The Best LOW PROFILE Coolers for ITX Builds

These are are the best low profile coolers available for ITX gaming PCs right now but which is the best low profile cooler of them all? We take a look at ID Cooling, Thermalright, Cooler Master, Scythe, Noctua and other low profile coolers.

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - The Best Low Profile Coolers
0:54 - Silverstone KR-01
1:16 - ID Cooling IS-50X
2:16 - Scythe Shuriken 2
2:43 - Thermalright AXP-100 Copper
3:47 - Cooler Master a71C ARGB
4:46 - ID Cooling IS-60 EVO
5:10 - Noctua L9x65
5:45 - Arctic Cooling Alpine 23 CO
6:15 - Noctua NH-L12 Ghost
7:00 - Low Profile Cooler Heights & Prices
7:19 - Installation
8:45 - Methodologies
9:10 - 65W Performance Testing
10:55 - 65W @ 38dB Noise Normalized
12:00 - 95W Performance Testing
13:25 - 95W @ 38dB Noise Normalized
13:52 - Gaming Performance Testing
15:33 - Gaming @ 38dB Noise Normalized
16:04 - RECOMMENDATIONS!!

Review unit provided free of charge by the companies listed OR purchased by Hardware Canucks. This video is sponsored by XTRFY. As per Hardware Canucks guidelines, no review direction was received from manufacturer. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Gear list (Available on Amazon):
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[corentinrobin]

These roundup videos are the best that Hardware Canucks make. That's exactly the kind of content I'm looking for when I ask: "I have X case, what is the best I can fit in there". I can find my pick according to performance, price, noise, or a balance of those, all within this video.

More like these please, for other components: GPUs, motherboards, mice, etc...

[DeanoDrives]

Two years after the purchase of my AXP-100 Full Copper, I have you to thank for validating my purchase now!
Sincerely,
A very happy ZS-A4 V2 owner

[cmja]

ID-Cooling yeah baby. Best thing about it, we can get it here in Asia at $22.

[JMark]

Mike, I feel like a lot of people sleep on ID Cooling. Their largest coolers are honestly never discussed…a video diving into their other products (bigger coolers/aio’s) would be awesome.

[trevdawg]

For anyone looking for the IS-50X v2, ID Cooling is selling it directly from them via Newegg. Unfortunately it ships from China so you'll have to wait around a month, but I can't recommend it enough. If you're using it with an AMD system make sure to get Noctua's AM4 backplate kit, otherwise you risk flexing your motherboard if you overtighten the mounting screws. ID Cooling does have an AM4 backplate kit, but it's not as good as Noctua's.

I used the IS-60 non-EVO, which is the predecessor to the IS-50X v2, in a Fractal Design Node 202 with a 5700G for quite a few compact livestreaming builds. It kept the 5700G from getting above 80C in full stress tests even with the limited airflow of the Node 202, so I'm glad to see that it has a successor. One thing of note: I had to replace the IS-60 non-EVO's stock fan with a Noctua NF-A12x15 to keep the fan blades from scraping against the dust filter of the Node 202. It doesn't look like the IS-50X v2 will have that issue since it's using a different fan that includes rubber vibration pads, but it's something to keep in mind.

[joshanderson]

Was just starting my hunt for a low profile cooler. Perfect timing!

[PredalienatorX]

Love these roundups highlighting lesser known brands like ID-Cooling. They're pretty easy to find here in South East Asia but the lack of coverage means people go towards other brands.

Looking forward to a 69mm cooler roundup if you plan on doing it. Mostly because of the Big Shuriken 3 😛

[dangerwr]

Very impressive results on the AXP-100 CU.

I'd still love to see the Scythe Big Shuriken 3 for those slightly larger ITX cases. I'm personally looking at a case with 83mm clearance.

Keep up the great work!

[ailluinthethyra]

Nice roundup. I wish you can also review Thermalright AXP120-X67(67mm), Scythe Big Shuriken 3 Rev. B(67mm) & Noctua NH-L12S(70mm).

[bongkem]

i got the IS-50X v2 and the system is cool af, and quiet too, and cheap.... a god tier cooler for sure !!!

[JoelhdroN]

Hey great comparison! This video gave me enough confidence to order the ID50x for my ITX build, can't wait!

[kennytay]

I have to agree that the IS-50 is one of the best low profile cooler that is also affordable. I’ve used one of it before, and where the some low profile coolers cannot make it causing very high 80s to 90s degrees celcius (and even shutdown), the IS-50 kept the processor in the 70s. Comparing it with the bigger Noctua cooler, I feel the reasons why the Noctua can’t keep up is because, (1) smaller fan which does not cover the heatsink, and, (2) bottom mount fan which I generally feel is ineffective when compared to mounting the fan on top of the heatsink and blowing downwards into the fin stack. That is why the IS-50 is giving very stiff competition despite being lower in profile. As for the IS-60 EVO, I suspect if you remove the bottom mount fan, the noise level will go down since there is only 1 fan left and the smaller fan is actually noisier due to the higher RPM, with with little impact to the cooling performance.

[shanksisnoteventhatstrongbruh]

ID Cooling can make extremely competent "affordable" coolers, including low profile heatsinks so i kinda expected it to be one of the best here.
Great Video.

[jasonsaez]

Ok, Mike I'm completely blown away by the ID-Cooling growth over the years! Nice review of all for sure!

[Biliskner]

This is an awesome review. You guys have found a niche for low profile cooler reviews. Building one myself now purely to convert all my video to HEVC and so all cores will be running 100% most of the time. The TR CU is a bit much, but I think the IS-50x will be the one! Cheers

[IgorTchaka]

If there another video for others Coolers please look into the iS-60 EVO with the blackplate that they sell separately and without the lower fan. IS-60 reviews are very inconstant bacause the Lack of backplate.

[misterscienceguy]

The full AXP-100 is giving me real Zalman flower cooler vibes with that colour.

[TheGameBench]

Yikes! $130 for the AXP-100 CU. I'm thinking the IS-50X is pretty strong, especially for the money. Might have to try one of those with an i7 7700 I'm running in a SFF OEM system that's out of control temp wise. Probably needs a delid as well.

[riba]

Thank you so much for doing this reviews, you are doing a huge favor to the community!

[Kiki-lcng]

Noctua NH-L12 Ghost is just the previous-generation NH-L12 with the top NF-F12 (120mm) fan removed. They didn't even change the NF-B9 fan for newer NF-A9.
And MSRP for original L12 was $70 since 2013 - but you got an extra fan!