Best Heatsinks in 2022

If you're an avid PC builder, you know the importance of having a good heatsink. A heatsink is an essential component of any build, as it helps dissipate heat generated by the processor and other components. But how do you know which heatsink is the best?

The first thing you should do is determine what type of heatsink you need. There are two main types of heatsinks: air-cooled and liquid-cooled. Air-cooled heatsinks are the most common, and are typically less expensive than their liquid-cooled counterparts. Air-cooled heatsinks rely on airflow to dissipate heat, so it's important to make sure your build has good airflow. Liquid-cooled heatsinks are more expensive, but are more efficient at dissipating heat, making them ideal for higher-end builds.

Once you've narrowed down the type of heatsink you need, the next step is to research the various models available. It's important to read reviews from trusted sources and to compare the specifications and features of each model. Pay attention to the size and shape of the heatsink, as this will determine whether or not it will fit in your build. You should also look at the fan's noise level and airflow rating, as these will affect how well the heatsink performs.

Finally, it's a good idea to compare prices between different retailers. Prices can vary considerably, so you should shop around to get the best deal.

Finding the best heatsink for your build can take some time, but it's worth the effort to ensure your PC is running as efficiently and reliably as possible. With the right heatsink, you can enjoy worry-free gaming and computing for years to come.

1. ARCTIC MX-4 - Thermal Compound Paste For Coolers | Heat Sink Paste | Composed of Carbon Micro-particles | Easy to Apply | High Durability - 4 Grams

ARCTIC MX-4 - Thermal Compound Paste For Coolers | Heat Sink Paste | Composed of Carbon Micro-particles | Easy to Apply | High Durability - 4 Grams

Informations:

It ensures that heat produced by the CPU or GPU is effectively dispersed.

containing tiny carbon particles that result in a very high heat conductivity.

The MX-4 is incredibly simple to operate, especially for beginners, and has an excellent consistency.

The MX-4 doesn't degrade with time like thermal compounds made of silicon and metal.

Formula, the MX-4, ensures superior component heat dissipation and provides the stability required to drive your system to its limit.#

Review:

One of my older computers has been experiencing issues with overheating and frequently shutting down just because Windows was updating (again). I went to a nearby store and tried a less expensive paste, figuring that since it was an old laptop, it didn't require anything spectacular. Things didn't get better. With the MX-4, it appears that typical temperatures have decreased by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius, and under heavy load, by about 10 degrees. The new paste is easy to apply, and since there is no cure time, there is no need to second-guess whether you did it correctly the first time.Although the laptop still gets a bit warm (I assume the old fan isn't moving air as well as it should), it can now run at a CPU load of more than 24% without crashing, and in the two weeks since, I haven't experienced a heat-related system crash. I'm glad I got it but wish I had done it sooner.

2. Easycargo 20pcs Raspberry Pi Heatsink Kit Aluminum + Copper + 3M 8810 Thermal Conductive Adhesive Tape for Cooling Cooler Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi 3 B+

Easycargo 20pcs Raspberry Pi Heatsink Kit Aluminum + Copper + 3M 8810 Thermal Conductive Adhesive Tape for Cooling Cooler Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi 3 B+

Informations:

Backing for thermal conductive adhesive tape

Not included is a Raspberry Pi.

Compatibility with Raspberry Pi 4 B, 3 B , 3, 2, A, B, and B boards

includes 5 pieces of copper heatsink and 15 pieces of black anodized aluminium.

can be used in conjunction with various cooling devices for IC chips, MOSFET SCR, Southbridge, Northbridge, and VRAM.#

Review:

Okay, I'll confess that I've only had the heatsink installed for a short while. I've attached the sizable metal heatsink (green) to the Samsung 970 Evo M.2 drive's controller. I've discovered that an M.2 drive's NAND chips really prefer to be heated for peak performance, therefore applying a heatsink simply to the controller may be advantageous. Heatsinks made to perform this are hard to come by. These were the closest ones I could think of. The huge heatsinks here are only 14x14 mm, although the controller is roughly 16x16 mm, but I wanted to give it a try. I've performed a few drive benchmarks (CrystalDiskMark, UserBenchmark). Prior to installing the cooler, HwInfo64 reported maximum temperatures ("Drive Temperature 2") of about 90 C. Although it's quite hot, I didn't feel any significant throttling. I assume that only a portion of this particular temperature is taken into account while throttling. But when this tiny heatsink was used, the temperature never rose over 77 C. Given the price, size, and simplicity of usage, this improvement is almost astonishing. I strongly advise it if you're considering doing something similar (perhaps got the idea from Paul's Hardware, or somewhere else).Again, this is after less than a day of heatsink installation. I'll modify the review if things later turn out poorly for whatever reason.

