Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
The overall design of the Cooler Master MasterAir G200P falls into the conventional category. You will not find any radical design choices in this product. The shape of the fins is roughly rectangular, which makes the heatsink practically a rectangular prism. In order to secure the fan to the heatsink, there are two brackets made out of thick metal by the two sides. As you can see from the picture, four screws are used to secure the fan into position. Due to the use of screws, the fan is hard mounted to the heatsink. Therefore, it is not likely to have any rattling sound caused by the connection between the fan and the heatsink. The other thing about the fan mounting brackets is the Cooler Master logo. The logo is stamped on the bracket, and there is no other logo presented anywhere else on the CPU cooler. The fan brackets are also wide enough such that they can provide protection to the fins. I think there was good thought put into the fan brackets during the design procedure and the outcome is pretty good.
When it comes to the measurements, the MasterAir G200P is 92mm in width, 95mm in height, and 39.4mm in depth including the fan. It is definitely a low-profile CPU cooler that can fit in almost any small form factor case in the market. From the above picture, you can tell how compact this cooler is. Normally, CPU coolers like the Reeven Ouranos RC-1401 has a significantly larger heatsink compared to the fan. However, in this case, the ultra-low-profile feature really limits the size of the heatsink. Due to the smaller size, the overall weight of the MasterAir G200P is only 390g, which is expected. The lighter build is a welcomed feature for a CPU cooler, since it will cause less stress on the motherboard. However, the only concern about the small size is the reduced surface area of the fins, and it has a negative effect on cooling performance. We will have to see how the cooler's smaller footprint affects the cooling performance on the next page.
In the above photo, since the cooler is laid on the table instead of standing, now it is how it would look like when installed on a motherboard. As I have mentioned earlier, the fan is mounted to a pair of mounting brackets. The mounting brackets are made out of thick steel for better protection of the fins. The fins are thin to save weight and are made out of aluminum, not copper. It is true that the thermal conductivity of copper, which is 401W/mK, is better than the thermal conductivity of aluminum, which is rated at 237W/mK, but using copper for the whole heatsink may not be a good idea. This is because the density of copper is much higher than that of aluminum. Think about it -- for the same volume of metal, copper is more than three times as heavy as aluminum. If you make an all copper heatsink using the same size and shape of the MasterAir G200P, the heat dissipating performance may be improved by less than 50%, while the weight is 300% more.
The material and surface area of a CPU cooler are not the only factors in determining cooling performance. The fan, which is responsible for speeding up the air ventilation, plays another key role. For the MasterAir G200P, a 92mm RGB PWM fan from Cooler Master takes the fan position on the heatsink. As its name implies, the fan has an RGB lighting function and it can be controlled by the provided RGB LED controller. The fan has adjustable RPM through pulse width modulation. The adjustable spinning speed of a PWM fan allows a lower noise level when the cooling duty is not heavy. On the other hand, PWM can also push the fan to higher RPM whenever it is necessary. The maximum airflow of the provided fan is 35.5 CFM, and the maximum air pressure is 2.4 mm H2O. Note, CFM stands for cubic feet per minute. I would not say the stock fan of the G200P has impressive specifications on paper, especially the airflow rating. How about its real life performance? Only tests can help us find out, which we will detail on the next page. Regarding the maximum noise level, due to its relatively high maximum RPM, it is specified as 28 dBA at the loudest, which I think is not bad for a 92mm model. The MTTF of the provided fan is rated at 40,000 hours. Regarding the RAM clearance, the only limitation is your computer case, since there is no overlap at all to the RAM area. Apparently, there is no need to worry about the clearance between the heatsink and the motherboard.
Let us move on to take a look at the base of the Cooler Master MasterAir G200P. Cooler Master made this base out of copper. If you are not seeing the right color of copper on the plate, please do not doubt the quality of the photo. This is because the base as well as the heatpipes of the G200P are electroplated with nickel to protect them from oxidation. Keep in mind that nickel is highly resistant to corrosion, therefore it can keep the copper parts of this cooler in their optimal condition for a long time. The other benefit of having a nickel-plated base and heatpipes is to match the color of the fins. The quality of the nickel-plated finish on the base is pretty good. The contacting surface looks just like a mirror after the protection film is removed. With the help of the provided thermal paste, heat can be smoothly transferred from the CPU to the cooler. Two C-shaped heatpipes are firmly soldered to the base. Also, the fins, which are crucial components for dissipating heat are firmly attached to the heatpipes. Therefore, the whole cooling system is sturdily built and it allows the MasterAir G200P to cycle through the evaporation-condensing procedures for years to come.
For the MasterAir G200P, the orientation of the heatpipes is parallel with the fan mounting surface of the heatsink. The C-shaped heatpipes are aligned in two rows into the radiator fins. This makes the alignment of heatpipes different from that of other CPU coolers such as the Ouranos RC-1401, which has six rows at each side of the base plate. The layout of the heatpipes of the Ouranos RC-1401 allows the heat to be evenly distributed to the fins from left to right due to the continuous heatpipe design. However, for the MasterAir G200P, the heat may not be evenly distributed from left to right. I believe if the two C-shaped heatpipes are oriented in opposite directions may solve the problem. From the above picture, you can see the fan mounting brackets are attached to the base plate by using wire screws. There are two screws used on the base plate for the fan, and you can also see two screw holes for the mounting bracket of the heatsink. Due to the compact design, there is no wire clips used for the fan attachment. The good thing is the fan can be firmly attached to the low profile heatsink, while the downside is you have to use a screwdriver for both the heatsink and the fan.
Installation of the Cooler Master MasterAir G200P was definitely a pleasant journey for me. Before I put everything in my computer, I took a while to look into the installation manual. The backplate was needed to mount the mounting bracket for both Intel and AMD. On top of the mounting bracket, the mounting bars can be attached using screws. It is worth noting all the essential parts for installation are made out of either hard plastic or metal. Therefore, they are strong enough to support the CPU cooler. On the other hand, the plastic backplate can prevent damage to the motherboard when screwing the heatsink into position. The plastic backplate of the MasterAir G200P is black. From the above picture, we can see the backplate blends into the motherboard and motherboard tray. Of course, it only happens if you have a black colored motherboard and computer case.
After the backplate is in position, the mounting bars can be screwed on. The mounting bars only have one set of screw positions for Intel sockets; therefore, you will not be confused by the multiple sets of screw positions. In my case, the motherboard features an Intel LGA 115X socket, which is exactly what the G200P is made for. After the mounting bars are in positions, the next step is to install the heatsink. Note there are no springs to apply pressure to the heatsink. Therefore, it is not a good idea to over tightening the screws when mounting the MasterAir G200P. Lastly, with the heatsink screwed onto the mounting bars, it is the time to screw on the fan. Overall, according to my installation experience, all components fit precisely. Thanks to the compact structural design of the MasterAir G200P, none of my memory modules interfered with the heatsink. This means I will be able to change the installed memory without the hassle of removing the fan or CPU cooler. By the way, you have to install the fan after the heatsink is mounted, since the screw holes are covered by the fan.
Generally speaking, the MasterAir G200P is well-designed. The thick fan mounting brackets are strong enough to secure the fan and to protect the fins. Regarding the installation procedure, the MasterAir G200P delivers a positive installation experience. As for the actual cooling performance, let us turn to next page and find out.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
