How Much Does it Cost?
The Cooler Master Master Air MA824 Stealth Dual Fan 8 Heat Pipe CPU Cooler is available now from major retailers, with OCUK having it listed for £99.95. That is a lot of money, but this is a very impressive bit of hardware. A Noctua D15S is £89.99, or £109.99 for the Chromax Black version, and that’s before you punt for a second fan to improve the cooling performance. With that in mind, it seems the Cooler Master is right on the money.
Overview
I’m beyond shocked at what’s going on in the cooling market right now, as air cooling has been a bit of a one-horse race for the last decade. Noctua is king for competent cooling and whisper-quiet noise levels. You can get cheaper coolers to cool just as well, but you can hear them working hard to achieve the task. Now we’ve got DeepCool beating them for temperatures and now Cooler Master doing the same, but at the same time, matching them on acoustic performance… and price, and ease of installation.
To be honest, Noctua are still bloody good, that hasn’t changed, and I suspect whatever they do next will take a lot to compete with too. However, it’s clear the market has caught up, and that’s a good thing, as it’ll drive a bit of an arms race to innovate and go to the next level, and that’s a win-win for consumers.
The only regard I think Cooler Master falls behind in is aesthetics. The Chromas Black NH-D15S has always looked good, but it is extremely big. Cooler Master’s looks great until you add that second fan, which I think looks a bit tacked on, especially compared to the slick aesthetics of the Assassin IV. That’s all subjective of course. I don’t even have a window on my PC case anymore, so aesthetics do not matter for me, cooling does, and Cooler Master is winning the race.
Should I Buy One?
Yes, it’s absolutely one of the best coolers I’ve ever tested, it’s as quiet as the best of the best, it’s capable of cooling a powerful high TDP CPU, even while doing some overclocking or extended boost clocks, and it’s easy to install too. Honestly, if this is what Cooler Master’s new heat pipe technology can do, I can’t wait to see it rolled out into more products, which they have said are coming!
