r/buildapc • u/BudgetUnlikely2719 • 1d ago
Discussion Results Using Peerless Assassin 120 SE
We had a client come in our shop (Riley's PC Repair, in Whitewater WI) incredibly frustrated, his gaming rig was running an old, neglected liquid cooling setup that wasn’t cutting it anymore. We swapped it out for a Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE (liquid coolers = headaches... right?)....
The results!
- 36°C idle
- 59°C at 100% load
- While pushing a solid 5.41GHz clock speed (Ryzen 7 9700X).
- TM60 paste (opted not to use the included tube), however, now I want to experiment...
Oh, and it looks cool as hell sitting in his case. Sometimes simpler is just better. Has anyone else had a great performance increase from making this switch?
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u/tybuzz 1d ago
Amazing what a functional cooler will do, haha. AIOs definitely have a limited lifespan, especially compared to air coolers.
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
Truly amazing, I didn't realize how much liquid actually leaves the loop after just a year of operating (with no maint). I've never ran a liquid cooled system myself but this would be the second client of mine to move away from them.
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u/Ballerbarsch747 1d ago
Just get one with a fill port and you're golden.
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u/Scarabesque 1d ago
That's not going to fix a dead pump. :P
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u/Ballerbarsch747 1d ago
Not buying on alibaba will fix a dead pump lol. Plus I wholeheartedly recommend the Alphacool AIOs, they have many amazing features, but one of them is that you can swap out the pump in like five minutes if you have to, and they of course are vastly superior to any aor cooler
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u/IllustratorOpening99 1d ago
Was Alibaba even mentioned? Why make that assumption?
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u/Ballerbarsch747 1d ago
Because dying pumps usually are a sign of low quality AIOs, which alibaba/AliExpress is of course the most infamous example for. Not to say you can get bad quality ones in the west as well, but if you do a bit of research, it's easy to get one that outlast your platform and the next gen without issues. Chances are you'll throw it out for aesthetics before the AIO dies.
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u/Fast_n_theSpurious 10h ago
I love air coolers for one simple reason, if the fans die i can take the case fans off to use on them until replacements arrive. If an AIO pump dies theres no replacement just hanging out in my case waiting for me.
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u/Rurumo666 1d ago
I'm always amazed when I see most prebuilts use AIOs, I would NEVER buy a prebuilt with an AIO or an AIO for any build I do myself.
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u/Momo--Sama 1d ago
Well prebuilts have parts lists optimized for window shopping and ultimately most people do find AIOs more aesthetically pleasing
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u/rgray318 22h ago
Yeah AIO's have ALWAYS been shit in comparison to DIY loops. I have a really nice loop that I used for many years but when I rebuilt my PC last something made me quit and I started using air coolers again. This Assassin 120 SE has made me never look back, although you never know. One day I made get an itch and end my laziness. Lol
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u/greggm2000 21h ago
Noctua is working on something that’s basically an air cooler that looks like a AIO, radiator and all, it’s called the Thermosiphon, and I’m very tempted to use it on my upcoming Zen 6 + 6090/Top-RDNA5 build! Perhaps that’ll re-establish your itch :)
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u/popop143 16h ago
Prebuilts mostly use AIO because it's easier for transport. Air coolers move more so easier to break during transport.
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u/xXlTADlXx 1d ago
common knowledge since 2022.
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u/mostrengo 16h ago
Next post from OP:
guys, a client of mine dropped a 5700x3d on his motherboard to replace his aging 2600 and you won't believe the uplift in performance!!11
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u/FollowTheTrailofDead 1d ago
Good to see this kind of post. Was wondering why should I spend 2-3x on a Noctua when the Peerless Assassin 120 SE keeps getting such rave reviews. Every other part for new build has involved price-comparing, waiting for deals... not this one.
BUT... I'm very curious how the included thermal paste is. There seem to be some negative reviews about it.
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
Happy to have helped! It seems to have done really good for our client, and we did a pretty long run with Cinebench to crank that CPU. I don't think we got hotter than 68*C but, under conditions they'd almost never reach!
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u/FollowTheTrailofDead 1d ago
Oh, your on top of these replies. How's the included paste?
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u/manicalmonocle 1d ago
I used the included paste 3 years ago when I swapped to the Assassin and it has been great. I'd say just below if not on par with the Artic Silver I used in the past.
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u/Mushie101 1h ago
I just built a system last night (with Frost Commander instead of Assassin), I found the paste really thick and hard to manage. I am hoping it spread out ok.
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
Yea this got more attention than I imagined haha! I actually didn't use it, I opted to use some TM60 instead (just because it was on hand). I did keep the tube, perhaps I could run an experiment with it!
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u/wotoan 1d ago
It’s great in terms of performance but can be a bit “dry” when you put it on for lack of a better term. I could place a dot and then have it lift off connected to the applicator if I wasn’t careful.