3. M.2 2280 SSD heatsink, double-sided heat sink, matching thermal silicone pad for PCIE NVME M.2 SSD or SATA M.2 SSD

M.2 2280 SSD heatsink, double-sided heat sink, matching thermal silicone pad for PCIE NVME M.2 SSD or SATA M.2 SSD

Informations:

Review:

This heatsink was on time and in perfect condition. There are two thermal pads included for the front and rear of the drive, but there are no directions for where to place them. My 970 Pro runs six degrees cooler than my 970 Evo Plus, so it appears that I used the thicker pad on the side facing up (with the fins), but that could also be because the upper slot on my motherboard generates more heat because it is located directly between the RAM and the graphics card, whereas the bottom slot is away from everything and has plenty of room to breathe.I have an AsRock X99 Taichi motherboard. Only the lower M.2 slot can accommodate this heatsink because the top one is too close to the first PCIe slot. I personally blame AsRock for this awful placement because they left no area for a heatsink because they presumed there wouldn't be one there. If your motherboard has clearance concerns, be aware of them.Overall, I'm pleased with my purchase and would make another one.

4. Easycargo 6.5 W/m-k Thermal Paste Kit, High Performance Thermal Grease for Heatsink Interface CPU GPU (10-Pack)

Easycargo 6.5 W/m-k Thermal Paste Kit, High Performance Thermal Grease for Heatsink Interface CPU GPU (10-Pack)

Informations:

6.5 W/m-k thermal conductivity

One gram of high grade thermal paste or grease is included in each pack.

-30/280°C working temperature

thermal reactivity 0.0016 k-in/W

can be used to cool the contact between a heatsink and a CPU, GPU, or other IC chip, for example.#

Review:

I had a few projects I was working on, but this product took away my justifications.

5. Innovation Cooling Graphite Thermal Pad – Alternative to Thermal Paste/Grease (30 X 30mm)

Innovation Cooling Graphite Thermal Pad – Alternative to Thermal Paste/Grease (30 X 30mm)

Informations:

TOP TIER THERMAL PERFORMANCE - The thermal conductivity of the IC graphite pad is 35 W/m-k.

Extraordinary durability is a property of the dry solution used in this thermal pad. Instead of pumping or baking out like other thermal compounds, it won't.

ELIMINATE GUESSWORK - With the modular solution, you won't ever have to worry about using too much or too little thermal paste.

REUSABLE - Thermal paste will never need to be purchased again. With no performance loss, the graphite thermal pad can be utilised on numerous designs.

With a temperature operating range of -200C to 400C, UNMATCHED TEMPERATURE RANGE protects your CPU. RoHS compliant.#

Review:

Although I had my doubts at first, it actually does work.Even when not overclocked, my 7700k is known to run hot. I previously used Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste and a Corsair h100i v2 AIO water cooler. My idling temperature was always between 59 and 60 C. I would reach my maximum temperature when running Cinebench and the performance would suffer because of thermal throttling. The score on Cinebench was 884.So I took the case apart, used the ArctiClean dual solution set to remove all of the thermal paste, and then I installed this pad. Now, Cinebench peaks at 97 C, and the system idles at 45 C. The score was 953 cb rather than 884 cb since the CPU did not experience thermal throttling.Although I might have used too much or too little thermal paste, the pad just trivializes the situation and is reusable if you want to keep making adjustments.NOTE: After using the pad, I also delidded my 7700k to place liquid metal between the actual CPU and the IHS. As a result, my idle temperature decreased to 37 C and my Cinebench maximum temperature increased to 72 C, but neither change affected my Cinebench score because the throttling remained constant from the previous run. I could attempt some overclocking right now, but I'm not interested.I hope my experience is helpful, however going forward, I will only use these pads.

6. Innovation Cooling Graphite Thermal Pad – Alternative to Thermal Paste/Grease (40 X 40mm)

Innovation Cooling Graphite Thermal Pad – Alternative to Thermal Paste/Grease (40 X 40mm)

Informations:

ELIMINATE GUESSWORK - With the modular solution, you won't ever have to worry about using too much or too little thermal paste.

REUSABLE - Thermal paste will never need to be purchased again. With no performance loss, the graphite thermal pad can be utilized on numerous designs.

Extraordinary durability is a property of the dry solution used in this thermal pad. Instead of pumping or baking out like other thermal compounds, it won't.

With a temperature operating range of -200C to 400C, UNMATCHED TEMPERATURE RANGE protects your CPU. RoHS compliant.

