Thermaltake TOUGHAIR 310 170W TDP CPU Cooler, Intel/AMD Universal Socket (LGA 1200/1700), 120mm 2000RPM High Static Pressure PWM Fan with High Performance Copper Heat Pipes CL-P074-AL12BL-A

This is probably one of the few modern coolers you can buy new that still fits AM3 boards (though to be fair you can request kits for most Noctua coolers). I keep an old computer around and it desperately needed an upgrade from its old Hyper 212, so I grabbed this on sale since it seemed like a good value.It's packaged well and easy enough to install as long as you pay close attention to the instructions. Despite being quite thin, it keeps a Phenom II X4 965 at 1.50V below 60C while running prime95 small FFTs, which I find impressive. The fan is reasonably quiet at 1200rpm.This should be a perfectly fine cooler for a modern mid-range CPU, and also a quick and easy choice for an older system. As a side note, it barely fits in my case with a listed 160mm of heatsink clearance, so make sure you have at least that much.

If you need a great, basic cooler for your Intel chip that’s slightly better than the default cooler, look no further! Make sure you check to ensure your motherboard/processor are < 95W (so most of the relevant intel chips) and are one of the compatible sockets (again, most recent sockets) - once you do that, this CPU cooler is easy to install (install the backplate then screw in the 4 screws and plug in the fan header. Done.Couple of quick notes - first, this does use a backplate (unlike the push-pin based default included cooler) which means you’ll need to access the back of your motherboard. Not an issue if you’re installing a new motherboard in a new case, but if you’re replacing an existing cooler in a complete build, you may have to remove the motherboard if you don’t have access to the back of the board in the case. I actually like this as the install is much more secure that the push pins - and you know you have the right tension - but it is something to be aware of.Second, this does have pre-applied thermal paste which makes it easy to use. The thermal paste seems to be of reasonable quality and is well applied - I used it as is for the initial install, but ended up moving the chip to new board and having to use my own. Expected and no issues - but if you’re looking for a bit more performance, you might want to think about changing the paste. If you’re running stock clocks and not running at max all the time, the included paste should be just fine.Third and final consideration - this is not a cooler for overclockers. It can probably handle a minimal overclock - but it’s really designed to be cool and reasonably quiet at stock settings, voltages and the like and it does well at that.With those considerations out of the way, if you have a compatible chip and don’t mind the above caveats, this is a great cooler and highly recommend!

This cooler is perfect for the price. It has its limits, but is perfect for cooling i3 or i5s from Intel. It’s quieter than the stock fan, and performs better. Maybe not worth the upgrade, would rather buy a tower cooler cooler for about $10 more. However, on a tight budget where you don’t have a stock cooler, it’s perfect.

I bought this for the cheapest stream PC out of old parts my siblings and I had laying around. Well it so happens to be the only thing we didn't have was a cooler with the appropriate bracketry for the LGA 1155 socket. So I resorted for for this unit! For under $15 it keeps an overclocked I7 3770K at 4.4ghz 1.2 volts under 95C in 29C/90F ambient temps on a 30 minute Cinebench R23 run.It does exactly everything we need but now the CPU is now too slow for the load we're throwing at it LOL!Not the coolers fault at all in that case and of course is the reason I threw a mild overclock at it.Now what I don't like is how it has a 3 pin fan connector. The ASRock P67 Extreme does not have a way to control DC powered fans. So the fans are on full blast in the case. Spins around 2200 RPM and isn't great to be next to. Thankfully in my case I am using Windows remote desktop and running headless so the PC can be on the common area. Keeps my room nice and quiet!The mounting bracket is kind of a pain in the arse but now that I think about it, if you have a case that has an opening on the back of the motherboard tray, you can try setting up a pillow or small box behind the pc and laying it down. I did it with the PC standing upwards which wasn't enjoyable.Nonetheless for the money, I am happy and the PC stays cool during 6 plus hour streams.PC Specs:ASRock P67 ExtremeIntel i7 3770k 4.4Ghz @ 1.2v16gb DDR3 @ 1600MhzGTX 1060 6gbFractal Meshify C mid-tower case

18c lower temps than stock cooler, also quieter, easy install and comes with motherboard backplate and just enough thermal paste to get the job done. Highly recommend!

Had to get a fan to replace the liquid cooling system in my PC that had failed. I was nervous about putting it all together but found it to be really simple. The fan has been working great now for some time and I have had 0 issues with overheating like i was before.

Bought this as an upgrade for my travel PC since I just upgraded the CPU from i5-6402P to i7-6700K, and the i5 was previously cooled by a stock Intel passive cooler. Since the 6700K is rated for 95W TDP and the stock Intel cooler is only rated for 65W TDP, I went with this cooler as a fairly priced option that met my TDP requirement. I installed this yesterday and I'm seeing honestly really good temps for such a simple air cooler. On basically idle (Discord + Steam + MSI Afterburner open), I am averaging around 29-30C. I played approximately 3 straight hours of Battlefield 1 (very CPU-intensive game) on 1080P with all "Ultra" settings + DX12 disabled, and I never saw my CPU temperature reach above 65C. I think is great value and performance for a $13 air cooler operating almost at its rated TDP (91W CPU v. 95W cooler). Please note my temps are from an open air PC build and I removed the pre-applied thermal paste from the Thermaltake Gravity i2, which was replaced with Thermalright TF9 paste.*According to BIOS, the fan is spinning from 1980-2000 RPM.*There is pre-applied thermal paste