CPU Coolers (38 products)

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What's a Stock Cooler and Why Should I Upgrade?

Buy a processor from either Intel or AMD and it will mostly likely come with a small CPU air cooler in its box. These are known as stock coolers. A CPU cooler is an essential bit of kit, a computer can't run without one. Otherwise, the processor would overheat as soon as it's switched on, realise it's not cooling down, and then shut itself off to prevent any potential damage.

While these stock coolers are quick and easy to install, with pre-applied thermal paste and tool-less mounting mechanisms, their cooling performance leaves a lot to be desired. You may be able to get away with a stock cooler in a home or office PC, one with a power-sipping chip. But cooling the powerful, high-wattage CPUs of gaming PCs is a different task altogether. Stock coolers simply can't dissipate the heat kicked off by these CPUs quickly enough, resulting in thermal throttling and, in turn, limiting their ability to boost to higher, faster frequencies. To squeeze the most performance out of these gaming-grade CPUs, you'll want to pair them with a heftier aftermarket CPU air cooler, or even an all-in-one (AIO) CPU water cooler.

Air Coolers vs All-In-One Water Coolers

Installation

An all-in-one CPU water cooler is split into two halves. You have the block-pump combo, and then the radiator - and both are easier to install than an enormous, towering CPU air cooler. To support their weight hanging off the motherboard, these air coolers require custom mounting brackets. Attempting to install an air cooler all while handling custom mounting brackets, fittings, and screws can be very fiddly - frustratingly so. Not to mention these air coolers can interfere with other components, like RAM DIMMs, especially when they've got fans strapped to their sides. Compare all this to the relatively small, low-profile water block of an AIO water cooler, which is a breeze to attach to the CPU socket. Just be aware of the size of its radiator as it may not fit in your computer case.

Performance

As a closed, self-contained system, an all-in-one CPU water cooler isn't as affected by the rest of your computer case's airflow as a CPU air cooler. Unlike an air cooler, which is stranded in the middle of your case, the radiator of an AIO water cooler is mounted directly to a case's vent, giving it access to fresh, outside air at all times. So, even if your system's cooling isn't all that great (as is often the case with small form-factor PCs), an AIO cooler will still be able to keep your CPU cool. Or, in other words, it's easier to achieve decent cooling performance with an all-in-one water cooler.

Maintenance

Once a CPU air cooler is installed, there isn't much else you have to worry about. You'll want to clear out dust that's accumulated between the heatsink's fins from time to time, but apart from that, an air cooler is very much a set-it-and-forget-it cooling solution. Backed by multi-year warranties, all-in-one CPU water cooler failure rates are extremely, extremely low, but there's always the potential for a leak to occur. In comparison, the only part of an air cooler than can outright fail is its fan, and that's easily replaceable anyway.

Cost

A CPU air cooler is, put simply, just a big ol' block of metal. This is the opposite of an all-in-one CPU water cooler, which is made up of several pieces that all need to be tested and validated against each other, increasing manufacturing cost. As such, air coolers can be manufactured and sold for comparatively cheap. Here at Ebuyer, you can pick up an aftermarket air cooler that'll perform considerably better than a stock air cooler for £40 or even less - and it may include a customisable RGB fan, too. You'll pay extra for a heftier, more effective air cooler, but the best air coolers are usually still cheaper than high-end all-in-one water coolers, while offering similar cooling performance.

CPU Coolers at Ebuyer

Here at Ebuyer, we stock a wide range of CPU air coolers and all-in-one CPU water coolers from the industry's best brands, including Corsair, Cooler Master, NZXT, and more. Spread the cost of your purchase with our flexible finance offers. And if you want your new CPU cooler by tomorrow, next-day delivery is also available.