If you’re after the highest sustained clock speeds with your Core i9-13900K or Ryzen 7 7800X3D, or you just want your modest system to remain silent under load, there are some important things to consider when choosing the best AIO (all-in-one) cooler for your new PC or a CPU upgrade.
AIO coolers are way more convenient and affordable than custom liquid cooling loops. And, traditionally at least, they’ve been able to deliver lower CPU temperatures with less fan noise than air coolers – although that’s not always the case these days, as air coolers have gotten better and, in some cases, bigger.
You’ll need to make sure there’s room to install an AIO cooler in your PC case, preferably in the top or rear, exhausting your CPU heat out of the chassis. AIO coolers typically come in three sizes, defined by the dimensions of the radiator and the fans the radiator is designed to fit: 120 (one 120mm fan), 240 (two 120mm fans), or 360mm (three 120mm fans).
There are some 140, 280mm, and 420mm AIO coolers as well, but they are far less common. As you might expect, the larger the radiator (generally speaking), the greater the cooling potential. That said, things like radiator thickness, materials, and fan and pump performance factor into cooling capability (and noise output) as well.
If you aren’t running a flagship CPU with lots of cores and 5-6 GHz speeds and you don’t plan on overclocking, a 120mm AIO (which you can usually mount in the rear exhaust fan area of your PC case) should suffice. That said, Intel’s 12th and 13th Gen CPUs are generally more demanding on coolers. And AMD’s Ryzen 7000 lineup, while less thermally demanding than Intel’s chips, isn’t exactly easy to cool either. So if you want better temperatures and slower-spinning fans, a good 240mm AIO cooler is a better choice, but won’t fit in as many cases.
If money isn’t a major concern and silent operation and low temperatures are important to you, you may want to consider a custom cooling loop. For more on how these tend to perform (and how good they look), check out our Blue Shift build feature. Just know that custom loops are always much more expensive than all other typical cooling alternatives, exponentially more complicated to assemble and install, and they can make future component upgrades much more complicated–especially if you add your GPU into the cooling loop.
In your quest for the best AIO cooler, don’t forget to consider thermal paste or another thermal interface material (TIM) to use with your AIO cooler. Most coolers these days will come with some kind of paste, either in a small syringe or pre-applied to the metal cold plate. But to make sure you’re getting the most efficient thermal transfer between your CPU and cooler plate, check out the many products we thoroughly tested to find the best thermal paste for your CPU.
Quick List
1. Lian Li Galahad II Performance 360
Best 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler
The most capable 360mm AIO we’ve tested, the GA II Performance features a low noise mode which doesn’t result in performance reduction when paired with most CPUs. It’s also reasonably priced for its class, at $169.99.
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2. Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 ARGB
Best 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler (Alternative)
Arctic’s Liquid Freezer II 360 is a top-tier cooler with superb acoustics, capable of cooling over 290W, for excellent sustained performance when paired with Intel’s i9-13900K. You can’t go wrong with this combination of silence and cooling performance.
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3. Corsair iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT
Best 420mm AIO Liquid Cooler
A large 420 mm radiator helps deliver the best cooling we’ve seen yet, and the IPS display is attractive and useful. Just be ready to pay up (and maybe buy a bigger case) if you crave this level of powerful and attractive cooling.
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4. Lian Li Galahad II LCD 280
Best 280mm AIO Cooler
The vibrant IPS display makes this 280mm AIO eye-catching. But its top-tier cooling performance and best-in-class low noise levels make it stand out from the competition.
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5. Lian Li Galahad II Trinity Performance 240
Best 240mm AIO Cooler
Lian Li’s Galahad II Trinity Performance 240mm offers an unbeatable combination of cooling performance and value, outperforming many larger 360mm AIOs.
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6. Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 Atmos
Best 240mm AIO Cooler Alternative
The MasterLiquid 240 Atmos is one of the best 240mm AIOs on the market, offering premium aesthetics, strong cooling performance, and quiet noise levels for $135.
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7. Best 120mm Closed-Loop Liquid Cooler
Best 120mm Closed-Loop Liquid Cooler
If your case has room for it, you’re generally better off getting a good air cooler than a small AIO. But for SFF systems, the Kraken M22 120mm AIO offers surprising cooling potential in a condensed cooling package.
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Best AIO Coolers You Can Buy Today
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Best 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler
Lian Li’s Galahad II Trinity Performance raises the bar for AIO Cooling. Every component has been upgraded, resulting in absolute cooling domination. The cooler installation is simple and easy, and it’s reasonably priced at only $169 USD. With results like this, I find it hard to recommend any other liquid cooler, making this the first CPU cooler I have ever awarded a 5-star rating. This is the best liquid cooler on the market right now, without question.
While cooling performance is absolutely amazing, thermals are only one part of the picture. How loudly the cooler runs is very important as well. In its default configuration, Lian Li’s GA II Trinity Performance runs loudly at 55.2 dBA. I’ve only tested a handful of coolers that reach this level of noise.
