# Thermalright Assassin Spirit 120 V2 Plus: Clearance, RAM Height, Who Should Skip > Four heat pipes, dual 120mm PWM fans, 154mm tall. Clearance limits, 44mm RAM overhang, and a wrong Amazon manufacturer listing explained. Tags: cpu-cooler, thermalright, assassin-spirit-120-v2-plus, dual-fan, lga1700, am5, budget-cooler Source: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0C76S7BR8 Article page: https://web-autoai.com/articles/thermalright-assassin-spirit-120-v2-plus-cpu?lang=en Prices and ratings change over time — check the article page for the current values. --- The short version: for a Core i5 or Ryzen 5 running at stock, it punches well above its price. For a high-end chip under sustained all-core load, it runs out of room. Get that line right and this is a satisfying purchase. ## Overview The Assassin Spirit 120 V2 Plus is an air cooler from the Taiwanese brand Thermalright. It pairs a 154mm single-tower heatsink carrying four 6mm heat pipes with two 120mm PWM fans in a sandwich layout: a standard-blade TL-C12C V2 in front and a reverse-blade TL-C12R V2 at the back. Air still moves in one direction; the reverse blade simply keeps the visible fan faces consistent on both sides of the fin stack. Socket support covers Intel LGA1700, LGA1200 and LGA115X plus AMD AM4 and AM5, which is essentially every current mainstream platform. For the price bracket, that spec sheet is genuinely strong. Competitors at a similar price often ship a single fan and three heat pipes, so four pipes plus two fans is a tier up. Amazon. co. The score is high, but the sample is still small — read it as confirmation that the cooler is not a dud rather than as a guarantee of quality. ## Quick Verdict by Build | Intended build | Verdict | Why | |---|---|---| | Core i5 / Ryzen 5 at stock | Buy | Four pipes and two fans leave headroom | | Core i7 / Ryzen 7, gaming-focused | Conditional | Depends on case airflow; add case fans | | Core i9 / Ryzen 9 all-core or OC | Skip | Not enough fin area for sustained loads | | Silence above all | Conditional | Quiet at idle, audible at high RPM | | Small or slim cases | Check first | 154mm clearance is the gating factor | The conditional rows matter most. At this class, case airflow moves results more than the cooler itself does. Drop any tower into an enclosure with starved front intake and it just recirculates warm air. Spending on one extra case fan often lowers temperatures more than spending on a better cooler. ## Compatibility Guide Mounting uses a backplate-based retention system, with included brackets for LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA115X, AM4 and AM5. On AMD boards the stock backplate is typically reused, so do not throw it away. Procedures differ per socket, so follow the relevant page of the manual rather than working from memory. Check case clearance first. Stated height is 154mm. Most mid-towers allow 160–170mm and are fine, but **avoid builds where the margin is only 2–3mm**. Side panels are not perfectly flat: sound-damping foam and slight flex both eat into that gap, and catalogue-tight fits are exactly where contact happens. Memory clearance is the most common issue. Per the official compatibility note, modules taller than 44mm may collide when both fans are mounted. Bare DIMMs without heat spreaders generally sit around 32mm, but large-heatsink or RGB-topped DDR5 kits routinely exceed 40mm. There are two fixes: raise the front fan, or remove it and run a single fan. **Raising the fan pushes total height past 154mm**, trading memory clearance for case clearance. The listed ATX / microATX / Mini-ITX support describes board fit, not case fit. Mini-ITX enclosures allow anywhere from 120mm to 160mm of cooler height, and their crowded socket areas can put the tower into contact with I/O shrouds, VRM heatsinks or a GPU backplate. For small builds, trust your case's stated maximum cooler height, not the form-factor list. You need 4-pin PWM headers. With two fans, either split them across CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT or join them with a Y-cable. A Y-cable reports only one fan's RPM, which hides a stalled fan, so separate headers are the better habit. The CPU flex debate around LGA1700 stems from the stock ILM, not from this cooler. ## Product Info | Item | Value | |---|---| | Cooler dimensions (W×D×H) | 120×98×154 mm | | Fan size | 120×120×25 mm ×2 (standard + reverse blade) | | Noise level | ≤25.6 dBA | | Max airflow (intake/exhaust) | 66.17 / 58 CFM | | Heat pipes | 4×6mm | | Socket support | LGA1700 / LGA1200 / LGA115X / AM4 / AM5 | | Connector / voltage | 4-pin PWM / 12V | co. **Both are point-in-time figures** that move with sales, stock and exchange rates, so check the current listing before buying. In the box: one TL-C12C V2 intake fan, one TL-C12R V2 reverse-blade exhaust fan, Intel and AMD mounting brackets, thermal paste, fan clips and rubber vibration pads. Paste is included, so nothing extra is required to finish the build. Release was around 2023 with a one-year manufacturer warranty — confirm how your retailer handles claims, as terms vary. Market position is entry to mid-tier, and delivering four pipes and two fans at this price is the whole reason the product exists. ## Reading the Noise and Airflow Numbers The ≤25.6 dBA figure is a maximum-RPM value measured under the manufacturer's conditions. Perceived noise shifts with case material, desk reflections and listening distance, so it is poor material for cross-brand comparison. The useful fact is the 1500 RPM ceiling: unlike coolers that spin past 2000 RPM, this one cannot get very loud even flat out. The asymmetric airflow — 66.17 CFM versus 58 CFM — comes from the different blade geometry. In a sandwich layout, mismatched figures are normal rather than a defect. Functionally the front fan pushes air into the fins and the reverse-blade fan pulls it through toward the case exhaust. Still, a four-pipe single tower has a structural ceiling. Fin area is smaller than a dual tower's, so **there is a hard limit to the heat it can shed no matter how fast the fans spin**. A sensible fan curve keeps things heavily throttled at low load and ramps once temperatures reach the 70s — running it hard all the time buys very little here. ## How It Compares Thermalright's own dual-tower models such as the PA120 series gain a clear advantage under heavy load thanks to extra fin area, at the cost of weight, height and memory clearance. If a dual tower fits your case and you are targeting Core i7 or above, take it. When height is the constraint, a low-profile option like the Peerless Assassin 90 SE at roughly 110mm becomes the sensible alternative. Comparisons against 240mm or 360mm AIOs come up often, but those cost several times as much and add a pump as a failure point. They are not really in the same conversation as a budget air cooler. If you want both quiet operation and high-load capability and can spend for it, liquid is the answer. Against same-price single-fan air coolers such as the NZXT T120, this loses on finish and brand support but wins on raw cooling thanks to the second fan. A six-pipe dual tower like the Cooler Master Hyper 622 HALO sits a price tier above, making it the natural upgrade choice if budget allows. ## Installation Notes - **Order matters.** Secure the heatsink first, then attach the fans; otherwise your driver cannot reach the mounting screws. - **Tools.** A long-shaft #2 Phillips is required — screws are reached through gaps in the fin stack. - **Paste.** A rice-grain-sized dot in the centre is the guideline. More does not cool better. - **Reverse-blade orientation.** Blade shape is inverted, so judging direction by eye fails. Check the arrow markings on the frame. - **Memory conflict.** Raise the front fan (height grows) or drop to single-fan operation. - **Wiring.** Splitting across CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT lets you monitor both fans. ## Best Use Cases **First-time builders who do not want to spend on cooling. ** With a Core i5 or Ryzen 5 at stock, the included paste and brackets get you running with no extra purchases, and temperatures rarely become a topic. It is a hard choice to get wrong on a first build. **Users who value quiet at light load. ** The 1500 RPM ceiling keeps browsing and video playback close to inaudible. Just do not expect that silence to hold under full load. **Standard mid-tower builds,** where 154mm is comfortably within spec. If your build is small-form-factor, high-end CPU, or RGB-focused, look elsewhere — this is not the right cooler for any of those. ## Before You Buy **Listing metadata on the product page can be wrong. ** The Amazon entry for this cooler has carried a manufacturer name belonging to an unrelated storage company, and different ASINs appeared depending on the source. This product is made by Thermalright. Rather than repeat an incorrect manufacturer as fact, the auto-generated listing block has been removed from this article. **You will likely see the same inconsistency on the product page, so identify the item from the product photos and the title — confirm it reads Assassin Spirit 120 V2 Plus — rather than from the manufacturer field. ** **Not for high-end CPUs at full load. ** A four-pipe single tower cannot match higher tiers in fin area. For long rendering or encoding sessions on Core i9 / Ryzen 9 class chips, choose a dual tower or an AIO. Booting is not the same as sustaining performance. **"Quiet" describes low load. ** Under heavy load with fans near their ceiling, you will hear airflow. Buying this expecting permanent silence leads to disappointment. **There is no visual flourish. ** No RGB, and the finish is what the price suggests. Skip it if aesthetics matter. **Watch the model name. ** Thermalright ships many similarly named products, and Assassin Spirit 120 exists as base, EVO, V2 and Plus variants with different fan counts and pipe counts. Verify the listing says V2 Plus. **Prices move. ** Every figure here is point-in-time. In this bracket a few hundred yen flips the ranking against competitors, so decide on today's price. ## FAQ **Q. Will it handle a Core i7 or Ryzen 7? ** A. For gaming-led workloads, yes, provided case airflow is real. Without proper front intake and rear exhaust, temperatures land higher than expected. For habitual all-core loads, step up a tier. **Q. Will it clear my memory? ** A. Modules above 44mm may collide in dual-fan mode; tall RGB DDR5 kits are the usual culprits. Raise the front fan or run a single fan. **Q. Can I use just one fan? ** A. Yes. It is a reasonable choice for memory clearance or extra quiet, at the cost of higher load temperatures. **Q. Does it support LGA1851 (Core Ultra)? ** A. The stated socket list is LGA1700 / LGA1200 / LGA115X / AM4 / AM5, with no LGA1851 entry, so this article cannot confirm support. Check Thermalright's current compatibility list or whether a separate bracket is offered. **Q. Do I need to buy thermal paste? ** A. No, paste is included. Upgrading is possible, but at this class the effort usually outweighs the temperature difference. **Q. Air or AIO? ** A. If you want quiet and high-load capability together and can spend substantially more, a 240mm-or-larger AIO is the alternative — accepting a pump as an added moving part.