Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 CPU Air Cooler, 6 Heat
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 CPU Air Cooler, 6 Heat Pipes, Dual 120mm TL-C12 PWM Fan, Aluminium Heatsink Cover, AGHP Technology, for AMD AM4/AM5 Intel LGA 1150/1151/1200/2011/2066/1700 (PA120)
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| lntel/AMD CPU Socket | LGA1700/1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/2011/2066 and AMD AM4 | Intel: 1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/1700/17XX; AMD:AM4; | Intel: 1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/1700/17XX; AMD:AM4; | Intel: 1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/1700/17XX; AMD:AM4; | Intel: 1700/1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/2011/2066; AMD:AM4 | Intel: 1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/1700/17XX; AMD:AM4; |
| Fan Speed | 1850±10%RPM | 1550±10%RPM | 1550±10%RPM | 1550±10%RPM | 1800±10%RPM | 2700±10%RPM |
| Airflow | 82CFM(MAX) | 66.17CFM(MAX) | 66.17CFM(MAX) | 66.17CFM(MAX) | 59CFM(MAX) | 42.58CFM(MAX) |
| Heat pipe | 6.6mm heatpipes | 6.6mm heatpipes | 5.6mm heatpipes | 4.6mm heatpipes | 6*6 heatpipes | 4.6mm heatpipes |
| Maximum TDP | 120W-265W | 235W | 125W-225W | 135W | ||
| Noise Level | ≤29.6DBA | ≤25.6DBA | ≤25.6DBA | ≤25.6DBA | ≤22.4DBA | |
| Current | 0.25A(MAX) | 0.2A(MAX) | 0.2A(MAX) | 0.2A(MAX) | 0.18A（MAX） | 0.2A(MAX) |
| Static Pressure | 2.1mmH2O（MAX） | 1.53mmH2O（MAX） | 1.53mmH2O（MAX） | 1.53mmH2O（MAX） | 1.36mmH2O（MAX） | 1.33mmH2O（MAX） |
| Weight: | 1.36 kg |
| Dimensions: | 12.7 x 12.7 x 15.24 cm; 1.36 Kilograms |
| Part: | PA120 D6-Y 1700 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Manufacture: | Thermalright |
| Dimensions: | 12.7 x 12.7 x 15.24 cm; 1.36 Kilograms |
| Reference: | PA120 D6-Y 1700 |
Built a new pc with Rizen 5 5600 and Gigabyte B550 mobo. I was unhappy with idle and peak gaming temperatures (50c and 85c) using the stock AMD heatsink/fan. I almost got a 6 pipe version of this cooler, but it didn’t have the best reviews. Luckily i saw there were more options before I hit the buy button. With this 7 pipe dual installed, my temps dropped to high 20’s on idle and even a stress test only got it up to 62. Fairly quiet as well. 5 stars for performance.
I was not looking forward to installing, as I was told by a friend i’d probably have to remove the motherboard. Luckily my IONZ KZ21 case has a cutout behind the cpu and easy access to the back plate.
The plate actually stayed put while switching coolers, so i didn’t even need to drag my fiance in to assist. After looking very closely at the install instruction picture and laying out parts to match, i dived in and got it installed very quickly and smoothly. 5 stars for ease of install.
The cooler does come with a syringe of thermal paste TF7 if needed but i had some Arctic MX-4 I used instead.
Definitely recommend this cooler.
Really impressed with this cooler. Temps have dropped 10c and it’s pretty quiet. Very happy with it and the RGB fans, while not to everyone’s taste, makes my case and build pop. fits nicely in my NR200 case with the tempered glass panel too.
Fitted this to my AM 4 motherboard running 5800x whilst saving for decent AIO . For the price point I am quite impressed 26 degree idle ,Cinebench R23.2 multi core 84degrees , Single core 62 degrees . The cooler comes with an instruction leaflet that also lists parts provided . The AM4 install was easy took around 5 minutes to do . The product arrived on time and was well packaged . The only things I can see that might put someone off is the cooler overhangs Ram and it is quite noisy under load
So to summarise
Pro’s
Good Price
Easy to install
Keeps temps Down
Cons
Overhangs Ram
Bit noisy under load
All in all good cooler for the price point hence 5,Stars
Bloody huge!
This cooler was a lot larger than I expected. It’s massive.
I was scared it would come out too far and I wouldn’t be able to get the side panel on.
However with a few mil to spare it fit perfectly.
It’s cooling an i5 13600k and temps even when gaming (Destiny2) are around 48c max.
Whilst rendering it still keeps cpu cool.
