The Core i7-8700 is a six-core, 65W LGA 1151 chip, so it runs well on modest coolers, yet many owners still put up with a small, noisy stock fan. Choosing the best CPU coolers for an i7 8700 means checking LGA 1151 support, case height and noise. These six picks list LGA 115x, from a $16 tower to a 37mm slim cooler.
Quick verdict
For most i7-8700 desktops, the Thermalright Assassin X120 Refined SE is the cooler to buy: it lists LGA 115x, stands 148mm tall, uses a 120mm fan and cost about $16 in November 2026. Pick the Noctua NH-U12S redux for the quietest tower, the NH-L9x65 for slim cases, and the 37mm NH-L9i for the tightest small builds.
| Cooler | Type | Height | Fan | LGA 1151 listed | Best for | Amazon US price, Nov 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thermalright Assassin X120 Refined SE | Single tower | 148mm | 120mm | Yes (115x) | Best value | about $16 |
| Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black | Single tower | 152mm | 120mm | Yes (1151) | Familiar brand, 2-year warranty | about $30 |
| be quiet! Pure Rock 3 Black | Single tower | 154mm | 120mm | Yes (1151) | RAM clearance, 3-year warranty | about $38 |
| Noctua NH-U12S redux | Single tower | 158mm | 120mm | Yes (115x) | Quietest tower | about $60 |
| Noctua NH-L9x65 | Low profile | 65mm | 92mm slim | Yes (115x) | Slim desktops | about $70 |
| Noctua NH-L9i | Low profile | 37mm | 92mm slim | Yes (1151) | Smallest ITX cases | about $50 |
How we selected coolers for the i7-8700
This is a research-based roundup, not a lab test. We pulled Amazon US cooler data collected on November 11, 2026, kept models with hundreds or thousands of ratings that list LGA 1151 or LGA 115x, and checked heights, fans and warranties against maker pages and established retailers where we could read them.
Intel’s spec page lists the i7-8700 at 65W with six cores and 12 threads, a 3.20 GHz base clock, a 4.60 GHz maximum turbo, a 100 degree Celsius junction limit and socket FCLGA1151. That 65W rating means any well-built single tower is plenty, so we focused on noise, size and price rather than raw capacity.
Several popular coolers dropped older Intel sockets. ARCTIC’s Freezer 36, for example, lists only LGA 1851 and LGA 1700 on Intel, so it is not here. Prices and ratings are a dated Amazon US snapshot, and ranking never follows commission.
What the i7-8700 needs from a cooler
The i7-8700 is the locked, non-K version of the i7-8700K. Intel lists the 8700K at 95W with a 3.7 GHz base clock and notes that its box ships without a cooler, while the 8700 is rated at 65W. For the 8700, the cooling target is modest, and the main benefit of an upgrade is quieter running.
Turbo boost still lets the chip draw more than 65W for short periods under heavy loads. A tower cooler with a 120mm fan absorbs those bursts at lower fan speeds than a small stock heatsink, which you hear as less ramping up and down during gaming or video exports.
Many i7-8700 systems are prebuilt office or gaming desktops. Before buying, open the case and check that the motherboard uses the standard LGA 1151 hole pattern and that there is room around the socket. Some prebuilt boards and cases use non-standard layouts that limit cooler choice.
Best CPU coolers for an i7 8700 compared
The six picks below are ordered by value for a typical i7-8700 system, from the best low-cost tower to the smallest low-profile cooler. Each section explains who it suits, the specs we could confirm, how it mounts on LGA 1151, and its trade-offs, ending with a clear buy or skip recommendation.
Thermalright Assassin X120 Refined SE
This is our best value pick because it costs about the same as a replacement stock fan yet brings a full 120mm tower with four heat pipes. It suits i7-8700 gaming and office systems in standard mid-towers, where the aim is to quiet the machine and keep boost clocks steady during long loads.
Thermalright lists a 148mm height, four 6mm heat pipes and one TL-C12C 120mm PWM fan at 1,550 RPM, with Intel LGA 115x, 1200, 1700 and 1851 plus AMD AM4 and AM5 support. The Amazon listing gives 66.17 CFM and 25.6 dBA. That broad socket list means the cooler can move to a newer Intel or AMD build.