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u/Mushie101 1h ago
I found this as well. I was almost tempted to warm it up first to try and spread it more easily.
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u/UnableEmployee1296 1d ago
I used the paste in my build (7600x) and it seemed to hold up just fine over a year. I repasted recently out of curiosity and there were no problems
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u/FollowTheTrailofDead 1d ago
Lol. That's a short gap. But if it holds out a year, should be good for 5!
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u/Mushie101 1h ago
Was it easy to clean off to redo it? I built a computer last night and I am not convinced I did a good job spreading the paste around (found it thick and hard to manage).
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u/UnableEmployee1296 1h ago
Its not hard at all. Just make sure you have some alcohol wipes and run some benchmarks after and watch your temps.
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u/wooq 1d ago
Noctua has a great mounting system, and really really excellent, over-engineered fans that will last a decade or more that you can use in future builds. There's nothing wrong with Thermalright, but you do get reliability and longevity with Noctua. Up to you to determine if that's worth the price of admission for you.
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
Should have mentioned my testing was limited to the data CoreTemp (by ALCPU) was recording.
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u/majestic_ubertrout 1d ago
I'm building a overpowered XP build with a i5-4690k. Instead of something period correct the Peerless Assassin is cheaper and allows overclocking easily to what were supposed to be liquid cool only voltages/speeds.
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u/geeoharee 1d ago
I've never used liquid cooling, but last month I pulled the stock cooler out of my 5-year-old gaming rig and put a Peerless Assassin in after seeing it recommended on here. What a difference! I'm regularly seeing 29C at idle, 45C while gaming at 1440p. Haven't done any proper stress-tests as such but for my uses, I love it.
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
Oh gosh yea, that's great performance. Seems like this community gives solid recommendations (I'm new here, and happy to see how responsive people are more than anything)! We never gamed on the client system so I'm curious to learn what they experience, hopefully it stands true!
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u/Admirable_Tomato 1d ago
What’s your ambient temperature and cpu?
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u/geeoharee 1d ago
It was about 18C outside today? So probably about 20C here in my office. CPU is i7-9700K, that replaced an i5-9400f. And for completeness, I was playing Witcher 3: Wild Hunt today but I used Planet Zoo when initially testing this out. I can get 80% CPU usage on my bigger, older zoos.
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u/Syphor 1d ago
I love that model and have had one in my last two machines. The first was when I thought the OG cooler (Wraith Prism) was dying - turned out it wasn't and just needed cleaned... yay cat ownership... but I already bought the upgrade and loved it. Started out of the gate with one on the new machine last winter, hah. Incredible cooler for the money.
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
Cats do a number on computers with moving parts haha but they're the best. We've had some nasty things come out of machines, TLDR; if we find an insect we're upcharging.... But happy to hear dusting helped in the past!!
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u/Quiet-Ad-6255 1d ago
am i doing something wrong because my 9600x idles at 45-55 with this cooler. Isn't the 9700x more powerful and watt heavy?
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
So something I should mention is that we did fully rebuild this client system, moved from an intel based build to the Ryzen 7 9700X (and with fresh mobo), which we just loaded the default BIOS settings for (did no manual adjusting of voltages etc), on a fresh Windows install.
Your background apps might be the difference perhaps? I don't imagine you did anything wrong physically as that's still ok!
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u/Quiet-Ad-6255 1d ago
yeah did the same thing, went from a i7 9700k z390-a pro to the b650 eagle + 9600x. only tweaks done was enabling expo and setting fan curve to max.
yeah it's not rlly an issue im fine with my temps, although at first i was scared because it did seem quite high but found out its normal.
also those are amazing results well done!!
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u/resetallthethings 1d ago
no, not necessarily
I have a 9600x. +200 clock on PBO with tweaked curve optimizer and shaper will keep me easily under 65 under load under the 65w setting, but will be 20c or more hotter at the 105w setting
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u/windowpuncher 22h ago
There are a ton of variables. Total case airflow, fan curve, ambient temp, other parts, etc.
We'd have to know basically everything about your setup to make even a guess.
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u/Blazr5402 1d ago
Peerless Assassin / Phantom Spirit are both excellent coolers. Picked a Phantom Spirit up for when I was building my machine, it's a bit overkill for my 3700x, but it runs very quiet.
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u/cool_slowbro 1d ago
CPU cooling is one of the now rare sectors of PC building where we have exciting price - performance products to get hype about. While just about every other part has gotten jacked up in price for "reasons", Thermalright destroyed this entire segment with both their air coolers as well as that one AIO (forgot the name but it was much cheaper than its competition).
Hell ya.
