A Closer Look

When it comes to the single tower heatsink, the design is rather traditional until you look a bit deeper. To start with, Cooler Master has 56 aluminium fins for heat dissipation. Meanwhile, there are sliding mounts on both sides for easy installation and adjustment for the fans, keeping things clean since no fan clips are required.


As for the sides, the fins are folded down which helps direct airflow through the heatsink while also helping maintain spacing of the fins and improve the overall visual presentation of the cooler. Finally, the top cover is purely for aesthetics and helps sell the big V8 engine styling.


The heatpipes are evenly spaced in the fin stack, with the 3DHP ones in the center also helping transfer heat to the center of the fins in the heatsink. The base is where both units really differ. In the first image, the one on the left is for Intel systems and has a slightly convex shape and is easy to spot because of the circular machining marks. For AMD systems (right side), the base is flat and while machining marks are also visible here, they are not noticeable to the touch and I can confirm with a quick razor blade test that yes, the AMD base on our unit is in fact flat.


The fans are high-end, making use of LCP (liquid crystal polymer), with the front fan (on the right) being higher airflow and static pressure, while the one on the left has a lower CFM and static pressure rating (89.6 vs 61.0 CFM and 3.85 vs 2.0 mmH2O). Both fans are 120 × 120 × 30 mm and have the MasterFan branding.