Air Coolers

The Thermalright Peerless Assassin is the de-facto, no-nonsense line of air coolers by a company dedicated to both outperforming and undercutting its competition. is the latest and greatest water cooler line from Arctic. This line of coolers is always ranked near, or at, the top of the rankings, even sometimes beating out coolers that cost more than $100 more! And for a cooler that can cost less than $40 from the start, that's an intense comparison.

There are many versions of the Thermalright Peerless Assassin. It is important to note that all versions have the same mount, heat pipes, radiators, and assembly. The larger versions perform moderately better due to more thermal mass, more airflow, etc., but for their size all variants are chart toppers, or nearly there, amongst the direct competition. The standard, most popular version is the Peerless Assassin 120, which like most options in the Peerless Assassin line include two fans, a split radiator stack, and all the mounting hardware necessary to support more than 10 years of processors for both Intel and AMD processors. There is also an ARGB version with ARGB fans, and a Digital version with a digital ARGB display built in to display critical system information such as CPU or GPU temperature and load. And then take all those options and repeat them for white, instead of black! Despite the low price, is that too expensive for you? Thermalright has a "SE", or Special Edition, that costs a few dollars less, and they cut the cost by sacrificing aesthetics such as less paint, stickers, and other minor cosmetic touches. Then, take all of those options, and double them again because you can get just about all of that in a 140mm size as well! Going in the other direction, for builders trying to make a smaller build, you've got a couple specialty choiches that include only 1 fan standard; a "120 mini", which is also 120mm with a slightly more compact radiator stack, and a "90" that's even smaller with a 90mm fan.

Whew. Let me catch my breath here for a moment. How many variants is that? Trying to pin it down for this review, I found 21 different variants of Peerless Assassin coolers. Not all options are available in all combinations. For example, I couldn't find any Peerless Assassin 90s that include ARGB or Digital variants. Not saying they do not or never existed, but as of the time of this review they are not available. There may be more out there that just aren't available as of now. But still, there's an option that will fit just about any build. And all using the same high quality cooling standard.

Now, to be clear, there are more similar options, but they're not exactly "Peerless Assassin". There's some Assassin X and Burst Assassin variants, for example. They get similar marketing by Thermalright, but details remain unclear if it's using the same heatpipe and radiator design as their Peerless brethren, and there's not enough independent testing by qualified professionals of their thermal performance to know for sure. We have used some and found good quality results, but no way for us to confidently say they should be counted among the same ranks.

Mounting the cooler follows the standard protocol. Use the existing backplate (AMD) or use one of the multiple provided options (Intel), screw on the custom mounting points, line the heatsink up, and screw down just two posts, top and bottom from the CPU (on most PC orientations). Then attach your fans, and you're good to go. Nothing particularly special or noteworthy there. Which isn't a bad thing. Simplicity and consistency in this manner makes it more understandable and accessible to the average user. When you can do that while achieving great results, it's a positive in our book. The included user manual will walk you through the steps and clearly identifies which parts go with which CPU for proper compatibility, which is a nice touch. Digital guides have their pros and cons too, but there's just something about having a physical guide that helps the experience. There is only one complaint we would have here, and it's not even Thermalright's problem or fault, but Intel's. The LGA 1700/1851 socket's default retention mechanism is prone to bending and warping over time, as it does not apply even and consistent pressure to the CPU in the socket. To fix this, on any chip in either of these sockets we highly recommend a contact frame, which is sold separately. If the Peerless Assassin cost more we would like to see a contact frame included. But not including that in every box to keep the cost down for everyone who may use it is a better choice. And Thermalright sells a contact frame as well, also for a very reasonable price.

Another note is the attention to detail. The cooler is vertically symmetrical, with the only difference being the logo. This lets the user install it in whichever way they prefer, or what matches other text in their case such as may be on the motherboard or GPU. On the bottom, there's a small section of radiator that doesn't extend all the way to the bottom, providing clearance for more RAM sizes, and this is on both sides so it will be compatible with any RAM choice in either orientation. This is true on all versions of the cooler we have seen and tested, with the exception of the Digital variants, which has a clearly defined up and down orientation. However, the top with the digital display is removable and can be installed in any orientation with the fans installed in any orientation, so it does not change the versatility in any meaningful way. 

Speaking of fan orientations, the fans are swappable and reversible, so that they can be configured on the two outsides of the heatsink, or one on the inside and the other on either side. This can be done push or pull, front or back, so it supports and flows with any kind of fan orientation in the rest of your case, even the rare but valid rear intake. This makes a minor point of problem with novice builders who may accidentally point their two fans opposed to eachother, hurting cooling performance, but the included manual notes not to do this, but we have seen it happen on personal builds people bring into our shop. Even the smaller options that come with only 1 fan let you mount it in any of these possible orientations, and they include the necessary hardware to mount a second fan if purchased and added separately. The fans have standard 4-pin PWN connectors, and the included Y-splitter is also universal. We are always proponents of universal connectors as opposed to proprietary ones. With the fans' cables and the splitter, the cables are long enough to reach just about any fan header in your motherboard. Really, this cable length is mostly unnecessary, as only edge cases may need a header a foot away from the CPU. The CPU header is usually pretty close, so you end up with excess cable length. However, you can simply wrap the cables around the fans, and there's adequate space underneath the heatsink to tuck any extra cabling under there unseen, meaning cable management is easy and efficient for the 99% of installs that don't need that extra cable length.

All in all, the Peerless Assassin line has earned the de-facto recommended air cooler for almost any build. Not only among us, but the broader PC community as a whole. And Thermalright accomplishes this while beating most of their competition on price. Ranging from ~$25 to ~$60, depending on exact model chosen, the Peerless Assassin line is more affordable than just about any other cooler that delivers similar performance, and delivers better performance than just about everything at the same price point. Due to all of these factors, we are happy to award Thermalright not only a full 5 star rating, but no cons (of their fault) worth noting on the banner. Really, the only things we can complain about this are either subjective or a give and take decision that would have minor issues whichever way it's designed. You can read all about the more technical specs or order your own on Amazon here.