Normally I would consider this a mark against the product, but Lian Li wisely included a built-in low-noise/high-performance toggle switch, allowing you to reduce maximum fan speeds and noise levels with the flip of a switch. Most coolers that support low-noise modes have reduced thermal performance when engaged. But I didn’t observe any difference in thermals between the two modes when tested on my i7-13700K. When set to the low noise mode, total noise output is reduced to 49.2 dBA, which is on par with MSI’s and DeepCool’s competing 360mm AIOs.
Read: Lian Li Galahad II Performance Review
Best 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler Alternative
If you prize quiet operation over absolute cooling ability, Arctic’s Liquid Freezer II 360 ARGB is an excellent option, as it cooled our Core i9-13900K nearly as well as the DeepCool LT720, while staying quieter under our testing scenarios. Arctic’s 360 mm cooler handled over 290W in our long-term testing with the 13900K, making it a solid choice for those who run demanding workloads.
Just make sure your case has extra room wherever you plan on mounting it, because it achieves its quiet cooling skills by incorporating a thicker radiator than most of the competition. So it won’t fit as well in smaller cases, or those that just aren’t designed with a lot of room up top.
Read: Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 ARGB review
Best 420mm AIO Liquid Cooler
Corsair’s iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT AIO offers the best cooling performance we’ve tested yet with Intel’s i9-13900K, handling over 325W in our most intensive thermal tests. And unlike other coolers, the noise level of the H170i Elite is tied to the CPU coolant temp, resulting in quieter operation during most common tasks and the elimination of bursty fan behavior. The tradeoff is that we saw noisier operation under the kinds of sustained loads that we use for testing.
The Corsair iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT is one of the best coolers currently available in terms of performance and features. It’s also quite expensive at $310, but if you don’t mind going without the pretty 2.1-inch display, the company also sells an iCUE H170i Elite Capellix XT with the same radiator and pump for around $240.
That’s still no small amount of money for a cooler. But if your needs are extreme enough to warrant a 420 mm radiator, you can probably afford to spend a bit extra on keeping your powerful CPU as cool as it can be under load.
Read: Corsair iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT review
Best 280mm AIO Cooler
Lian Li’s Galahad II LCD 280 shows that with the right design, you don’t need a 360mm AIO or a loud cooler to keep modern high-end CPUs from throttling. Its performance is amongst the best we’ve seen from any AIO, and its limited 280mm size means that it will fit in many cases where a 360mm model won’t. The included LCD screen is vibrant and adds eye-catching functionality to the cooler’s aesthetics.
At $229, the Galahad II LCD 280 is on the expensive end of the AIO spectrum. But if the LCD display isn’t your thing or you’re on a budget, the non-LCD versions of the Galahad II are available for $159.99 for the 360mm version and $119.99 for the 240mm model.
Read: Lian Li Galahad II LCD 280 Review
Best 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler
If you’re looking for a strong 240mm AIO, you can’t go wrong with Lian Li’s Galahad II Trinity 240mm. Our testing shows it’s the best-cooling AIO of its size on the market. It’s also quiet in most workloads, and it has a very reasonable price of only $119.99.
I never imagined that a 240mm AIO would have this level of cooling domination. Lian Li’s Galahad Trinity II Performance 240mm managed to sidle up to or outperform 360mm AIOs that were previously considered among the best available.
Read: Lian Li Galahad II Trinity Performance 240 Review
Best 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler Alternative
After installing and testing it, I found Cooler Master’s new MasterLiquid 240 Atmos especially impressive. It’s clear the company has improved its flagship AIO in several key areas. Noise levels are low in most common workloads, and despite its smaller 240mm profile, the 240 Atmos is one of only a handful of AIOs I’ve tested that’s capable of keeping Intel’s i7-13700K under its peak temperature, even in the hottest of workloads.
The attention to detail is also apparent in the packaging (which incorporates installation instructions) and RGB lighting. And Cooler Master backs the quality of this product with rated lifespans of over 160,000 hours for the fans and 210,000 hours for the pump, combined with a 5-year warranty.
Lian Li’s Galahad II Trinity Performance 240 cools just slightly better and sells for a little less. But Cooler Master’s Atmos includes an ARGB controller box for syncing your lighting with other components. If you can make use of this controller, which would cost about $20 on its own, the two coolers are effectively evenly priced.
Read: Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 Atmos Review
Best 120mm Closed-Loop Liquid Cooler
The NZXT Kraken M22 is an incredibly compact, high-performance liquid cooler that delivers sleek styling and vibrant RGB lighting options, while offering support for current AMD and Intel processor sockets. Specifically, if you’re building a small home-theater PC or a compact gaming build, the Kraken M22 offers surprising cooling potential in a condensed cooling package.
Just don’t try to strap one to your Threadripper system. The demanding thermals and massive surface of those high-end CPUs aren’t supported by this cooler.
Read: NZXT Kraken M22 Review
Savings on the Best CPU Coolers
Savings on the Best CPU Coolers
Whether you’re shopping for one of the products that made our best CPU coolers list or one that didn’t, you may find some savings by checking out our list of Newegg promo codes or Corsair coupon codes.
MORE: Best Air CPU Cooling
MORE: How To Choose A CPU Cooler
