Valorant Requirements: Do You Need Upgrade in Cooling?

Quick Answer

Valorant is one of the most CPU-light competitive shooters and almost never needs a cooling upgrade. If you're hitting thermal throttling in Valorant, your cooler is undersized for general use, not specifically for Riot's game.

What Valorant Actually Demands

Valorant runs on a heavily optimised version of Unreal Engine 4. On a Ryzen 5 5600 or i5-12400F with stock cooling, the game pulls 40 to 60W from the CPU, well within stock cooler thermal envelopes. The GPU does most of the work and even an RTX 3050 or RX 6600 will hold 240+ fps at 1080p competitive settings. CPU temps in Valorant typically sit between 55C and 70C on stock coolers, far below the 90C throttle threshold.

When Cooling Actually Matters

If you're running an i5-14600K, i7-14700K or Ryzen 7 7700X and pushing 360+fps for a 360Hz monitor, the chip will sustain higher boost clocks for longer and the stock cooler can become a bottleneck. Same applies if your case has poor airflow (single intake fan, no exhaust). In those scenarios, an aftermarket air cooler like a Deepcool AK400 (R650) or be quiet! Pure Rock 2 (R900) lets the CPU hold higher clocks, which translates to slightly higher and more consistent 1% lows.

SA-Specific Cooling Considerations

SA summer ambient temps hit 30 to 35C indoors without aircon, which adds 5 to 8C to your CPU temps versus a 22C lab environment. If your room hits the high 30s in February, an upgrade from stock to a R600 to R900 tower cooler is worth it for any K-series Intel or X-series Ryzen chip. For non-K and non-X chips paired with Valorant, stick with stock and save the cash.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I upgrade my CPU cooler just for Valorant?

No. Valorant is too light to justify a cooler upgrade on its own. Upgrade if you also play CPU-heavy titles like Cities Skylines 2, Microsoft Flight Sim, or stream while gaming.

What's the best budget cooler for a Valorant build in SA?

The Deepcool AK400 at around R650 is the standout. It outperforms stock Intel and AMD coolers comfortably and fits virtually every modern socket.

Do I need liquid cooling for high-FPS Valorant?

No. Air cooling handles every CPU you'd realistically pair with a Valorant esports rig. AIO liquid coolers only make sense for K-series Intel or 16-core Ryzen chips, neither of which you need for 360fps Valorant.