Thermaltake Gravity i2 95W Intel LGA 1200/1156/1155/1150/1151 92mm CPU Cooler CLP0556-D, Compatible with Desktop

This is probably one of the few modern coolers you can buy new that still fits AM3 boards (though to be fair you can request kits for most Noctua coolers). I keep an old computer around and it desperately needed an upgrade from its old Hyper 212, so I grabbed this on sale since it seemed like a good value.It's packaged well and easy enough to install as long as you pay close attention to the instructions. Despite being quite thin, it keeps a Phenom II X4 965 at 1.50V below 60C while running prime95 small FFTs, which I find impressive. The fan is reasonably quiet at 1200rpm.This should be a perfectly fine cooler for a modern mid-range CPU, and also a quick and easy choice for an older system. As a side note, it barely fits in my case with a listed 160mm of heatsink clearance, so make sure you have at least that much.

If you need a great, basic cooler for your Intel chip that’s slightly better than the default cooler, look no further! Make sure you check to ensure your motherboard/processor are < 95W (so most of the relevant intel chips) and are one of the compatible sockets (again, most recent sockets) - once you do that, this CPU cooler is easy to install (install the backplate then screw in the 4 screws and plug in the fan header. Done.Couple of quick notes - first, this does use a backplate (unlike the push-pin based default included cooler) which means you’ll need to access the back of your motherboard. Not an issue if you’re installing a new motherboard in a new case, but if you’re replacing an existing cooler in a complete build, you may have to remove the motherboard if you don’t have access to the back of the board in the case. I actually like this as the install is much more secure that the push pins - and you know you have the right tension - but it is something to be aware of.Second, this does have pre-applied thermal paste which makes it easy to use. The thermal paste seems to be of reasonable quality and is well applied - I used it as is for the initial install, but ended up moving the chip to new board and having to use my own. Expected and no issues - but if you’re looking for a bit more performance, you might want to think about changing the paste. If you’re running stock clocks and not running at max all the time, the included paste should be just fine.Third and final consideration - this is not a cooler for overclockers. It can probably handle a minimal overclock - but it’s really designed to be cool and reasonably quiet at stock settings, voltages and the like and it does well at that.With those considerations out of the way, if you have a compatible chip and don’t mind the above caveats, this is a great cooler and highly recommend!

I've built about 80-100 computers in the last 30 years. I've used dozens of different air coolers over stock. With the exception of some high performance zalmans in Oc'd computers, I have to rate this as exceptional for the cost and performance of an air cooler. I mean I have put in $60-$80 air coolers for pretty typical computers that were only ok, heavy and loud. I did not over burden this cooler by overclocking. But seriously, $9, you wouldn't be looking here - but if your are in between - I'd buy it again with zero reservations. If you want even more quiet buy an adapter to reduce voltage for a couple dollars.I only bought this one because I bought a i9700k without a cooler and a Corsair H100i pro radiator cooler. The Corsair was not installing properly to the point I was ready to return it. I bought the Thermaltake cooler as a stop gap to get the computer running, loaded and then troubleshoot the Corsair.I think it took me only a few minutes from unboxing to booting. I was nervous and monitored temps in bios, they were in low 30's degC. I had the case open in my face and it was a bit louder (but not bad) than my silent case fans so I installed an adapter to drop voltage to 7V to lower noise while I was working on software. The temps never rose even with the reduced fan speed and now really quiet cooler.I can't say how impressed i am with a cooler that costs so little, is of high quality and is really pretty quiet. For me it was a stop gap until I go my Corsair water system running ( I did and well it's amazing but still) I'd never buy a stock intel cooler again. I did an i3 HTPC build not long ago and figured the stock would be good enough. Well, I'm pulling the stock cooler and replacing with this because I KNOW it will out perform it for the same sound level.

I bought this for the cheapest stream PC out of old parts my siblings and I had laying around. Well it so happens to be the only thing we didn't have was a cooler with the appropriate bracketry for the LGA 1155 socket. So I resorted for for this unit! For under $15 it keeps an overclocked I7 3770K at 4.4ghz 1.2 volts under 95C in 29C/90F ambient temps on a 30 minute Cinebench R23 run.It does exactly everything we need but now the CPU is now too slow for the load we're throwing at it LOL!Not the coolers fault at all in that case and of course is the reason I threw a mild overclock at it.Now what I don't like is how it has a 3 pin fan connector. The ASRock P67 Extreme does not have a way to control DC powered fans. So the fans are on full blast in the case. Spins around 2200 RPM and isn't great to be next to. Thankfully in my case I am using Windows remote desktop and running headless so the PC can be on the common area. Keeps my room nice and quiet!The mounting bracket is kind of a pain in the arse but now that I think about it, if you have a case that has an opening on the back of the motherboard tray, you can try setting up a pillow or small box behind the pc and laying it down. I did it with the PC standing upwards which wasn't enjoyable.Nonetheless for the money, I am happy and the PC stays cool during 6 plus hour streams.PC Specs:ASRock P67 ExtremeIntel i7 3770k 4.4Ghz @ 1.2v16gb DDR3 @ 1600MhzGTX 1060 6gbFractal Meshify C mid-tower case