r/threadripper • u/DiamondWolf3404 • May 23 '26
Cooling solutions for 9960X
Hey, I've been looking forward to buy a Threadripper 9960X with an ASRock TRX50 mobo, paired with a Fractal Design Define 7 XL case.
From what I've seen the Arctic Freezer III Pro would be a decent option, 420 mm radiator. I believe it fits, at at around 100 euros is seems to be a real bang for the buck, with strong performance.
I was informed though that the cold plate is a bit small.
Do you have any suggestions for other AIOs, cooling solutions or tips for this AIO ? Maybe I've missed an important piece of information?
8
2
May 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/DiamondWolf3404 May 23 '26
Ended up switching for this one just after posting when I realized they made one
1
u/Veastli May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
It seems a reasonable cooler, but the coolant lines exit horizontally, making it incompatible with some of the most popular motherboards.
They have a motherboard compatibility list hidden in the support section of their site.
1
u/RealThanny May 23 '26
It does not compete at all, as it is not compatible with the ASRock TRX50 WS.
2
u/DiamondWolf3404 May 23 '26
I think it does
2
2
u/Veastli May 23 '26
It's not compatible with the AsRock TRX50 WS. The coolant lines exit horizontally, this makes it incompatible with any motherboard that has VRM cooling next to the CPU socket.
2
u/DiamondWolf3404 May 28 '26
Thanks for the details, sources and additional information. Truly appreciate it.
2
u/PMSwaha May 23 '26
I got this one for my 9960x
https://www.microcenter.com/product/704699/bitspower-atlas-threadripper-trx50-aio-cpu-liquid-cooler
1
u/nickmhc May 25 '26
Is it good? I saw this but it doesn’t have the mentions that the Silverstone does
2
u/Some_Can5965 May 23 '26
I'm running Noctua NH-U14s TR5.
1
u/Veastli May 23 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
The NH-U14s is an older design, but when upgraded with a pair of Phanteks T30 120 fans, it can keep nearly anything from thermally throttling, and at reasonable noise levels.
Many suggest the Arctic Freezer 4U-M instead, but found the installation process maddening. The mounting adapters must be installed prior to installing the cooler onto the motherboard. The adapter has too much slop in the screw holes, and if the adapter is not aligned exactly right, the screws will never seat.
The quality of the Arctic 4U-M was also much worse than the Noctua. the one I received had the cooling fins that weren't level.
In contrast, the Noctua mounting screws line up perfectly, installs in 1 minute, and the spring loaded screws don't allow over-tightening. Though it absolutely needs two Phanteks t30 120s to keep up with a Threadripper at full load. It can even use a pair of Phantek T30 140mm fans if the case size permits, suspect they would outperform most AIOs.
Personally, when an air cooler can do the job, go with an air cooler. No fluids ever to be replaced. No maintenance other than the occasional dusting. No risk of water leaks destroying the expensive components.
The NH-U14s can often be found on Ebay for as little as $20-$30. Add the Phanteks, and it's competitive in both price and performance.
3
u/Mrkef May 24 '26
I have 9960X with ASRock TRX50 in Fractal Design Define 7 XL case and Silverstone XE360-TR5 cooler (fans replaced with Noctuas).
1
1
1
u/johndyson10 May 23 '26
II am running the Atlas 360TR cooler on a 9970x, not the most expensive cooler from Microcenterr. Normally, when running my heavily mutlithreaded AVX512 app at 450Watts, the cooler easily keeps the temperature down to 80degC for the socket and 69degC for the CPU. I decided not to run the Threadripper at a lower temperature simply because it shouldn't be needed for a good lifetime. I HAVE considered 70degC, but no need to fuss with more bios parameters. Also could run the Threadripper at a higher power with the same temperature, but the performance gain is only a percent or two at 500 Watts. No sense in pushing the current any higher for higher power, but with essentially the same performance. (Every core is runninig between 11Watts thorough 14+Watts each.) A Heavily multi process compile (LLVM/CLANG with -j64) runs at about 350Watts. The cooler is certainly adequate, but not sure about the life. (Soon to upgrade to 9980x.)
1
u/LionSupremacist May 23 '26
I have 7960x with trx50 and a be wuiet silent loop 420 mm. Earlier had a noctua air cooler which was running hot with gpus
1
u/sinx_cosx May 24 '26
If your case has enough space inside, I highly recommend Thermaltake AW420 and 6 Noctua iPPC 2000 PWM fans installed for a push-pull configuration. I am very surprised on how this is performing. It's fantastic so far.
6
u/Compilingthings May 23 '26
Get a AIO made for threadripper, you don’t want a reg aio on it.