The Intel Core i7 8700K is one of the best CPUs on the market for gaming, even in today’s market.
There are plenty of coolers on the market that work with the 8700K and picking one can that works with your motherboard be rather tricky.
If you are interested in picking the right cooler for your 8700K CPU, then you are in the right place. Here we are going to look into the best air cooler for i7 8700k that you should consider for your processor.
The Best Air Cooler for i7 8700k in 2020
1. Noctua NH-D15 – Best i7 8700k Air Cooler for Overclocking
Noctua is very well-known in the gaming space for making cooling solutions. The company not only makes great CPU coolers but other products like fans as well. The Noctua NH-D15 is meant to be a replacement for the D14. The cooler comes with 6 heat pipes and you also get 2 fans out of the box.
Our Pick
The Noctua NH-D15 is a very respectable cooler that can cool pretty much any CPU. The socket compatibility and the build quality is impressive indeed and you get 2 fans out of the box which is another plus point. If you need a reliable cooler that performs well then you need not look any further.
It can be used for a near-silent build or for overclocking your CPU. The included fans offer PWM support and come with adapters for automatic speed control. The cooler is relatively easy to install and supports all kinds of different sockets. You can use the cooler to cool pretty much any CPU on the market right now and not only the 8700K. So if you plan on changing your CPU down the line then you might still be able to use this cooler.
Pros
- Great cooling performance
- Impressive build quality
- Easy installation
- Get 2 fans out of the box
- Near silent operation
Cons
- Bulky
- Can interfere with RAM
2. be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 – Premium Cooler for Intel i7 8700k
Next on our list is the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU cooler. The cooler comes in a subtle Black color which will blend in well with the rest of your build. You get two silent wings fans and the front one has a funnel shape to increase air pressure. The fans are not audible and be quiet! Is known for making products that are optimized for silent operation.
Two Silent PWM Fans
be quiet! Is known for making products that deliver silent operation and the Dark Rock Pro 4 does not disappoint in that department. It is a bulky cooler so keep that in mind if you are interested in buying one. It is also a bit expensive compared to other options that are available in 2020.
The cooler has 7 heatpipes, so keeping the temperature of your CPU in check it not going to be an issue. The cooler also has airflow cutouts so that it does not interfere with the RAM. Installation is easy and you can install it from the top, which is not the case for all CPU air coolers.
Pros
- Subtle Black finish
- Very quiet
- Compatible with a lot of CPUs
Cons
- Expensive
- Fairly large
3. Scythe Mugen 5 – Budget Cooler for i7 8700k
The Scythe Mugen 5 is another option that you can look into for cooling your 8700K CPU. The cooler comes with a single fan out of the box but you can add an extra one on the other side as well. The cooler as an offset design so that it does not interfere with the RAM. The cooler can fit into pretty much any standard case.
Budget CPU Air Cooler
The Scythe Mugen 5 is great value for money. It provides decent cooling for the price and the offset design helps with the RAM. Mounting the CPU is not as easy as others but once it is on, it will do its job just fine. This might not be ideal for first-timers but if you have built a couple of PCs then you can go for it.
Socket compatibility is decent and you can use it with pretty much any CPU on the market right now. This cooler is a great option if you are interested in overclocking your CPU. It is also competitively priced as compared to other similar options that are available in 2020. The CPU cooler comes with thermal paste and a magnetic screwdriver in order to make the installation process easier.
Pros
- Impressive cooler performance
- Offset design
- Competitive price
- Comes with a screwdriver and thermal paste
Cons
- Mounting setup could be better
4. Noctua NH-L12S – Best Low-Profile Cooler
Next, we have the Noctua NH-L12S. This is a low profile CPU cooler that comes with a single 120mm fan that you can mount on top or at the bottom of the fins. The cooler might be small but it does not compromise on quality. It is thin and light and is ideal for small form-factor PCs such as ITX or HTPC systems.
