Amazon - Iota A62 BK CPU Cooler $32.99

DAPUNISHER

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Be sure to report back about its ease of mounting - I love how easy the Peerless Assassin mounts.
I have an aging 240mm AIO on one of my systems that I can't understand why I haven't replaced yet? I will replace it with this...soonish. I will not be getting the snazzy temp reading because there is zero chance I install their app on my PC. ;)
 
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DAPUNISHER

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Installation is a breeze on AM5. Hand tighten the hardware on with the brackets curving in just like the peerless assassin. Remove the center fan, and again like the PA use a long screwdriver to tighten down both sides of the cooler. Replace fan.

Cons: The readout requires a USB 2.0 port which my board only has one of. It is on the bottom of the board as far from the cooler as possible. I also only have one header so I'd have to get an internal extension hub, as my front panel is connected to the only header. The app required for the readout is another con. The last con is the fans have a high pitched annoying whine if allowed to spin fast enough. And that is why I don't recommend this cooler, even at the price. You would need to replace the fans, killing the value.

Pros: Looks great, cools well, easy to install.
 
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bba-tcg

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Installation is a breeze on AM5. Hand tighten the hardware on with the brackets curving in just like the peerless assassin. Remove the center fan, and again like the PA use a long screwdriver to tighten down both sides of the cooler. Replace fan.

Cons: The readout requires a USB 2.0 port which my board only has one of. It is on the bottom of the board as far from the cooler as possible. I also only have one header so I'd have to get an internal extension hub, as my front panel is connected to the only header. The app required for the readout is another con. The last con is the fans have a high pitched annoying whine if allowed to spin fast enough. And that is why I don't recommend this cooler, even at the price. You would need to replace the fans, killing the value.

Pros: Looks great, cools well, easy to install.
I think I'll just stay with the Peerless Assassin 120 SE for my air installs. Thanks for the review.
 
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DAPUNISHER

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The Phantom Spirit is only a couple of dollars more the the PA with better fans. I do love the PA though. Bought a couple before @Rigg turned me on to the PS. I wasn't even looking at other coolers the PA was such a great deal. I was paying $30 back then.
 
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bba-tcg

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The Phantom Spirit is only a couple of dollars more the the PA with better fans. I do love the PA though. Bought a couple before @Rigg turned me on to the PS. I wasn't even looking at other coolers the PA was such a great deal. I was paying $30 back then.
I might try it. Says it has one more heat pipe than the PA, nearly the same price. In the near future, I'm going to replace 3 cheaper (quality) heatsinks so maybe they end up being PS instead....
 
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DAPUNISHER

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This install just ended my AIO adventures. I don't think I'll ever use one again. Shame about the fans, I'd have given it a must buy rating at the price otherwise. But All I had to do with a 7800X3D is run the CPU-Z stress test and it became annoyingly loud. It only hit 80c for a couple of seconds as the fans ramped up further and kept it just under, but man is the high pitched whining bad at that point. Not worth it when Thermalright can do the same thing without the excessive noise.
 
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DAPUNISHER

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Amazon has a 3 pack of Thermalright fans for $11 and change. Hopefully they will add extra cash back for Prime Day. I had to uninstall the cooler because it is insufferable. I don't know if it is the heatsink design, the heatpipes, the fans, or a combination, but along with the noise, it is 6-8c hotter than the Peerless with the same fan curve. Despite the PA fans being 4x quieter with no whine.

If the fans rehab it, I'll keep it. Otherwise it goes back.
 

Rigg

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Have you checked these out? If it were me I'd send that Iota back and grab a PA 120 digital rather than slapping new fans on the iota. The info on the display is a bit scant so I'm not sure if this also requires USB 2.
 
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DAPUNISHER

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I was not planning to use the display. I would never see the readout either, I do all white and black box builds and only my Phanteks full tower has a window. I used to buy RGB gear because RGB sells PCs. But I don't do builds for others anymore so I avoid it when possible.

I was interested in evaluating a more expensive product (back to $57 now) for similar cost to the PA. It stays quiet if you limit the fan speed, but then it fails to cool nearly as well as the Thermalright. I have an OG Noctua D15 sitting in its box: I will see whether or not the fans are too fat to fit on this Iota. That would improve the temps while staying quiet.
 
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