It was listed around $16 on Amazon US and rated 4.7 out of 5 from about 1,900 ratings as of November 2026.
- Pros: very low price; covers LGA 1151 and newer sockets; 148mm fits most towers
- Cons: single fan; warranty not stated on the maker page
Buy it if you want the cheapest real upgrade for an i7-8700. Skip it if your case clears less than 150mm.
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black
The Hyper 212 Black is the familiar-brand pick for buyers who prefer a well-known model with a two-year maker warranty. It suits i7-8700 owners who want a straightforward Intel install with Cooler Master’s documentation, and who may move the cooler to an LGA 1700 or LGA 1851 board later.
Cooler Master lists 125 x 74 x 152mm, four heat pipes and one SickleFlow 120 Edge 120mm fan, with Intel LGA 1851, 1700, 1200, 1151, 1150, 1155 and 1156 plus AMD AM5 and AM4, and a two-year warranty. On Amazon the same model, MAX-T4PN-217PK-R2, is titled Hyper 212 Black II.
It was listed around $30 on Amazon US with 4.7 out of 5 from about 8,300 ratings as of November 2026.
- Pros: LGA 1151 named directly; huge review base; two-year warranty
- Cons: costs about twice the Assassin X120 Refined SE for similar hardware
Buy it if brand familiarity and warranty matter. Skip it if lowest price is the goal.
be quiet! Pure Rock 3 Black
The Pure Rock 3 Black is our pick for i7-8700 builds with tall RAM or crowded boards. Its slim body leaves the memory slots clear, and be quiet! backs it with a three-year warranty, which is longer than either budget tower above and suits a system you expect to keep running for years.
CDRinfo lists the Pure Rock 3 at 71 x 124 x 154mm without mounting hardware, with one Pure Wings 3 120mm PWM fan, a 190W rating, Intel LGA 1851, 1700, 1200, 1150, 1151 and 1155 plus AM5 and AM4 support, and a three-year warranty. The Amazon listing adds four 6mm heat pipes.
It was listed around $38 on Amazon US with 4.5 out of 5 from about 500 ratings as of November 2026.
- Pros: unrestricted RAM height per listing; three-year warranty; LGA 1151 listed
- Cons: costs more than other single towers with similar heat pipes
Buy it if RAM clearance or warranty matters. Skip it if you only need basic cooling.
Noctua NH-U12S redux
The NH-U12S redux is the quiet pick for i7-8700 workstations, media PCs and home offices where idle and light-load noise matters. It suits owners who want Noctua’s SecuFirm2 mounting, a six-year warranty and a slim tower that does not crowd RAM or the first PCIe slot.
QuietPC lists a 158mm height, one NF-P12 redux-1700 PWM 120mm fan, Intel LGA 1851, 1700, 1200 and 115x plus AM5 and AM4 support, and a six-year warranty. The Amazon listing says it does not overhang the RAM slots or block the PCIe slot on most ATX and Micro-ATX boards.
It was listed around $60 on Amazon US with 4.8 out of 5 from about 4,400 ratings as of November 2026.
- Pros: quiet fan; six-year warranty; strong RAM and PCIe clearance
- Cons: 158mm height; pricier than budget towers with similar capacity
Buy it if noise is your main complaint. Skip it if your case clears less than 160mm.
Noctua NH-L9x65
The NH-L9x65 is the slim desktop pick for i7-8700 systems in small Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX cases that cannot fit a tower. It suits home-theater PCs and compact office machines with around 70mm of clearance, and its listing positions it for chips with low to moderate heat output like the 65W i7-8700.
The Amazon listing describes a 65mm total height, an NF-A9x14 92mm slim PWM fan with a low-noise adaptor, SecuFirm2 mounting for Intel LGA 1851, 1700, 1200 and 115x plus AM5 and AM4, and a footprint that avoids RAM and PCIe overhang on most boards.
It was listed around $70 on Amazon US with 4.7 out of 5 from about 3,000 ratings as of November 2026.
- Pros: 65mm height; no RAM overhang; LGA 115x support
- Cons: expensive; less headroom than any tower during long all-core loads
Buy it if your case clears about 70mm. Skip it if a tower fits.
