Best Air CPU Coolers

Having tested many high, mid, and low-end CPU air coolers, we had a whole bunch of them to choose from when preparing this best of guide. They all did their job — some better than others — and most of them weren’t terrible, as we usually omit those during our initial research.

With such a brilliant lineup of good products, you’d think it may have been hard to pick the one to call our “overall best”, but it was surprisingly easy. That’s because Noctua NH-D15 stood above the rest and impressed us in many ways.

The first thing you’ll notice about this particular model is its interesting, elegant design. It may stand out like a sore thumb if you’re after the, currently trendy, full rainbow of colors that RGB coolers provide. However, for a minimalist build, it will be the proverbial cherry on top of the rest of your desktop.

Pleasing aesthetics pale in comparison to the power this fan brings to the table. With its two strong fans combined with a whopping six heat sinks, Noctua performs excellently in benchmarks. This is the kind of CPU cooler that will let you play Battlefield V on max settings — as long as the rest of your rig allows it.

Noctua is able to maintain consistently low temperatures during stress tests even with the newest and strongest CPUs, such as an overclocked i9. It’s also remarkably quiet for a cooler that is really pushing overtime to keep your build comfortable.

Where’s the catch? Well, it is rather large and it is a bit pricey, but this is the type of cooler you pick up for a high-end gaming PC. For all its power and reliability, Noctua has more than proven itself capable and worth the higher price tag.