Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 ARGB Black V3 CPU Cooler (AM4/AM5)
Bottom line: The Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 ARGB Black V3 CPU Cooler ($37.90 on Amazon as of 2026-10-07): Six 6mm AGHP copper heat pipes in a dual-tower aluminum fin stack; main trade-off: 157mm height rules out many compact and SFF cases; check cooler clearance first.
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
- ✓ Six 6mm AGHP copper heat pipes in a dual-tower aluminum fin stack
- ✓ Two TL-P12-S 120mm PWM fans: 2000 RPM, 70.84 CFM, 2.63 mmH2O static pressure
- ✓ Fan noise rated at 29.8 dB(A) or less
- ✓ Chamfered, asymmetric towers clear tall RAM and the top PCIe slot
- ✓ Fits LGA1851/1700/1200/115x and AM4/AM5; PWM splitter syncs both fans
Cons
- ✗ 157mm height rules out many compact and SFF cases; check cooler clearance first
- ✗ AMD install reuses the motherboard's stock backplate; none supplied for AM4/AM5
- ✗ Very tall RAM may force the front fan higher, adding to overall height
- ✗ 125x135mm dual-tower body is bulky to fit in cramped mid-tower cases
SpecPicks Verdict
SpecPicks scored Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 ARGB Black V3 CPU 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
- [CPU Cooler Model] Peerless Assassin 120 ARGB Black V3, Size: 125x135x157mm, Radiator Material: Pure Copper Heat Pipe + Aluminum Fin, Fan Size: 120x120x25mm, Fan Speed: 2000RPM+10%, Wind Pressure: 2.63MM H2O, Air Volume: 70.84CFM, Operating Noise≤ 29.8db(A), Fan Interface: 4PIN PWM, The dual-tower main radiator, combined with 2 PWM fans, can bring good heat dissipation.
- [Avoid Memory Design]Considering the limitation of memory height, the heatsink adopts a chamfered corner treatment design to avoid memory, so that when installing the fan, the fan is not blocked by the memory, and if the memory height exceeds too much, the fan can be installed upwards. Asymmetrical design of dual-tower heatsink for compatibility with PCle graphics cards or motherboard heatsinks.
- [AGHP Heat Pipe Technology] 6x6mm heat pipe adopts AGHP technology, which can well solve the influence of reverse gravity caused by the vertical and horizontal installation directions. Seiko reflow soldering micro-engraved copper base, combined with fully electroplated heat pipes, and aluminum fins twin tower body, with high-performance CPU fans, further improves the heat dissipation effect.
- [Detail Optimization]The cpu cooling comes with a 1-point 2-wire PWM control cable, one end is 3 pins, the other end is 4 pins, dual fans can achieve PWM synchronous speed control, the light interface of the fan has a series function, the attached SS2 buckle, a variety of specifications adaptation, compatible with a variety of CPU models, easy to install and remove, easy to maintain and upgrade.
- [Wide Compatibility] Heatsink compatible with dual platform sockets: Intel LGA 1851/1700/1150/1151/1155/1156/1200;AMD: AM4/AM5;cpu cooler comes with an installation accessory that can be installed according to the installation video or manual. (Note: To install the AMD platform, you need to use the original backplate of the motherboard for installation)
Full Specifications
| Brand | Thermalright |
|---|---|
| Material | Copper, Aluminum, Polybutylene Terephthalate, Pc |
| Dimensions | 125x135x157mm |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Noise Level | 29.8 Decibels |
| Part Number | PA120 ARGB BLACK V3-D2 |
| Material Type | Copper, Aluminum, Polybutylene Terephthalate, Pc |
| Cooling Method | Air |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Air Flow Capacity | 70.84 Cubic Feet Per Minute |
| Compatible Devices | Desktop |
| Included Components | Case fan |
| Power Connector Type | 4-Pin |
| Maximum Rotational Speed | 2000 RPM |
| Item Dimensions L x W x H | 4.92"L x 5.31"W x 6.18"H |
| Full listing title | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 ARGB Black V3 CPU Cooler,6 Heat Pipes CPU Air Cooler,Dual TL-P12-S PWM Fans,157mm High,for Intel LGA1700/1851/1150/1151/1200/,AM4/AM5 |
Ready to buy?
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 ARGB Black V3 CPU Cooler,6 Heat Pipes CPU Air Cooler,Dual TL-P12-S PWM Fans,157mm High,for Intel LGA1700/1851/1150/1151/1200/,AM4/AM5 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
- The Complete Voodoo5 5500 AGP Driver Guide (2026 Edition)
- Best 1440p Gaming GPUs in 2026
- Emulation Hardware in 2026: FPGA, Software, and Cart-Reader Ecosystems
- Best Retro Handhelds in 2026 — From $35 to $500
- How to Build a Windows 98 Retro PC in 2026
More reviews from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all reviews →- How to Run a Public Website on a $10 ESP32 Without Servers
- Steam Deck OLED vs ROG Xbox Ally: 2026 Comparison
- Build a Wall-Mounted Raspberry Pi 4 Arcade Cabinet: 3D-Printed Case, SSD Boot, Real BOM
- Console to Gaming PC: What Changes in 2025
- Ryzen 5 5600G APU for Local LLM Inference in 2026: What You Can Actually Run
- Best GPU for ComfyUI & Stable Diffusion Under $300 in 2026
- Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Core i7-14700K: The DDR4 Gaming Faceoff for 2026 Builders
- Retro Console Modding Services: What to Expect in 2026
- Handheld Gaming PCs Ranked: 2025's Best, Compared
- Best 8GB GPU for Local LLMs in 2026
- DualSense vs GameSir G7 SE for PC Sim Racing: Which Controller Wins in 2026
- Best Budget SSD for PC Builds in 2026
- Using Claude to Drive Period-Correct Win98 Driver Installs on Voodoo and GeForce 4 Hardware
- Best SATA SSD for the PS4 Pro in 2026 (Cheap Speed Upgrade)
- Best Retro PC Upgrade Kit 2026: Sound & Storage
- Quantization on a 12GB GPU: q4 vs q5 vs q8 Tok/s and Quality on the RTX 3060
- AMD Ryzen AI Halo Mini PC: Open-Source Power Analyzed
- HyperX QuadCast 2 vs Blue Yeti: Best Streaming Mic in 2026
- Noctua NH-U12S vs DeepCool AK620 for the Ryzen 7 5800X
- Claude Fable 5 Beats GPT-5.5 by 13 Points: The Local-LLM Reality Check
- Best 4K Gaming Monitor Under $400 in 2026: SANSUI vs KOORUI vs Samsung
- Running GLM-5.2 Locally on an RTX 3060: Ollama VRAM + tok/s
- Raspberry Pi 5 vs Pi 4 8GB for Homelab: Which Should You Buy?
- Train Your Own LLM From Scratch: 2026 Hardware Guide
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