The ThermalRight Phantom Spirit 120 SE

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The ThermalRight Phantom Spirit 120 SE

Рет қаралды 27,612

Күн бұрын

The Phantom Spirit 120 SE from ThermalRight, has 7 heatpipes, a copper cold plate and is only 44 USD, but is it any good? … Yes, yes it is.
What’s up everyone, Erik here and welcome to Hardware For Gamers. For those who are new to the channel, I review and test PC cases, CPU coolers, PC case fans and Video cards. Before I get into the overview, to have Full disclosure. ThermalRight did send me this cooler to review, but as always all opinions expressed in this video are mine.
On to the overview, there are 2 versions of the PS 120 SE. There is the PS 120 SE and The PS 120 SE ARGB. these sell for 41 to 51 USD and those are from Amazon.com
CPU Cooler Testing Methodology Video - • New CPU Cooler Review ...
Amazon Associates Links:
Amazon.co.uk - amzn.to/2YQxWr9
Amazon.ca - amzn.to/30uZ1AW
Amazon.com - amzn.to/30k8tqz
KZfaq - / hardwareforgamers
Twitter - / hfg_yt
Discord - / discord
Patreon - www.patreon.com/user?u=78772915
System Specs:
Motherboard - MSI B550 Tomahawk
GPU - Asus GT1030 passive cooler
OS Drive - 250GB m.2 nvme drive
PSU - Corsair RM550x
RAM - Gskill FlareX 3200 4-8GB
Case - QDIY Cool 5 open frame Case
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:00 CPU Cooler Overview
2:18 Dimensions and Socket Compatibility
3:12 Installing the Cooler
5:18 Fan RPM and dBA
6:05 Temperature Testing
7:30 Final Thoughts
Intro Music
Rock Intro 2 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Artist: audionautix.com/

Пікірлер: 115

@kendragon2827 Жыл бұрын

Nh-d15 actually costs nearly 3 times, if at normal pricing.

@HerzogGeffalterbach Жыл бұрын

Man, thank you very much, only after your videos I've found out that Phantom spirit is what I need. Really appreciate your deep analysis.

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

Glad I could help

@nospanish 11 ай бұрын

Next week i'm gonna go for this one, thanks for clear my doubts about this Nice cooler.

@minhdao5234 9 ай бұрын

Thank you for adding the ram clearance in your video! Was very helpful for me.

@sergiomarin7632 3 ай бұрын

you can always just move up a bit the fan cooler and be done with it, it wont cause a problem, gotta consider the clearance of the case though

@RmX. 2 ай бұрын

Also temperatures with just 1 fan are only 3-4 degrees higher

@dtwjohn6378 10 күн бұрын

@@sergiomarin7632 how do u move the fan up do u have a video

@johanmga 7 ай бұрын

10:21 eructo epico para cerrar una gran review, saludos desde colombia!, el cooler me acaba de llegar hoy siuuu

@amasoftyou Жыл бұрын

good review man, i just bought mine, but with rgb fan, but anything else not yet bought, so cant try it on. one step at a time building my pc

@itsame_th2283 7 ай бұрын

Managed to snag one for $28! Thanks for the review

@ssotkow Жыл бұрын

Nice video. Should of watched this vid earlier. As per Tom's Hardware recommendation for best CPU coolers in 2023, I got the PA120 SE. If only they had reviewed the one extra heatpipe that is PS 120 SE. Also, for this vid, if only you had included "Peerless Assassin/PA 120 SE" in the title or tagged in the description. I'm sure many more would've tune in (boosted by YT search algo), as PA 120 SE has rose to great prominence following recommendations from Tom's and Gamers Nexus' Steve Burke. You're probably right about supply overstock of PA120 SE. I just bought a new one for only USD18 (132 RMB) at one of the TMall's online stores during Mainland China's nationwide "618" sales event last week. Fairly sure prices for Phantom Spirit lineups weren't significantly higher here. From your bench results, 1 to 2 degrees difference between the two products.