Low-Profile CPU Cooler
This small cooler is a bit tricky to mount but the small size is ideal for smaller builds. If you are building at ITX PC then this is a cooler that we can recommend. It does a great job of keeping the temperature in check and the price is reasonable as well.
The fan makes little to no noise and you get an adapter that automatically controls the speed of the fan. The cooler comes with thermal paste and is easy to install. You get a 6-year warranty with the cooler.
Read also: Best Cooler for i7 7700K
Pros
- Impressive quality
- Low-profile
- Small
- Comes with screwdriver
Cons
- Mounting can be tricky
5. Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
Cooler Master has been in the cooling solutions business for a long time and the name of the company itself signifies that. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo has been on the market for a while now but that is not a bad thing. It means that the cooler has been tried and tested and has stood the test of time. You can’t say about a newly released product.
Cheap CPU Air Cooler
All things considered, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo is a great option to consider for your i7 8700K. The price is fair and the performance is amazing. If you are looking for a cooler but are not interested in spending a lot of money then this is a great option to consider.
The tower-style air cooler is large but it is not wide, like other coolers that are on the market. It comes with a single fan out of the box but you can add a second one on the other side if you want. The cooler has 4 copper heat pipes to dissipate heat from your CPU. It is more than enough for your 8700K and can be used for overclocking as well.
The CPU cooler is compatible with pretty much any socket type on the market right now, so if you plan on upgrading to a newer CPU then you might be able to use the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo with it. This is a very popular cooler and has been reviewed by enthusiasts and PC builders. All of them will tell you positive things about this cooling solution.
Pros
- Impressive cooling performance even with stock fan
- Ideal airflow
- An optional second fan can be mounted
- Relatively inexpensive
Cons
- Thermal paste is not pre-applied
- Mounting requires some attention
What you Should Look for in Air Coolers
When you are in the market for a new CPU cooler, there are a couple of things that you need to keep in mind. Here are some factors that you should consider when buying your new CPU cooler
TDP
This is a common term that you will hear when reading about CPU and CPU coolers. The TDP of a CPU cooler is how much heat it can dissipate. The goal of the CPU cooler is to dissipate heat and keep the CPU cool. With that in mind, a higher TDP is better but that is not all that you need to look at when buying a CPU cooler.
Sound
Sound can be a major concern when dealing with air coolers. Air coolers have fans that need to ramp up in order to dissipate heat and that is why they can make some noise. Some premium coolers have custom fans that are optimized for silence while other coolers have fans that are optimized for airflow.
Size
Size is another factor that you need to keep in mind. If you have an ATX case then you can fix pretty much any air cooler inside it but you need to check for RAM clearance. Often times, a CPU cooler is so bulky that it interferes with your RAM.
Fans
Coolers can support multiple fans in most cases but some only support one. Other than that, some coolers have smaller fans while others have larger ones. A smaller fan needs to ramp up in order to dissipate heat and that can create a lot of noise. This is something that you should keep in mind if you are going with a smaller cooler.
Heat Pipes
The heat pipes of a CPU cooler are responsible for moving the heat from the CPU to the fins of the cooler. The more heat pipes a cooler has more heat it can dissipate. This means that more is better in this case. That is the general idea here but that might not always the case.
Socket Compatibility
Before you buy a CPU cooler you need to check whether or not it is compatible with your CPU. The same generation of CPUs will have the same socket type and you can use the same cooler with it. CPU coolers do support numerous socket types and modern coolers support pretty much any CPUs on the market right now but checking for compatibility is still something that we recommend, to be on the safe side.
AMD and Intel have different socket types but a modern cooler will support both AMD and Intel CPUs and you might get different brackets for mounting your CPU on different socket types.
Conclusion
There are plenty of great options out there when it comes to getting an air cooler for the Intel i7 8700K. This is a very popular CPU, even in today’s standards and that is why there are plenty of cooling solutions for the chip.
We recommend that you check compatibility before buying a CPU cooler but rest assured that the CPU coolers that we have mentioned on this list work just fine with the Intel 8700K.
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