Sama A60E Air Cooler Review: quiet and capable

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If you’ve never heard of SAMA, you’re not the only one. The company was established in 2003 as an OEM, but has recently rolled out its own lineup of computer hardware in the U.S. and elsewhere, including cases, power supplies, air coolers, and liquid coolers. The company announced several products at Computex 2025, including the focus of today’s review, the Sama A60E air cooler.

Sama A60E — (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Sama’s A60E is a dual-tower air cooler with a traditional silver and black aesthetic, which should appeal to many enthusiasts. There is a version of this cooler with ARGB, if lighting is a priority for you. Will this new cooler make our list of best CPU coolers on the market? We’ll first go over the features, then get to the benchmarks with AMD and Intel CPUs, so you can determine if this cooler is right for you.

Cooler specifications

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Cooler	Sama A60E
Colors	Black – A60B Black and Silver – A60E White – A60W Black/ Silver and ARGB – A60L
MSRP	$59.99
Lighting	None (ARGB version is available)
Warranty	3 years
Socket Compatibility	Intel Socket LGA 1851/1700/1200/115x AMD AM5 / AM4
Radiator Dimensions	142.5 (L) x 124 (W) x 156.5mm (H)
Maximum TDP (Our Testing)	244W with Intel Core i7-14700K 232W with AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D

Features of Sama’s A60E air cooler

▶ Dual-tower heatsink

The A60E has a traditional dual-tower heatsink, with black fans. There is no ARGB lighting, though a version of this cooler with ARGB fans is available. The design of the intake and exhaust fins is shown below.

▶ Six copper heatpipes

Like most higher-end dual-tower air coolers on the market, the A60E incorporates six copper heatpipes to move heat from the CPU block and into the fins of the heatsink.

▶ Etched Metal aesthetic

This cooler sports a black and metal aesthetic, which should appeal to those wanting an “old school” look without ARGB bling. The tops of the cooler’s heatsink are etched metal plates, with Sama’s logo on the side.

▶ Two 120mm fans

Included with the A60E are two 120mm fans, which are solid black. The technical specifications are listed below.

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Size (L x W x D)	120mm x 120m x 25mm
Bearing	Hydro Bearing
Fan Speed	800-2200 RPM ±10%
Air Pressure	Up to 2.7 mmH2O
Airflow	Up to 78 CFM
Life expectancy	Unlisted

▶ Freezee thermal paste

Sama includes its high-performance Freezee thermal paste with the cooler. We’ve put Freezee through two types of tests, and as you’ll see in the benchmarks section, it performs pretty well!

▶ RAM Clearance

Most DDR5 modules shouldn’t have a problem fitting underneath the first fan of SAMA’s A60E. I measured clearance at approximately 42 mm. If you’re using taller DIMMs, you’ll need to adjust the fan up a few MM, or alternatively move it to the rear of the heatsink.

▶ Etched metal adhesive token

Some of y’all like decorative bling, and Sama has you covered with an adhesive etched metal sticker that you can attach to the outside of your PC, your refrigerator, or any other place you’d like to place it. It’s not quite the case badges of yesteryear, but it is arguably more interesting than the paper stickers that still ship with some expensive motherboards.

AM5 and 1851 installation

1. You’ll first need to apply the included backplate if you’re using an Intel CPU. AMD users will need to remove the default mounting mechanism.

2. Next, you’ll need to install the standoffs.

3. Take the mounting bars and apply them to the standoffs, then secure them with the included screws.

how to apply thermal paste.

5. Remove the middle fan from the cooler. Place the heatsink on top of the CPU, and secure it with a screwdriver.

7. Reinsert the middle fan and connect the wires together.

8. Finally, connect the PWM cable to the corresponding motherboard header.

Real-world testing configuration: Intel LGA1700 and AMD AM5 platform

My results may differ from other reviewers because I emphasize results that are comparable to real-world use. This means I test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods.

Many sites test CPU coolers outside of a case, on an open test bench. Open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes weak coolers appear stronger than they really are.

Some publications have used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods because they don’t accurately reflect the real-world conditions where a CPU cooler is used.

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CPU	Intel Core i7-14700K
GPU	ASRock Steel Legend Radeon 7900 GRE
Motherboard	MSI Z790 Project Zero
Case	MSI Pano 100L PZ Black
System Fans	Iceberg Thermal IceGale Silent

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 it suffers from bending, which results in poor cooler contact with the CPU.

In order 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.

We’ve recently added testing of AMD’s new flagship sixteen-core Ryzen 9 9950X3D. This impressive CPU provides the best gaming and multithreaded performance on the market, and it can prove quite challenging thermally, particularly when PBO is enabled for overclocking.