The Best CPU Cooler for i7 8700k - 2021 Review

Let’s get one thing straight. It doesn’t matter what processor your system uses, the CPU is bound to generate heat during the operation.

But if you’re an enthusiast builder, you want to overclock or run excessive resource-demanding tasks such as gaming, video editing, then the integrated circuits including the CPU, chipset and graphics card must overheat.

If the system is ‘breathing fire,' the odds are that these components will malfunction temporarily, if you’re lucky, or you’ll deal with permanent failure.

While your system may be designed to reduce power consumption and throttle performance when under huge workload, these alone, will, almost all the time, not offer sufficient cooling. Enter the air and liquid cooling.

Air Cooling: In this case, fans are used to cool to the system – one or two CPU fans, graphics card fans as well as case fans. These keep the components chilling even at peak performance.

Liquid Cooling (Water Cooling): A series of tubes filled with a coolant, not to forget a radiator, water blocks, and a couple other components help keep your system operating at the right temperature.

AIO: Because of the success of water cooling, all-in-one (AIO) water cooling solutions have now increased in popularity. They offer better performance and come in a package easier to install and maintain.

If you’re looking to chill your CPU, then you most likely cannot decide if you should get an air cooler or an AIO liquid cooler.

And to make it simple for you to decide, we did our research and reviewed the best CPU coolers that’ll keep your system refreshed.  Then we included a chart for quick comparisons.


Our Top Pick: Noctua NH-D15S D-Type

Its lower fins are recessed on either side of the heatsink, which makes it highly compatible with virtually any Intel and AMD sockets. An off-set asymmetrical layout helps provide superior heatsink performance while still retaining high RAM and PCIe compatibility.
Its PMW NF-A15 premium fan allows automatic speed control. It’s dual-ready meaning you can upgrade to two fans for more airflow at any time using the provided fan clips.

Noctua

And to make it simple for you to decide, we did our research and reviewed the best CPU coolers that’ll keep your system refreshed.  Then we included a chart for quick comparisons.

Best CPU Coolers for Intel i7 8700k

1. Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

Cooler Master

Hyper 212 Evo is a four heatpipe CPU air cooler designed to cool the new generation of processors for enhanced user experience.

Tightly fitted on the CPU cooler base are four Cooler Master exclusive Continuous Direct Contact (CDC) heat pipes. This innovative CDC technology creates a perfect medium for surface to surface thermal transfer.

Hyper 212 Evo features an aluminum fin structure optimized to help strike a perfect balance between high and low-speed fan operation.

What’s more, to ensure optimum airflow, Hyper 212 Evo features a wide range PWM fan that sports the unique wave shape design of a blade.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo features a fan with rated voltage 12V DC. It comes with upgraded 120mm fans with the noise level 9 – 36 dBA. The fans run at 600-2000 RPM (PWM) and offer with 24.9-82.9 in airflow. This PWM capable fan hooks to your system via a 4 pin connector. 

Hyper 212 Evo is pretty versatile and can be used for many processors. It’ll work with most of the Intel CPUs and is now compatible with AMD.

         Pros

  • Awesome airflow
  • Versatile
  • Reasonably quiet operation
  • PWM fans speed control

Cons

  • Requires some extra attention to install

2. Noctua NH-D14 6 Pipe Dual Radiator

Noctua NH-D14 6 Pipe Dual Radiator

If you’re looking to buy a CPU cooler that ticks almost every box in design, performance, and aesthetics, then we can bet Noctua NH-D14 is worth it. It one of the best CPU coolers out there that rivals most of the AIO coolers.

Before we can move any further, Noctua NH-D14 is an air cooler, which as you very well know, harnesses its cooling power from fans.

The cooler boasts a six heatpipe dual radiator design in that the six heatpipes are connected to two big heat sinks (radiator). That helps to increase the surface area, enhance heat distribution and ensure proper airflow.

It also features an NT-H1 thermal compound that maximizes thermal resistance making your system easier to use and more reliable.

Noctua NH-D14 comes with a dual NF-P14 (120mm) and NF-P12 (120mm) dual SSO bearing fans set up which effectively help strike the balance between performance and a reasonably quiet operation.

