It wasn’t that long ago that Thermalright released the original Phantom Spirit 120, which impressed me to the point I titled the review “Simply the Best.” I generally try to avoid clickbait headlines, so when I say something like that – it isn’t hype or lip service, it’s because I am genuinely impressed with a product’s performance and price.
It hasn’t even been six months since the previous review, but believe it or not Thermalright has already released an upgraded version of the same cooler called the Phantom Spirit 120 EVO. When I first heard an EVO version was going to be released, I wondered what the point was. The original version raised the bar for air cooling, and I found it hard to believe that it was possible to improve on its design – especially not after only a few months!
With today’s review we’ll look at the new EVO version of the Phantom Spirit to see if it can take the spot of the best air cooler from its predecessor. First, lets quickly take a look at the specifications from Thermalright and the features that set it apart from other coolers.
Cooler specifications
| Cooler | Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO |
| MSRP | $42.99 |
| Heatsink Material | Aluminum |
| Rated Lifespan | Unlisted |
| Socket Compatibility | Intel LGA 1700/115x/1200/2011/2066 AMD: AM5/AM4 |
| Base | Copper Base |
| Max TDP with Intel’s i7-13700K (Our Testing) | 238W |
| Dimensions | 110mm (L) x 125 mm (W) x 157mm (D) |
Packing and included contents
The Phantom Spirit 120 is protected during shipment with molded foam, plastic coverings, and cardboard.
Unlike the original version, which featured only basic brown packaging, the EVO includes an eye-catching black and white cover that showcases the product.
Included in with the cooler are the following:
- Two 120mm fans and fan clips
- Dual-tower heatsink
- Mounting for modern AMD and Intel Platforms
- Thermal Paste
- PWM splitter cord
- Mounting accessories
LGA 1700 installation
The installation of the cooler is unchanged from the original version of this cooler, and is simple to setup.
1. Press the backplate against the rear of the motherboard, and then secure it using the included metal standoffs.
2. Next you’ll need to apply thermal paste to the CPU – and if you’re unsure how to do that, see our How to Apply Thermal Paste primer.
3. Place the mounting bars on top of the standoffs and secure them with the included screws.
4. Place the heatsink on top of the CPU and secure it using the screws in between the two towers.
5. Secure the fans on the cooler using the included fan clips, and then connect the fans to the PWM and ARGB headers on your motherboard.
Features of Thermalright’s Phantom Spirit 120 EVO
Jet-black heatsink with seven copper heatpipes
The design of the heatsink is identical to that of the original Phantom Spirit 120, with the exception that it arrives in solid black rather than silver. The original model is shown on the left in the picture below, with the EVO model reviewed today on the right in black.
Image 1 of 2
42mm+ RAM compatibility
The cooler is designed to be used with RAM 42mm or lower in height, but if you have taller memory, like my 45mm G-Skill DDR4 shown below, you’ll have to set the fan clips a little higher and move the fan up slightly. While in theory, this might cause some minor performance loss, it didn’t cause a problem in our testing as you’ll see in the benchmarks.
Upgraded TL-K12 120mm fans
There’s more to a cooler than just the heatsink or radiator; the fans included have a large impact on a cooler’s performance and are directly responsible for how loudly it runs. In the case of the Phantom Spirit 120 EVO, the fans are just about the only thing different in comparison to the original model. They feature Thermalright’s newest S-FDB V2 fan bearings and have higher maximum speeds, airflow, and static pressure ratings compared to the fans included with the original model of the Phantom Spirit 120.
While these fans do run louder at maximum speeds, in most common scenarios they run quieter than the original model’s fans, while providing superior cooling results. They also feature RGB in a unique manner that sets it apart from the competition – rather than having the RGB brightly illuminate the entire fan, Thermalright has included 4 small RGB strips to give the unit a more subtle RGB aesthetic.
Image Source: Thermalright
| Model | TL-K12 120mm fan |
| Dimensions | 120 x 120 x 25mm |
| Fan Speed | Up to 2150 RPM ± 10% |
| Air Flow | Up to 69 CFM |
| Air Pressure | Up to 2.87mmH2O |
| Bearing Type | S-FDB V2 Bearing |
| Lighting | ARGB |
| MFFT | Unlisted |
LGA1700 Socket Bending
There are many factors other than the CPU cooler that can influence your cooling performance, including the case you use and the fans installed in it. A system’s motherboard can also influence this, especially if the socket suffers from bending, which results in poor cooler contact with the CPU.
To prevent bending from impacting our cooling results, we’ve installed Thermalright’s LGA 1700 contact frame into our testing rig. If your motherboard is affected by bending, your thermal results will be worse than those shown below. Not all motherboards are affected equally by this issue. I tested Raptor Lake CPUs in two motherboards. And while one of them showed significant thermal improvements after installing Thermalright’s LGA1700 contact frame, the other motherboard showed no difference in temperatures whatsoever! Check out our review of the contact frame for more information.
Testing methodology
Today’s highest-end CPUs, whether Intel or AMD, are difficult to cool in intensive workloads. In the past. reaching 95 degrees Celsius or more on a desktop CPU might have been a cause for concern. But with today’s top-end CPUs, this is considered normal operation. Similar behavior has been present in laptops for years due to cooling limitations in tight spaces.