Noctua NH-L9i
The NH-L9i is the pick for the smallest i7-8700 builds, such as Mini-ITX cases with only 40mm or so of cooler height. It is one of the few slim coolers that names LGA 1151 directly, and its 95 x 95mm footprint keeps it clear of RAM and PCIe slots on small boards.
The Amazon listing describes a 37mm total height, an NF-A9x14 92mm slim PWM fan, SecuFirm2 mounting for Intel LGA 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156 and 1200, and a six-year warranty. It positions the cooler for Core i7, i5 and i3 chips with moderate heat loads. It does not list LGA 1700; a separate NH-L9i-17xx version covers that socket.
It was listed around $50 on Amazon US with 4.7 out of 5 from about 3,400 ratings as of November 2026.
- Pros: 37mm height; LGA 1151 named; six-year warranty
- Cons: will run its fan hard during long all-core loads; no LGA 1700 support on this version
Buy it if your case fits nothing taller than about 40mm. Skip it if you have more room.
i7-8700 cooler buying guide
For a 65W LGA 1151 chip, picking a cooler is mostly about compatibility, fit and noise rather than raw capacity. The sections below cover socket support, case height, prebuilt quirks and fan control, so you can match a cooler to your exact i7-8700 system before ordering.
Confirm LGA 1151 or LGA 115x
LGA 1151 belongs to the LGA 115x family, which Wikipedia’s LGA 1700 page says uses a 75 x 75mm hole pattern from LGA 1156 through LGA 1200. Newer LGA 1700 and LGA 1851 use 78 x 78mm. Look for LGA 1151 or 115x in the cooler’s socket list, not just LGA 1700.
All six picks here list LGA 1151 or 115x. Coolers that list only LGA 1700 and 1851, such as ARCTIC’s Freezer 36, will not mount on an i7-8700 board without a different kit, so read the socket list carefully when browsing alternatives.
Measure the case before choosing a shape
Tower picks run from 148mm to 158mm, while the low-profile options are 65mm and 37mm. Look up your case’s listed CPU cooler clearance, then subtract a few millimeters for side-panel flex. If the number is under 100mm, skip the towers and choose a slim cooler.
Listed clearances can be wrong. The FPS Review reported a Noctua study that measured more than 100 cases and found 56 deviated significantly from their listed cooler clearance. Measure from the top of the CPU to the side panel if you are close to the limit.
Check prebuilt desktops carefully
Many i7-8700 systems came from large PC makers. Some of those boards use non-standard cooler mounts, unusual fan headers or cases with ducts over the CPU. Before ordering, remove the side panel, photograph the cooler mount and fan connector, and compare it with the new cooler’s manual.
If the board uses a standard LGA 1151 backplate and a 4-pin CPU fan header, any pick here should work. If not, the low-profile Noctua coolers with their own mounting hardware are usually the easiest path.
FAQ
These answers cover the questions i7-8700 owners ask most when replacing a stock cooler. They rely on Intel’s specification page, the maker and Amazon listings behind each pick, and Wikipedia’s socket data, and they point back to the relevant section above when a longer explanation already exists.
Do the best CPU coolers for an i7 8700 fit the i7 8700K too?
Yes. Both chips use LGA 1151, so every pick here mounts on an i7-8700K board. The 8700K is rated at 95W and is often overclocked, though, so choose a tower such as the NH-U12S redux or Pure Rock 3 rather than the slim Noctua coolers for that hotter chip.
Is the stock Intel cooler enough for an i7-8700?
It keeps the chip within its limits at stock settings, but small stock coolers tend to spin up loudly under load. A $16 to $30 tower such as the Assassin X120 Refined SE or Hyper 212 Black usually runs quieter and helps the chip hold its 4.6 GHz turbo longer.
Do I need liquid cooling for an i7-8700?
No. At 65W, the i7-8700 is well within the range of a single air tower, and even the 37mm NH-L9i is positioned for chips like it. Liquid cooling adds cost and a pump without a clear benefit on this processor, so we did not include any AIO coolers in this guide.
Conclusion
Buy the Thermalright Assassin X120 Refined SE for an i7-8700. It lists LGA 115x, fits most cases at 148mm, comfortably cools a 65W six-core chip and cost about $16 in November 2026, so it fixes a noisy stock cooler for very little. Choose the NH-L9x65 or NH-L9i only if your case cannot fit a tower.
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