Best CPU Cooler for i7 8700k

Best Silent CPU Cooler for i7 8700k - Be Quiet! Dark Rock 4

Top of the list, we have the Be Quiet! Dark Rock 4, one of the most preferred choices for supreme cooling with a majestic design, a perfect mid-end cooler for the i7 8700k.

However, the supreme and superior cooling does come at a premium price, so it might not be the best one out there if you don’t want to spend too much, but it definitely is exceptional, if you can.

The Top-shelf quality of the build and design further justifies the price, along with its wide-range support for the latest CPU sockets, and easy-to-fit match for the i7 8700k, if the build is not pushed any further towards high-end processing with overclocking enabled.

The Dark Rock 4 works with a 1400 RPM rated super quiet 135mm Silent Wings PWM fan, that hits only 21.4dB(A) at top speed, proving it to be efficient in the performance-to-noise ratio, advertised as virtually inaudible, but comparatively, it might be a little noisier than some other coolers.

The dual-tower design supports an additional 120mm fan, which is a welcome addition. The cooling mechanism is further processed with six 06mm high-performance copper heat pipes, achieving maximum heat conductance, keeping the airflow optimized for supreme cooling efficiency. 

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This elegantly designed CPU cooler is not only sight worth seeing- through the transparent side panel – but also a design that is capable of advancing the functionality.

Like the Rubber anti-vibration strips for the fans running vertically along each side to help diminish fan noise while also building a slinky fit between cooler and fan.

The anodized, brushed-aluminum cover plate and adequately thick aluminum fins exhibit the advance quality and design of the Be Quiet! Dark Rock 4. It is a single-tower layout, perfect for small spaces, stylish and super easy to install,

Be Quiet! being Germany’s number one PSU manufacturers makes no compromise on quality, the Dark Rock 4 also has several performance badges and awards to its name.

Hitting the exceptional cooling performance score of 200W TDP, the Dark Rock 4 proves its worth for the given price tag.

Best Air Cooler for i7 8700k - Cooler Master MasterAir MA410M

Next up, we have the well-known and widely renowned manufacturer of CPU coolers, the Cooler Master. The Cooler Master secures two spots on our list, the first one is the Cooler Master MasterAir MA410M.

A decent mid-size CPU cooler, with excellent performance and a stylish design topped with attractive RGB lighting.

The MasterAir MA410M supports almost all current sockets, providing ease in compatibility for both Intel and AMD users without much worry. Being a traditional – heatsink equipped with dual-fans  – CPU cooler, the MasterAir is also a preferred choice for a mid-end i7 8700k build and nothing beyond that, just to be on the safe side.

The MasterAir MA410M comes with two fans, one on each side, with the heatsink in the middle, that will be sitting right above the CPU socket. The two 120mm MasterFan MF120R fans provide satisfying performance, both of these fans are illuminated with attractive RGB lighting, that blends perfectly along with the blades, rendering a radiant effect.

The RGB LEDs are fully addressable – certified to sync with RGB Motherboard or controlled by MasterPlus+ – are located in the side casing of the cooler shell, the radiant effect on the fans make up for a good looking set-up, showcased from the transparent side panel.

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The MasterAir MA410M also features a thermal detection sensor, which indicates CPU temperature through color lighting effects, glowing through the fans. Blue will indicate normal/idle temperatures, while Red will warn of the max load.

With a pre-installed second fan, the MasterAir MA410M cuts down on the heat pipes. Presented with only four 06mm heat pipes, but each equipped with continuous direct contact technology 2.0, for advance and efficient heat conductance and dissipation.

The Hexagon Hologram Aluminum fin further participates in heat dissipation and improves overall efficiency, along with the unique color lighting cutout placement.

The Air-Guide Armor is designed to specifically guide the flow of air for peak cooling performance and reduce dead heat spots on the cooler. The fanatic design of MasterAir MA410M is as efficient in performing capabilities as it is in aesthetic measures.