@MarleneSB 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for the details, I couldn't find a clear answer regarding phantom spirit vs assassin, this cleared things up a bit. I clicked the amazon link, UK one, but it just redirected to the front page but I bought it after clicking so I hope you get the referral.

@HardwareForGamers 8 ай бұрын

Glad I could help, and thank you very much!

@drtyboy 9 ай бұрын

Seen the COOP station so i knew i had to subscribe

@sprsk 8 ай бұрын

Excellent job, congrats !

@HardwareForGamers 8 ай бұрын

Thanks

@TheGwarGaru 6 ай бұрын

Thank you~!

@BarryMcBangerz Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@wireless1235 Жыл бұрын

I like your videos a lot. Thanks for the hard work you put into them. Wouldn't a higher TDP CPU better test these coolers?

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

maybe yes, but the way I look at it is how many watts are most people using when they're using there computer (because most ppl are gaming). If you're rendering then yes there is an argument... but... plus the cost of a CPU that can put out that many watts is... NOT cheap.

@ILHASSS 9 ай бұрын

Incredible cooler

@joehorecny7835 Жыл бұрын

Nice!!

@THE-X-Force 11 ай бұрын

Scored one yesterday for $35.99 at amazon. Ridiculously great value imo. Should be fine for my i7 12700K .. which I have no plans on overclocking. I do wish the thermal paste was pre-applied, that's the only nitpick I have, but maybe they don't do that because some people might want to use a different paste. I was considering getting the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, but I don't think it's worth it over the TF7 included with the Phantom Spirit. Thanks for the review. ☮

@LuisDiaz-qg3eg 10 ай бұрын

The included paste and the Kryonaut are very thick in consistency and hard to spread, I agree it being pre-applied could help

@hinchlikescake7592 Жыл бұрын

Have one of these with a couple of B12's to replace stock fans. Not sure if it makes any difference but does add a bit more flair to its aesthetics. Cool to see it being reviewed here. No doubt one of the best value high end air cooler you can get right now.

@deadinside777 Жыл бұрын

Thermalright seems to tune performance for both their fans and heatsinks. Heatsinks that come stock with slower fans tend to be denser (have slightly more fins) and the ones with higher rpm fans have less fins with greater spacing between them. The B12s are designed to run at high speed, as in the lower rpm ranges they don't perform well (get beaten by the TL-C12PRO).

@maelradec6766 Жыл бұрын

Are fan motors brushed or brushless? the brushless motors i use in my quadcopters can go down to 60 rpm but fan min rpm is 400.

@fuguf1sh Жыл бұрын

I have an older X370 board, a GA-AX-370 Gaming 5. I had ram clearance issues with the front fan. It sits on the ram stick causing a slight offset above the aluminum fins. Otherwise, it was easy to install. It does a pretty good job cooling my 5800X, keeping it around 60-65C while gaming.

@Link9164 11 ай бұрын

Tried to put the front fan in the back instead? Or is the vrm heatsinks in the way?

@gnomechonky 11 ай бұрын

I have a new mobo but had the same question. Idk if this was the case for you, but my natural inclination was to line up the top of the fans with the flat surface of the cooler. But really you want to line up the centers of all 3, so that the fans will be offset higher than the cooler housing. And that provides enough clearance for the RAM sticks.

@deadinside777 Жыл бұрын

I really want one, but I already have too many heatsinks.

@ProxityProductions 11 ай бұрын

Went to micro center got the deep rock 4 in a rush.. came home and immediately ordered the phantom spirit on Amazon for 40 bucks, came in 2 days. For $85 for the be quiet I was in shock at benchmarks

@LuisDiaz-qg3eg 10 ай бұрын

Do you have a result of the experiment at home?

@Agm1995gamer 3 ай бұрын

It works great with my 7950x3d

@Angel_Slide 14 күн бұрын

Bro sabes si este discipador se lo puedo instalar a una placa madre asrock b760m pro rs/d4 sin que haga conflicto con las memorias RAM? Tengo unas memorias RAM Asgard valkyrie, no son de perfil bajo

@LuisDiaz-qg3eg 11 ай бұрын

It's cheap enough to buy an extra cpu cooler fan clip and 3 P12 max and do an overkill setup push-conveyor-pull. I've actually already done the push-conveyor P12 max, and I'm going next weekend to get a Lian-Li P28 in the middle and migrate a P12 max to be the pull fan at the end.

