If you’re in the market for a large, quiet CPU cooler for less than $50 to cool your AMD or Intel CPU gaming PC then Endorfy’s Fortis 5 might be just what you’re looking for. A relative newcomer from a manufacturer that’s probably gone under your radar, Europe already has a few well-regarded PC cooling manufacturers, but Poland-based Endorfy already sells its gear in the US via Newegg and also in select European countries via Amazon. More importantly it’s planning to expand into new markets including the UK very soon.
Endorfy Fortis 5 ARGB CPU cooler
Endorfy Fortis 5 Specifications and Price
The company’s Fortis 5 range of CPU coolers all use the same heatsink and sell for under $50 (slightly more for the RGB version) despite offering a large, quiet 140mm fan, hefty heatsink and for slightly over $50 you get beautiful RGB lighting too. There are three models available from the $42 Fortis 5, the $49 Fortis 5 dual fan and $53 Fortis 5 ARGB. I’ve tested the latter two below so keep reading to see if they should be on your shortlist and whether they’re the best CPU cooler for AMD or Intel right now.
Endorfy Fortis 5 Dual Fan
Compatible with AMD and Intel’s recent CPU sockets such as AM4, AM5 and LGA1700, The Fortis 5 coolers are just 159mm tall so will fit in nearly all standard ATX cases. The width of 144mm gives them a much larger surface area than your typical 120mm cooler, but they still cleared all four memory slots on my motherboard so there are no memory module height compatibility issues which is great news.
Endorfy Fortis 5 ARGB CPU cooler
The fan speed of the large 140mm fans included with all the Fortis 5 coolers tops out at just 1400rpm, which is quite low but does mean the cooler is extremely quiet even at full speed. The dual fan model includes an extra 120mm fan to boost airflow, sitting at the rear, but this too sits at a peak of 1400rpm.
The RGB lighting on the Fortis 5 ARGB looks fantastic with a large glowing cap on top of the heatsink as well RGB lighting on the fan. All three Fortis coolers use 4-pin PWM controller for the fan speeds, with the dual fan model including a splitter cable so you only need one motherboard header to power both fans.
Endorfy Fortis 5 ARGB
Installation uses quite a few components, but is straightforward and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. You screw four small nuts to the motherboard using either stock AMD backplate, or a separate backplate included for Intel mainstream sockets. A large mounting plate screws to these and the cooler has a plate with two sprung screws that secures to the mounting plate. The only tool you’ll need is a long screwdriver.
Endorfy Fortis 5 installation
Endorfy Fortis 5 Performance
The extra fan on the Fortis 5 Dual Fan didn’t seem to make much difference with the fans at full speed as the single fan Fortis but it’s likely the extra airflow grunt will have more of an impact at lower speeds, reducing the need to spin up as often. The Fortis 5 Dual Fan only shaved a degree off the 90°C achieved by the single fan Fortis 5 ARGB in cooling a Core i7-14700K, which would offer the same cooling performance as the RGB-less Fortis 5. This was also the same a slightly cheaper, smaller cooler in the form of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White.
Endorfy Fortis 5 ARGB
Most 240mm liquid coolers will likely outperform it, as did an MSI MAG Core Liquid E240, but then it costs double the price at around $100. We predicted, though, the Fortis 5 coolers were exceptionally quiet given their cooling performance, registering just 39dBA, with the Cooler Master cooler sitting at a much louder 42dBA and MSI liquid cooler at 46dBA.
Should you buy the Endorfy Fortis 5?
Endorfy Fortis 5 ARGB
Overall these are great coolers for the money that offer excellent compatibility with cases and memory modules, easy installation, good build quality and a welcome balance between noise and cooling. If you prefer your cooler to remain at comfortable noise levels with no need to waste time fine-tuning it then any of the Fortis 5 coolers is a great choice, with the standard Fortis 5 offering the best bang for your buck at just $42 and the Fortis 5 ARGB being the one to go for at about $10 more if you want RGB lighting.