With an award-winning design, the MasterAir MA410M ensures a 5-year warranty to ease your long-term performance worries.

Best Low Profile CPU Cooler for i7 8700k - Reeven RC-1001 Brontes

A brand-new entry to our choice of CPU coolers is the mysterious Reeven RC-1001 Brontes. The Brontes is a purpose-built, low profile CPU cooler particularly designed to provide excellent cooling in Mini ITX and HTPC systems, where the equilibrium of adequate cooling and low noise is important.

With a simplistic and minimalistic design, the Brontes covers only a 59mm height, perfectly fit for compact cases and small spaces.

The heatsink is quite slim, with a single pre-installed fan to one side with blades painted in traditional yellow, to give a bright aesthetic contract to the overall black of fan’s outer bracket. The support compatibility range of the Brontes is quite wide for both AMD and Intel.

The quality of the build is exceptionally good, the cables are sleeved and the heat pipes are nickel-plated, blending in color with the fins, to ensure an effective and efficient cooling process and a good show-case aesthetic.

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The low profile 13-blade 100mm PWM fan is only 12mm thick, making up for a thin overall design for compact spaces, the traditional yellow and black fan of the Brontes is what you see from the top.

The fan can hit between 11.81 ~ 30.39 CFM of airflow, the speed score is rated between 550 ~ 2200RPM and maintains a noise level of 10.5 ~ 31.67dBA at maximum. 

There are 45 aluminum fins capped off with a decorative top plate featuring the Reeven logo stamped neatly through the center, these fins further dissipate heat and conduct maximum airflow to keep things cool, along with that, the Brontes has four 06mm nickel-plated copper heat pipes to assure that the heat from the CPU travels to the fins effectively.

On the given list, the Brontes is something unique, it is specifically for the compact cases, as the popularity of the ITX and HTPC low profile coolers is on the rise.

It provides all that is required of a low-profile CPU cooler, it gives a satisfactory performance-to-noise ratio, but it could do better with the maximum noise level. It keeps the temperature stable for a low-profile build, and might not do so well with overclocking, so keep that in mind. 

Best Budget CPU Cooler for i7 8700k - Noctua NH-U14S

Next up, we have the tall and mighty – Noctua NH-U14S. The Noctua offers a large variety of CPU cooling products, this particular one from the Noctua’s Classic U-Series caught our attention for being a suitable pair for the i7 8700k.

The NH-U14S might be tall and provides ample performance for a decent mid-end power charging build, but it is characterized as slim and truly, it is, except for the Brontes on this list, so far, it has a slimmer fin array than the rest, and yet it proves itself worthy with adequate cooling and heat dissipation, easily handling thermal loads well above 200 Watts.

52 mm deep and 150 mm wide shape still guarantees full compatibility with tall RAM modules on different motherboards and retains being a slinky fit CPU cooler for the i7 8700k.

The traditional and not-so-pleasantly-colored (beige and dark brown) NF-A15 140mm fan with PWM support is the only pre-installed fan, it covers more space than the heatsink and goes out a little out of proportions.

The fan on NH-U14S is known to be exceptionally powerful and yet silent, with a comparatively low noise level, overall. The cooler allows for another NF-A15 fan if you want so, providing fan-clips and an extra set of custom-designed anti-vibration pads to easily install the new fan and keep the noise level down, even with a dual-fan set-up.

Also, the maximum fan speed can be reduced from 1500 to 1200rpm using the supplied Low-Noise Adaptor for an all-time low noise level of 19.2 dB(A) max.Noctua NH-U14S is the best cpu cooler for i7 8700k under 100 

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The NH-U14S further deploys a set of six thick copper heat pipes, which, along with the copper base, is fully nickel-plated. The heat pipes are connected to the fins well, with no visible gaps to be found. With all of the joints soldered, it secures supreme thermal transfer and mechanical cohesion.

