Cooler Master MasterAir Maker 8 CPU Cooler Review

Final Thoughts

Price

The Cooler Master MasterAir Maker 8 doesn’t come cheap, clocking in at a wallet-busting £106, which may put some users off, but you do get a lot in return for your investment.

Overview

I absolutely love this cooler, it’s in a league of its own when it comes to design and aesthetics, and we all know that looks are pretty important in today’s system building market. If you want a cooler that gets the job done, there are cheaper options on the market, but if you want something that looks as premium as its price tag, then the Maker 8 is where you’ll find your thrills.

The performance on this cooler is rock solid, it’s by no means the best in its class, but it’s hardly slacking either and more than up to the task of running an overclocked CPU for long hours of gaming into the night, without making much of an acoustic fuss while doing it. Personally, I wouldn’t put such an aggressive overclock on as we did, or I would use a newer CPU that has a lower TDP, and at the same time I would tweak the fan profile up a little bit for optimal performance, but that’s subjective anyway.

The build quality is as good as it gets here, with every detail like the 3DVC technology, the way the fans are installed/removed from the cooler, and the LED lighting, attention to detail is everywhere. The fact that you can easily customise the top cover by swapping it out for one of two variants, or even 3D printing your own is going to appeal to a lot of system builders, and even more so for the modding community who love the whole “make it yours” philosophy.

I would like to see the price come down to around £80-90 for it to be more competitive, but I do stress that the overall design and build quality are greatly ahead of most air coolers on the market today.

Pros

• Exceptional build quality
• Unique aesthetics
• Customisation design
• 2 x Silencio FP 140m fans pre-installed
• 120mm fan brackets included
• Supports 3D printed components
• 5-year warranty
• LED lighting
• Durable and easy to use mounting kit

Cons

• None

Neutral

• Priced towards prosumer

“The Cooler Master MasterAir Maker 8 may be expensive, but it delivers reliable performance and class-leading design that are sure to make it a welcome compliment to any system build!”