Cooler Master TX3i CPU Cooler Review

Final Thoughts

Price

When shopping for a new cooler, budget is often the most important factor for many people. You’ll be glad to hear that the Cooler Master TX3i is a very affordable £20.82 with free shipping from Box.co.uk, which is really great value for money overall and it comes with a two-year warranty directly from Cooler Master.

Overview

This cooler may not have what it takes to beat out the bigger more expensive models we’ve tested, but it was never really designed to. Its design is clearly focused on providing the maximum amount of cooling possible while maintaining an ultra-compact form factor, and it does so at a very wallet-friendly price tag.

The build quality is pretty reasonable, I mean, it’s obviously a cheap cooler, but it doesn’t really feel cheap. The inclusion of a very nice quality Cooler Master fan is certainly welcome and it’s aesthetically pleasing too, which is always a nice bonus. The cooler does employ the cheaper and far from loved stock Intel mounting clips, the kind you find on the bundled cooler that comes with most Intel CPUs, but while they’re not the best in terms of durability, they do have the advantage of being exceptionally easy to install. No tools are required and you can simply snap the cooler into your system, and that’s a huge benefit for system builders, even more so if you have a large number of systems to deploy in a limited amount of time.

Cooling performance was pretty great overall, providing fantastic temperatures and acoustic performance at stock clocks. Pushing up performance did put a noticeable strain on the fan and the temps obviously got higher, but it still managed to pass the benchmarking without cause for concern. If you’re running a none overclocked CPU, perfect, but there’s certainly room for a mild OC or the use of higher boost clocks to get the most performance from your system and maintaining quiet performance from the TX3i’s fan.

Pros

• Compact design is suitable for SFF builds
• No conflicts with RAM modules
• Easy to install
• Good performance
• Excellent value for money
• Two-year warranty
• Can handle a reasonable amount of overclocking

Cons

• Intel stock mounting clips aren’t known for their durability, especially with multiple re-installations

Neutral

• Keep in mind that the TX3i is an Intel only model

“The ultra-compact design of the TX3i means it’s going to be widely compatible with most Intel system builds. It’s very easy to install, runs nice and quiet and looks pretty good too. A great cooler for those who need reliable performance on a tight budget.”

Thank you Cooler Master for providing us with this sample.