The heat dissipation and airflow are further maximized with the help of the dense aluminum fin array. The top fin of the array has the company’s logo and name engraved on it.

The build quality of the NH-U14S is exceptionally good and eye-candy smooth,it ensures maximum performance at an all-time low-noise level, cleverly manufacturing each element in such a way that it dedicates to the overall performance, while keeping the weight and the cost of the cooler from increasing. 

The NH-U14S giving wide-range compatibility and excellent performance and performance-to-noise, at such a decent price, proves it to be a superb pair for a mid-end build with i7 8700k in the power.

The fact that NH-U14S comes from the award-winning NH-U series and that the manufacturers offer a grand six-year warranty should drop all your trust issues for good.

Best Premium CPU Cooler for i7 8700k - NZXT Kraken M22

Another premium addition to our list is the NZXT’s Kraken M22, a premium-priced, superior performing, and spectacularly beautiful CPU cooler that sits right in with our requirements for the i7 8700k.

The Kraken further re-inforces its beauty with the individually addressable RGB lighting and infinity mirror design, making it a top-notch sight for enthusiasts.

The Kraken M22 is a compact CPU cooler with separate placement for cooling block and the radiator in its brand new design conception, comparatively smaller than the previous cooler from the Kraken line-up.

In case, you choose to go for a compact build, that so rightly goes with the i7 8700k and budget isn’t something that restricts you then the Kraken M22 is perfectly good to be paired with.

The Kraken M22 exhibits a single 120mm NZXT, Aer P120 radiator-optimized fan that is rated up to 2000 RPM, but at 36dB(A) top, it is not so quite. The software with CAM allows full control over the fan but it sends data to NZXT cloud services, which you might need to keep in consideration.

The tubing of the cooler is 400mm long, made of rubber and designed for ultra-low evaporation. along with that, all the tubes are covered with nylon sleeving, which is always a welcome change. 

The top of the Kraken M22 block features the NZXT infinity mirror design, which is so confidently advertised to unbelievable reflective and rightly so. The cooling plate at the bottom of the Kraken M22 is milled copper and comes with a factory-applied thermal compound.

The cooler block features a mini-B USB header port, which lays on top, conventionally placed. The brand-new and advanced design of the Kraken M22, really makes it an attractive and top-notch pick for a compact build, especially for i7 8700k, but it comes at a premium price, and honestly a bit over-priced for the over-all specification.

If the price and the CAM’s privacy protocol does not bother you, then Kraken M22 with its advanced enthusiastic design, superb cooling performance, compact size, and 3-year warranty package can keep you invested.

Best CPU Cooler for Overclocking i7 8700k - Corsair H100i PRO

Another manufacturer to achieve two spots on our list is Corsair. Corsair was always well-known the market, one of the buyer’s top choice, the build quality, and neatness reflected their professionalism but the price tag was always a bit over the line for given products.

The H1– series of the corsair turned the tables, with the new H100i Pro, corsair provided the conventional supreme quality at a decent price tag, and not only that, the H100i Pro is CPU cooler that belongs to the category of liquid/water coolers, a perfect choice for high-end builds.

The i7 8700k, being a mid-high end build welcomes the H100i warmly.

 This H100i Prop of Corsair is equipped with a dual-fan 240mm setup. It should be known fact by now that the “I” in latest the Corsair models, like this one and the other listed in this guide, indicates that the product is Software controllable and contains the CUE software.

And as you know, liquid coolers tend to accommodate powerful usage; with that being said, the system lets you power several profiles.The H100i being a groundbreaking product in the history of Corsair, it does justice to its price tag and advertised quality.

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The build quality as fine as Corsair has always promised to provide, the dual-fan radiator along with the water pump that provides efficient heat dissipation and maximized airflow to tame a high-end processor.

The software-controlled optimization can take things to another level with the required adjustment that you may need to perform according to your build.

