Intel reveals Core Ultra Series 2 stock coolers with more conductive copper-base heatsinks

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No aluminum base for lower-end like last gen — and much cleaner designs, to boot

Intel Laminar RM2 (left) and RH2 (right) stock cooler designs for 15th Gen Arrow Lake Core Ultra Series 2 CPUs
(Image credit: Intel)

In addition to Arrow Lake-S CPUs for desktop PCs we saw earlier this week, Intel is also introducing a series of refreshed stock cooler designs. These next-gen units replace the previous, weaker stock coolers across the board.

The most notable upgrade offered by these new stock cooler designs, which we noticed thanks to @momomo_us on Twitter, isn't immediately visible. But last time around, lower-end coolers used less-conductive aluminum for the baseplate instead of just the fins. The more conductive copper is a far superior material for a baseplate, and Laminar RH1 had it, while Laminar RM1 and RS1 did not. However, the new Laminar RH2 and RM2 CPU cooler designs include copper baseplates.

Besides the copper baseplate, there's also an immediately noticeable improvement in aesthetics. While I'm as much a fan of gaudy technology as the next guy, the excessive lighting and hard blues on the last-gen coolers have been toned down significantly for RH2 and RM2.

Intel also claims 2.2 BA "near-silent" Sound Power Level on Laminar RH2 and 3.6 BA "quiet" performance on RM2, marking .4 and .3 improvements in noise levels over last gen (RH1 2.6 BA and RH2 3.9 BA), respectively. Sound Pressure Level reaches 23 dBA on Laminar RH2 and 30 dBA on Laminar RM2, so these seem like reasonable targets for air coolers not intended for overclocking.

Both new coolers have a three-year limited warranty and the aforementioned copper base heatsink. In addition to being larger and quieter, the Laminar RH2 also provides ARGB lighting via a light ring, though the inevitable blues present will somewhat limit your range of mixable colors.

For more detailed specifications on coolers you'll never be purchasing on their own, Intel's official documentation for Laminar RH2 and Laminar RM2 should fill in the rest of what you may need to know. Overall, these are just renewed stock coolers meant to support 65 Watt desktop CPUs running in standard conditions, now with improved aesthetics and reportedly decent performance gains versus the last-gen options thanks to some key upgrades.

Of course, anybody hoping to do serious overclocking with Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPUs will want to skip stock coolers entirely and instead choose from the best, market-proven CPU coolers beyond the basics Intel is willing to give its non-overclocking enthusiast customers.

Christopher Harper
Christopher Harper
Contributing Writer

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • hotaru251
    so now like amd's low end the stock cooler is actually usable?
    Reply
  • thestryker
    It's good to see the copper core in the cheap cooler which should allow for better boost performance. I imagine the plastic looking shroud around the top is to fix noise and air turbulence. It also looks like there's a more dense fin array on both.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    Don't like any stock cooler... just push a tower cooler 200+ tdp on every build.

    Silent and brick lol
    Reply
  • theronaldoblack
    Good to see, hope it works well. Everyone watch your temps and pick a cooler for the wattage needed.
    I bought a $20 low profile cooler with 6 heat pipes, that cleared my ram and IO. A 120mm fan and I cannot get my 5600x3d hotter then 60 degrees. It games.
    Looks good also, ARGB integrated with the rest. White cooler. Very clean.
    If the stock fan work, that is a few more dollars that can go elsewhere in your build, but again... you can find some amazing coolers out there for very little money.
    Reply