Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V3 CPU Air Cooler, 6 Heat Pipes, Double Towers Double Fans

The Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V3 is a no-nonsense air cooler that punches far above its price tag. After testing it on both an AMD Ryzen 7800X3D and an Intel i7-13700K, I’m convinced this is one of the best value-for-money coolers on the market. Performance: This dual-tower monster handles heat like a pro. Even under heavy gaming or rendering loads, my CPU temps stayed shockingly low—often within 5°C of premium coolers twice its price. The 6 heat pipes and dual TL-P12 PWM fans work seamlessly together, delivering silent operation at idle (sub-25dB) and only a mild hum under full load. Compared to my old 240mm AIO liquid cooler, the Peerless Assassin matches its cooling while eliminating pump noise entirely. Installation: Surprisingly painless for a dual-tower design. The mounting kit supports both AMD AM5 and Intel LGA 1700 out of the box, and the included screwdriver and thermal paste (decent quality) saved me a trip to my toolbox. The only hiccup was RAM clearance—taller RGB sticks might conflict with the front fan, but sliding it up a few millimeters solved the issue. Build Quality: Robust construction with a clean, understated look. The aluminum top cover adds rigidity and hides the heatsink fins nicely. Fans are securely mounted with anti-vibration pads, and the PWM control ensures smooth speed transitions. Value: At this price point, it’s almost unfair to competitors. It cools as well as (or better than) popular mid-tier coolers like the Noctua NH-U12S or be quiet! Dark Rock 4, but costs significantly less. The included second fan and full compatibility with modern sockets make it a steal. Verdict: If you’re building a high-performance rig without splurging on liquid cooling or overpriced air coolers, the Peerless Assassin 120 SE V3 is a no-brainer. It’s quiet, efficient, and built to last. Thermalright deserves applause for delivering flagship performance at a bargain price.

Bruce L · 2025-03-04 · via amazon

Bought this about a month ago to fit in my Jonsplus Z20 case and it fits perfectly. It is cooling my Ryzen 7 9800X3D with no issues at all. During gaming, it holds the CPU at around 60-65c. During synthetic benchmarks and putting the CPU under 100% load and drawing over 140w, the CPU only gets up to about 80c. The fans are quiet and it looks really good. Installation was very easy and straightforward. Only downside was you need a screwdriver that is a bit longer to reach the screws to secure it to the motherboard as the fin stacks can get in the way if you have an iFixit screw driver. Only way this thing could be better if they increased the price by a few bucks (would still be a hell of a deal) and include a screwdriver long enough to install the heatsink to the motherboard.

Kirk · 2025-09-17 · via amazon

This is for Peerless Assassin V3. I upgraded to the 9800x3d and while the deepcool AS500 PLUS was good for 5800x3d it just wasn't doing the cooling for my cpu. The 9800x3d was reaching 95°c on loading shaders only and in some scenes of the same games it would do the same. Now this Thermalright P.A. V3 is great and Boiii does it do a much better job. On loading shaders, same games, the highest is only 85°C Max and is only for a shorter amount of time. I only had to raise the one of the fans up about a quarter of an inch for clearance so that the first ram slot taken wasn't covered. This peerless assassin V3 is really worth it imo, especially if last 5 or 6 years. This is my 2nd air cooler and let me say, it is totally worth it. Just make sure you case has plenty of room for it, with good airflow. With a 2,000rpm it works fantastic for cooling. Mine reached 2,120 rpm at 85°C. It also has a CPU, TDP of up to 265 watts, which my previous deepcool had only 220 watts. Even though it doesn't say it on the box. I have full size case with plenty of airflow, I also didn't need rgb, as like my build just blacked out. So for this price it is also worth it. It also compares to some dual liquid cpu coolers, but at a lower cost. Thanks you Thermalright for the best dual cpu cooler I have purchased so far, and Amazon for the fast and damaged free delivery.

Skyguy · 2025-04-16 · via amazon

One of the fans started whirring, but it's an excellent cooler. 20 degrees cooler on my 5800x

Toyotaanc · 2025-11-20 · via amazon

This v3 cooler is stellar! I bought this for one primary reason: I could clear my ram heatsinks by lifting the outer fan slightly with the clip system. It delivered on that and then some. My Lenovo Legion T5 mobo failed and the default would not clear my RAM on the new ASUS PRIME B550M-A WIFI II. I have a Ryzen 7 5700G, 64GB Crucial Pro CL22 with Heatsinks, and an ASRock Rx 6600XT. The CPU is held at a phenomenal 39/47C min/max with some processes and WSL2 Fedora running. It does help that it's in an NZXT H9 Flow, but even then, no sooner than the temps spike from the processes, the temps immediately fall. Pushing some dev work and hitting the CPU and RAM with some docker containers and even a benchmark, never even passed 64C. I could game on it, no need, this fan will deliver. I am thrilled with this cooler. Buddy has it on a 14400K and swears by it, and when he told me the fan could be lifted above the RAM, I was in. No doubt one of the best investments for this rebuild. Very, very happy with this v3.

CajunDragon · 2025-08-08 · via amazon

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VALUE SCORE

Price

$20

Price

$23.99