This time the corsair received all the praise for being reasonable with their price, that is not actually lowering the price, but pumping the features up to that level. Ultra-low noise cooling mechanism with super attractive RGB placement justifies the price tag perfectly.

Best Water CPU Cooler for i7 8700k - EVGA CLC 280

The EVGA, being one of the leading hardware manufacturers, with awesome details and superb performance, was sure to make its way on to our list. Our Pick for the i7 8700k is the CLC 280. The CLC 280 is a mighty liquid cooler, like no other, premium price tag, but almost spot-on for what it provides.

THE CLC 280 provides incredible all-in-one performance, low noise, and exceptional cooling, even for overclocked processors, meaning you can tune your i7 8700k up for high-end gaming without sweating due to high temperatures.

This closed-loop-cooler (CLC) is designed with separate dual-fan radiator and an aluminum block, to space up maximum space, and exhibit a neat showcase, despite the size.

The sleeved tubing on CLC 280 neatly connects the radiator to the pump and the copper water block. The radiator is equipped with two pre-installed tailor-made 140mm Teflon Nano Bearing fans rated up to 2200 RPM and a maximum noise level of 39.5dB(A), which is a lot but considering a super-efficient dual-fans set-up, we’ll let that pass.

The cooler’s water block offers improved flow rate and heat dissipation surface area to ensure efficient cooling. It is a 100% copper-made block, with a fully controllable RGB LED and an impressive noise level of 20dB(A) at max.

The build quality of an Asetek-based cooler can never not be appreciated. It looks and feels as smooth as it serves. The overall cooler is rich in features, along with the self-contained all-in-one cooling solution, it offers intelligent wiring and sleeved tubing, a welcome change, dual variable controlled 140mm fans setup with Teflon Nano Bearing and a huge range of compatibility, topped with a limited 5-year warranty.

The CLC 280 can prove to be a worthy pair for a high-end gaming build powered by the i7-8700k, overclocked for further excellence without any worries.

Best AIO CPU Cooler for i7 8700k - Corsair H150i PRO

The second spot secured by the renowned Corsair is for the H150i PRO. Another mighty addition to the list, a massive AIO liquid CPU cooler with a large 360mm radiator, to provide for the most efficient and powerful cooling solution as per requirements of high-end gaming builds, easily activating the overclocking capabilities of the i7 8700k without breaking a sweat.

The H50i PRO is a successor to the H100i – included in the list – with greater performance capabilities via the three pre-installed fans set up, at the expense of a slightly higher price tag.

The most impressive feature of the H150i Pro is definitely the pre-installed trio of fans. The three low-noise 120mm ML Series magnetic levitation PWM fans might cover more area, but for the better, as they deliver supreme airflow and cooling at the lowest noise level possible of 25dB(A) at full speed, which is quite impressive.

However, if you need a quite surfing time, the Zero RPM mode will serve you right by stopping the fans entirely at lower temperatures, specifically under 40’C. The acrylic pump unit of the H150i Pro draws power from an integrated SATA 12v adapter.

A Micro-B to USB header cable is included to provide full control, especially for precise pumping to maximize performance and minimize noise, according to the temperature needs. 

The acrylic pump is equipped with impressive dynamic multicolor RGB lighting, which can also be addressed via the software control and tuned to your liking.

However, the lighting is limited only to the pump unit, leaving the fans with stock aesthetics, which Corsairs does an excellent job upon.

The base of the acrylic pump is composed of milled copper for efficient cooling. The Modular, tool-free mounting is also a huge plus point. The H150i Pro might not be a suitable choice for compact builds, and neither should be mounted in one.

With tactful planning it can fit in easily in most of the cases, despite the tremendous size, something to be comfortable with if you require a high-end processing build with the i7-8700k, unlocking its full potential in gaming with superb overclocking.

The build quality of the Corsair’s H150i Pro is absolutely impressive and to be trusted, as the manufacturers further secure their position with a 5-year warranty, which makes sure, that there is nothing for you to worry about as you spend top coin on the cooler.