All testing is performed with a 23C ambient room temperature. Multiple thermal tests are run on each CPU to test the cooler in a variety of conditions, and acoustic measurements are taken with each result. These tests include:
1. Noise normalized testing at low noise levels
2. “Out of the box” / default configuration thermal & acoustics testing
a. No power limits enforced
b. Because CPUs hit Tjmax in this scenario, the best way to compare cooling strength is by recording the total CPU package power consumption.
3. Thermal & acoustics testing in power-limited scenarios
a. Power limited to 175W to emulate a medium-intensity workload
b. Power limited to 125W to emulate a low-intensity workload
The thermal results included are for 10-minute testing runs. To be sure that was sufficiently long to tax the cooler, we tested both Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE and DeepCool’s LT720 with a 30-minute Cinebench test with Intel’s i9-13900K for both 10 minutes and 30 minutes. The results didn’t change much at all with the longer test: The average clock speeds maintained dropped by 29 MHz on DeepCool’s LT720 and 31 MHz on Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE. That’s an incredibly small 0.6% difference in clock speeds maintained, a margin of error difference that tells us that the 10-minute tests are indeed long enough to properly test the coolers.
Testing configuration – Intel LGA1700 platform
| CPU | Intel Core i7-13700K |
| Motherboard | MSI Z690 A Pro DDR4 |
| Case | Be Quiet! Silent Base 802, system fans set to speed 1 setting. |
| Monitor | LG 45GR95QE |
| PSU | Cooler Master XG Plus 850 Platinum PSU |
Thermal results without power limits
Without power limits enforced on Intel’s i7-13700K, the CPU will hit its peak temperature and thermally throttle with even the strongest air coolers. When the CPU reaches its peak temperature, I’ve measured the CPU package power to determine the maximum wattage cooled to best compare their performance. The results below do not include the best liquid coolers on the market, which are able to keep the CPU under TJ Max (100C).
With 238W cooled during testing, the upgraded Phantom Spirit 120 EVO outperforms the original model and delivered the secon-best thermal result we’ve seen from any air cooler – beaten only by the tied results from ID-Cooling’s A770 and Thermalright’s own Frost Commander 140.
To sustain its chart-topping cooling performance, the Phantom Spirit 120 EVO runs at a maximum output of 45.6 dBA – which is significantly louder than the 41.9 dBA that its predecessor ran. This is a step backwards and, in my opinion, Thermalright should have reduced the peak speed of these fans to 2000RPM. Because as you’ll see in the next set of benchmarks, there’s very little point to running the fan at full speed.
Thermal results with noise normalized to 38.2 dBA
Finding the right balance between fan noise levels and cooling performance is important. While running fans at full speed can improve cooling capacity to some extent, the benefits are limited and many users prefer a quiet system. With this noise-normalized test, I’ve set noise levels to 38.2 dba. This level of noise is a low volume level, but slightly audible to most people.
I pulled a double take when I saw these results because I couldn’t believe my eyes. Cooling 232W during testing, the upgraded Phantom Spirit 120 EVO outperformed every single air cooler I’ve ever tested when the fans are set to run quietly. These are exceptional results, which will please those who prefer tuned, quietly running systems.
175W Cinebench results
Most coolers on the market can keep Intel’s i7-13700K under its peak temperature if the power consumption is limited, so for this test, we’ll be looking at the CPU’s actual temperature.
With a steady 175W load run on the CPU, the temperature averaged 54 degrees Celsius over the ambient room temperature of 23 C. This is another extremely impressive result, tied for the second-best result from any air cooler I’ve tested, and an improvement of 2 degrees C compared to its predecessor.
The Phantom Spirit 120 EVO doesn’t just run cooler than its predecessor in this scenario. It also runs quieter than its predecessor in this test by 2.3 dBA, and only reaches a maximum volume level of 39.6 dBA. This is a rather impressive noise reduction in comparison to the original model.
125W Cinebench results
The lowest power limit I test with Raptor Lake CPUs is 125W. This is a high enough limit to allow the CPU to maintain its base clock speeds even in the most intensive tests, and most coolers should be capable of keeping the CPU below TJ Max (the max temperature before throttling) – even low-end coolers.
Really, thermals do not matter in this scenario. Even Intel’s stock cooler can handle a load like this with ease. Noise levels, rather than CPU temperature, are the most important factor here. These were ideal, never overpowering the ambient system noise of 37.3 dBA. What this means is that the cooler ran quieter than my system fans.
While the actual CPU temperature doesn’t matter much in this scenario, the upgraded Phantom Spirit 120 EVO outperformed its predecessor by a significant margin for this benchmark, with CPU temperatures recorded 3 degrees C colder, at 41 C compared to the 44 C result from the original Phantom Spirit 120.
Conclusion
If you’re in the market for an air cooler, this is probably the one you should buy – so long as it will fit in your build. I find it difficult to recommend purchasing any other air cooler currently available on the market when you consider the price, performance, and overall noise levels provided by Thermalright’s Phantom Spirit 120 EVO. This isn’t hype or lip service. Our testing shows it really is that good.