Cooler Master has been busy updating their entire cooling lineup and will be testing many of the company’s releases this summer and fall.recently reviewed MA824 Stealth The air cooler impressed us with its high-end cooling performance and quiet operation.
Here we introduce Cooler Master’s latest 360mm AIO liquid cooler, the MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB. It features a new ‘Gen S’ dual-chamber liquid pump and a thicker radiator for improved cooling compared to its predecessor. PL360 flux. But is being on the Best AIO Coolers list enough?
cooler specs
| cooler | Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB |
| Manufacturer’s suggested retail price | $119.99 |
| Installation size | 394 (length) x 119.6 (width) x 27.2 mm (height) |
| Radiator material | aluminum |
| Socket compatibility | Intel LGA 1700/1200/1151/1150/1155/1156 |
| AMD AM5 / AM4 / AM3+ / AM3 / AM2+ / AM2 / FM2+ / FM2 / FM1 | |
| base | Redesigned copper base |
| guarantee | 3 years |
| Maximum TDP (our test) | ~250W for Intel i7-13700K |
Packing and contents
Cooler Master’s MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB comes in a box similar in size to other coolers in its class.
The internal contents are protected with molded foam and cardboard to ensure the cooler arrives undamaged.
The package includes:
- 360mm radiator & Gen S water pump
- Three 120mm fans
- CryoFuze Thermal Paste
- ARGB and fan splitter
- Mounting Intel and AMD Platforms
Installation on LGA1700
Mounting the cooler on our LGA 1700 testbed was a pretty standard process.
1. Stick the backplate on the back of the motherboard.
2. Secure the mounting standoffs to the mounting holes.
3. Screw the mounting bar onto the base of the CPU block and secure the mounting bar to the standoffs using the provided thumbscrews.
4. Install the fan on the radiator and secure the radiator to the computer case.
5. Finally, connect the fans to the PWM and ARGB splitters and connect the splitter cords to the motherboard.
Features of Cooler Master’s MasterLiquid 360L Core
Gen S dual chamber pump
The MasterLiquid 360L’s pump uses the latest dual-chamber ‘Gen S’ design with increased water flow and enhanced liquid pressure levels over previous models for improved cooling performance.
All copper heat plate
The copper contact plate has been redesigned to precisely target heat spots.
new pump aesthetics
The MasterLiquid 360L core features a newly redesigned CPU block.
Full RAM compatibility
AIO’s compact CPU block doesn’t protrude or interfere with RAM, so all sizes of DDR4 and DDR5 DIMMs are supported.
CryoFuze Thermal Paste
While many companies only include a bare minimum of thermal paste, the Cooler Master includes a full tube of the company’s signature CryoFuze thermal paste along with the cooler.
Increased fin surface area
Compared to the previous generation Cooler Master liquid cooler, MasterLiquid 360L Core has larger radiator fins for better heat dissipation.
Three 120MM ARGB fans
Coolers are more than just heatsinks and radiators. Bundled fans have a big impact on cooling and noise levels. The MasterLiquid 360L core includes 3 new ARGB fans designed for use in radiators.
| model | Unspecified |
| size | 120×120×25mm |
| fan rotation speed | 650-1750 RPM ± 10% |
| air flow | 71.93 CFM (maximum) |
| air pressure | 1.86mmH20 (maximum) |
| Bearing type | rifle |
| MTTF | >160,000 hours |
| lighting | ARGB |
preface
Modern high-end CPUs, whether Intel or AMD, have difficulty cooling intensive workloads. In the past, on desktop CPUs he hits 95C+ might have been cause for concern. But with today’s processors this is considered normal behavior. Similar behavior has existed in laptops for years due to cooling limitations in tight spaces.
Despite CPU manufacturers’ guarantees that running their CPUs at or near their maximum temperature is safe, many enthusiasts still prefer to run their CPUs at lower temperatures. Most coolers can’t achieve this with the most powerful and power-hungry workloads, but the most powerful his 360mm AIO can handle the heat with Intel’s i7-13700K.
Expectations are high for Cooler Master’s MasterLiquid 360L core, so we plan to test it against two of the most powerful AIOs on the market. DeepCool’s LT720 and MSI MAG S360.
Bending the LGA1700 socket
Besides the CPU cooler, there are many other factors that affect cooling performance, such as which case you use and which fans are installed. Your system’s motherboard can also affect this. especially, suffer from bendingThe result is poor contact between the cooler and the CPU.
To prevent bending from affecting cooling results, Thermalright LGA 1700 contact frame to our test equipment. If the motherboard is subjected to bending, the thermal results will be worse than those shown below. Not all motherboards are affected by this issue. We tested the Raptor Lake CPUs on two motherboards. And in one of them Thermalright his LGA1700 contacts after installing his frame saw a significant temp improvement but no longer in his 1 motherboard i see no difference in temperature at all I did.check out contact frame reviews for more information.
test method
All tests are performed at an ambient temperature of 23°C. Multiple thermal tests are run on each CPU to test the cooler in different conditions, and acoustic measurements are made on each result. These tests include:
1. Noise normalization test at low noise level
2. “Out of the box”/default configuration thermal and acoustic testing
a.) This means the Intel i7-13700K has no power limit.
b.) The best way to compare the cooling intensity is to record the total power consumption of the CPU package, as the CPU usually hits Tjmax in this scenario.
3. Thermal and Acoustic Testing in Power-Limited Scenarios
a.) Tested with 175 W and 125 W limits applied.
Thermal results include a 10 minute test run. To make sure this was long enough to strain the cooler, I ran both Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE and DeepCool’s LT720 with Intel’s i9-13900K for 10 and 30 minutes. 30 minute Cinebench test. The results did not change at all for longer tests. The sustained average clock speed dropped by 29 MHz for DeepCool’s LT720 and 31 MHz for Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE. That’s an incredibly small difference of 0.6% of the sustained clock speed, a margin of error difference, and a 10 minute test is long enough to actually test the cooler properly. I understand this.
| CPU | Intel Core i7-13900K |
| tested air cooler | Cooler Master MasterAir MA824 Stealth |
| Jiu Shark JF13K Diamond | |
| Thermal Light Silver Soul 135 | |
| Thermal Light Peerless Assassin | |
| Montec D24 Premium | |
| Noctua NH-D15S | |
| liquid cooler tested | Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360L Core |
| Deep Cool LT720 | |
| MSI MEG Core Liquid S360 | |
| motherboard | MSI Z690A Pro DDR4 |
| GPUs | Intel ARC A770 LE |
| case | be quiet! Silent Base 802, system fan set to speed 1 setting. |
| monitor | LG45GR95QE |
| Power supply unit | Cooler Master XG Plus 850 Platinum PSU |
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