Will a series cooler be enough in 2024?

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Key insights

  • For casual gamers and home office users with less intensive workloads, a standard cooler might be sufficient.
  • Hardcore gamers and developers need aftermarket coolers for performance-intensive workloads.
  • Modern CPUs are designed to run hot and require strong cooling for maximum performance.



Standard coolers, the ones that come with desktop processors, can be adequate or completely inadequate for CPU cooling, depending on who you ask. Some people think that a CPU that ships with a cooler (which isn't the case for all) must be perfectly fine in any scenario. Others leave refrigerators roasting all day because of their inferior quality and poor performance.

The truth lies somewhere in between. It's true that standard coolers aren't enough for many workloads, but they're not completely useless either. Depending on your PC usage, a standard cooler may or may not be enough. There are a few things to consider here.

Your standard cooler could sufficient

If you are a casual user running moderate workloads


The whole stock vs. aftermarket cooler debate didn't exist 15-20 years ago when CPUs didn't need that much cooling just to function at stock settings. Also, almost every CPU used to come with a cooler included, unlike today where all but the entry-level and budget CPUs forego the included cooler and expect the user to purchase more powerful cooling hardware (at least for a power hungry CPU) . ).

Today, you can still use a standard cooler, but only if your PC use is limited to surfing, streaming, home office use, casual gaming, and school work.


Back then, PC users rarely thought about replacing the original cooler and used the system smoothly for years without noticing any problems. Today, you can still use a standard cooler, but only if your PC use is limited to surfing, streaming, home office use, casual gaming, and school work. A standard cooler is more than enough to keep your CPU sufficiently cool when running these applications.

A photo showing an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU with thermal paste.


This is because these workloads are not particularly multi-threaded or demanding on the CPU in any way. Therefore, the processor in such computers is most likely a Core i3 from Intel or an older Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5 or APU chip from AMD. Modern Core i5, Ryzen 5, and even AMD's latest APUs (and anything higher) require aftermarket cooling if you want to keep CPU temperatures low.

Gamers and developers should replace the stock cooler

CPU performance comes with thermal costs


While HTPCs, office computers and entry-level models do well with standard coolers, anything more intensive requires a powerful chip and consequently a powerful CPU cooler. Whether you're building a mid-range to high-end gaming PC, a powerful workstation with 8, 12 or 16 CPU cores, or an enthusiast PC where cool and quiet operation is a priority, you need an aftermarket -CPU cooler.

For demanding workloads like running AAA games, Premiere Pro, Blender, and CPU benchmarks, you need the best liquid coolers available.

Modern CPUs are designed to run hot and aim to deliver the maximum possible performance immediately. Even when your system is idle, automatic boosting algorithms tend to keep CPU temperatures high, making a decent air cooler or liquid AIO almost necessary. And for demanding workloads like running AAA games, Premiere Pro, Blender, and CPU benchmarks, you need the best liquid coolers available, especially on flagship CPUs like the Core i9-14900K or the Ryzen 9 9950X.


Another point to note is that not all standard coolers perform similarly. Intel is known for bundling thin coolers that are just enough to keep the CPU running, while AMD's stock coolers offer much better build quality and performance. So, look at your needs and what you are working with to make a decision accordingly.

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