Best AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Aftermarket Cooler

AMD's Ryzen 5 2600 CPU is an efficient and powerful processor that requires adequate cooling if you plan to game and overclock it. The bundled OEM cooler is more than capable of handling the heat produced, but if you seek a quieter and overall better solution, you'll need one of these aftermarket options.

Cooler Master T4

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Value pick

I'm a huge fan of Cooler Master CPU air coolers, notably the exceptionally priced EVO 212. The T4 is much like the EVO 212, but comes rocking AM4 support out the box so you don't need to mess around with ordering a bracket. Pairing your Ryzen 5 2600 with this blower will even allow you to overclock a little.

Noctua U14S

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Performance pick

Noctua is a brand that is well respected within the PC building community for offering some seriously good fans. The U14S is a seriously good air blower. Not only do you have ample cooling capacity with the fin configuration and materials used in the heatsink, but also with the excellent NF-A15 140mm fan. It's well worth the high price.

ARCTIC Freezer 33

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Silent pick

This is a cooler that will allow you to boost your clock speeds a little while running almost silent at idle and low loads. The new BioniX F120 fan and thermal coating combination unlock support for CPUs with a TDP of up to 200W. Overall, it's just a solid CPU cooler if you don't want to go down the route of water-cooling.

No matter which cooler you choose, you'll have more headroom with performance, allowing you to get more out of the processor. If I was to recommend a single cooler, it would be the Cooler Master T4 for the excellent value.

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.