Best AIO Coolers 2024 | Tom’s Hardware

Maybe you’re after the highest sustained clock speeds with your Core i9-14900K or upcoming Ryzen 9 9950X. Or perhaps you just want your modest system to remain silent under load. Either way, there are some important things to consider when choosing the best AIO (all-in-one) cooler for your new PC or a CPU upgrade. 

AIO coolers are much more convenient and affordable than custom liquid cooling loops. And, traditionally at least, AIOs have been able to deliver lower CPU temperatures with less fan noise than air coolers – although that’s not always the case these days, as air coolers have gotten better and, in some cases, bigger.

You’ll need to be sure there’s room to install an AIO cooler in your PC case, preferably in the top or rear, exhausting your CPU heat out of the chassis. AIO coolers typically come in three sizes, defined by the dimensions of the radiator and the fans the radiator is designed to fit: 120 (one 120mm fan), 240 (two 120mm fans), or 360mm (three 120mm fans).

There are some 140, 280mm, and 420mm AIO coolers as well, but they are far less common. As you might expect, the larger the radiator (generally speaking), the greater the cooling potential. That said, things like radiator thickness, materials, and fan and pump performance factor into cooling capability (and noise output) as well. 

If you aren’t running a flagship CPU with lots of cores and 5-6 GHz speeds and you don’t plan on overclocking, a 120mm AIO (which you can usually mount in the rear exhaust fan area of your PC case) should suffice. That said, Intel’s 12th and 13th Gen CPUs are generally more demanding on coolers. And AMD’s Ryzen 7000 lineup, while less thermally demanding than Intel’s chips, isn’t exactly easy to cool either. So if you want better temperatures and slower-spinning fans, a good 240mm AIO cooler is a better choice, but won’t fit in as many cases.

If money isn’t a major concern and silent operation and low temperatures are important to you, you may want to consider a custom cooling loop. For more on how these tend to perform (and how good they look), check out our Blue Shift build feature. Just know that custom loops are always much more expensive than all other typical cooling alternatives, exponentially more complicated to assemble and install, and they can make future component upgrades much more complicated–especially if you add your GPU into the cooling loop.

In your quest for the best AIO cooler, don’t forget to consider thermal paste or another thermal interface material (TIM) to use with your AIO cooler. Most coolers these days will come with some kind of paste, either in a small syringe or pre-applied to the metal cold plate. But to make sure you’re getting the most efficient thermal transfer between your CPU and cooler plate, check out the many products we thoroughly tested to find the best thermal paste for your CPU. 

New Coolers Shown at Computex

We saw dozens of new coolers at Computex, and seemingly every new AIO cooler was sporting a screen of some kind. DeepCool, ADATA, Noctua, Hyte, and several other companies showed off new and upcoming coolers. Expect reviews of many new models in the coming months, some of which will almost certainly land on this page.

Quick List

Best AIO Coolers You Can Buy Today

Best 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler

Lian Li’s Galahad II Trinity Performance raises the bar for AIO Cooling. Every component has been upgraded, resulting in absolute cooling domination. The cooler installation is simple and easy, and it’s reasonably priced at only $169 USD. With results like this, I find it hard to recommend any other liquid cooler, making this the first CPU cooler I have ever awarded a 5-star rating. This is the best liquid cooler on the market right now, without question.

While cooling performance is absolutely amazing, thermals are only one part of the picture. How loudly the cooler runs is very important as well. In its default configuration, Lian Li’s GA II Trinity Performance runs loudly at 55.2 dBA. I’ve only tested a handful of coolers that reach this level of noise. 

Normally I would consider this a mark against the product, but Lian Li wisely included a built-in low-noise/high-performance toggle switch, allowing you to reduce maximum fan speeds and noise levels with the flip of a switch. Most coolers that support low-noise modes have reduced thermal performance when engaged. But I didn’t observe any difference in thermals between the two modes when tested on my i7-13700K. When set to the low noise mode, total noise output is reduced to 49.2 dBA, which is on par with MSI’s and DeepCool’s competing 360mm AIOs. 