Idle temps are 30c minimum and 38c max.
It’s very quiet and can hardly hear it even under load.
I’ve ram benchmarks and only just start to hear the fans ramp up keeping temps below 60c under full load, but not too loud it sounds like a jet, rather a background hum.
Overall very impressed and glad I chose this over something that cost 3x as much for negligible gains.
Also to note this cooler does a better job than my older aio which was a branded one. I5 in my old aio would reach temps at least 10c higher than this.
Probably would be fine with stock AMD Wraith cooler, but pretty nice with Ryzen 5 5600 PBO -30 all core undervolt up to 4.65 GHz boost.
Also, comes with thermal paste which was a nice surprise, though I’d already applied Arctic MX-6..
Fan mounting was slightly unintuitive as instruction manual was pretty bare bones, after looking at the provided images, realised it’s 4 vertical hooks spanning side sections of the fans to the heat sink.
For a while the middle mounting screw was hard to thread as the other mounting holes were not perfectly aligned but this might have just been user error, so the end result was the heat sink wobbling around the IHS (good thing I applied more than usual amount of paste).
Would have been 11/10 if they provided a long screw driver that automatically fits their form factor but that might be asking too much.
If anything having so much thermal headroom allows for your CPU/apu to run cooler, degrading slower than it would otherwise.. can’t go wrong as it is on par with the likes of scythe fuma/noctua nh-d15 at lower rpms but is louder than them at higher rpms… Albeit at fraction of the equivalent cost.
So, imagine dual tower radiators going for about 60… or over 60usd.
Thermalright has made the perfect cooler for under that price.
In my current build, I’m using a gigabyte aorus elite v2 motherboard with a ryzen 5 5600x with the peerless assassin as my cooling method of choice. I’m going to make some very bold claims and say that when i idle, i stay around 35-40C. I don’t play heavier games like call of duty or anything but playing some 3d games at max graphics, i generally never go over 60C.
There are a lot of comparisons between these fans and noctua fans… yes, these fans are quiet, but they’re not noctua level, but for the PRICE you are getting a SOLID deal. This ARGB cooler is compatible with gigabytes fusion rgb software and every other company’s like asus and msi.
I also happen to play vr games on steam, which are very gpu heavy but also can take a toll on your cpu, so for me… the cooling is fine.
The packaging is simple, thermalright never cared about the flashy boxes because functionality is the most important of things for them, the packaging is generous.
The dual tower radiator is neatly snug in a foam cut out, along with 2 cutout slots for the 2 fans. There is also an RGB splitter and a PWM Y splitter for 2 fans.
It also comes with various mounting brackets for amd and intel (am5 brackets are apparently the same as am4, though id have to double check) so you could use them for intel cpus. It also comes with 4 fan clips to put each fan on the radiator.
If you like, you can also buy the exact same fan and stick a 3rd or 4th one on as long as you buy a PWM hub separately, this could be an amazing thing for even for smaller cases which allow you to have exhaust case fans controlled by your cpu as well.
Im really happy with the price and the product. Id definitely support this company again.
Lowered temps massively, idle temps on a 5600x went from 50 to 22 and under load stays around 50, hottest I’ve seen it go is 55 after a few hours under load. Very easy to install, especially for AMD users just keep the standard back plate included and mount it, fans clip on easy. Instructions were good as well and loads of videos online for those who aren’t confident with this kind of thing.
This cooler is actually better than my Corsair AIO I highly recommend this product its cheap as chips and cools my 12900k like a champ
holy hell this thing is amazing for what you are paying, easily cooling a 5800x topping out at 65c in cinebench R23, one of the easiest coolers I have ever had to mount ( up there with noctua), literally one of the best airs coolers around and doesn’t cost 75+, highly recommended.
Best value for money. Replaced my NZXT X62 cooler when it dried up
Superb performance for the money. Easy to fit, works well and runs cold. It even looks rather nice with the RGB fans going. I bought it as a quick fix because my old water AIO was playing up and I wanted to see if it was the cooling or the motherboard/processor. This performs so well for the money. My only criticism is that the fan clips are a bit weak and poorly fitted and how they clip onto the vents isn’t entirely secure without bending the fins. And one fan covers the RAM slots, which is annoying if you got RGB RAM 🙂 – I swapped the sides of the fans to uncover the RAM and it seems to work perfectly. Highly, HIGHLY recommended. Outperforms cooling solutions that are more than double the price.
stable running on my machine…
my previous MSI liquid cooling DIED after running for months. i turn my server on 7x 24 hours and it died.
the fan cooler will be more stable on my 5900x
I was originally using my Wraith Prism from my 3900X to keep my 5800X3D cool, and I was seeing peaks in games of 90c, so I looked around and this cooler has a lot of praise, I can confirm the praise is well earned, this thing is so much quieter and cooler than the wraith prism was, in WoW it keeps my processor at 60c which is a lovely change from the 90c spikes I was seeing before, If you have a 5800X3D this cooler is perfect. The only gripe I had was with my HyperX Predator was too high so the front fan sits about 2cm higher than the other fa
My PC is on alot, that means the regular cooler gets alot of use and has failed twice in 18/24 months. This is so simple, great quality etc and a fraction of the price of big brands that the evidence suggests aren’t as good as this.
