best cooler for AMD Ryzen 9 5900X / 5950X

AMD has released his Ryzen 9 on AM4 socket. That means that this the CPU at the top of the socket AM4, namely the Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X. This begs the question: What sort of cooling should you be looking at to tame this powerful CPU? Let's take a look at the various options for cooling the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X processor from the many CORSAIR All-In-One watercooling options.

The most important pieces of information about the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, at least as far as cooling is concerned, are the Processor's Base Power draw of 105W and the Maximum Power Consumption of 142W. You'll need to be able to transfer and exhaust that heat produced from this power draw in order to keep your CPU temperature as low as possible. To dissipate that 142W, you'll need a large radiator surface area. The bigger it this, the more efficiently the processor will be cooled, and the lower the average fan speed will be.

AMD is using the AM4 socket as it has used previously, which means that you have plenty of options for coolers. It's worth noting though, that your case could be a limiting factor when it comes to choosing a watercooling system. Depending of your case, you may encounter the following limitations:

• Installing an AIO watercooler in the front of the case will reduce the space available for the graphics card, so you need to take the GPU length into account.
• Installing an AIO watercooler in the top of the case can limit the maximum height of your DRAM, especially for 280mm watercoolers, so bear that in mind too.

If your case allows it, the iCUE LINK H170i RGB AIO Liquid CPU Cooler offers the maximum cooling capacity thanks to it's 420mm radiator and 3x QX140 Fans. It'll also makes for a relatively simple and clean installation with an iCUE Link System Hub, thanks to the single cable connection design.

For more modestly sized cases, front-mounting the iCUE LINK H150i LCD Liquid CPU Cooler is probably a more realistic option. This AIO cooler not only delivers excellent cooling performance with its 360mm radiator and the pre-applied CORSAIR XTM70 thermal past, but it also features the same iCUE LINK single-cable system and a 2.1" IPS LCD screen for monitoring temperatures or displaying the latest gif you're a fan of.

Liquid cooling, whether it be with a custom cooling an an AIO is not the only option here. Air cooling is a still a viable solution. It's also lower cost and higher reliability, which might be the priorities for some builders out there. In this case, the CORSAIR A115 is an excellent choice,

To find the cooler which is compatible with your CPU socket AM4, we have made a quick tool that will ensure that you do not run into any problems once your shiny new AIO cooler arrives.

CORSAIR CPU COOLING Finder

While using the tool you will be asked not only what CPU you have, but also what case, and graphics card you have. This is so we can check compatibility for you, and so that you do not end up in a situation where your new AIO cooler will not fit into your case because your graphics card is too long.

As seen in the image above, in some cases you are easily able to fit for example a 360mm AIO cooler in the front, but should you use a graphics card that is longer than the one shown above, the AIO cooler would need to either be placed in the top, or you would need a larger case.

Another option would be to build a Custom Cooling Loop, you'll be able to reach even better performance than with an AIO cooler. It will also look incredible, although we'd admit will take a bit more effort than an AIO.

Whatever cooling option you're looking for, you'll find CORSAIR has something for you.