Thermalright
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler
Bottom line: The Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler ($29.19 on Amazon as of 2026-10-07): Dual-tower, 6 copper heat pipes rivals 240mm AIOs at a fraction of the cost; main trade-off: 155mm tall heatsink; verify case clearance before buying.
As an Amazon Associate, SpecPicks earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure →
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-07. Price and availability subject to change.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ Dual-tower, 6 copper heat pipes rivals 240mm AIOs at a fraction of the cost
- ✓ Quiet under load: noise rated at 25.6 dB(A) max
- ✓ Dual TL-C12C-S 120mm PWM ARGB fans push 66.17 CFM airflow
- ✓ Wide socket support: AMD AM4/AM5 and Intel 1700/1200/115X/1851
Cons
- ✗ 155mm tall heatsink; verify case clearance before buying
- ✗ No AM4/AM5 backplate included; reuses motherboard's stock backplate
- ✗ Dual 25mm towers can crowd tall-heatspreader RAM in tight layouts
- ✗ ARGB requires a 5V 3-pin motherboard header to sync lighting
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 (4.92x5.31x6.1 inch); Heat sink material: Aluminum and Copper, CPU cooler is equipped with SS2 install system and metal pressure plate on heatsink to achieve better contact with CPU, and more heat exchange surface area with dual tower heatsink config. (Note: Please check your case and motherboard compatibility with cooler.)
- 【2 PWM Fans】Model:TL-C12C-S; Colorful and gorgeous ARGB light effects; Standard size PWM fan:120x120x25mm (4.72x4.72x0.98 inches); Product weight:0.97kg(2.1lb); fan speed (RPM):1550rpm±10%; power port: 4pin; 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] CPU cooler motherboard support: Intel:LGA1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/1700/1851 AMD:AM4/AM5 (Note: To install on AM4 and AM5 motherboard, you need to use the original motherboard's built-in backplate for installation, which is not included with this product)
Full Specifications
| Brand | Thermalright |
|---|---|
| Model | PA120 SE ARGB 1700-d6 |
| Weight | 0.97kg |
| Voltage | 12 Volts |
| Wattage | 3.6 watts |
| Material | Aluminium,Aluminum,Metal,Silicone |
| Dimensions | 4.92x5.31x6.1 inch |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Noise Level | 25.6 Decibels |
| Part Number | PA120 SE ARGB 1700-d6 |
| Material Type | Aluminium,Aluminum,Metal,Silicone |
| Cooling Method | forced air |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Air Flow Capacity | 66.17 Cubic Feet Per Minute |
| Compatible Devices | Desktop |
| Power Connector Type | 4-Pin |
| 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, Dual 120mm TL-C12C-S PWM Fan, Aluminium Heatsink Cover, AGHP Technology, for AMD AM4/AM5 Intel 1700/115X/1200/1851 |
Ready to buy?
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler, 6 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler, Dual 120mm TL-C12C-S PWM Fan, Aluminium Heatsink Cover, AGHP Technology, for AMD AM4/AM5 Intel 1700/115X/1200/1851 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 2026-10-07. 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)
- RTX 4070 Super vs RX 7800 XT — Which to Buy in 2026
- Best Retro Handhelds in 2026 — From $35 to $500
- Emulation Hardware in 2026: FPGA, Software, and Cart-Reader Ecosystems
- Best 1440p Gaming GPUs in 2026
- How to Build a Windows 98 Retro PC in 2026
- The Complete Voodoo5 5500 AGP Driver Guide (2026 Edition)
More reviews from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all reviews →- Arc Pro B60 Dual 48GB vs Dual RTX 3060 12GB for 70B Local LLMs (2026)
- Samsung's 360Hz 4K QD-OLED vs Budget 4K Gaming Monitors: Is the Premium Worth It?
- Intel Arc AI Software: oneAPI, OpenVINO & LLM Guide
- Best Budget GPU for Local Stable Diffusion and ComfyUI in 2026
- Intel Arc AI Performance: What Works for Inference in 2026
- Best Sim Racing Wheel for Beginners on PS5 & PC (2026)
- Ryzen 7 5800X vs Ryzen 5 5600G for 1080p Gaming: Which Wins?
- Adding USB Audio to a Retro Windows XP Gaming PC: Sound BlasterX G6
- Best Budget Gaming SSDs Under $100 in 2026
- Best GPU for 1080p Gaming in 2026: Where the RTX 3060 12GB Lands
- Running Qwen3 35B A3B at 80 tok/s on a 12GB RTX 3060 in 2026
- Best Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kits and Accessories for Home Lab Builds (2026)
- Rescue a Dying Vintage IDE Drive by Cloning It to CompactFlash
- RTX 3060 12GB vs RTX 4060 for 1080p Gaming: Which Wins in 2026?
- RTX 3060 Driver Crashes and Stuttering: Troubleshooting Guide (2026)
- Frontier Models Cheat on Security Tests: Why You Should Eval Locally
- This DIY 'Steam Controller Puck' Emulates Xbox, Switch & PS Pads
- Self-hosting an OpenAI-compatible LLM gateway with LiteLLM
- Which LLMs Actually Fit on an RTX 3060 12GB in 2026?
- ComfyUI on an RTX 3060 12GB: A 2026 Local Stable Diffusion Setup Guide
- Why You Shouldn't Leave the Default Model on Copilot or Gemini
- GeForce 4 Ti 4600 AGP in a Windows XP Build: Drivers, Gotchas and Benchmarks
- Continuous Blood Pressure Monitoring Without a Cuff in 2026
- Best Gaming CPU Coolers Under $100 in 2026
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