Top 3 CPU Coolers for Overclocking – Max Performance & Cooling Efficiency!

Choosing to overclock your CPU is a wonderful and brave journey to embark upon. However, without the right guidance, you may risk imminent failure and unsuccessful attempts at increasing your PC’s performance. Moreover, it is vital to ensure that the stability of your PC is not impacted and this is directly dependent on whether or not your CPU is overheating or thermal throttling after your overclocked settings are applied.

Speaking of the best CPU coolers available in the market, here are curated picks based on our expert knowledge and experience of building thousands of PC builds. This list will help you choose the right CPU cooler for overclocking purposes.

1. Corsair iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT 420mm CPU Liquid Cooler

Corsair’s iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT 420mm is one of the best CPU coolers you can purchase today. With a super-sized 420mm radiator, it is simply a monstrous all-in-one liquid cooler that demands a compatible case that can properly accommodate such a beast. Speaking of features, this AIO packs a beautiful IPS display to provide customization to the user. This cooler is said to handle 300W+ loads with ease. The fans used here are 3x 140mm Corsair ML RGB Elite magnetic levitation fans, designed for high-performance cooling and also support RGB through iCUE software. Choosing this 420mm AIO will give you the most headroom possible for overclocking purposes.

2. Lian Li Hydroshift LCD 360R AIO 360mm CPU Liquid Cooler

Lian Li’s Hydroshift LCD 360R is one of their newer offerings. This is a 360mm sized AIO liquid cooler with great performance for overclocking purposes thanks to enough cooling headroom. It can sustainably cool beyond 250W. Its features include a side-mounted design ensuring that cooling tubes are out of the way for a cleaner appearance. There are three included ARGB fans with classy Lian Li aesthetics. Plus, this also has an LCD, which is useful in viewing system statistics and allows for beautiful customization as per your needs.

3. Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360 Core II ARGB 360mm CPU Liquid Cooler

Coming to our last recommendation, this liquid cooler from Cooler Master does not cost much, making it very much possible to build your dream water cooled gaming PC capable of overclocking without breaking the bank. The MasterLiquid Core II is a recent release from Cooler Master with a new generation G9R dual chamber pump. The CPU block has an infinity mirror design providing mesmerizing looks for your PC.

Now that we have discussed these options, we’ll tell you more about various aspects of CPU coolers so you can make an informed decision amongst the listed options.

Picking an adequately powerful CPU cooler for overclocking requires careful consideration. We are here to guide you on how to choose the best CPU cooler for overclocking. A water-cooled gaming PC is recommended for this purpose. There are some solid air coolers available in the market as well, with particularly strong CPU cooling fan options on board.

But, overclocking is highly recommended to be performed on the best liquid-cooled gaming PCs; hence our product recommendations above only mentioned AIOs for overclocking as it may be unsafe to overclock on an air cooler due to their limited performance potential.

Overclocking your CPU voids its warranty, and as an enthusiast, you’ll have to accept this before moving forward. With that out of the way, here are a few tips and tricks to overclock your CPU successfully!

• First, prepare the necessary software required. It is recommended to use the BIOS for overclocking, but you can also use software in Windows, such as AMD Ryzen Master  or Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) for convenience and testing stable speeds.

• Put a stress test on your PC using software like AIDA64 or Prime95. Measure the available thermal headroom available at maximum load.

• Raise the CPU frequencies and target a higher all-core frequency for noticeable results.

• The maximum temperature we recommend to avoid running into any thermal throttling issues is 90C.

• After your overclock is done, ensure the CPU is not overheating by running an extended stress test in which you periodically check if the CPU’s average clocks went below the expected level.

• Ensure your water-cooled gaming PC is configured with the best airflow possible to keep everything as cool as possible.

We hope our guide helped you in analyzing the right CPU coolers for overclocking. You need to get an optimal liquid cooler that has enough cooling performance to give you headroom for overclocking your CPU. Once you have that ready, you can proceed to overclock your system safely as long as you don’t become overly ambitious when raising voltages and core clock frequencies. Make sure to test your system repeatedly after increasing the settings and only proceed further after stability is verified. With all this in mind, have fun, and we hope the final performance of your water-cooled gaming PC surprises you!