Read: Lian Li Galahad II Performance Review

Best 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler Alternative

After installing and testing it, I found Cooler Master’s new MasterLiquid 360 Atmos especially impressive flagdhip AIO. It has an extremely low noise profile in most common workloads and provides among the best thermal performance I’ve seen from any 360mm cooler. 

The attention to detail is apparent in its design, and the rated 160,000 hour-plus lifespans for the fans and 210,000 hours for the pump, combined with a 5-year warranty, show that Cooler Master truly backs the quality of its cooler.

Read: Cooler Master Master Liquid 360 Atmos review

Best Budget 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler

Iceberg Thermal might not be the best-known brand in PC cooling. But its IceFLOE Oasis 360mm AIO is a great balance of performance, low noise, and price. If even two of those three criteria top your list of priorities, this cooler should be on your shortlist. Its temperatures and cooling abilities aren’t quite the best, but they’re not far off. And at 45.3 dBA at max noise levels, this cooler also isn’t the quietest out of the box (though again, it’s not far off the leaders here).

But when dialed into our noise-normalized 38.2 dBA (quiet, but still slightly audible to most people), the IceFLOE Oasis 360mm truly shines, delivering effectively the same watts cooled as the best performers in this benchmark: much pricier options from Lian Li and Silverstone. The IceFLOE is well worth considering for anyone after a quiet or budget-friendly 360mm AIO. If you’re after both, it’s arguably the best there is.

Read: Iceberg Thermal IceFLOE Oasis 240 and 360 Review

Best Multipurpose AIO Liquid Cooler

Silverstone’s IceMyst AIOs show that there’s still plenty of room for innovation in the CPU cooling market. Apart from doing a good general job at CPU cooling, this cooler lets you add multiple fans ($16 extra per fan) around the base of the CPU block and direct them over your VRMs, RAM, SSD, etc. This is a feature unmatched by any existing product on the market. And the IceMyst coolers also cost less than many high-end AIO cooler alternatives.

In our CPU cooling tests, the IceMyst AIOs (we tested both the 360 and 240mm models) performed very well, usually landing close to the best-performing coolers in terms of chip-chilling abilities. And when all coolers’ fans are set to the same low noise level of  38.2 dBA, Silverston’s IceMyst 360 performed the best of any cooler we’ve tested, handling 237 watts. The 240mm model also did well, handling 228W. 

My only complaint is that by default, the IceMyst’s included radiator fans run much louder than needed – but that’s easily fixed by implementing a custom fan curve. If fan noise bothers you, don’t worry too much because when set to run silently the 360mm IcyMyst provides the best noise normalized results I’ve seen from any cooler on the market.  

Read: Silverstone IceMyst 360 and 240mm AIO Review 

Best 420mm AIO Liquid Cooler

Corsair’s iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT AIO offers the best cooling performance we’ve tested yet with Intel’s i9-13900K, handling over 325W in our most intensive thermal tests. And unlike other coolers, the noise level of the H170i Elite is tied to the CPU coolant temp, resulting in quieter operation during most common tasks and the elimination of bursty fan behavior. The tradeoff is that we saw noisier operation under the kinds of sustained loads that we use for testing.

The Corsair iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT is one of the best coolers currently available in terms of performance and features. It’s also quite expensive at $310, but if you don’t mind going without the pretty 2.1-inch display, the company also sells an iCUE H170i Elite Capellix XT with the same radiator and pump for around $240.

That’s still no small amount of money for a cooler. But if your needs are extreme enough to warrant a 420 mm radiator, you can probably afford to spend a bit extra on keeping your powerful CPU as cool as it can be under load.

Read: Corsair iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT review 

Best 280mm AIO Cooler

Lian Li’s Galahad II LCD 280 shows that with the right design, you don’t need a 360mm AIO or a loud cooler to keep modern high-end CPUs from throttling. Its performance is amongst the best we’ve seen from any AIO, and its limited 280mm size means that it will fit in many cases where a 360mm model won’t. The included LCD screen is vibrant and adds eye-catching functionality to the cooler’s aesthetics.