Buy it, if you can’t decide between this and something else, pick this.
I have very recently upgraded to AM5 and the 7700X. I was using the AF34eSD, but customer reviews for this TPA-120SE tweaked my curiosity and I decided to give it a go, as I thought a dual heatsink air cooler will have the edge over a single heatsink air cooler such as my AF34eSD. Please see my Amazon review of the AF air cooler.
Please note, with the 5800X and 7700X, I disabled PBO and auto-OC because the cpu temperatures were very high even at idle. For example, with PBO and auto-OC enabled, my 7700X was sitting at c.46c idle. With the above two features disabled, my 7700X was sitting at a very comfortable and constant 35c (same story with my 5800X). Both cpu’s were cooled with my AF34eSD (with a pair of Noctua 3k-rpm fans rated at 110cfm each). I am aware that many folks opted for AIO or custom loop for the 5800X, 5900X and 5950X. However, due to a bad experience in the past, I am averse to having a liquid cooling solution in my pc. I much prefer good old fashioned air coolers as they are notably cheaper than AIO and a damn sight more reliable.
I found the mounting procedure for this TPA-120SE to be a bit of a hassle as securing it to the brackets after mounting on the cpu was not straightforward (unlike the AF34eSD). It has a very different mechanism akin to my old Akasa Venom dual heatsink air cooler. As a result, the base plate for this air cooler kept sliding on my cpu and probably unevenly distributed the thermal paste which I applied to the surface of the cpu lid. But I finally got the job done.
Here are the results –
7700X cpu and AF-34Esport –
IDLE – 35c (constant).
Prime95 – 49.81c (highest reading).
Cinebench R23 – 50.97c (highest reading).
7700X and Thermalright PA-120SE –
IDLE – 36.5c (fluctuating).
Prime95 – 49.18c (highest reading).
Cinebench R23 – 51.34c (highest reading).
I wanted to perform AIDA64 test but unfortunately you need to purchase a license. It is pointless for me as I just needed it for a one off.
TBH, I am a bit disappointed with the TPA-120SE as I was hoping it would beat the AF34eSD by at least 1.5c in each benchmark reading. I will need to remove the air cooler and see if the thermal paste layer has been unevenly distributed. If so, re-apply, remount and do benchmarks again. I will also give it another three days or so to ensure the TP has properly cured.
The AF34eSD cost me 35, versus this TPA-120SE which cost 39.90. Both purchased from Amazon. Another issue with this (slim) dual tower air cooler is that the front fan still sits right on top of my RAM (slot 2). If I wanted to purchase more RAM, I would have to remove the fan, install RAM and reinstall the front fan.
Comparison aside, if I look at this cooler based on it’s own merits, then it is pretty good. The cooling performance is circa 3c behind the NHD15, but you have to look at the price difference – 90 for the NHD15 and 40 for this TPA-120-SE. It is a no brainer. If you want more cooling performance then you could add a third fan to the rear of the heatsink and that would shave off another circa 2c-3c from the temperature readings. However, you would need to purchase another fan (if you do not have a spare fan) as well as extra fan mounting clips from Thermalright.
To conclude, I am currently on the fence with this one. I may keep it as a spare (just in case). I will update my review if anything changes.
Amazing Cooler, fantastic build quality, keeps my ryzen 5 5600 at 33 degrees doing general day to day tasks and at most 60 degrees when under heavy load and that’s with the fans at 50% speed or less.
I then did some more research and everywhere seemed to suggest the Noctua NH-U12A. However, I couldn’t really bring myself to spend 90 on an air cooler.
I then found this beauty on a review website, giving it glowing reviews for its price. I was skepticle at first but for 35, it was worth a shot. Now I’m getting an extra ~5% on my cinebench scores and with 10-15c lower temps.
Now the noise is comparable to the Hyper 212 but the performance to noise ratio is just incredible.
Give this a go, you can’t go wrong at the price!