If you're on the lookout for a powerful yet inexpensive CPU cooler, this discounted option from Thermalright might be a good shout. It's down to £15.90 from £18.90, turning an already good value CPU cooler equipped with two fans into an absolute bargain.
]]>420mm AiOs are quite rare - not many cases come with space for three 140mm fans in a row - but they're the biggest size of consumer radiators currently available and offer unmatched cooling potential. Therefore, it may be of interest to you to learn that the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420 is down to just £79 at Amazon UK, a crazy-low price for a cooler of this size and prowess.
]]>Earlier this week I reported on a great deal for the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240, a 240mm AiO with excellent reviews, over on Amazon US. Today I'm back with a confusingly similar deal: an all-time low price on the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280, a 280mm AiO with excellent reviews, over on Amazon UK. It's down to £70 following a 26% reduction, a great price for an AiO that regularly beats less powerful 360mm alternatives.
]]>Arctic does a really nice line of CPU coolers, including this 240mm AiO that's discounted by 23% on Amazon US today. That brings it down to $75, a great price for the renowned Liquid Freezer II 240, one of the best-performing all-in-one liquid coolers on the market and a fine complement to any high-end or mid-range gaming CPU. To get this deal, just tick the 23% off coupon on the product page.
]]>NZXT's AiOs are some of the best liquid coolers in the business, whether considered in terms of performance or aesthetics, and their new Kraken Elite RGB release is now on sale at Newegg in the US. The 280mm size AiO in white is now down to $200 after a $70 discount, and highly recommended by this writer at that price.
]]>I've long been a fan of NZXT's AiO liquid coolers - in fact, I'm building a PC with one tomorrow. You might be joining me on that, as today NZXT's Kraken 240mm AiO is down to £90 at Scan UK after a £40 discount. That's an excellent price for an all-in-one liquid cooler that sports an LCD screen for monitoring your temps or showing off your cat.
]]>Whenever a friend asks for help in speccing out their upcoming PC build, I almost inevitably go to check if the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo V2 is in stock. Because, for lower-end and mid-range builds especially, do you truly need any other CPU cooler? The Hyper 212 Evo V2 near-perfectly balances simplicity, effectiveness, and affordability; it’s like the PC component equivalent of Charles Eames’ museum-beloved leg splint, only less stackable. More to the point, it’s down to £33 in the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sale, equalling its lowest price of 2023 thus far.
]]>Just bought an awesome new CPU after a friendly RPS deals writer found a great deal on one? Worried about covering that massive IHS with thermal paste? Don't worry - you can pick up Arctic's popular MX-4 compound thermal paste for $5.56 today and it comes with a tiny spatula, perfect for ensuring full coverage even on modern extra-large processors like Intel's 12th/13th-gen chips, AMD's Ryzen 7000 chips and even workstation-class products like ThreadRipper. This stuff normally costs $9, making this a cool 38% discount.
]]>White PC builds seem to be on-trend these days, as brands finally get the memo that colour options are appreciated. If you like the sound of that, today's deal on a Corsair 4000X PC case and H100i Elite Capellix 240mm AiO from Ebuyer in the UK is ideal, providing the two most prominent components of your build in gleaming white - and at a considerable discount. Normally the case costs around £110 while the cooler is a further £135, so you're saving around £75 here by buying this bundle versus buying the items separately.
]]>Now that you’ve installed a CPU, the logical next step of building a PC would be to install a CPU cooler. So, let’s do that.
These essential chip-chillers come with varying degrees of sci-fi design tendencies, ranging from simple fan-and-radiator combos – air coolers, to use their actual name – to the mathematical pipework of "open loop" liquid coolers. For your first PC build, don’t worry about constructing an open loop system; I know this is guide is meant to inform you, but plumbing knowledge is more than you need at this point. Instead, you can simply pair your CPU with either a simple air cooler or a more powerful, yet still relatively easy to install, "closed loop" all-in-one liquid cooler.
]]>Amazon have quietly dipped their first toe into PC componentS, listing the Amazon Basics Computer Cooling Fan: a single-fan, RGB-lit air cooler. Judging from the manual it supports the very latest socket types for Intel and AMD’s gaming CPUs, and being under the Amazon Basics brand, it's dirt cheap at £21 / £27.
It’s unlikely, though, that Bezos and the gang have been secretly funding R&D into an all-new line of PC gear. As Tom’s Hardware spotted, the Amazon Basics Computer Cooling Fan appears to simply be an existing budget cooler, the Cooler Master Hyper H410R, without the CM badge.