At $229, the Galahad II LCD 280 is on the expensive end of the AIO spectrum. But if the LCD display isn’t your thing or you’re on a budget, the non-LCD versions of the Galahad II are available for $159.99 for the 360mm version and $119.99 for the 240mm model.

Read: Lian Li Galahad II LCD 280 Review

Best 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler

If you’re looking for a strong 240mm AIO, you can’t go wrong with Lian Li’s Galahad II Trinity 240mm. Our testing shows it’s the best-cooling AIO of its size on the market. It’s also quiet in most workloads, and it has a very reasonable price of only $119.99.

I never imagined that a 240mm AIO would have this level of cooling domination. Lian Li’s Galahad Trinity II Performance 240mm managed to sidle up to or outperform 360mm AIOs that were previously considered among the best available.

Read: Lian Li Galahad II Trinity Performance 240 Review 

Best 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler Alternative

After installing and testing it, I found Cooler Master’s new MasterLiquid 240 Atmos especially impressive. It’s clear the company has improved its flagship AIO in several key areas. Noise levels are low in most common workloads, and despite its smaller 240mm profile, the 240 Atmos is one of only a handful of AIOs I’ve tested that’s capable of keeping Intel’s i7-13700K under its peak temperature, even in the hottest of workloads. 

The attention to detail is also apparent in the packaging (which incorporates installation instructions) and RGB lighting. And Cooler Master backs the quality of this product with rated lifespans of over 160,000 hours for the fans and 210,000 hours for the pump, combined with a 5-year warranty.

Lian Li’s Galahad II Trinity Performance 240 cools just slightly better and sells for a little less. But Cooler Master’s Atmos includes an ARGB controller box for syncing your lighting with other components. If you can make use of this controller, which would cost about $20 on its own, the two coolers are effectively evenly priced.

Read: Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 Atmos Review

Best 120mm Closed-Loop Liquid Cooler

In most instances, you can get better performance with air cooler at a lower price than a small 120mm AIO. And an air cooler won’t add pump hum to your PC. But there are certain kinds of systems, whether they be extremely compact, or just with very little clearance above the CPU socket and no space to mount a larger 240mm radiator, where a small 120mm AIOs will be your best (or perhaps only) choice.

We tested four popular models of these compact liquid coolers. And while the Enermax LiqMaxFlo SR 120mm wasn’t quite the best performer when it comes to cooling, it offered the best balance of cooling ability, quiet noise levels, and price (selling for around $80 when we wrote this).

Enermax’s cooler also brings a unique feature in its block-mounted RGB fan, which adds a some glow, while also helping to circulate air around your VRMs and RAM. In very tight cases where you might have to use a 120mm AIO, the extra airflow in this area can be a very helpful feature.

Read our 120mm AIO roundup: Testing Be Quiet, Corsair, Cooler Master, and Enermax models 

Savings on the Best AIO CPU Coolers

New coolers, and likely new chipsets and CPUs, coming very soon

With new chipsets (and their corresponding CPUs) on the horizon, likely from both Intel and AMD, we are sure to see a slew of new motherboards at Computex 2024 in early June. The trade show is also very component-heavy, so we expect to see several new coolers to go along with these upcoming new platforms.

It will be interesting to see how the new silicon (and a new socket from Intel’s side) tax both existing AIOs and the new coolers that get announced in Taiwan. But for that, we’ll have to wait for the platforms to actually launch first. Until then, keep an eye out on our Computex 2024 coverage page to see all the new cooling hardware from Taipei, and so much more.

Savings on the Best AIO CPU Coolers

Whether you’re shopping for one of the products that made our best CPU coolers list or one that didn’t, you may find some savings by checking out our list of Newegg promo codes or Corsair coupon codes.

MORE: Best Air CPU Cooling

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