Montech NX600 CPU Air Cooler Review

Today we’re taking a look at the Montech NX600 CPU cooler, a dual-tower air cooler that’s aimed designed to deliver maximum bang for your buck. On paper, it promises strong thermal performance, broad socket compatibility, and a clean, understated design. But as we know, specs only tell half the story, so in this review, we’ll be putting it through proper thermal and noise testing to see whether the NX600 is genuinely competitive, or just another budget contender.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
00:50 Pricing and Info
02:00 Up Close
03:16 Heatsink and plastic top details
04:15 Fans
05:30 Accessories
06:26 Test System and Installation
07:59 Thermal and Noise Performance
10:11 Worth buying?

 

Features:

• Dual-Tower Cooling — NX600 features dual heat sink fin stacks with 52 fins per stack, six heat pipes, and dual high-performance 28mm thick fans to maximise heat dissipation and airflow efficiency for optimal temperatures even under heavy loads.
• Soldered Copper Base for Efficient Heat Transfer — A flat copper base soldered directly to six heat pipes provides efficient, even heat dissipation from the CPU to the heat sink, keeping CPU temperature under control.
• Dual E28 PWM Performance Fans — Equipped with two MONTECH E28 (ARGB) PWM fans tuned for strong airflow and static pressure, providing effective cooling with or without RGB lighting effects.
• Broad CPU Socket Compatibility — Supports all major current Intel and AMD sockets, including Intel LGA115X / 1200 / 1700 / 1851 and AMD AM4 / AM5, for stress-free installation and upgrades.

Specifications:

• Colour Options: Black / White
• Dimensions: 120 × 132.5 × 160 mm (cooler) / 203 × 146 × 200 mm (package)
• Weight: 1440 g
• CPU Socket Support: Intel: LGA115X, 1200, 1700, 1851, AMD: AM4, AM5
• Heat Pipes: 6
• Fan Support: Up to 2 fans
• Fan Speed: 800–2000 RPM (±10%)
• Bearing Type: HDB
• Voltage Range: 12 V
• Connector: 4-pin PWM
• Maximum Airflow: 85.09 CFM
• Maximum Static Pressure: 3.35 mmH₂O
• Maximum Noise Level: 34.17 dBA
• Warranty: 1 year

Test System Specifications

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• Motherboard: ASRock X870E Taichi Lite
• Memory: 32GB (2 x 16GB Modules) Kingston Fury DDR5-6000
• Graphics card: Gigabyte RTX 4070 Gaming OC
• Storage: 1TB Corsair MP600 Elite PCIe Gen4x4 NVME M.2 SSD
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1600
• Chassis: Open Test Bench
• Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
• O/S: Windows 11 Version 24H2

Testing Methodology:

We are primarily focusing on the performance of each cooler at 100% fan speed and also when locked to 40dBA noise output. We will focus on cooling performance using a manual overclock with all-core frequency and VCORE locked to 5.2GHz/1.3v (AMD) and 5.5GHz/1.3v (Intel) and Precision Boost Overdrive performance.

• The test data is logged using HWINFO and the final 10 minutes of the data is calculated to find the average CPU temperature and CPU clock multiplier (AMD PBO Test) and then plotted in the charts.
• For testing, we use a 30-minute looped run of Cinebench R23 and record the steady-state CPU temperature at the end of the test. This ensures that the CPU has had ample time to warm up and reach a steady state under all of the coolers.
• The ambient is maintained at 19-21 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add extra repeated tests to ensure consistency. However, this is well controlled now with A/C.
• We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of poor mounting spoiling results.
• Ambient temperature and humidity are controlled via a mini split air conditioning system inside the test room. Ambient temperature is maintained between 22-23°C, Temperature delta figures are shown in the charts (ambient temperature is deducted from the measured component temperature).

Test Results:

Acoustics

Looking at noise output first, the Montech NX600 sits at the bottom end of the chart, recording 54dBA peak noise output, which makes it the loudest air cooler tested to date. Significantly louder than premium options such as the NH-U12A, Dark Rock 5, AK620 and SK260V and the current budget king, the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V3. The NX600 prioritises fan speed over noise, and while tuning the fan curve may help, it’s clearly not aimed at silent PC builds.

Thermal Performance: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

With the fans running at maximum speed, the Montech NX600 delivers solid but not class-leading thermal performance, recording a steady-state CPU temperature of 61°C over ambient. That puts it on par with established air coolers like the be quiet! Dark Rock 5 and Corsair A115 and level with its main competition, the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120. That said, the NX600 is the loudest cooler in this test.

When noise is normalised to 40 dBA, thermal performance drops to 65 °C, which sees the NX600 still hold the middle of the pack, sat just behind the AK620 Digital Pro and the Sudokoo SK620V. But crucially, the NX60 outperforms the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 12 SE in the noise-normalised test, which we'd argue is the most useful metric since users will be more likely to run their system with fan curves rather than with the fans maxed out.

In AMD PBO testing, the Montech NX600 records a steady-state temperature of 63 °C over ambient with an average CPU clock multiplier of 51.3x, placing it in the middle of the chart again. It manages to sustain solid boost frequency, but trails more efficient dual-tower coolers with slightly higher clocks at lower temperatures. However, it again trades blows with what most would consider the best value cooler the Thermalright Peerless Assassin

So the Montech NX600 gives users a problem, but a good one, since now there are two great value budget air coolers to choose from that offer very similar levels of performance.

The Montech NX600/NX600 ARGB  is available to purchase now from Scan priced at £24.98 HERE for the regular version and £29.99 HERE for the ARGB model.

Pros:

• Very low cost.
• Decent thermal performance when noise is normalised.
• ARGB effects are good.

Cons:

• Fiddly fan installation.
• Loud at max fan speed.
• Build quality isn't perfect.

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