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Hello
A Ryzen 2600X was offered to me bare. So I am looking for a cooling solution.

My preference is an inexpensive no-frills cooler roughly on par with what AMD themselves offer but without LEDs if at all possible (I dislike LED bling). The CPU will not be overclocked. Can you recommend any 'bog standard' reliable model that I should look at? Thanks for any suggestions.

I haven't used a 2600x so I don't have direct experience, but my first thought would be a Cooler Master Hyper 212 (an oldie but a goodie and not too expensive).

I also found this article after a little Googling. Seems they agree with me but also have some other suggestions.

https://www.bestgamingreviews.com/best-cpu-cooler-for-ryzen-5-2600-and-2600x/

I would go with the cooler master hyper 212 as suggested. cheap, cheerful, decent quality, and works, what more do you need?

If you are going to be overclocking then you will need something bigger.

Just make sure you buy new from a reputable vendor; used or "new old stock" may not include the AM4 mounting hardware.

If you're willing to spend a bit more the Noctua product line may be worth looking at too, but Cooler Master makes solid budget-friendly HSFs.

Arctic Cooling units are very solid choices and don't break the wallet. Noctua are top-tier but a but overpriced. There are several other HSF solutions that have nearly the same performance/noise ratio for quite a bit less $$$$.

Krogoth wrote:

Arctic Cooling units are very solid choices and don't break the wallet. Noctua are top-tier but a but overpriced. There are several other HSF solutions that have nearly the same performance/noise ratio for quite a bit less $$$$.

+1 for arctic cooling, great prices, good quality, good service.

Thanks guys for the suggestions.

I am a bit scared at the vertically-mounted heatpipe fans (and their prices). I'd ideally want a normal horizontal fan (ie. horizontal to the CPU) just like the stock fans AMD makes...and for less cost. I'd also hate to drop my box or jolt it with one of those vertical heatpipe fans attached to the cpu / mainboard: they just seem like an accident waiting to happen & definitely overkill for my needs, cooling wise and budget-wise.

I managed to source an AMD stock fan (Wraith Spire) & now I just need to wait for it to arrive. After looking at the models suggested here, I found a model far closer to the 'non-overclocking, no-frills' budget: the Cooler Master TX3 Evo https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/co ... r-tx3-evo/ - I also looked at the Thermaltake equivalent. Both were $32 (Australian)...which was OK, until I saw the AMD for about AUD$20.

I feel a lot more OK with just a regular HSF. Thanks for all the suggestions!

FWIW the stock fan will tend to be a bit noisier than the tower style coolers when the system is under high load. But at least now you have a list of other options if that turns out to be objectionable.

The larger/heavier heatpipe coolers mount with bolts going through the motherboard, so they are very secure. That said, dropping your system could still cause issues. (But that's likely to break other things even if you DON'T have a tower-style cooler...)

Ah, quieter would be nice I never thought of that. May get one big one for that reason alone. Thanks for the tip.

Since you already ordered the Wraith, you could wait and see if you're happy with that before ordering something else. One caveat though: The larger tower style coolers require access to the back side of the motherboard to install the support plate for the bolts. If your case does not have a cutout for access to the back side of the CPU area, swapping the HSF after you've put the system together may require unmounting the motherboard.

Thanks just brew it!
Removing the mainboard is no problem: the 2600x will be going into a brand new Asus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfrdy3wG_g0
I'm guessing that I'll get the cheaper Wraith Spire. I always find new info after I have bought something

stfan wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfrdy3wG_g0
I'm guessing that I'll get the cheaper Wraith Spire. I always find new info after I have bought something

That's why you ask the experts here first before letting your spendy fingers hit the submit button.

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X CPU that I bought early this year came with the Wraith Spire cooler in the box. For free, it does a good job. It's quieter and much more effective than the crappy coolers that Intel included with their CPUs (before they quit including any coolers), but when the CPU fan is running at full speed, I can hear it humming. It's not at all obnoxious, but it's not silent, either. I changed it only because I had another cooler lying unused in a spare parts bin.

I had an old Cooler Master Hyper 212 or 212 Plus (not the newer Evo) on a Socket-AM3 motherboard. I spent $6 on a new AM4 backplate, but with the 120mm fan mounted, it is a quieter and more effective cooler than the Wraith Spire. This is the cooling solution that I will leave installed when I move this PC out of my living room and give it to my mom.

If you're willing to spend $25 and you have the clearance in your case, a four heatpipe tower cooler with a 120mm fan like the Deepcool Gammaxx 400 v2 or Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo still does a good job for all but the largest desktop CPUs.

Since I borrowed the 3600X last month to stand in for a Ryzen 9 5900X that I plan to buy soon for my new gaming PC, it is currently running very cool and quiet under a $98 Liquid Freezer II 280. That's overkill, but it will handle a 5950X if I get one.

The bundled Wraith coolers seem to be about on par with a mid-range aftermarket HSF. I'd guesstimate the Wraith Prism is worth around $30 (retail). What exactly are the differences between the Spire and the Prism variants? I only have hands-on experience with the Prism.

The prism is a finned rectangle. The spire is a radially finned cylinder.
https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/cpu-cooler-solution
https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?PageSize=96 ... 28&Order=1

Ahh, OK. TBH I wouldn't pay $55 for a Wraith Prism. I don't think the noise levels under load are consistent with that price. But for a bundled stock HSF it's pretty decent.

All this discussion made me search YouTube for alternatives to the big names.

I found the Snowman brand out of China (Aliexpress). Plenty of other lesser-known brands making similar (or the same) designs too.

I wanted the larger (often reviewed) 120mm fan Snowman models but they all came with RGB fans (ugh), so I settled on another design without them. 6 copper pipes with a centre-mounted fan, with options for 1 or 2 extra fans (!) on the right and left side of the heatsink. Just a single fan for me, thanks. I would think that Snowman's side-mounted fan designs would be more effective but I'm expecting that the large mass of metal will still keep things a lot cooler and quieter, and I couldn't live with myself if I bought an RGB fan.

Price in the local Australian currency was just over AUD $30 delivered ($19.99 USD) plus tax, which I think is far more reasonable than paying the same price for a 3-heatpipe design in a local store from a more known name. I have no idea if the fan will last, but I think this is far better value than the other brands I looked at.

Now the long wait from China.

The machine has been built.

The AMD Wraith Spire is being used (the cheaper, now-selling 'no-copper' version). The fan noise can definitely use some quietening. Still it's nice to have a working machine I can use until the Snowman arrives. I never thought I'd be buying a big chunk of metal like the Snowman, but there you go. Thanks everyone for the push into big heatsink land.