Best 120mm AIO Liquid Coolers You Can Buy Today

So, you’ve chosen the major components of your custom PC. You picked the motherboard, CPU, GPU, maybe even a power supply. And you decided on a case. Now you stumble onto heat regulation. There are all sorts of terms, AIO, Liquid coolers, and choices to make about sizes and fans.

Don’t be overwhelmed. We’re here to help.

All In One (AIO) coolers are compact liquid coolers that provide better thermal stability than air coolers. At times, it is even a better option for efficiency. They also don’t ask for the high prices custom liquid loops demand and are easier to set up by yourself. The 120 mm form factor is the smallest standard size, best suited if you have a compact PC case.

There is a range of options available in the market. Some have better aesthetics while others focus on performance or minimizing noise. Read on to find which 120 mm AIO cooler is the best for you.

Before You Jump In

First, let’s get back to the basics.

A cooling system is necessary to reduce the temperature of your internals, obviously. Higher temperature impacts the health of components is uncomfortable, and the big one: causes throttling. Your CPU and GPU generate heat. Thermal throttling protects the chips from harm, decreasing performance after a certain temperature threshold is crossed. This limit depends on the component; for example, the RTX 2080 is said to have a max temp of 88C, according to NVIDIA. A rule-of-thumb is to stay below 80 degrees.

There are different cooling solutions, as you might’ve heard.

• Air coolers are simple and perform well in normal circumstances, i.e., spacious cases and light to medium loads. They are easy to maintain and are quite cost-effective. Your spacing needs to be proper, however, and they can often be noisy.
• AIOs have more parts and complexity. They are also pricier in general. If one fails, your option in most cases is to replace it wholly. They fare better in smaller spaces, are more stable thermally, and have a likable aesthetic.
• Custom liquid setups are the premium market. They perform exceptionally, allowing insane overclocking. When done well, they look classy. However, the downside is the cost, both of your money and your time. Regular maintenance will be necessary, and you’ll need to get your hands dirty.

So, if you want to go with the mid-market AIOs, there are a few things you should be aware of.

• The most significant bits are the radiator, fan, and pump.
• Before even reading any reviews, you need to check the size of your case and the wattages. A great AIO is useless if it doesn’t meet the clearances of your casing.
• Merely buying a cooler will not be the end-all. You will need to place it well in your layout.
• 120 mm is the smallest commonly available size, able to fit even cramped mini-ITX cases.
• The fundamental trade-off is between temperature and noise. High static pressure and fan RPM will reduce the temperature, but be quite noisy. And vice versa.

At a Glance – 120 mm Square-off

Preview

Product name

Specs

 

Overall Best in Class

NZXT Kraken M22

• Radiatior Dimensions: 120 x 152 x 27 mm
• Fan Dimension:: 120 x 120 x 25 mm
• Fan Noise Level (max):: 36 dBA
• Fan Speed (max):: 2,000 +/- 300RPM
• Fan Static Pressure:: 2.93mm-H2O

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RGB For Cheap

Corsair Hydro H60

• Radiatior Dimensions: 120 x 152 x 27 mm
• Fan Dimension:: 120 x 120 x 25 mm
• Fan Noise Level (max):: 30.85 dBA
• Fan Speed (max):: 2000 RPM
• Fan Static Pressure:: 2.36 mm-H2O

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Best Silent AIO Cooler

Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML120L

• Radiatior Dimensions: 157 x 119.6 x 27 mm
• Fan Dimension:: 120 x 120 x 25 mm
• Fan Noise Level (max):: ~30 dBA
• Fan Speed (max):: 2000 ± 10% RPM
• Fan Static Pressure:: 2.34 mmH2O

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Best Budget 120 mm AIO

EVGA CLC 120

• Radiatior Dimensions:156 x 122 x 28 mm
• Fan Dimension:: 120 x 120 x 25 mm
• Fan Noise Level (max):: 32.1 dBA
• Fan Speed (max):: 1800 +/- 10% RPM
• Fan Static Pressure:: 2.13 mm-H20

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Overall Best in Class

NZXT Kraken M22

NZXT is a company that sells well-built, sleek products. And the Kraken M22 is no exception. It is pricey compared to the rest of this list at a hundred dollars but does the job nicely. And hey, they no longer seem to be collecting your data as much!

