Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB Review

1. Cooler Master ML 360L Core ARGB2. Test Results3. Closing Thoughts4. View All Pages

We have a stack of CPU cooler reviews to look forward to at KitGuru in the coming weeks, plenty of new AIOs and air coolers will be going head-to-head on our new test systems. The latest to feel the heat is a new AIO CPU cooler from Cooler Master. The Master Liquid 360L Core ARGB is a budget 360mm offering with triple 120mm fans, dual-zone ARGB lighting and an extremely low price tag, but will it pass the test on the 7950X? Let’s find out.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start
00:00 Intro to the MasterLiquid 360L Core ARG
02:16 Key features and specs
04:35 What’s in the box
05:46 A nice touch for the screws
07:17 RGB cable system
09:23 Taking a closer look at the cooler…
11:35 Up close with the RGB fans
12:41 Quick look at the installation process
14:00 A quick note on performance…
14:40 Performance data
15:59 Closing thoughts

When building a budget system, one piece of hardware that you have plenty of choices with is the CPU cooler. There are tonnes of cheap air coolers and some budget AIOs out there from lesser-known brands, but finding a good quality AIO liquid cooler from a reputable vendor at a good price can be a challenge. This is where Cooler Master comes in with its MasterLiquid Lite series which has always offered good value for money from a trusted brand.

Cooler Master has recently launched a new budget AIO cooler, the MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB looks like it could be the best value of all the L series coolers with both the 240mm and 360mm versions priced very competitively with MSRP prices of under £90 for the 240 and around £105 for the 360. Both versions are also available in black or white colour schemes, so white-themed PC enthusiasts also have another AIO option now.

If the MSRP price of the MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB isn’t enough to tempt you then currently Cooler Master and Amazon are running a sell-out promotion which brings the 360mm SKU down to the same price as the 240, yes that’s under £90 for a 360mm AIO with ARGB lighting from a reputable brand, that’s sounds like exceptional value but only if the cooler has the performance to match right? That’s what we will find out in this review.

Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB features:

• Equipped with a new Cooler Master generation S pump specification with a redesigned copper cold plate as well as boosted water flow and an expanded radiator surface for optimal heat dissipation and cooling.
• Upgraded 120mm Cooler Master ARGB fans delivering optimal radiator airflow and customisable lighting options. Fans feature standard 3-pin 5v ARGB connections and 4-pin PWM fan header connections for quick installation and maximum compatibility.
• Included with the MasterLiquid 360L/240L Core is a tube of Cooler Master Cryofuze premium thermal paste, enough for multiple installations.
• The pump cover has been redesigned with a new minimalist look for a clean modern aesthetic with an ARGB illuminated Cooler Master Halo logo.

MasterLiquid 360L Core Specifications:

• CPU Socket: LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1150, LGA1155, LGA1156, AM5, AM4, AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2, FM2+, FM2, FM1
• Radiator Material: Aluminium
• Radiator Dimensions: 394 x 119.6 x 27.2 mm
• Pump Dimensions: 81 x 76 x 47 mm
• Pump MTTF: >70,000 Hours
• Pump Noise Level: 12 dBA (Max)
• Pump Connector: 3-Pin
• Pump Rated Voltage: 12 VDC
• Pump Power Consumption: 96W
• Fan Dimensions (L x W x H): 120 x 120 x 25 mm
• Fan Quantity: 3 PCS
• Fan LED Type: ARGB
• Fan Speed: 650-1750 RPM ± 10%
• Fan Airflow: 93 CFM (Max)
• Fan Noise Level: 2 dBA (Max)
• Fan Pressure: 1.86 mmH₂O (Max)
• Fan Bearing Type: Rifle Bearing
• Fan MTTF: >160,000 Hours
• Fan Power Connector: 4-Pin (PWM)
• Fan Rated Voltage: 12 VDC
• Warranty: 3 years

Test System Specifications:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
• Motherboard: Gigabyte X670 Aorus Elite AX
• Memory: 32GB Kingston Fury FK560C36BBEAK2-32 DDR5-6000
• Graphics card: Gigabyte RX 6700 XT Gaming OC
• Storage: 500GB Corsair MP600 PCIe Gen4 NVME M.2 SSD
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
• Chassis: Open Test Bench
• Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
• O/S: Windows 11 Version 22H2

Testing Methodology:

We are primarily focussing on the performance of each cooler at 100% fan speed and also when locked to 40dBA noise output. We will focus on cooling performance using a manual overclock with all-core frequency and VCORE locked to 5.2GHz/1.3v and Precision Boost Overdrive performance.

