm Noctua NF-F12 PWM fan allows for automatic speed control balance cooling with low noise operation. Held in place with a secure mounting system, the NH-U12S TR4-SP3 is a complete CPU cooling solution that combines outstanding performance, quiet operation and excellent compatibility. Due to its height, this cooler is limited to only tower cases.

Puget Professional Advice:

William George (Puget Labs Technician) Says: Noctua fans and heatsinks are of the highest quality, and extremely quiet (at least the band-aid colored ones). This particular model is designed to work with AMD's Threadripper processors, and is much quieter than the close-loop coolers we've used for that platform in the past.

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This Corsair Hydro series cooler is a self-contained CPU liquid-cooling solution with a copper base. It is designed as an all-in-one alternative to the normal CPU heatsink/fan units found in most computers. The advantage the Corsair Hydro offers over air-cooling is the ability to keep hot-running processors at lower temperatures. This allows the use of higher wattage CPUs, and in some situations can allow for overclocking as well.

This specific model, the Hydro H80i, has a thick 120mm radiator. We install it with a single, high pressure 120mm fan set up to pull fresh air in from the back of the computer and push it across the radiator. Another fan at the top of the chassis then exhausts the hot air coming out of the radiator. That means it can only be used in a chassis with the correct layout, but in such cases it works very well. For mounting, it comes with hardware to fit AMD's AM2/3/4 sockets as well as Intel's various 115X and 20XX sockets - and AMD's TR4 chips include a bracket that will allow this cooler to work on them as well.

Puget Professional Advice:

William George (Puget Labs Technician) Says: This is a newer closed-loop cooler from Corsair, alongside the H60 we've carried for years. Its main advantage is a thicker radiator which can dissipate more heat, allowing it to better handle the high core count processors like AMD's Threadripper. For chips that don't run as hot, though, the H60 is still a better fit since it doesn't require as powerful (and thus noisy) of a fan.