What’s more, Noctua NH-D14 sports an asymmetrical design, which, in spite of the CPU cooler’s size, gives more clearance towards the RAM slots. As such, the cooler is compatible with most CPUs.

Even better, to further improve compatibility, the NF-12 fan has been fitted in a way such that you can move it upwards or left off.

Also, Noctua NH-D14 comes integrated with SecuFirm 2 multi-socket mounting socket that makes it super versatile. It’ll work on virtually any socket either on the Intel or AMD processors.

The cooler has fans rated at 12V with an airflow 110.3/92.3m3/h. Your fans with rotate at 1200/1300 RPM. It will operate reasonably quietly at 19.6/19.8dBA noise.

           Pros

  • Compatible with Intel & AMD sockets
  • Whisper quiet operation
  • Sufficient airflow and cooling
  • Sleek yet super functional

        Cons

  • It’s huge

3. DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX GT BX CPU Air Cooler

DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX GT BX CPU Air Cooler

GAMMAXX GT BX is another awesome four heat pipes CPU air cooler that’ll work well with your Intel i7 8700k. The cooler has been designed to support most Intel and AMD sockets.

It comes integrated with high capacity four copper heatpipes with direct contact to the CPU to ensure fast heat transfer. With the direct contact, thermal resistance is unheard of. It maintains the surface to surface direct contact between the CPU and the cooler effectively enhancing the efficiency.

GAMMAXX GT BX features 0.5mm thickness aluminum fins. And together with the 4 copper heatpipes, these aluminum fins ensure that heat gets dissipated swiftly thereby improving the cooling performance.

It also has with sleek RGB lighting system. Your motherboard must support the RGB software so you can control the lighting. But if the software is incompatible with your motherboard, make use of the included cable controller.

GAMMAXX GT BX has an RGB aluminum top cover synchronized with the RGB fan. The result is an adorable colorful lighting effect. Plus, you can use the motherboard software control to SYNC with a couple more RGB items.

Moreover, GAMMAXX GT BX is simple to install. For hassle-free installation, it comes with a robust enhanced backplate and clips plus an optimized mounting kit.

The fan comes with 120mm fan complete with a PWM function for speed control to ensure reduced vibration, noise, and turbulence. Besides, the fan speed is 500-1500 RPM at a noise level 17.8-27dBA. And to hold attach the board, it uses a 4 pin connector.

         Pros

  • Sleek RGB lighting
  • PWM fan speed control
  • Highly efficient airflow
  • Compatible with most Intel and AMD sockets

      Cons

  • RGB lighting can get too bright

4. CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H150i Pro Liquid CPU Cooler

CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H150i Pro Liquid CPU Cooler

Finally, in what seemed like an eternity, we have an all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler. And this is none other than CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H150i Pro. Let’s what this what to offer.

As we pointed out, HYDRO SERIES H150i Pro is an all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler. It has a 360mm radiator and is engineered for low noise cooling and aesthetics.

It’s powered by three low-noise 120mm ML-Series Magnetic levitation PWM fans. The fans deliver sufficient airflow and have a reasonably low noise level of 25dBA when running at full speed. So rest assured this cooler will cool your system while still maintaining a silent environment.

The AIO CPU cooler features a LED pump head that produces vibrant dynamic multi-color RGB lighting. You can take advantage of the adorable lighting to match your build. Use the CORSAIR iCUE software to adjust the RGB lighting as you please.

CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H150i Pro comes accompanied by a powerful CORSAIR iCUE software. Not only can use this software to control the lighting, but it'll also come in handy when you want to monitor and keep tabs with the CPU, the temperature etc. 

Plus, the cooler features sophisticated pump speed control options that you can use to optimize the performance as well as tone down the noise level.

CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H150i Pro is compatible with multiple sockets from Intel to AMD and is a perfect CPU cooler for your Intel i7 8700k.

The cooler is super-easy to install. Accompanied by a modular, tool-free mounting bracket, you’ll find it easy and quick to install this cooler on most CPU sockets. It comes with 4 pin connectors.

