Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE $35.90

Update -

Not so sure about this cooler.

Stock settings 5900x, CPU was creeping upwards of 90c just from switching between maps on BF1! BF1 of all games. Wtf?

It's mounted nice and snug on my CPU - both fans working, grain sized thermal paste before mounting cooler. Fans set to 75% speed during idle - idles fine around 35c still, set to 100% once I hit 65c.

Have four 120mm fans in my case and my GPU temps are solid.

It's barely 70F in my room - not sure what's going on.
 
Eshelmen said:
Stock settings 5900x, grain sized thermal paste
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needs more than that. this is how i paste 5000 series chips
1661717557262.png
 
Keep up posted. Mine is still sitting in the box awaiting my procrastinating ass to put the Intel box together. Although, mine won't be sitting on a 105w CPU but a 65w one.
 
pendragon1 said:
needs more than that. this is how i paste 5000 series chips
View attachment 504742
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Bahhhhh
I'll try it tomorrow - right now I lowered my voltage from default 1.35 to 1.275v and 4.6ghz all cores and it already seems to have worked wonders.

DogsofJune said:
Keep up posted. Mine is still sitting in the box awaiting my procrastinating ass to put the Intel box together. Although, mine won't be sitting on a 105w CPU but a 65w one.
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Will do - so far so good on lowering my voltage - mind you, I haven't had to do this with any other cooler.
will add more paste tomorrow, check fans again - maybe a reposition is needed? Other member said whining wasn't so bad, but mine are kind of a bit too obnoxious, could be hitting something. Who knows.
 
crazycrave said:
I used the whole tube that came with it, took a paper card and spread it over the whole cpu nice and even, as to be more of a paste and not something like that Silver TM5, working great on my 5600x.
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What happened to the "Don't put much more than X" or "you don't need more than Y" days? I thought more thermal paste reduces dissipation. Is the rice sized droplet no longer recommended for any cpu install these days?
 
A grain of rice alone did not seem adequate for mine either. I followed up by spreading a thin film over the IHS and the heatsink, then an additional grain of rice sized dab in the middle.

Small dab in the center of IHS is fine when the die is centered under the IHS, but with Ryzen 5000 series it's a little different:
1661800735125.png

(amazing photo credits to Fritzchens Fritz)
 
Eshelmen said:
What happened to the "Don't put much more than X" or "you don't need more than Y" days? I thought more thermal paste reduces dissipation. Is the rice sized droplet no longer recommended for any cpu install these days?
Click to expand...

Back in the Core 2 Duo days I used the pea sized method. Definitely worked just fine for that size of IHS. Heck even back then I used the little spatula some TIM companies would send to spread it out evenly.

With the size of the IHS these days your better off getting the TIM in different parts of the IHS and then using pressure to spread it out. Pea size can still work, but I have had much better luck either spreading it prior to putting the cooler on applying it like pendragon1 suggested.
 
Eshelmen said:
What happened to the "Don't put much more than X" or "you don't need more than Y" days? I thought more thermal paste reduces dissipation. Is the rice sized droplet no longer recommended for any cpu install these days?
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there is no such thing as too much with an ihs, it will just squish out the excess. there is such a thing as too little where its not matting the surfaces correctly.
 
bought the argb for $39. ehh ill try it out, my 280mm nzxt aio in my daw/video editing pc is too loud, 360mm aio nzxt on my gaming pc is super quiet in comparison.
 
Just seeing someone like Corsair pre - apply their Tim to their own AIO cold plate is enough clue for me on how it should look.
 
Eshelmen said:
Okay - installed mine tonight -

Jesus this thing is massive - lol
Had just enough depth to fit it.
Compared to an AIO - this thing is quiet AF. 5900x idling between 32 and 35c -
Interestingly, my GPU has seemed to drop a couple of degrees during idle.

Great deal. Thank you all.

Update - the fans that come with the cooler are kind of whiney.

Think I'll put another set in there to keep it all quiet.
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What was your previous AIO?
 
gawkgawk said:
bought the argb for $39. ehh ill try it out, my 280mm nzxt aio in my daw/video editing pc is too loud, 360mm aio nzxt on my gaming pc is super quiet in comparison.
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I wonder how many have the Rad upside down on a front panel or rear, the lines (piping) always go's on bottom and top of rad tank above cpu pump, this is where all air with coolant lose will go and stay.