@pouringpoipoi5777 3 ай бұрын

yo bro.. im copying your setup. does p28 fit in middle considering its 27mm thick? also how about 140mm in middle will it fit? so it can cool the motherboard VRM too

@anythingunderthesun6790 10 ай бұрын

Any performance difference against the Phantom Spirit 120 non-SE?

@tofu_golem 2 ай бұрын

I just bought one, but stuffed it in the closet because I realized that I was overreacting to the idle temps of my current setup. This overreaction prompted me to re-paste the CPU, clean out the radiator, clean out the fans, adjust pump curves, and uninstall various bits of bloatware (e.g. Logi Options+ and G-Hub were adding 5°C to my idle temps). But I'm not installing it just yet. Either my current AIO will eventually develop a real problem, or else I will find myself building a new computer. Then, that sucker comes out of the closet.

@zalmay1 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for the great review, have one question, can I replace the stock fans with Noctua NF-A12x25?

@HardwareForGamers 8 ай бұрын

Can you yes. will it make much of a performance difference? Likely not.

@Fidelb33r 6 ай бұрын

🙏

@NyPhewRisya 9 ай бұрын

hi, appreciate your video, I just want to ask which Thermalright air cooler are the best right now? I am consider buying the Frost Commander 140. Really appreciate if you could help me!

@HardwareForGamers 9 ай бұрын

I would say the phantom spirit is there best air cooler right now, but not by much. It really comes down to price on what I would get myself. Hopefully that helps.

@Danacade Жыл бұрын

How tight should I tighten the heatsink to the mounting bracket. Worried about too much pressure and braking the cpu

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

On am4 I went all the way down. You would crack the motherboard before you damage the CPU.

@chrisstubbs4355 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the really in-depth video and testing. I'm planning on getting a 5800X3D but I'm not sure whether the Phantom Spirit is worth 2x the price of the Assassin King for what looks like a 4 degree difference at 150w full speed. I won't be overclocking so just plan on keeping it at stock. Will the King be too underkill?

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

What will you be doing? Gaming? I've never used a x3d CPU, but from what I understand the thing that is important with AMDs x3d chips is getting the heat away from the CPU quickly. Which is hard because of the stacked cache. So it's more important to have a good thermal paste than overall heat capacity.

@chrisstubbs4355 Жыл бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers Thanks a lot for the response. Ultimately gaming would be the main use-case, yeah. Apparently the AK comes with TF4 thermal paste included, and the PS has TF7. I'd really like to make the Assassin King work due to it being cheaper, smaller, single fan, and seemingly quieter but ultimately if the temps aren't quite there still I may have to settle for the PS. If I get high quality paste and perhaps undervolt a touch do you think it'd fly?

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

@@chrisstubbs4355 how much are you spending on thermal paste? Premium thermal paste vs standard thermal paste (not cheap thermal paste) will have around a 1.5-2c difference.

@chrisstubbs4355 Жыл бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers I've decided to go for the Spirit, not worth the worry and with an undervolt I think there's a good chance it'll be quieter than the Assassin King anyway. Thanks for all your help!

@user-jg1yp8dx7y Жыл бұрын

hi, pls test thermalright assassin king90 noone tests on youtube

@MellowNoc Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the video. I'm still unsure what cooler to pick but this one seems to be really great. I'm worried that the front fan won't fit above my ram. I have G.Skill ripjaws V at 42mm height. Would you be so kind to let me know what ram sticks you got in there? Will my ripjaws fit under it? It's so hard to find more numbers on the ram clearance of this big boy. Thanks a lot!

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

The RAM clearance is 42mm now Depending on what CPU you have you could likely use just the center fan.

