AMD Ryzen 7 1700 5-Way Cooler Comparison

1. Introduction2. Meet the Coolers: Bundle and Installation3. Testing Methodology4. Performance Results5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

In this comparison article, we looked at 5 different coolers from Deepcool, Scythe, Arctic, Cooler Master and even OCUK Tech Labs to find the best cooler for AMD's new AM4 platform.

While it is hard to draw a clear-cut winner, the OCUK Tech Labs 240 AIO topped both charts for raw performance. It is also very good value at just £72.94, though its fan are slightly too high-pitched for our liking.

Deepcool's Captain 240 EX also performs very well, but it has the advantage of some very funky visuals, while its fans are very quiet even under load. At £72.48 from Ebuyer it is even cheaper than the OCUK AIO, so it does just nudge ahead in our eyes.

Much the same can be said of Cooler Master's MasterLiquid 120 liquid cooler. It ships with two fans out of the box, while it is also nice and quiet. Despite its smaller radiator, it is still very competitive when compared with the other 240mm liquid coolers on-test, and that makes the MasterLiquid 120 ideal for those looking for top performance in a small package. It costs £69.95.

While I did initially encounter some coil whine issues with the Arctic Freezer 33 Plus, the issue was pin-pointed as a faulty fan and Arctic quickly issued a replacement. In its fully-functional state the Freezer 33 Plus is easy on the ears while providing very solid performance at a low cost, making it a very good option for those looking for a smaller air cooler.

Our last cooler, the Scythe Mugen 5 PCGH Edition, actually impressed me the most. It is not the best-performing cooler, though it is still very competitive, but it is absurdly quiet. I mean, it is seriously quiet – in a case, even under load, you would be hard pressed to make out the whirr of the fans. At £51.43, it also represents decent value and I can't recommend it enough.

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Awards:

Deepcool Captain 240 EX – Worth Buying

Cooler Master MasterLiquid 120 – Worth Buying

Arctic Freezer 33 Plus – Worth Buying

Scythe Mugen 5 PCGH Edition – Must Have

KitGuru says: Testing 5 different coolers for the AM4 platform has been quite revealing. While all performed within 6 degrees of each other, I was most impressed with the Mugen 5 PCGH as it is the quietest CPU cooler I have ever used.

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