Pros

  • RGB lighting
  • PWM fan speed control
  • Low noise level at full speed
  • AIO liquid cooler

      Cons

  • Lacks iCUE instructions

5. Noctua NH-D15S D-Type Premium CPU Cooler

Noctua NH-D15S D-Type Premium CPU Cooler

Here comes another CPU cooler from Noctua. Welcome Noctua D-Type Premium, NH-D15S. And just like CORSAIR, Noctua is a leader in systems fans and CPU cooler.

NH-D15S employs an off-set, asymmetrical layout complete with a single NF-A15 fan. That design helps provide superior heatsink performance while still retaining high RAM and PCIe compatibility.

It also features recessed lower fins, which makes it possible for NH-D15S to provide 65mm clearance for even the tall memory heatsinks. As such, it’s compatible with virtually any high-end module on the market.

And since lower fins on either side of the heatsink are recessed, you can be guaranteed of excellent compatibility with most Intel and AMD sockets including those with dual RAM slots on both sides of the socket.

Considering the NH-D15S’ asymmetrical layout, once installed in standard orientation, its fin-stack is off-set towards the upper edge of the mainboard. That gives it room to clear the top PCIe x 16 slot on almost any of the current ATX and ATX motherboard.

NH-D15S comes with a large NF-A15 fan that extends below the fin stacks that allows for outstanding CPU cooling. It also makes it allows massive airflow towards the heatsink and the components surrounding the motherboard.

What’s more, the CPU cooler is dual-ready. NH-D15S comes with extra fan clips. Use them to upgrade the cooler with a second-round frame 140mm fan featuring 120mm mounting holes or a standard 120mm fan to enhance performance. All this while maintaining its compatibility with multiple RAM modules not exceeding 45mm in height.

NH-D15S comes accompanied by NF-A15 premium fan capable of supporting PWM. That allows for automatic speed control. Using the low noise adapter, you can reduce the speed from 1500RPM to 1200RPM giving room for an even quieter operation.

The cooler also employs SecureFirm2 mounting system, synonymous with safety, ease of use and premium quality. NH-D15S will support pretty much socket both on the Intel and AMD processors.

      Pros

  • PWM automatic fan speed control
  • Easy to install despite the size
  • Upgradable
  • Incredible design
  • Operate reasonably quietly

    Cons

  • It’s big

6. Thermalright Le Grand Macho RT (TY-147B)

Thermalright Le Grand Macho RT (TY-147B)

Lastly, we have Le Grand Macho RT CPU cooler. If you’re looking for exceptional cooling performance and are not comfortable with an AIO liquid cooler, Grand Macho RT is highly functional.

Le Grand Macho RT features an extra-large heatsink with seven heat pipes and a reasonably large 140mm TY-147B PWM fan that guarantees excellent airflow and low noise. The fan uses fluid dynamic bearing and offers active cooling up to 300 watts.

The large heatsink sports an asymmetrical design which ensures compatibility with most modern motherboards.

An offset base allows for improved VGA as well as memory clearance. It’ll work with virtually any PCIe and RAM socket.

It has a CC1100 pure copper nickel-plated base that ensures 100 percent contact with just any CPU, the Hanswell (2011-13) included.

What’s more, other than the high cooling capabilities, Le Grand Macho RT doesn’t fail on the looks, either. Its black top will, without a doubt, complement your build.

Regarding installation, Thermalright has a done a great job. Le Grand Macho RT CPU cooler comes accompanied by a long neck screwdriver that makes it easy to mount.

      Pros

  • Large fans for sufficient airflow
  • Compatible with most motherboards
  • Excellent design
  • Easy to install

    Cons

  • Lacks lighting

If you use your computer system for demanding tasks, or are looking to overclock, then it’s bound to overheat. It’s either you cool to keep it refreshed or risk temporary or permanent damage to the components. You can either use an air cooler or an AIO liquid cooler to chill the CPU. By cooling your CPU, doesn’t not only guarantee longer component service life but also peak performance. We hope you’ve identified a great cooler for your Intel i7 8700k.

Originally posted 2021-01-19 12:28:21.

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