Leo, still doing it wrong, he could turn the computer upside down to correct it.

 
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Sry, forgot to update the thread with pa120se fan noise findings. There's no difference that I can tell between the pa120 and se fans. Both fans are quiet until I cranked them up above 55-60%. The noisemakers in this case are the new 6800xt fans. They have an aggravating low whine/buzz at all ranges. Fortunately they stay off most of the time. Disappointing in a brand new card but the heatsink is gone in a few weeks, so no biggie.
 
hititnquitit said:
Sry, forgot to update the thread with pa120se fan noise findings. There's no difference that I can tell between the pa120 and se fans. Both fans are quiet until I cranked them up above 55-60%. The noisemakers in this case are the new 6800xt fans. They have an aggravating low whine/buzz at all ranges. Fortunately they stay off most of the time. Disappointing in a brand new card but the heatsink is gone in a few weeks, so no biggie.
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what brand is it?
 
crazycrave said:
I wonder how many have the Rad upside down on a front panel or rear, the lines (piping) always go's on bottom and top of rad tank above cpu pump, this is where all air with coolant lose will go and stay.

Leo, still doing it wrong, he could turn the computer upside down to correct it.

Click to expand...

I have everything installed correctly. the 280mm is also top mounted. going to install this HSF while waiting for RMA.
 
Eshelmen said:
Appreciate the update. Been out of the loop. Thanks guys.
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I would be interested in you pulling it off and seeing the spread pattern of the paste to determine if it is infact an even spread or if there is a mounting issue. Not saying you did anything wrong but curious. No new paste would be needed as it is so new.
 
1662414040876.png


Here is my 2 minute MS snip tool attempt at showing the fan differences between the Peerless Assassin and Peerless Assassin SE. Left is the standard PA and right is the PASE. I think TR calls the black fan 'Reverse'. The fins are opposite the PA blades. Flow is the same, meaning it goes the typical way of fan blade side = intake, which means the PASE fans must spin clockwise - which they do. Most case fans I've used (and as an example all the other fans in my case - 2x Cougar, 2xArtic, 1xNoctua) all spin CCW.

I don't have a standard PA to compare but I'm betting they spin the typical CCW direction.

I find them to be a little bit noisier than I like at 1500 RPM, but to be fair I consider a lot of fans (even my favorite pricey noctua's) to be a little noisy at 1500 RPM. The Noctuas are a little quieter though, so eventually when I stop being lazy I'll try swapping in my pair of Noctua NF-A15s if they'll fit and see what happens.

Fans noise is so subjective so to help give an idea of my personal taste I consider 900-1300 RPM the sweet spot for noise vs flow. Above 1500 and you hear even the best of fans, IMO...

**edit corrected
 
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maro said:
View attachment 507108

Here is my 2 minute MS snip tool attempt at showing the fan differences between the Peerless Assassin and Peerless Assassin SE. Left is the standard PA and right is the PASE. I think TR calls the grey fan 'Reverse'. The fins are opposite the PASE blades. Flow is the same, meaning it goes the typical way of fan blade side = intake, which means the PASE fans must spin clockwise - which they do. Most case fans I've used (and as an example all the other fans in my case - 2x Cougar, 2xArtic, 1xNoctua) all spin CCW.

I don't have a standard PA to compare but I'm betting they spin the typical CCW direction.

I find them to be a little bit noisier than I like at 1500 RPM, but to be fair I consider a lot of fans (even my favorite pricey noctua's) to be a little noisy at 1500 RPM. The Noctuas are a little quieter though, so eventually when I stop being lazy I'll try swapping in my pair of Noctua NF-A15s if they'll fit and see what happens.

Fans noise is so subjective so to help give an idea of my personal taste I consider 900-1300 RPM the sweet spot for noise vs flow. Above 1500 and you hear even the best of fans, IMO...
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Well done, I wasn't able to see the difference in them until you pointed it out! I guess I was too busy trying to keep those fiddlyass clips on long enough to get the fans attached, bleh. Now I finally know what the Thermalright seller meant.
 
funkydmunky said:
I would be interested in you pulling it off and seeing the spread pattern of the paste to determine if it is infact an even spread or if there is a mounting issue. Not saying you did anything wrong but curious. No new paste would be needed as it is so new.
Click to expand...

