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The main problem of liquid cooling systems such as AIO (All-in-one) is not even in efficiency, durability or cost, but in the complete uniformity of products, regardless of the vendor that produces them. This is partly due to Asetek’s patents that everyone is forced to follow. Partly because it’s hard to experiment with anything other than design. In any case, any more or less original product in this area always arouses genuine interest. And Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360P Silver Editon is just such a system that stands out from a number of others both externally and in some technical features. Let’s look at everything in detail, and then we will conduct a practical test in a thermal test.
Packing and scope of delivery
The cooling system is contained in a large purple-black box. Product images are on the front of the package, dimensions and main features are described on the back. Specifications in the form of a table are indicated on the sidewall.
Inside, all parts are packed in plastic bags and a mold made of pressed cardboard that can absorb liquid in case of a leak.
In addition to fans and a heatsink, the Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360P Silver Editon package includes:
- brochure with information about the guarantee;
- instructions for mounting the cooling system;
- instructions for the backlight controller;
- plastic reinforcing frame for Intel sockets;
- four metal racks for Intel LGA 2011;
- four plastic racks for the rest of the Intel connectors;
- four metal screw stands for Intel LGA 775/115x/1366;
- four plastic clamps of screw racks;
- mounting feet for TR4 socket;
- mounting feet for AM4/AM3 connectors;
- mounting feet for Intel LGA 775/115x/1366/2011;
- four small screws for fixing the mounting feet;
- four nuts for a Phillips screwdriver;
- USB adapter from 2.0 connector to a standard block;
- 12 long screws for fixing fans;
- 12 short screws for the radiator;
- ARGB backlight controller;
- five pin adapters for the backlight controller;
- adapter cable from Mini-USB to USB 2.0;
- cable +12VGRB “father” – “mother”;
- cable +12VGRB for connection to the controller;
- speed monitoring cable;
- cable for connecting the Reset button to the controller;
- cable for connecting the Reset output of the controller to the motherboard;
- cable for connecting the controller to the + 5VDG connector;
- tube with thermal paste.
Appearance
The defining feature in the appearance of MasterLiquid ML360P is its silver-gray color. In combination with the square shape of the radiator, painted fins and hoses, the system looks very nice. The hoses are 410 mm long, wrapped in nylon and have an outer diameter of 13 mm. They are quite flexible and durable.
The radiator is made of aluminum and painted in silver. Its length is 394 mm and its width is 119 mm. The side slats have three sets of mounting holes for 120mm fans (hole spacing 105mm) arranged without gap. Radiator fins are band-type, stacked at 19 FPI (fins per inch). Between the fins are 14 channels through which the refrigerant is pumped. The total heat dissipation area is approximately 8919 cm2. The weight of the equipped system, excluding fans, is 1050 grams. The propellers weigh a total of 384 grams.
The tubes are fixedly connected to the radiator fittings by pressing with rubber clips. The thickness of the manifold on the hose side is 22 mm. A plug is hidden under the side sticker, through which you can replace the coolant. True, when it is removed, the warranty is canceled, as reported on the sticker itself.
The thickness of the collector on the opposite side is 14 mm.
The radiator has a thickness of 27.2 mm. The side lamellas are completely even and solid, without rivets.
The water block looks nice. It is made of plastic in the form of a regular truncated cone 53 mm high. The top cover has an illuminated Cooler Master logo in the shape of a hexagon with rounded corners. Along the top edge along the perimeter lies another LED insert with ARGB illumination.
The two-chamber pump installed inside has a fixed rotation speed of 2500 rpm. I would like to note that it is extremely quiet, the movement of water is heard only at startup, the rest of the time you need to listen on purpose. According to the sound level meter, the pump is no louder than 35 dB(A). As part of the MTBF resource, 70 thousand hours are declared.
The hoses are connected to the water block using metal elbow fittings. They can be rotated to the sides at small angles, since the curvature of the body and the non-proportional position of the inputs interfere. If you look closely, you can see that they are at different levels in the case, which is due to the features of the two-chamber design.
The copper base with longitudinal polishing has the form of a truncated oval with dimensions of 56×62 mm. The manufacturer made sure that it was as difficult as possible to open the water block by screwing the sole with not only eight triangular-head screws, but also two screws for a flat screwdriver with protrusions that can only be screwed in one direction and cannot be turned back. There are no special claims to the evenness of the base. There is one three-pin cable to connect to the power supply of the pump, and there is a + 5VDG connector for the backlight, both 300 mm long.
A unique feature that I have not seen before in such systems is a block of three 120mm fans paired in one common frame. The silver frame has soft stickers on both sides to suppress vibrations and two braided cords – a four-pin for powering the propellers and another + 5VDG for ARGB lighting. Eight LEDs are responsible for the illumination, located around the stator of each propeller. The impeller consists of five transparent blades twisted like a scimitar.
Fan speed is controlled by PWM control in the range from 650 to 1800 rpm. The type of bearing used here is not specified, but most likely it is a threaded sleeve. The system is marked as DF-3602512RFMF. The fans are quite quiet at maximum speed – 54 dB (A) on the radiator, but at low speeds they emit a parasitic overtone in the form of crackling. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve complete noiselessness from them. The fan MTBF is declared within 160,000 hours.
This is how the fan mounted on the radiator looks like:
When assembled with fans, the overall system thickness is 54mm, but the protruding knurled screws increase the thickness to 59mm.
To control the ARGB backlight, in case there is none on the motherboard, the kit provides its own controller. There are four keys on its outer side. The first one, marked with a circle, switches the lighting effects. The second, with a square, switches control modes – ARGB (each diode individually) or RGB (all diodes at the same time). The up and down arrow button changes color, and the side arrow button changes the playback speed of the current effect.
The remote control has a lot of connectors. On the left side there is one output for connecting 12VGRB devices and four two-pin ports. Two of them are used to connect the Reset button (a short press switches the lighting effects, a long press resets the system), another one is for synchronizing the rotation of the fans with the effects, and there is one more spare service connector. At the top there is a SATA Power input. Below are one input ARGB and + 12VGRB, allowing control from the motherboard by its native software. Between them is a USB connector through which you can control the remote control using Cooler Master software, and on the right side there are four outputs for connecting ARGB devices. Depending on the selected control mode, white lights on the remote control light up to indicate which ports are suitable for use. The remote has magnets on the back. This allows you to quickly attach it to any steel surface of the case.
Let’s move on to installing the CBO and testing its effectiveness.
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