Best CPU Cooler 2017

Winner: Fractal Design Celsius S36

The Celsius S36 from Fractal Design is a clean and professional-looking all-in-one liquid cooler. While it may be an Asetek-based design, it does offer just enough to stand out in a crowded market. Case in point is the built-in fan hub on the radiator that keeps cable clutter to a minimum and makes for an interesting feature as it is unique to the Celsius series. It also doesn't hurt that performance is quite frankly fantastic in that it delivers top-tier cooling that only falls short of custom liquid cooling kits. Keep in mind that it also bucks the trend of loud liquid coolers with its fairly low noise operation of 45 decibels when running at 100% PWM. After taking all of that into account, you end up with an AIO liquid cooler that is honestly quite hard to beat. That last point is further driven home by its aggressive price tag of just $119.99. That leaves the Celsius S36 with its 360 mm radiator competing with many 240 mm radiator based competitors in terms of pricing; in fact, it's only $10 more compared to the smaller Celsius S24. In general, the Fractal Design Celsius S36 is of excellent value as far as high-end plug and play CPU coolers go.

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Runner-up: Scythe Fuma

When the Scythe Fuma hit the market, I figured it was just another dual-tower, dual-fan design. To be blunt, that is exactly what it is. However, with anything, the devil is obviously in the details. The MSRP of just $45.95 makes it a mid-range offering in terms of price. Then comes the surprise along with shock and awe as it manages to perform on par with the Noctua NH-D15S and comes in just a smidge behind the regular NH-D15. Even more surprising is that it does so while being just as quiet. This is not a joke - the Fuma really does deliver in regards to performance. What lets it down is the terrible memory clearance. Users won't be using system memory with tall heatsinks if they want maximum bang for their buck in regards to cooling the CPU. Still, even with its limitations, the Scythe Fuma is always worth a look, even more so now as the newer Revision B offers AM4 support out of box. Quiet with exceptional performance, the Fuma just needs a bit more polish to take the top spot.

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Looking forward to 2018

We are soon going to drown in RGB functionality, which I myself am not looking forward to. RGB and LEDs can be great, but they will soon be so overdone as to become absurd. Granted, it is a natural evolution from the LEDs of yesteryear, but they do little to hold my attention. Instead, I am looking forward to manufacturers taking existing designs and making them better with offset heatsinks for better memory compatibility, or all-in-one liquid coolers that actually deliver on performance without making my ears bleed. While a few manufacturers have been working in that direction, not enough have taken the hint yet. Overall, when it comes to keeping CPUs cool, the market is a bit stagnant; as such, I am looking forward most to how manufacturers will manage to diversify in an increasingly crowded and competitive market. I want to see new designs that are clearly outside the box, like the Cooler Master MasterLiquid Maker 92 (try saying that five times fast). Not everything needs to be amazing for me to get excited; sometimes, it's enough to just see a company try something unique.