@MellowNoc Жыл бұрын

@@HardwareForGamersthanks! I'll be getting a Ryzen 5800x. No clue what I'm gonna do tbh

@MellowNoc Жыл бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers What do you think about a pull pull configuration on this one? Edit: I mean putting the front fan to the rear of the cooler.

@THE-X-Force 11 ай бұрын

@@MellowNoc This is what I'm wondering too. Moving the fan from the front (near the RAM) to the back. Not sure how much that will affect performance.

@MellowNoc 11 ай бұрын

@@THE-X-Force Funnily enough I am just now again doing my research on this because I'm about to buy a cooler. With the PS120SE you'd have to mount the front fan significantly higher in my case with the high 42mm RAM. I don't think it would make any sense. Mounting the front fan at the back instead would lead to the middle fan being obstructed by the front fins which would probably impact performance. So I will most likely be getting a different one. I'm looking at the Scythe Fuma 3.

@TieuBachBach Жыл бұрын

Can i ask the different between phantom spirit 120 (ps120) and phantom spirit 120 se (ps120se). Sub name behind (se) represent for what ?

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

there's not much difference, as far as i can tell. The PS120 has a cap covering the top of the heatpipes and is comparable with Intel's HPC sockets, while the PS120 SE does not, but they use the fan fans, they have the same number of heatpipes.

@TieuBachBach Жыл бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers thank you so much for that information 😍

@user-mn7zt3yx1k 4 ай бұрын

what is the exact RAM clearance?

@Lex-vf2fo Жыл бұрын

How many millimeters is the gap between the towers? Asking for considering potential fan alternatives.

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

If the GPU is in the first slot it will be very close 2-3 mm?? I don't know for sure because all my test systems have the x16 in the second slot.

@luneX200BR 10 ай бұрын

How can i know which side pull/push the air? Nice vid!

@HardwareForGamers 10 ай бұрын

The fans should have arrows on them indicating which way the airflow is. Typically the airflow is getting pushed out the back of the fan.

@danmar007 3 ай бұрын

Is it as large as the D15? The D-15 doesn't fit on my motherboard without hacks.

@teme1761 3 ай бұрын

It is about 2.5 cm smaller in both legth and width, 1.4 cm shorter in height.

@Imonfire123 10 ай бұрын

I'm new to building PCs. If you buy the RGB version, is it possible to turn the lights off or control them in any other way?

@HardwareForGamers 10 ай бұрын

It will depend on your motherboard, if your motherboard has the argb 3-pin header and you download the motherboards RGB sync program. you should be able to control the LEDs. Or even turn them off.

@Imonfire123 10 ай бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers thank you!

@Not_Bed Жыл бұрын

Will my ram modules fit with this cooler on? They are 33 millimeters high, non rgb

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

2:20

@heenaupreti552 8 ай бұрын

Will it have ram clearance issue on my patriot venom viper 6400mhz non rgb ram? it’s height is 43mm

@HardwareForGamers 8 ай бұрын

You should be able to make it work

@Psychonautt_ 5 ай бұрын

Any update on this?

@Guanche_MTB Жыл бұрын

Will the V2 fans be available separately?

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

I hope so, but as of now I don't know.

@insertnamehere4419 8 ай бұрын

Thermalright did a terrible job being clear on what the difference is between the reg, and SE. To make matters more annoying, everyone buys the SE even though from what I (can) gather, it is ever so slighly inferior to the reg.

@SBoth_ 8 ай бұрын

Will this fit into a ASUS TUF Gaming GT501 Mid-Tower

@HardwareForGamers 8 ай бұрын

Maximum CPU Cooler Height of the gt501 is 180mm... So yes...

@SBoth_ 8 ай бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers Thank you

@MrGamelover23 10 ай бұрын

So basically, it's a single degree upgrade over its predecessor, the peerless assassin. Don't bother upgrading if you already have that. If you can find it for the same price, go for it, but I can't find it for the same price.

@FeikoWielsmaNL Жыл бұрын

What's next? Thermalright Frozen Notte/Magic/Scenic?

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

I have some small form factor ThermalRight coolers to do, then I was going to do the AIOs.