TOP TIER THERMAL PERFORMANCE: The thermal conductivity of the IC graphite pad is 35 W/m-k.#

Review:

Although I had my doubts at first, it actually does work.Even when not overclocked, my 7700k is known to run hot. I previously used Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste and a Corsair h100i v2 AIO water cooler. My idling temperature was always between 59 and 60 C. I would reach my maximum temperature when running Cinebench and the performance would suffer because of thermal throttling. The score on Cinebench was 884.So I took the case apart, used the ArctiClean dual solution set to remove all of the thermal paste, and then I installed this pad. Now, Cinebench peaks at 97 C, and the system idles at 45 C. The score was 953 cb rather than 884 cb since the CPU did not experience thermal throttling.Although I might have used too much or too little thermal paste, the pad just trivializes the situation and is reusable if you want to keep making adjustments.NOTE: After using the pad, I also delidded my 7700k to place liquid metal between the actual CPU and the IHS. As a result, my idle temperature decreased to 37 C and my Cinebench maximum temperature increased to 72 C, but neither change affected my Cinebench score because the throttling remained constant from the previous run. I could attempt some overclocking right now, but I'm not interested.I hope my experience is helpful, however going forward, I will only use these pads.

7. Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Thermal Grease Paste - 1.0 Gram

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Thermal Grease Paste - 1.0 Gram

Informations:

TG-K-001-RSss

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Review:

I've always used Arctic Silver since, before today, I didn't know of any other brands.Simply put, Arctic Silver was more widely used, more reasonably priced, and always seemed superior to the stock paste that the cooling device manufacturer included with their devices. Then, after reading blogs with benchmarks and viewing dozens of video evaluations, I made the decision to test a brand that was a little more expensive but had excellent reviews.As a result, considering how many people have given Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut positive reviews, I believe it to be effective. When you're attempting to push your technology to its boundaries, if you can shave off 2-3 degrees C here and there by spending a little bit more on quality products, it all adds up to be better. I noticed that the temperatures on my CPU and now water cooled GPU dropped a few degrees C.This specific piece is probably suitable for three to four applications; I've used it for two so far, and I know I can squeeze at least one more pea-sized bead, possibly two. Since I never spread paste with a plastic applicator, I didn't use one.Packaging: A compact foil bag that is airtight is used to package the thermal paste, plastic applicator, and instructions. Imagine a smaller drink pouch.5 stars. The paste is functioning as intended. Yes, I'd tell a friend about it and buy it again.Pro: It seems to be working more effectively than stock paste and previously used Arctic Silver. (Wish a logo sticker was included)Con: The price is a little bit higher than that of the well-known Arctic Silver brand.

8. Intel i3/i5/i7 LGA115x CPU Heatsink and Fan E97379-003

Intel i3/i5/i7 LGA115x CPU Heatsink and Fan E97379-003

Informations:

Design E97379-003

Intel i3/i5/i7 compatibility

4-pin fan connector for pins

Heat Sink Style with Fan#

Review:

I needed this because my old fan's pegs were damaged and it was unable to be stored in my case.Even though I still don't love the mounting, I won't be too critical of it because I believe that most compatible and reasonably priced fans are designed that way.It works and remains properly in position once attached.

9. Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut-Thermal Paste/Thermal Conductivity: >12.5W/m-k Carbon Based High Performance, Heatsink Paste, Thermal Compound CPU for All Coolers, Thermal Interface Material - 1 Grams

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut-Thermal Paste/Thermal Conductivity: >12.5W/m-k Carbon Based High Performance, Heatsink Paste, Thermal Compound CPU for All Coolers, Thermal Interface Material - 1 Grams

Informations:

12.5 W/mk of thermal conductivity; Accessory items include a drying cloth, a spatula, and grease cleaning.

Service and Warranty: The warranty covers all of our goods. If you have any questions, do get in touch with us soon. Within 16 hours, we will swiftly respond to your inquiries.

provides the best heat transfer for larger-scale cooling systems, such as water-cooled systems.

Temperature: -200 °C to 350 °C; heat-resistant#

Review:

I recently bought a new laptop that had some serious heat throttling issues. After extensive investigation, it became clear that Kryonaut was the best non-liquid metal thermal paste on the market. This paste did perform a little bit better than two other kinds. Overall, I was able to keep the 9750H's clock speed consistent at 3.6 GHz while maintaining temperatures below 90 °C. Highly suggested.The inclusion of two fingered latex gloves in this box is a lovely touch. I was able to keep my fingertips off the motherboard and covered thanks to this. Undoubtedly kind and beneficial.
About Author

Matt Grabowsky

My name is Matt Grabowsky and for over two decades I have been observing technological and social trends, talking about them and explaining them in an accessible way.