Thermalright
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
$34.9Cheaper
Released 2022
Best CPU Coolers · head-to-head
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE vs be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5
A sourced, side-by-side comparison. Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE is cheaper at $34.9. Every spec and price links to its source.
be quiet!
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5
$99.9
Released 2023-10
Which is better: the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE or be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5?
On the specs we track, they're closely matched. The Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE is the cheaper at $34.9.
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Full spec sheet
✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.
| Spec | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE | be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $34.9 | $99.9 |
| Brand | Thermalright | be quiet! |
| Released | 2022 | 2023-10 |
| Type | air | air |
| Radiator or height (mm) | 155 mm | 168 mm |
| Fan count | 2 | 2 |
| Socket support | Intel LGA1851, LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156; AMD AM5, AM4 | Intel LGA1851, LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1150, LGA1151, LGA1155; AMD AM5, AM4 |
| Tdp rating (W) | — | 270 |
| Rgb | No | No |
| Noise dba max | 25.6 | 23.3 |
| Release | 2022 | 2023-10 |
Sources — Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE: thermalright.com (verified 2026-06-15). be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5: bequiet.com (verified 2026-06-15).
What's the difference between the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE and be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5?
Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (3 of 7). Matching specs are omitted.
- Radiator or height (mm): Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 155 mm vs be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 168 mm
- Socket support: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE Intel LGA1851, LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156; AMD AM5, AM4 vs be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 Intel LGA1851, LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1150, LGA1151, LGA1155; AMD AM5, AM4
- Noise dba max: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 25.6 vs be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 23.3
What reviewers say
Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
Only one whitelisted tester, Tom's Hardware, ran a hands-on lab review of this exact model. That single review is overwhelmingly positive: the best-performing air cooler it had tested, whisper-quiet, at roughly $36. It averaged 61 degrees C over ambient in a 200W Cinebench load and 64 degrees C over ambient in a 200W OCCT load, beating pricier coolers. No meaningful downsides beyond air-cooling's inherent power ceiling. (1 sourced review, 1 lab-tested.)
Praised: Best-in-class air cooling performance for its class, beating pricier coolers at capped TDPs; Whisper-quiet acoustics; second-quietest air cooler tested at max fan speed; Exceptional value at roughly $36 for a dual-tower, dual-fan cooler.
Flagged: Cannot keep a 12900K under TjMax in uncapped Cinebench/OCCT without power limits, a ceiling shared by all air coolers tested.
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5
No sourced tester review yet.