@FeikoWielsmaNL Жыл бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers sounds great too! Thermalright has such a ridiculous amount of coolers, it's great to finally be able to properly compare them

@ailluinthethyra6139 Жыл бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers Please do the SI-100 if you can. I haven't seen much reviews for that one :(

@HardwareForGamers Жыл бұрын

@@ailluinthethyra6139 that is one of them

@roopyphelsenburg1886 Жыл бұрын

Or maybe ft 120?

@dris9274 9 ай бұрын

i tried the rgb one and i want to return it.... the fans (TL-C12B-S V2) ares noisy, the motor make anoing huming noise even at 1000rpm

@DETERMINOLOGY 3 ай бұрын

As much as i would want to value low end coolers. They always cut corners thus i never want to skimp out on cpu cooling as well..

@dris9274 3 ай бұрын

@@DETERMINOLOGY i end up lowing the fans, the cooler it seldlf is beefy, it can handle some heat/power without cranking fans

@nexii1479 11 ай бұрын

hi, if possible could you add the cfm of the fans. thanks

@HardwareForGamers 11 ай бұрын

Just wanted to confirm what you're looking for. You want me to show the manufacturers indicated CFM or you're looking for me to test and review this fan(s).

@nexii1479 11 ай бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers the manufacturers indicated cfm is fine, it would be a good indicator for some of us to figure out the quality/performance of the fan

@user-fm9zo5le2v 10 ай бұрын

But how's the noise pitch? Is it annoying?

@HardwareForGamers 10 ай бұрын

That is extremely subjective... Now, I did not find it annoying, but there are few fans that I do.

@qutox2148 11 ай бұрын

I got this cooler with a i5 13600k but i reach 100°C every Cinebench R23 run. Can someone help me?

@HardwareForGamers 11 ай бұрын

Have you tried remounting the cooler? Did you use enough thermal paste? Did you remove the plastic sticker from the bottom of the cold plate? Are you overclocking?

@qutox2148 11 ай бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers Thanks for the quick answer and the help

@HardwareForGamers 11 ай бұрын

@@qutox2148 are you using HWinfo? What's the CPU frequency at? What's the CPU package power running at?

@qutox2148 11 ай бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers Core Clocks (if thats what you mean with frequency) is between 4,240MHz and 4,280MHz. Package Power is always nearly 181. (Because i set the PL1 and PL2 to 182)

@HardwareForGamers 11 ай бұрын

@@qutox2148 Okay, I just wanted to check that the motherboard was doing something weird, what speed do you have the fans at? If you have them at max or just about. I would try remounting the cooler or at least check to see if the screws are tight.

@JustinCrediblename 9 ай бұрын

half the price? how about a third?! I bought mine for 28 bucks shipped. With the money savings, you can also get a 30mm thick The Phanteks PH-F120T30 which if I'm not mistaken is superior to the new Silent Wings 4 and is still the best 120mm fan on the market

@pouringpoipoi5777 3 ай бұрын

t30 sounds like vaccum cleaner on max rpm.. you would want lian li p28 =))

@JustinCrediblename 3 ай бұрын

@@pouringpoipoi5777 actually they're both almost equivalently loud when they are used for nuclear blast testing. But some use cases are planned _against_ having, such as max RPM and nuclear blast testing. they are nonsense scenarios

@misterhoudi2824 3 ай бұрын

Would using 70% isopropyl be okay?

@HardwareForGamers 3 ай бұрын

Typically yes.

@misterhoudi2824 3 ай бұрын

@@HardwareForGamers Thanks.

@Popikaify 4 ай бұрын

Am i going to have issues with ram cleareance with G.SKILL 32GB Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5 ?

@podunkman2709 5 ай бұрын

Just installed one in my PC, ARGB edition. Too big - They definitely exaggerated the size of this construction, the fan sticks out above the cooler because there is no space above the RAM. It's not ARGB, it's RGB - there are three pins. The idea of installing windmills is a garage idea. A tangle of cables. I do not like it.