Cooler Master MA824 Stealth vs DeepCool Assassin IV

1. MA824 Stealth vs Assassin IV2. Test Results3. Closing Thoughts4. View All Pages

Our thermal testing found that both coolers had similar performance when fan speed is maxed out, but the Cooler Master MA824 Stealth has the edge in noise output and thermal performance when fan RPM is tuned to a comfortable noise level, making it the overall winner for us in terms of performance. However, if brute force cooling with noise not a concern, either cooler will do a sufficient job of cooling high-end processors.

We only say sufficient because on the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, with either cooler installed, the CPU temperature would peak at over 100°C, which is higher than what we would be comfortable with. To put that into perspective, the best 360mm AIO we have tested would see a peak temperature of more than 10°C lower than either of these huge air coolers, yielding higher CPU clock speed when running the 7950X in PBO mode. Sure, if you use a lower power Core i7 or Ryzen 7 then temperature will be more acceptable.

Due to that reason, we wouldn’t recommend using either of these coolers with a high-power desktop CPU like the Ryzen 9 7950X or Intel Core i9-13900K but for a slightly lower-power CPU, they would be good options for air cooling enthusiasts. The MA824 Stealth is our pick out of the two due to its lower noise levels and better thermal performance when noise levels are equalised. It even keeps the 7950X a couple of degrees cooler at 40 dBA noise output than the legendary Noctua NH-D15 which is impressive.

There are only a few negatives with each cooler, the MA824 Stealth has a slightly more awkward installation process with the spring clip-style fan mount which is a tired-looking design these days and the central fan is a pain to remove with all the plastic clips, screws and circlips that have to be removed which is very fiddly. The shape of the fan central and the way it is attached to the cooler could mean that it's difficult to replace with an alternative if you feel the need.

On the other hand, the DeepCool Assassin IV centre fan can be removed tool-free with a magnetic cover plate and sliding clip system holding it in position, the 120mm outer fan is also held to the cooler with an easy-to-adjust/remove bracket that clips on and off very easily and the bracket has alternative positions to move the fan up to create more clearance to the rear I/O motherboard shroud. Both coolers have good RAM clearance but the Assassin IV is unrestricted with two fans installed.

The Assassin IV central fan is also an odd shape and could be difficult to find an alternative if you want to swap the fan out for something different or even if you need to replace it in the event of failure. Neither the 140mm centre fan nor the reverse 120mm fan are listed on DeepCool product pages to purchase separately, but the 120mm reverse fan could be swapped for any standard 120mm fan and ran in exhaust orientation. Likewise, the 120mm Mobius fan from the MA824 Stealth could be swapped for any standard 120mm fan if required.

We tested the installation of both coolers on our AMD test system and both were easy to install. The installation process was similar for both coolers and took approximately 10 minutes to complete, maybe less. All the accessories are included to get the coolers installed on current AMD and Intel desktop platforms, but the DeepCool Assassin IV has the added bonus of a third fan bracket for users who what to install an additional fan.

Ultimately, the Cooler Master MA824 Stealth is our overall winner with its impressive thermal performance, but it is quite expensive. The MA824 Stealth has an MSRP of £89.99 which is slightly more than the Assassin IV, but we could not find the MA824 Stealth available to purchase anywhere at this price which is disappointing, the best price currently is from Scan for £99.98 which means it’ll cost you around £15 more than the Assassin IV, but for us that’s a price worth paying for better thermals and lower noise output.

The Cooler Master MA824 Stealth and DeepCool Assassin IV are available to purchase now from scan.co.uk. The Assassin IV is priced at £84.98 HERE and the MA824 Stealth is £99.98 HERE.

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Cooler Master MA824 Stealth

Pros:

• Class-leading thermal performance.
• Easy installation.
• Good RAM clearance

Cons:

• Expensive – currently selling for £10 more than MSRP
• Fiddly to remove the central fan.

DeepCool Assassin IV

Pros:

• Decent Thermal performance.
• Lower profile compared with some similar dual-tower coolers.
• Unobstructed RAM clearance with two fans installed.
• Easy installation.

Cons:

• Quite expensive compared with some other dual-tower coolers on the market.
• Not easy to buy a replacement central 140mm fan if it fails.

KitGuru says: The Cooler Master MA824 Stealth is possibly the best-performing CPU Air cooler on the market currently, but the others are not far behind. Is one extra heat pipe the difference between the MA824 Stealth and the competition? We will see, with new high-end air coolers coming soon from the likes of be quiet! and Noctua!

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