]]>Horror games, you say? Feh, hardware can be scary too. One time I turned on a power supply and it literally went up in a cloud of smoke. Last year I cut my hand on a CPU cooler radiator. And did you see how dusty my PC was before I cleaned it? That’s basically body horror.
Apparently ignorant of their products’ ability to frighten and maim, PC gaming hardware makers sometimes try to manufacture an imposing aura by giving them big, bad names. You’ve probably seen these already: keyboards named after swords, laptops christened as mythical animals and the like. But some go full spooky, consulting the Halloween kids’ costume pantheon of creatures and creepers. Is an eerie moniker enough to strike fear, even before it has the chance to cause minor injuries or force you into a tedious warranty replacement process? Let’s find out.
]]>360mm AiOs seem to be becoming more of a necessity these days, with ever-hotted high-end processors from the likes of AMD and particularly Intel. Thankfully, they're also becoming increasingly inexpensive, with this post in particular spotlighting a deal on the EVGA CLC 360. This cooler normally costs £109, but today you can pick it up for £82 after a 25% discount.
]]>Tony the Tiger – the neckerchiefed mascot of Kellogg’s Frosties – is becoming a VTuber, with some kind of heavily sponsored Twitch stream scheduled for this Friday in which “he” will play “a popular battle royale game” with some other livestreamers. I’m not very interested in this, to be honest, but I am curious about the “milk-coolant PC” that Tony’s avatar will be using to get the W’s and build creepy parasocial relationships with viewers. Could such a PC, liquid-cooled by a dairy product, actually function?
]]>Right now a combination of a Box discount and an Ebay voucher code are making two MSI AiO liquid CPU coolers extremely cheap. The 360mm CoreLiquid 360R is down to £60 when you use code AUG15, while the CoreLiquid 280R is down to £52 using the same one. This is a massive reduction from their original prices and a frankly unbeatable deal for a liquid cooler with decent fans, RGB lighting and good thermal performance.
]]>280mm is my favourite AIO liquid cooler size - cheaper than 360mm coolers while offering better performance per square inch - you just need a case that can accommodate the slightly larger fans. Normally getting a good AiO of this size costs around £100 to £180, but right now Amazon is offering the MSI MAG CoreLiquid 280R for half price: just £50. That's an awesome value for a high-performance CPU cooler that even includes RGB lighting.
]]>Corsair make a particularly fine selection of AiOs, also known as all-in-one liquid coolers. They use off-the-shelf designs for their pumps and radiators, as do many other companies, but distinguish themselves with good-quality fans, optional lighting and low prices for a major brand. That last point is particularly pertinent today, as their H100X 240mm AiO has dropped to nearly £60 on Amazon UK - a significantly lower price than any alternative that I'd rate as highly and some £25 below this AiO's original launch price.
]]>It may be below freezing outside, but that doesn't mean our hard working PCs will keep as cool. Even a modest gaming rig will be filled with components kicking out heat for long periods of time, so it's vital to equip your CPU with a competent cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo V2.
Thankfully, Cyber Monday is here with a deal that knocks a few quid off what was already an affordable chiller, making it even better for first-time builders and anyone looking to upgrade from stock coolers on a limited budget.
]]>Razer, purveyors of green and black gaming peripherals, have announced they’re having a proper go at PC components as well. The Razer Hanbo AIO liquid CPU cooler series, Razer Katana PSUs, Razer Kunai case fans and Razer Pulse Width Modulator (PWM) Fan Controller all debuted during this year's RazerCon showcase.
]]>Like just about everything else in your PC, the CPU can get very hot, very quickly. That’s why not even the best CPUs are complete without a dedicated cooler, but which of the two main types are better: liquid coolers or air coolers?
]]>What better place to start building a PC than by giving it a brain? Thus begins the first, pleasantly easy, step: learning how to install a CPU. Don’t be discouraged by the importance of this particular part of your soon-to-be desktop, as while installing a CPU is best done with a delicate touch, it takes mere moments.
That said, the process can vary slightly depending on which specific CPU model you’re installing. For instance, Intel and AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs are secured in their socket by a hinged metal cover – but if you’re here to find out how to install a CPU from AMD’s older Ryzen range, you’ll find it instead plops into a moveable socket that locks the chip in place by sliding to the side. This guide will cover both approaches, mind, so you’ll be covered regardless.
]]>We haven’t seen much of Intel Alder Lake so far, despite being set for release in a matter of weeks. One thing we do know is that like the majority of Intel’s last few chip family releases, the desktop contingent of these 12th-gen processors will need a brand-new motherboard socket: LGA 1700.
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