• The test data is logged using HWINFO and the final 10 minutes of the data is calculated to find the average CPU temperature and CPU clock multiplier (PBO Test) and then plotted in the charts.
• For testing, we use a 30-minute looped run of Cinebench R23 and record the steady-state CPU temperature at the end of the test. This ensures that the CPU has had ample time to warm up and reach a steady state under all of the coolers.
• The ambient is maintained at 19-21 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add extra repeated tests to ensure consistency. However, this is well controlled now with A/C.
• We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of poor mounting spoiling results.
• Ambient temperature and humidity are controlled via a mini split air conditioning system inside the test room. Ambient temperature is maintained between 19-21C, Temperature delta figures are shown in the charts (ambient temperature is deducted from the measured component temperature).

Test Results:

Acoustics

Let’s take a look at noise output first as this will give us a good indication of thermal performance based on noise output.

The Cooler Master 360L Core ARGB is the loudest cooler that we have had so far on the new test bench. At 55dBa maximum noise output, it can become distracting and annoying quite quickly so you will need to tune the fan speed to your preferred noise level if you want to run the cooler at a constant fan RPM.

Thermal Performance

With the fans still at maximum RPM and with a fixed CPU overclock in place, the Cooler Master 360L Core ARGB performance sits towards the bottom end of our chart, with an average CPU temperature of 73 degrees C. It's beaten by some older and smaller coolers at maximum fan speed.

Tuning the fans to 40dBA doesn’t help with performance, if anything it shows that compared with its competitors the performance is quite poor, with a recorded average CPU Delta temperature of 79 degrees C. During the test actual CPU temperature was consistently over 100 degrees C.

In the PBO test the important metrics are clock multiplier and cooling power as the temperature delta between coolers will be very close. Again the performance isn’t great with PBO enabled, the average clock multiplier is 51X which is towards the bottom end of the chart while package power is at 197W. Some older and smaller coolers are able to perform at this level which is rather disappointing.

Cooler Master Lite coolers have always targeted the budget corner of the CPU cooling market and this latest iteration of the L series is no different. Whether it is at its MSRP price of around £105 or on offer at places like Amazon as we recently saw, it offers value for money to price-conscious PC builders. However, that’s only good if the performance is competing with similar-priced alternatives from rival CPU cooler vendors.

This time around Cooler Master seems to have lost focus on price vs performance as there are several competing coolers in the same budget range as the MasterLiquid Core 360L ARGB which perform significantly better, which is a shame as there are some really good things about the 360L Core that I would like to see in other coolers, such as the RGB connector clips and the double-threaded screws that assist with front chassis radiator mounting.

The performance of the 360L Core on our new Ryzen 9 7950X test system was way off what we would expect from a quality 360mm AIO, in fact it was even beaten by other older and smaller coolers. You could say that’s down to the price, but when you look at other coolers in this price range with similar specs such as the DeepCool LT720, Endorfy Navis F360 and the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 you realise that shouldn’t be the case, performance should not be compromised.

Thermal Performance aside, the MasterLiquid 360L Core is decent in terms of how it looks, the radiator has an attractive textured coating and the RGB effects are perfectly fine for a budget cooler. The installation process is easy and all cables have standard motherboard header connections so there are no additional RGB/fan hubs to install which reduces cable clutter or additional software required to run the cooler and RGB lighting which is a big plus point.

Being available in 240mm and 360mm sizes and white or black colour schemes means that there's an option for any type of system. Cooler Master bundles all white cables and silver screws with the white cooler and black cables with black chrome screws/brackets with the black coolers so the little details have not been missed. Also included is a generous tube of thermal compound so if you need to re-mount or reinstall the cooler later down the line you will have some spare TIM for that purpose.

So really it's just the thermal performance that lets this cooler down, which is a pretty big problem if you intend on using it with a high-power CPU such as the Ryzen 9 7950X or Intel Core i9. Maybe it wouldn’t be wise to use a cheap cooler like this with those high-power processors but saying that, you can use the similarly priced alternatives on those platforms without the worry about your CPU overheating so keep that in mind. However, on a lower-powered CPU, the 360L core ARGB will probably be ok.

It is difficult to recommend a cooler that performs as poorly as the MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB does, but at its current offer price of under £90 on Amazon it might be worth taking a punt on. But only if you are running a lower-powered CPU and you simply cannot afford to spend a little more on something with more cooling oomph.

The Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB is available to purchase from Overclockers UK priced at £109.99 HERE. It is also currently on offer at Amazon priced at £88.99 HERE.

Pros:

• Very affordable.
• ARGB fans and pump cover logo.
• Easy installation.
• No need for an RGB/Fan controller or software.

Cons:

• Disappointing thermal performance.
• High noise output with fans at max RPM.

KitGuru says: Cooler Master has added another cheap AIO to the market with a choice of colour schemes and dual-zone ARGB lighting, which might sound tempting for users building budget systems. But before you go out and spend your cash on this, check out what else is available first as you might be surprised by the performance of some alternatives.

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