Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE CPU Air Cooler, 7 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler,Dual 120mm TL-C12B V2 PWM Fans

This is a review of the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE. I read many performance reviews online before purchasing this. According to those reviewers, this offers top-tier cooling vs noise at a fraction of the price. It even competes with some AIOs. I recently replaced an AIO with this, the first air cooler I've used in a while. I did it because this computer is getting long in the tooth, and I'm more concerned about long-term reliability than a couple of degrees Celsius. If you are building a new computer, this is much easier to install and more reliable than an AIO water cooler. Compared to my old NZXT Kraken X63, this gets very similar cooling performance. The temperatures fluctuate more than they did with the AIO, but the minimum idle temperature is now slightly lower than it was with the AIO, and the max temps are only a couple of degrees hotter than they were with the 280mm AIO. This is all despite the fact that I used about half of the normal amount of thermal paste due to a screwup on my part. As long as you're not using a processor with a very high TDP, this is the ideal cooler. Note: you should prefer this over the 120 EVO. Yes, the EVO has RGB and can get you a couple of degrees cooler on higher TDP processors, but at the cost of much higher noise. If you're using anything less than 170watt CPU, this is probably the better choice. Addendum: now using this on two computers. Zero regrets. Addendum: this cooler does make it more difficult to replace the M.2 drive without removing the cooler. Not impossible, just obnoxious. Addendum (November 2024): started getting obnoxious fan noises about a half year later. Thankfully, there are a variety of fans you can replace these with that will produce reasonably similar performance, including the Arctic P12 or the Noctua NF-A12x25 (the latter being about as expensive per fan as this entire cooler with included fans).

Paul · 2024-05-25 · via amazon

I've been using the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE with my AMD Ryzen 7800X3D, and I couldn't be more satisfied with its performance. This cooler has exceeded my expectations in every way. Performance: The Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE keeps my 7800X3D at idle temperatures in the 40s, and during gaming sessions, it stays impressively cool between 50s and 60s. This is a testament to its excellent thermal management and efficiency. Price/Performance Ratio: Considering its price, the performance of this cooler is outstanding. It's hard to find another cooler that offers such a great balance of cost and cooling capability. Installation: The installation process was straightforward, and the included instructions were clear. The cooler fits perfectly in my mid-tower case without any clearance issues. Build Quality: The build quality of the Phantom Spirit 120SE is solid. The fins and heat pipes are well-constructed, and the overall design is sleek and functional. Noise Levels: One of the pleasant surprises was how quiet this cooler is. Even under load, the noise levels are minimal, making for a much more enjoyable gaming experience. Conclusion: If you're looking for a high-performance cooler for your 7800X3D that won't break the bank, the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE is an excellent choice. It delivers exceptional cooling, is easy to install, and offers fantastic value for money. Highly recommended!

iamplayer40 · 2024-05-30 · via amazon

Recently upgraded to a 9950X3D (a very hot chip - 170W) and after a hours of research of Air vs Water cooling decided to pull the trigger on this guy. And let me tell you, saying I was/am pleasantly surprised would be an understatement! Note: I did pair it with a couple of Noctua NF-P12 redux-1700 fans instead of the stock fans which made a major difference (more on that below). This little guy, well, not little at all - ITS HUGE! handles the 9950X3D perfectly, all my concerns about needing water cooling went out the window as soon as I saw Prime95 causing the CPU to draw 260W and the temp hit 94c. Lets get into it: Location: NY, average room temp around 70-75f (20-23c). Use cases: work, gaming, AI. Work: office apps, web, light photo editing. Gaming: Diablo 4, Borderland 4, Assassins Creed Shadows... AI: mostly code generation. CPU: undervolted (-15), +200MHZ PBO. No power draw cap. Temps (with Noctua fans): Idle: as low as 28c (max draw 36W). Work: 35-40c (max draw 90W). Gaming: 67c highest I hit during a BL4 fight (max draw 162W). AI: 60c highest on large requests (max draw 140W). Prime95: hit 94c while drawing 260W. Cinebench: 72c max while drawing 220W. (see attached HWMonitor screenshot - system has been on for about 2 weeks at this point). Fans: The main problem (and reason) for the changing the stock fan is noise and performance at higher speeds. Noise: Stock fans are fine in low speeds, barely audible. In high speeds though.. they are hard to ignore, not the worse, but hard to ignore. Temps: Prime95 hit 96c and capped the power draw at 210W. Idle was around 34c. BL4 hit 78c. Sum up: - Can't beat for the price (even with buying 2 extra fans). - Huge - make sure your case has room. - Replace stock fans for quieter / better performance. - Can easily handle 9950X3D. - Installation was super easy and straight to the point on AM5. Took longer to fully unpack it than it did to install. Why not water cooling ? In my specific case, the noise. Even the quieter pumps hit 40-45db on load and some even 35db on idle. I like my system quiet. Large slow fans = quiet (see fan speeds in HWMonitor)

Tomer P · 2026-03-26 · via amazon

I owned a 5700x3d, and I wanted to replace the default stock cooler that I previously owned because my temperatures were climbing into the 90s. I had heard good things about this CPU cooler but this absolutely beat my expectations and then some. Out of the box, this thing felt solid and looked premium, much more premium than I expected at the price. It came with a packet of thermal past as well, which I did not use so I cannot speak on that. Installing it was as simple as it could be, although I ended up needing to use the bracket that came with my motherboard. Thankfully, I still had that but it was a bit of a pain, to say the least. Once I got it installed with some fresh thermal paste, I ran some stress tests. It absolutely killed it. My temperatures went from low 90s to, at most, 75c or so. That was at a worst case scenario too. In game, I was getting closer to 70c or so. I was shocked at how much value I got out of this cooler. Without a doubt, I would buy this again if iw as building another computer. This is a fantastic cooler that's deserving of all the praise that it gets.

Corey Rutter · 2026-02-20 · via amazon

The installation was decent the clips are easy to use and it provides pretty cool temperatures for Ryzen 9000 cpus. The noises is pretty quiet the quality is good for the price and performance is decent for budget cooler.

Candace · 2026-01-02 · via amazon

Best Buy

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Newegg

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Newegg (Open Box)

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VALUE SCORE

Price

$20