Thermalright
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler
Bottom line: The Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler ($36.90 on Amazon as of 2026-10-06): Quiet under load at 25.6dB(A) max, 66.17 CFM airflow; main trade-off: 155mm tall, so check case clearance before buying.
As an Amazon Associate, SpecPicks earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure →
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-06. Price and availability subject to change.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ Quiet under load at 25.6dB(A) max, 66.17 CFM airflow
- ✓ Broad socket support: AM4, AM5, LGA1700 and LGA1851
- ✓ 5V ARGB fans sync with motherboard lighting
Cons
- ✗ 155mm tall, so check case clearance before buying
- ✗ 1550rpm fans get audible at full ramp
- ✗ ARGB needs a 5V 3-pin motherboard header
- ✗ Wide 135mm dual-tower footprint can crowd RAM/GPU
SpecPicks Verdict
SpecPicks scored Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler using a rating × review-volume × price-fit model applied to published specs and reviews across the cooling & fans category. Thermalright's cooling & fans lineup sits within the broader category mid-tier; price and specs are the deciding factors over brand loyalty here. Judge it on the specification table and the price rather than on sentiment: check the figures that decide your use case, then put it side-by-side with two or three close alternatives in the Compare tool before clicking through.
Common buyer scenarios for cooling & fans of this kind: matching it to an existing build, replacing a failing part, or upgrading from a previous-generation equivalent. Check the spec table below against your current setup — particularly socket / form-factor / power-rating fields — and confirm compatibility on the retailer's listing before purchase. Prices and stock are set by the retailer and may have moved since this page was last updated.
Key Features
- [Brand Overview] Thermalright is a Taiwan brand with more than 20 years of development. It has a certain popularity in the domestic and foreign markets and has a pivotal influence in the player market. We have been focusing on the research and development of computer accessories. R & D product lines include: CPU air-cooled radiator, case fan, thermal silicone pad, thermal silicone grease, CPU fan controller, anti falling off mounting bracket, support mounting bracket and other commodities.
- [Product specification]Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB; CPU Cooler dimensions: 125(L)x135(W)x155(H)mm; heat sink material: aluminum, CPU cooler is equipped with metal fasteners of Intel & AMD platform to achieve better installation, double tower cooling is stronger.
- 【Double ARGB Fans】Model:TL-C12C-S; Colorful and gorgeous ARGB light effects; Standard size PWM fan:120x120x25mm ; Fan speed (RPM):1550rpm±10%; power port: 4pin; Light interface：5V 3PIN ARGB;Voltage:12V; Air flow:66.17CFM(MAX); Noise Level≤25.6dB(A), leave room for memory-chip(RAM), so that installation of ice cooler cpu is unrestricted.
- 【AGHP technique】6×6mm heat pipes apply AGHP technique, Solve the Inverse gravity effect caused by vertical / horizontal orientation. 6 pure copper sintered heat pipes & PWM fan & Pure copper base&Full electroplating reflow welding process, When CPU cooler works, match with ultra-silent airflow fans, aim to extreme CPU cooling performance.
- 【Compatibility】The CPU cooler Socket supports: Intel: lga1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/1700/1851, AMD:AM4 AM5; For different CPU socket platforms, corresponding mounting plate or fastener parts are provided.
Full Specifications
| Brand | Thermalright |
|---|---|
| Model | PA120 SE ARGB-D1 |
| Voltage | 12 Volts (DC) |
| Wattage | 4.8 watts |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Dimensions | 120x120x25mm |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Noise Level | 25.6 Decibels |
| Part Number | PA120 SE ARGB-D1 |
| Material Type | Aluminum |
| Cooling Method | Air |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Air Flow Capacity | 66.17 Cubic Feet Per Minute |
| Compatible Devices | Desktop |
| Power Connector Type | 4-Pin |
| Warranty Description | 3 Years |
| Maximum Rotational Speed | 1550 RPM |
| Item Dimensions L x W x H | 4.92"L x 5.31"W x 6.1"H |
| Full listing title | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler, 6 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler with Dual Towers, Dual 120mm CPU Fans, 5V ARGB LED,1550rpm±10%, for AM4/AM5/Intel LGA1700/1851 |
Ready to buy?
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler, 6 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler with Dual Towers, Dual 120mm CPU Fans, 5V ARGB LED,1550rpm±10%, for AM4/AM5/Intel LGA1700/1851 is listed on Amazon. Price, availability, shipping and returns are set by Amazon and its sellers — check the listing for current terms. SpecPicks earns a small commission on qualifying purchases — thank you for supporting independent review work.
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-06. Price and availability subject to change.
Related Cooling & Fans
More guides & deep dives from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all articles & guides →- Best Budget Gaming PC Build 2026 — ~$1,000 ($800 on Sale)
- Best 1440p Gaming GPUs in 2026
- Best Retro Handhelds in 2026 — From $35 to $500
- Emulation Hardware in 2026: FPGA, Software, and Cart-Reader Ecosystems
- The Complete Voodoo5 5500 AGP Driver Guide (2026 Edition)
- RTX 4070 Super vs RX 7800 XT — Which to Buy in 2026
- How to Build a Windows 98 Retro PC in 2026
More reviews from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all reviews →- ComfyUI on an RTX 3060 12GB: SDXL Throughput and VRAM Tuning
- Hailo-10H AI Accelerator on Raspberry Pi 5: Real Tok/s for On-Device LLMs
- Single vs. Dual Channel Memory: Intel Core Ultra 7 270K
- Raspberry Pi Projects on GitHub: 2025 Guide
- Logitech G29 vs HORI Force Feedback Wheel — Which First Wheel Is Right?
- Qualcomm Enters the Data-Center Market With Its Own AI Processor
- KOORUI 27" 4K vs Samsung Odyssey 4K for Console + PC Gaming
- Best Wireless Gaming Controllers for PC and Console in 2026
- OpenAI Codex 'Watch Once, Repeat Forever': What It Means for Local Coding Rigs
- Which Open LLMs Actually Handle Tool-Calling on an RTX 3060?
- Voodoo3 3000 PCI No-Display Troubleshooting on Windows 98 SE (2026)
- Forza Horizon 6 on the RTX 3060 12GB: 1080p and 1440p Settings Guide
- Upgrading a Ryzen 7 5800X + RTX 4080 Build in 2026
- When Gemini Debugs Your Linux Boot: Agentic Sysadmin on a Local RTX 3060 Rig
- GameSir G7 SE vs DualSense: Which Controller Is Better on PC in 2026?
- Shared ChatGPT & Claude Chats Are Spreading Malware — Run a Local LLM on a 12GB GPU Instead
- Why a Red Hat Engineer Ditched ARM64 for AMD Ryzen (Linux AI Builds)
- Best SSD for Raspberry Pi Boot (2026): USB SATA vs NVMe
- AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 vs Mac Studio M4 Max for Local LLM Inference
- How to run Qwen 3 14B on Arc B580
- Best SSD for a Homelab NAS in 2026: Crucial BX500 vs Samsung 870 EVO vs WD Blue SN550
- Raspberry Pi 4 8GB in 2026: Still the Best Home-Lab SBC for Under $80
- llama.cpp vs vLLM for Single-User Local Chat in 2026: Which Backend Fits?
- Best Retro PC Upgrade Kit 2026: Sound & Storage
Earliest SpecPicks reviews
Browse full archive →- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 8B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 14B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 70B (2026)
- Best GPU for DeepSeek-R1 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 405B (2026)
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 14B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 70B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run DeepSeek-R1 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090