Final Thoughts
The Amazon Basics CPU cooler is a rather interesting product. It is Amazon’s first real PC hardware product, although the cooler itself is really made and developed by Cooler Master. If I were to think of an Amazon Basics CPU cooler I would expect a pretty easy installation and adequate cooling. I think this cooler definitely achieves those two things.
When it comes to installation this cooler is one of the easiest air coolers that we’ve installed lately. Installation should take you no more than 5 minutes and the included instructions are easy to follow. Because of the size of the cooler you could totally install this cooler with your motherboard mounted inside your case.
Now when it comes to performance this cooler is alright. It our testing it sits towards the lower half of our test group. It does perform better than Thermaltake’s UX200 SE, but that cooler is less expensive at only $21.99. It gets beat out by the DeepCool AK400 WH and Jonsbo PISA A5, but the DeepCool cooler is much more expensive, and the Jonsbo cooler is a bit louder. I think if you are running a mid-range CPU and are not doing any type of overclocking or crazy CPU intensive tasks this cooler would be fine. It is definitely going to provide better performance than your stock cooler and it is going to run more quiet too.
I do like that we get a hardware RGB controller included with the cooler. This allows you to make use of the RGB lighting if your motherboard does not have an RGB connection or you don’t want to use it. My only issue with it is that it uses a Molex connection for power. It is also worth noting that the size of the cooler means you can install it is a variety of systems from normal mid-towers to small form factor.
To be honest I wasn’t expecting much from this product, but its not horrible. In the $30 price range there are other coolers out there and some perform better, but they also might be louder too. I think if you are doing a pretty basic build this cooler will suffice. You can pick this cooler up at our favorite online retailer for $28.51. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Amazon Basics CPU Cooler a 7 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Price
– Small and compact
– Easy to install
– Adequate cooling
– Hardware RGB controller included
Cons:
– Better performing coolers at the same price
– RGB controller uses Molex for power
– Our unit arrived dirty
