[SOLVED] do i need to use a water cooler for a 5 5600x

[AlexTheFern]

im planning on doing some light overclocking

also which ones would be a good idea?

budget around max 70 bucks

 

[rubix_1011]

I am assuming you mean with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600x?

You do not 'need' a liquid cooler for that, but if you do, ensure it is at least a 240mm or larger AIO. There isn't any sense in getting a single 120mm or 140mm AIO, and if you are overclocking, you'll need radiator space for cooling.

A 240 would be fine, a 280 or 360 give you much more headroom, depending on your clocking success.

A budget of $70 is going to limit what you get, though, so just be aware.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

At this price point, you could get a beefy AIO or air cooler. You don't "need" water cooling. A good $70 air cooler will probably perform similarly to a good $70 aio.

I have one of these on my overclocked i5 2500k. It does the job well and looks good in the process.
Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (MLW-D24M-A20PC-R1) - PCPartPicker
Heres the non RGB version:
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 240 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (MLW-D24M-A20PW-R1) - PCPartPicker

Heres a decent air cooler
Scythe Ninja 5 43.03 CFM CPU Cooler (SCNJ-5000) - PCPartPicker

 

[AlexTheFern]

You do not 'need' a liquid cooler

You don't "need" water cooling.

yeah but they look cool 🙃

Heres a decent air cooler
Scythe Ninja 5 43.03 CFM CPU Cooler (SCNJ-5000) - PCPartPicker

would this hit the ram?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

The cooler has a cutout which means it can clear ram up to 55mm tall. Make sure the ram is <55mm tall.

 

[rubix_1011]

yeah but they look cool 🙃

OK, so we're no longer on the subject of what a CPU actually needs, then. This is only about aesthetics and looks, not cooling performance.

It would have been very helpful to state that from the very start that cooling performance isn't important, how a cooler looks, is most important.

Then, simply get what you like for the cost you like, seems pretty simple, yes?