When I wrote my review of Arctic’s Freezer 36, I was inundated with comments telling me to test the Thermalright Peerless Assassin. Subsequently, two of my colleagues recommended the very same cooler as one of their favourite purchases in recent years. So, I bought one, and in this review I’ll cover why my colleagues, and the internet at large, are correct. This thing rules.
I purchased the Peerless Assassin 120 SE V2, a version of the cooler with six heatpipes, for £26. It’s currently $33 on Amazon US. Thermalright has around 40,000 variants of any one cooler, all with names using a combination of around ten words, and spanning nine pages on its website. I opted for one of the cheapest available at the time, but if you wanted something prettier, there are many more to choose from.
It arrived in a nondescript brown cardboard box, which slightly tempered my expectations for the cooler within. Though I shouldn’t have judge a cooler by its box here; it’s a mighty impressive unit once you remove it from the packaging. It’s much larger than the other budget options I’ve reviewed recently, including the Arctic Freezer 36 and Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro.
It’s a dual-tower cooler, one more than most in this price range, and comes with two 120 mm fans. These are basic units with a not-so-basic name, TL-C12C-X28 V2, and use a fluid dynamic bearing (FDB).
Peerless Assassin 120 SE specs
(Image credit: Future)
Type: Dual-towerDimensions: 125 x 135 x 155 mmHeatpipes: 6 x 6 mmCompatibility: LGA1700/1150/1151/1200/1851 | AM4/AM5Fans: 2x TL-C12C-X28 V2 120 mmPrice: $33/£32
The longevity of any fan bearing can be pretty variable depending on how well they’re made. I’ve not run these for any suitable length of time to comment on their lifespan. Though, presuming they last a couple years at the very least, replacing them with something similar wouldn’t cost much at all.
The heatsink is fairly basic with six heatpipes and a small cutout on the outer edge to reduce any chance of compatibility issues with memory kits. The version I have is bare metal, though there are smarter options available. Personally, I don’t mind the bare metal look, especially as Thermalright has included two black covers for the top of each heatsink to help it blend in a little through a windowed side panel.
Installation is easy enough. On Intel systems, like the LGA1700 system I’ve tested it on, a rear bracket is mounted to the motherboard and then, on the other side, four spacers and screws hold two metal brackets in place. The cooler sits atop these brackets with two spring-fitted captive screws to lock it firmly into place. You can mess with the orientation pretty easily and it supports a few generations: 1700/1150/1151/1200/1851.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
It’s more or less the same install process on AM5/AM4 with fewer steps and different brackets.
&&
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
Game and synthetic benchmarks | measured in HWInfo
Cinebench R23 | Multithread | 10 min | 120 W PL1 + PL2Baldur’s Gate 3 | 1080p | UltraMetro Exodus EE | 1080p | UltraCinebench R23 | Multithread | 10 minx264Time to lowest CPU package tempAmbient temperature Max °CAvg °CThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V27251Arctic Freezer 367155Be Quiet! Dark Rock 57156Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro7759020406080
Cinebench R23 | Multithread | 10 min | 120 W PL1 + PL2 Data
ProductValueThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V272 Max °C, 51 Avg °CArctic Freezer 3671 Max °C, 55 Avg °CBe Quiet! Dark Rock 571 Max °C, 56 Avg °CCooler Master Hyper 212 Pro77 Max °C, 59 Avg °CMax °CAvg °CThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V28769Arctic Freezer 368872Be Quiet! Dark Rock 58476Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro93850255075100
Baldur’s Gate 3 | 1080p | Ultra Data
ProductValueThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V287 Max °C, 69 Avg °CArctic Freezer 3688 Max °C, 72 Avg °CBe Quiet! Dark Rock 584 Max °C, 76 Avg °CCooler Master Hyper 212 Pro93 Max °C, 85 Avg °CMax °CAvg °CThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V27462Arctic Freezer 367859Be Quiet! Dark Rock 57660Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro86710255075100
Metro Exodus EE | 1080p | Ultra Data
ProductValueThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V274 Max °C, 62 Avg °CArctic Freezer 3678 Max °C, 59 Avg °CBe Quiet! Dark Rock 576 Max °C, 60 Avg °CCooler Master Hyper 212 Pro86 Max °C, 71 Avg °CMax °CAvg °CThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V29286Arctic Freezer 3610095Be Quiet! Dark Rock 510098Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro100990255075100
Cinebench R23 | Multithread | 10 min Data
ProductValueThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V292 Max °C, 86 Avg °CArctic Freezer 36100 Max °C, 95 Avg °CBe Quiet! Dark Rock 5100 Max °C, 98 Avg °CCooler Master Hyper 212 Pro100 Max °C, 99 Avg °CMax °CAvg °CThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V29985Arctic Freezer 3610088Be Quiet! Dark Rock 510095Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro100960255075100
x264 Data
ProductValueThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V299 Max °C, 85 Avg °CArctic Freezer 36100 Max °C, 88 Avg °CBe Quiet! Dark Rock 5100 Max °C, 95 Avg °CCooler Master Hyper 212 Pro100 Max °C, 96 Avg °CThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V2119Arctic Freezer 36138Be Quiet! Dark Rock 5155Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro118050100150200Seconds
Time to lowest CPU package temp Data
ProductValueThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V2119Arctic Freezer 36138Be Quiet! Dark Rock 5155Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro118Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V222Arctic Freezer 3623Be Quiet! Dark Rock 522Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro2307.51522.530°C
Ambient temperature Data
ProductValueThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V222Arctic Freezer 3623Be Quiet! Dark Rock 522Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro23
The Thermalright really shines in testing. It keeps a Core i7 14700K totally under control in games and is on a level-pegging with the best air coolers I’ve tested to date. Like any air cooler in combination with this power-hungry chip, it can struggle to keep a lid on temperatures in demanding benchmarks like X264 or Cinebench but it fairs better than most. With a more reasonable 120 W power limit in place on the 14700K, mimicking the power load of more modern processors, the Peerless Assassin is practically frosty.
&&
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
Fan noise | measured 15 cm away | Toptes TS-501B sound level
Fan noise
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V258Arctic Freezer 3651Be Quiet! Dark Rock 547Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro52015304560Decibel
Fan noise Data
ProductValueThermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V258Arctic Freezer 3651Be Quiet! Dark Rock 547Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro52Buy if…
✅ You want top performance for less: With a tiny price tag and exceptional performance, this cooler leaves no crumbs.
Don’t buy if…
❌ You want the quietest cooler, or something compact: There’s no denying the heft of the Peerless Assassin. Though therein lies the secret to its excellent performance. It’s also a little louder than competing options, but not by a huge margin.
In terms of price/performance, then, it’s pretty untouchable. Though it is noisier than some competing units. The Freezer 36 remains a solid pick for that reason, offering similar temperatures (with some leniency for fluctuations in ambient temperatures during testing) and quieter operation. Though it’s a little pricier at $37 at time of writing.
At this price, and providing you have space for it, the Thermalright Peerless Assassin is superb choice for keeping costs down with a fresh build.
I asked my colleagues if they could sum up their feelings on the Peerless Assassin in a single word: Andy said it was “big”, “mighty” and “chungus”, and then “bigmightychungus”; and Nick said it was “peerless (for the money)”. Despite their inability to count, I think their feedback speaks volumes about the Peerless Assassin. It’s great, and you don’t need anything more than it offers for many of today’s popular CPUs.
From PCGamer latest via this RSS feed