Soooo yeah - you were all right.
I pulled off the heatsink and this is what was left behind - pathetic!
PXL_20220913_023705739.jpg
PXL_20220913_023710248.jpg

I ended up making a H symbol and spread the grease over evenly and WOW - idles are 32c - cinebench barely hit 55c at stock settings


I retract my statement about not being sure about this cooler. It was 100% user error. :( Now I'm more than sure my AIO wasn't the issue either - I used the same pea sized in the middle and didn't spread evenly beforehand either.
Oh well - I have two good coolers now.

Thanks all.
 
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Eshelmen said:
Soooo yeah - you were all right.
I pulled off the heatsink and this is what was left behind - pathetic!
View attachment 509618View attachment 509619
I ended up making a H symbol and spread the grease over evenly and WOW - idles are 32c - cinebench barely hit 55c at stock settings


I retract my statement about not being sure about this cooler. It was 100% user error. :( Now I'm more than sure my AIO wasn't the issue either - I used the same pea sized in the middle and didn't spread evenly beforehand either.
Oh well - I have two good coolers now.

Thanks all.
Click to expand...
Pea size method is out dated. IHS are to big on current CPUs to be enough. I always sided in the heavy side.
 
Eshelmen said:
Soooo yeah - you were all right.
I pulled off the heatsink and this is what was left behind - pathetic!
View attachment 509618View attachment 509619
I ended up making a H symbol and spread the grease over evenly and WOW - idles are 32c - cinebench barely hit 55c at stock settings


I retract my statement about not being sure about this cooler. It was 100% user error. :( Now I'm more than sure my AIO wasn't the issue either - I used the same pea sized in the middle and didn't spread evenly beforehand either.
Oh well - I have two good coolers now.

Thanks all.
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Good to hear. I always encourage a check/re-seat of the HS when there is abnormal temps. Sometimes the seating just goes wrong.
A mechanic friend of mine (RIP Rick) once told me how to mount a tire. Always do opposing bolts (diagonal across) then the other diagonal. None tight yet. Then slowly go and tighten each a bit rotating until all done. Same for a HS imo. So many crank the first HS mount all the way on then continue to the next bolt. This can lead to a really uneven mounting and a lack of thermal paste spread.
Not saying that was the issue but just a word to the wise.
 
Ended up getting one of these for a NAS with a 11600k that I am building. So far so Good. Had solid contact after mounting it.
 
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I put a Peerless Assassin 120 on my i7-12700K this is basically my own results with this cooler... it is "fine" I suppose.. do bear in mind that it is rather warm here again with the house being 26.6C the max temp was while running Cinebench R23..... I found the current mounting hardware for LGA1700 "annoying"... but manageable. Maybe it was just me but nothing felt like it was screwing in right when I tried installing the cooler ... had to fiddle with it awhile before I was pretty sure it was right. My PC case isn't known for it's great airflow (NZXT H630)... whatever 20 some away from thermal throttle... close enough.

1664249807821.png
 
So far since adding more paste - this cooler has been great.
Idles in the mid to high 30s if my ac isn't on
Gaming it stays anywhere from 55 to 63
Cinebench roughly 68.

very happy so far.


Slightly off topic - but does anyone know how to keep afterburner core temps from moving on the taskbar? Every time I restart my comp, there's at least one that is moved around...

Should look like this -
A5t4MeG.png


But ends up looking like this -
YNXyiEy.png
 
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Eshelmen said:
So far since adding more paste - this cooler has been great.
Idles in the mid to high 30s if my ac isn't on
Gaming it stays anywhere from 55 to 63
Cinebench roughly 68.

very happy so far.


Slightly off topic - but does anyone know how to keep afterburner core temps from moving on the taskbar? Every time I restart my comp, there's at least one that is moved around...

Should look like this -
View attachment 514099

But ends up looking like this -
View attachment 514100
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Try keeping the ab icon in the task bar. I believe it keeps one temp reading with it by default.
 
Must be said that as the great performance of this cooler is, it is budget and when one is designing for multi-core high output CPU's this is not a magical patch. That said for "gamers" 8 cores, it is quite the bargain for sure!
 
Here are ten passes, 61c was about it @ around 1250 cpu fan speed set to PWR , system 3 fan is 4 x 120mm set to PWR in the Coolmaster Box NR 400
Score you see is without Re Live recording.

 
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