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Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML120L

RGB For Cheap

Despite its frankly ridiculous name, the ML120L ticks almost all boxes. It performs okay, has a reasonable price of $70, and has RGB to complete your hyped-up setup. Just don’t expect it to keep up when you overclock.

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Corsair Hydro H60

Best Silent AIO Cooler

Corsair’s a big brand, for a good reason. Among their numerous Hydro offerings, we recommend Hydro H60 for price-performance balance. At around the $80 mark, you get a single fan cooler with great software control. While nowhere close to shabby, it’s not high in the design department. If you don’t have a transparent case or just don’t care, this might be for you.

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EVGA CLC 120

Best Budget 120 mm AIO

This one’s a catch, at just around $64 currently. It even competes with the prices of air coolers without sacrificing capability. However, you’ll need to do some tinkering and DIY upgrades to get the most out of it.

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Glossary and FAQs

Confused by some of the terms we used above? Have more questions? Here’s the answers to all your questions.

• Radiator: A radiator is similar to a heat sink but bigger. Put simply, it is a device that sheds heat into its environment. In contrast to a heat sink, it has some sort of fluid or coolant within thin tubes. Poorly built radiators may start to leak, which is a safety concern.
• Fan: An AIO fan is the same as a general cooling/computer fan. It focuses not just on optimizing but also on pushing air through. It uses electricity to actively draw cooler air from outside a case and expel warm air. It is characterized by static pressure and RPM. Depending on the build, it can be silent or noisy. Companies like to put lighting on it, sometimes.
• Static Pressure: Static pressure is a measure of how much air a fan can push through. Basically, it is how much torque the fan can handle, since it needs to blow through the radiator in AIO cases.
• RPM: Revolutions Per Minute indicates how fast a fan can spin. Higher RPMs mean noisier fans, but better airflow. CPU fans come at around 1000-2000 RPM.
• Pump: The pump is attached to the heat source (CPU), from which it takes heat away into the water. The pump then sends this hot water to the radiator via tubing. If your radiator leaks, then its a concern. If your pump fails, however, it becomes a hazard. Just think of hot water spilling over your lovely motherboard. You don’t want that, right?
• Tubing: As you might have gathered, tubing is the part that connects the pump and the radiator. AIOs have somewhat flexible tubing, to allow for fitting. But don’t bend them too much, or the flow will not be smooth.

Do I need to/Should I refill my AIO?

No. Most AIO coolers cannot be serviced. Period. Moreover, they are designed to be replaced. Companies make them so that the fluid doesn’t need to be refilled for its useful life.

Is AIO safe?

Yes. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be sold, right? The nasty problems, pump failure, and coolant leaking are practically guaranteed to never happen. You might run into fan problems or mounting problems occasionally, though.

Is 120mm right for me?

Maybe. This highly depends on your case and the space you have inside it. If you have space, going for 240mm is often worthwhile, while going 360mm has diminishing returns. If you have a small setup and don’t want custom liquid solutions, then 120mm might be your only option.

Does placement matter?

Yes. An AC placed on the trunk of a car would be silly, wouldn’t it?

Where do I put my AIO, then?

Depends. Not all case layouts are the same. You can find plenty of videos regarding AIO installation on YouTube, such as this.

Conclusion

So, there you go—a guide to the best All-In-One, smallest form factor products on the market. Your choice will depend on what is most important to you: silence, cooling, looks, or price. Take care of your PC’s airflow and temperature, and it will bless you with high framerates. If you are going to overclock, you better have an excellent cooling solution ready.

Have any questions, product rants, or recommendations regarding 120mm AIO coolers? Let us know in the comments section. Share this article with your friends if it helped you on the road to building your dream PC.