AMD scales back its CPU cooler bundles, with some older Ryzen models dropping it altogether

All good things come to an end, and when that happens, we often look back and grumble aloud that change isn't always welcome. If you've been a fan of AMD's bundled CPU coolers over the past few years, then you may well fall into that camp, as the sun has now set on the Wraith Prism and Wraith Spire, with just the basic Stealth model still clinging on.

Naturally, AMD made as little fuss about this as possible, and it was only the sharp eyes of X user momomo_us that noticed two somewhat hidden snippets, marking the end of two rather nifty CPU coolers.

The roll-over text for some older Ryzen chips reads: "Due to the AMD SR4 cooler reaching EOL status, select AMD Ryzen 7000 and 5000 Product ID Boxed models are updated to no longer include a cooler, removing the AMD SR4 cooler, starting 8/1/2025." SR4 is AMD's codename for its Wraith Prism system.

That's the one with all the fancy RGB lighting, and I've built a number of Ryzen 5 5600X gaming rigs with that cooler. Admittedly, it was never the most potent of air blasters, even though it looked really neat. Under heavy load, the fan noise was quite piercing, but hey, free is free, and when you're building on a tight budget, every penny saved is a penny towards a better GPU.

Other Ryzen chips have lost their original bundled cooler, such as the Ryzen 7 8700G, which used to come with an SR2a, aka Wraith Spire. These will now come with the basic Wraith Stealth (SR1), which is nicely low-profile, but otherwise a bit lacklustre. It's fine for dealing with low-powered CPUs, but you wouldn't really want to use it on anything over 65 W.

The writing was on the wall for these bundled coolers, though, as none of AMD's 9000-series processors ship with a cooler. Mind you, while it's sad to see the Prism and Spire go, at least the aftermarket cooler market has plenty of options. Sure, none of them are free, but one could argue that the Wraith coolers were never really free, either, as the cost of them was just part of the CPU's original retail price.

If you are planning on building a budget gaming PC, with an eye to using a Ryzen 5000, 7000, or 8000-series processor, then be sure to check out all the best CPU air coolers we recommend. For just $38 at Amazon, Arctic's Freezer 36 is ridiculously good, and so is the Thermalright PA120SE ($35 at Amazon). The latter can be a bit fiddly to install and doesn't have much RAM clearance, but at this price, it's a minor issue.

I suspect that it won't be long before AMD and Intel stop bundling coolers with any of their retail desktop CPUs, and while it's not a major problem, I am going to miss the Wraith Prism. Noisy for sure, but oh-so pretty when running, and it kind of feels like a nod to a time where hardware manufacturers cared more about kudos than outright profit margins. It was no joke of a cooler, either, unlike Yorick. Now he was certainly a fool.

Best CPU coolers 2025

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1. Best AIO:
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro

2. Best budget AIO:
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II

3. Best high-end AIO:
Be Quiet! Light Loop

4. Best screen:
NZXT Kraken Elite RGB (2024)

5. Best air:
Noctua NH-D15 G2

6. Best budget air:
Arctic Freezer 36