If high-end gaming/processing at overclocked speeds is something you are interested in then this future proof CPU cooler might not seem too expensive, although it is.

Best RGB CPU Cooler for i7 8700k - Cooler Master Masterliquid ML240R

The second recommendation from the Cooler Master’s powerful arsenal of CPU coolers is the MasterLiquid, contrary to the first one, which was MasterAir, providing a different solution for efficient cooling, whichever you so likely prefer.

The MasterLiquid ML240R is an AIO class cooler that includes dual PWM fans and pumps control, laced with attractive full addressable RGB lighting all-around.

The impressive part of the bargain is, that for dual PWM fans, pump control, low noise, maximum cooling efficiency, and aesthetic RGB lighting to light up your build, it all comes with an exceptionally decent price tag.

With significant power to keep your processor cool at all times under great load, the ML240R is a great pair for a mid-end i7-8700k build.

The 12-tube, 240mm radiator is equipped with a pre-installed pair of 120mm MF120R ARGB PWM fans that can hit an RPM score of 2000 max, along with the fully controllable individual IC per LED RGB flow to exhibit an excellent show-case of lighting effects.

The aluminum fins of the radiator are designed not only to provide efficient heat dissipation and airflow but also to look good and perfectly ready for the RGB illumination.

The ML240R offers a low-profile dual chamber pump, which makes it light and impenetrable against oxidation and corrosion. The pump of the cooler is constructed of high-quality material, including a high-performance impeller for enhanced liquid pressure and an O-ring made of high-quality EPDM rubber to eliminate liquid emission.

The top of the MasterLiquid ML240R RGB pump is a removable, matte black domed cap, which shows an opaque outline of the Cooler Master logo. The base of the pump is composed of milled copper, for higher efficiency of cooling performance.

The MasterLiquid ML240R is a great choice among the liquid cooling AIO CPU coolers, it offers extensive and impressive cooling, at a low noise level, while also providing a better price than the competitors.

For a powerful mid-end build of i7 8700k that might need to be pushed a little further, but not too often, will work best with the ML240R, however, the warranty of 2 years only is a little less than expected.

Best CPU Liquid Cooler for i7 8700k - Arctic Liquid Freezer 360

The last spot on our list of the best CPU cooler for the i7 8700k is easily obtained by another massive and mighty cooler with an outstanding number of six fans.

This AIO liquid cooling solution, the Arctic Liquid Freezer 360 is a groundbreaking addition to our list, achieving supreme cooling performance with up to 16 core builds and overclocked processors, making it a piece of cake to handle the temperatures of i7 8700k on high-end overclocked processing.

The Arctic Liquid Freezer comes with such a reasonable price for a 360 AIO, that it is almost unbelievable to be all that efficient and perfect. The 390mm long radiator is covered by six low noise 120mm PWM fans, three on each opposite side, performing push and pull function to dissipate heat and maximize airflow, making up for an unmatchable cooling performance at a very low noise level.

These F12 fans are CFD optimized for a controllable high flow rate, with an exceptional performance-to-noise ratio. Being easily able to handle up to 300 Watts TDP, with almost no noise, it won’t even break a sweat to keep the i7 8700k under control.  

The Liquid Freezer 360 is equipped with one of the most efficient and well-designed pumps, with the latest motor technology and smooth tubes to offer exceptional performance at an unbelievable low power consumption of only 2 watts.

The long service life of the cooler is ensured by the installation of Fluid Dynamic Bearing, and keep things as quiet as possible. The optimal heat dissipation and maximized airflow are ensured equally by both the pump and the radiator that is equipped with six efficient fans.

It is a wee bit disappointing that such a massive and high-end CPU cooler offers no more than 2 years of warranty, maybe that is the cutback on being priced so reasonably for a 360 AIO liquid cooler.

The Liquid Freeze 360 is an all-time great choice for a high-end build that performs supreme processing and needs to be tamed.