Tuesday, August 16th 2016
Cooler Master Announces the MasterLiquid Maker 92 CPU Cooler
Cooler Master, a leader in design and manufacturing computer components and peripherals, today launched an all-in-one liquid CPU cooler that doesn't look like a liquid cooler. According to Cooler Master, it skirts the divide between liquid and air cooling by combining properties from both. Let's get one thing straight - it is an all-in-one (AIO) closed loop liquid cooler. Mostly. What Cooler Master has done is shrink it down by combining the radiator and pump into a single frame. This frame and two dual fans are attached to a swiveling mechanism that allows you to quickly swap between vertical or horizontal mounting configurations. This versatility gives this unusual cooler a number of unique functions for smaller PCs and air flow set ups.
"It has dimensions similar to an air cooler, but it packs a punch for its size that air coolers can't match. And it rotates. It's like if you somehow jacked up a mid-sized tower CPU cooler's performance and versatility without changing its size," said Dorrie Chen, Product Marketing Manager for Cooler Master's thermal team. Liquid and air CPU coolers are always fighting.
Physics has granted liquid the advantage, but channeling that power requires an array of parts that ask for room and can intimidate even the bravest PC builder. Never mind the CPU's surrounding components that are left to fend for themselves. If you don't draw in air from somewhere else, the stagnant heat could impact overall system performance and lifespan.
Rather than approach the problem with existing AIO liquid cooler designs, Cooler Master just tossed them out and came up with a new angle. Combine the pump and radiator, shrink the size, trim the tubing and wiring, and suspend everything right over the water block on the CPU. This gives you the compact form factor and ease of installation reminiscent of a mid-sized air cooler with the performance of a smaller liquid cooler. Fit it onto anything from ITX to E-ATX motherboards while freeing up space for smaller cases or tighter layouts.
Rotating the radiator and dual fans has two advantages - space and air flow. If you have a narrower case for smaller motherboards, flip into horizontal mode and it still fits without blocking any of your RAM or PCI slots, even on ITX. The MasterFan Pro 92mm fans in this position will blanket the motherboard with cool air, benefiting the components surrounding your CPU. Mounted vertically, you have a tower cooler pulling air through your case. This flexible functionality is something yet unseen in either liquid or air cooling.
Register for Limited Pre-Orders
Cooler Master will be offering a very limited supply of pre-orders on Aug. 30. Click here for details on how to sign up.
For more information, visit the product page.
"It has dimensions similar to an air cooler, but it packs a punch for its size that air coolers can't match. And it rotates. It's like if you somehow jacked up a mid-sized tower CPU cooler's performance and versatility without changing its size," said Dorrie Chen, Product Marketing Manager for Cooler Master's thermal team. Liquid and air CPU coolers are always fighting.
Rather than approach the problem with existing AIO liquid cooler designs, Cooler Master just tossed them out and came up with a new angle. Combine the pump and radiator, shrink the size, trim the tubing and wiring, and suspend everything right over the water block on the CPU. This gives you the compact form factor and ease of installation reminiscent of a mid-sized air cooler with the performance of a smaller liquid cooler. Fit it onto anything from ITX to E-ATX motherboards while freeing up space for smaller cases or tighter layouts.
Rotating the radiator and dual fans has two advantages - space and air flow. If you have a narrower case for smaller motherboards, flip into horizontal mode and it still fits without blocking any of your RAM or PCI slots, even on ITX. The MasterFan Pro 92mm fans in this position will blanket the motherboard with cool air, benefiting the components surrounding your CPU. Mounted vertically, you have a tower cooler pulling air through your case. This flexible functionality is something yet unseen in either liquid or air cooling.
Register for Limited Pre-Orders
Cooler Master will be offering a very limited supply of pre-orders on Aug. 30. Click here for details on how to sign up.
For more information, visit the product page.
36 Comments on Cooler Master Announces the MasterLiquid Maker 92 CPU Cooler
But damn that thing is hideous...
Due to the rad/fan size there is zero chance of it matching a H100 and it probably won't even match a H80 without sounding like a jet engine. Add to that it just dumps the heat into the case like an air cooler would and I see no reason to buy it over an equally priced air cooler, especially as that would be more reliable and depending on the RRP also quieter and cooler.
It's a novel concept, but it's not exactly one we haven't all thought of. Sometimes things are done one way for a reason.
I want to see actual temps with this.
About the only advantage I can see with this over a normal A.I.O. is that you can adjust the angle and fix it so it blows over the VRM section, which normal A.I.O.'s cant.
Probably more likely to die in a car crash or so then that a water cooler wrecks your pc
I've used various AOI kits over the last couple of years, all worked fine.
This model is not for high-end cooling, but for mini-itx enclosures that want to carry the heat out quickly and keep the thing silent.
However, I think many people who use such AiO's simply assume that they will get better cooling and a quieter (lower noise) solution with water cooling. This isn't necessarily the case though. I recall reading a review of the Cooler Master Seidon 120V (~$100 USD) vs the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (~$25 USD). The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO was quieter (due to having no pump noise), significantly cheaper and cooled slightly better at idle by one or two degrees. At load it was slightly warmer by about one or two degrees.
The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO also had zero chance of leaking and zero chance of having its pump breakdown.
Likewise the chance of an AIO failing is higher than a car crash but because the are thousands of times more cars than AIOs the statistics are much higher. The leak rate of AIOs may only be 1:100 or 1:1000 but the amount of leaks from air coolers is 0.
When the ambient room temperature is already 25-30 degrees on a normal day, hotter on a bad day, then regular air coolers don't help much. This might not be perfect, but it would do a far better job than a regular heat pipe cooler.