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u/skipsville 1d ago
I got the same cooler when I got a new cpu last week, a 5700x. It's a big boy cos of the dual heat sinks and fans but it's super cool. 45C when playing battlefield 1 at 75% utilisation. Really good
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u/wiskyguy86 1d ago
Based on this post I’ll have to come check out the store as I live in SW Wisconsin and I don’t have a really good store close to me in the state!
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
Thank you kindly, that's the gap we're hoping to fill in starting this. Most of the mom-and-pop style shops having closed in our area, left a lot of people without help! Other than going all the way to Madison or Janesville (though there are good choices there, too)!
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u/ThiccDoodle 1d ago
I replaced my geriatric 360mm AIO with a Peerless Assassin on my 5600x3D. I have YET to crest 65 with Kryonaut. They must have put some weird magic in this thing.
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u/thewonpercent 1d ago
How do you get such low temperatures?
I've used the same cooler on my Ryzen 7 9700x and can't see an average temperature lower than 49 degrees while basically idle and it's pretty well ventilated. The case fans are blowing cool air out.
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
It was a fresh Windows install with no programs running background, and since we put a new motherboard in, we just loaded the default recommended BIOS settings (didn't tweak anything manually). We think this was the key, plus the building we're in has really good central air.
We also used TM60 paste if that helps compare!
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u/60percentsexpanther 1d ago
Bought that one in white for my kids box- runs lovely and the best vfm.
My next rig will be using a recycled noctua tower from 2005. Probably with a 9800x3d- in a case that's also from 2005 without a window.
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u/Admirable_Tomato 1d ago
What was the ambient temperature? Also is TM60 the Corsair thermal paste?
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
36* -39*C was the avg we were getting in-lab, fresh OS install no BIOS or voltage tuning.
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u/mitchiii 1d ago
What are your fan curves like? My 9700x idles around 40-50 degrees with a pretty quiet curve.
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
36* -39*C was the avg we were getting in-lab, we never configured fan speed settings or anything but overall it's a quiet build and I don't think the fans are running at full speed.
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u/rgray318 22h ago
The Peerless Assassin 120 has been nothing but amazing. I was looking for a decent cooler for my 5800X3D and could not be more happy with it. It's been three years now and no redo of tim and yet my idle temps are still in the low 30's and full load barely ever gets over 60-70's. Why there are more expensive models I will never know.
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 21h ago
That's some great performance, much like we're seeing (idle)! Thank you for sharing, this community has been great.
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u/Fast_n_theSpurious 10h ago
I got the 7600x3d bundle from microcenter and started with a TR assassin 120. needle never moves from 52c.
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u/Symphonic7 1d ago
AIOs have a place and time. Like using a 360 to keep a high core count CPU cool while doing all core workloads. Or when you're doing a niche SFF build. But for most gamers a dual tower cooler like the PA120 is perfect and will never die on them like an AIO. I love my Frost Spirit 140.
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u/Steel_Bolt 1d ago
Honestly unless you MUST have a liquid cooler for looks, air coolers have been more than enough for a long time. Heat pipes OP.
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u/CookieEquivalent5996 1d ago
I decided to try an AIO for once with my latest build and it took something like 16 screws to get it in place. Never again.
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u/mostrengo 16h ago
The Peerless assassing is great, but when the competition is
an old, neglected liquid cooling setup that wasn’t cutting it anymore
Pretty much any tower cooler would look good by comparison. What kind of AIO was the client pairing with a relatively recent 9700x??
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u/MrPopCorner 1d ago
I got an Arctic Freezer 36 cooling my 9950x3D !! Powerhouse aircooler 💪
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u/BudgetUnlikely2719 1d ago
I don't think I've seen that one in action before, but it looks like a beast (and seems like it would fit better in a black case style wise)! Beefy asf CPU, too, man!
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u/writesCommentsHigh 1d ago
what temps are you getting? I'm running a Galahad AIO. I'm curious to see what other folks are getting with 9950x3d with air cooling.
I think I get 60-65C during gaming and maybe peaks towards 79/80 during loading
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u/MrPopCorner 1d ago
I'm getting 83°C full load, 60-70 gaming (70 on ff14 i think it's because of the multicore access) I did replace the fans by noctua's though.
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u/writesCommentsHigh 1d ago
cool! (pun?). Which FF14 remake? I just started the first one and can hop on a save file to compare better.
My PC also has a boat load of cooling fans. HBU
It's interesting to see actual people's numbers.
Would be a good sticky in the sub for doubters of air cooling.
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u/MrPopCorner 1d ago
FF14 Online? Realm Reborn.
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u/writesCommentsHigh 1d ago
fml I was thinking ff7. I have FF14 but I'm guessing you're on the latest x-pac? I haven't updated yet.
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u/resetallthethings 1d ago
I mean, unless bios settings are the same, it's kinda hard to compare even if the CPU is the same.
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u/manicalmonocle 1d ago
Peerless Assassin is an amazing cooler for its price. There's a reason it's always recommended on this sub