Page 3 - Test Results
Our test configuration is as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K @ 3.9GHz (Stock settings)
Motherboard: ASUS Z170-E
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury HX421C14FBK2/16 2x8GB
Graphics: ASUS GeForce GTX 1060
Chassis: SilverStone Primera PM01
Power: Corsair RM650X 650W
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB; Seagate BarraCuda ST1000DM003 1TB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home x64
Compared hardware:
- Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 140
- NZXT Kraken X52
- Scythe Fuma
- SilverStone Tundra TD02-SLIM
All tests were run in our custom built computer to best reflect real life performance. The computer remained in the same place and room throughout all tests. The ambient temperature in the room was around 22c. The thermal paste applied to each cooler was stock respective to their manufacturer's to rate its performance; all pastes had sufficient time for them to settle. The fans on all heatsinks were connected to the same motherboard 4-pin connector. The test computer was turned on and idling for at least one hour for the idling tests. High CPU load results were obtained using the Prime95 in place large FFTs test with four worker threads for a minimum of fifteen minutes, and recorded when the temperature was deemed stable.
Comparisons were made to other water coolers and one air cooler, while as many variables as possible were kept constant. Even though the other two water coolers on the list have 240 mm radiators, they should give good references for comparison. I did the one test with one fan attached, and a second test with two fans attached. This should be helpful for those that might just mount it with one fan, or cannot use two fans because of case compatibility issues. For me, I kind of just forced the Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 140 into my chassis with an insecure installation due to compatibility problems. It is good for testing, but I would not recommend this for a permanent install. The temperature results for each cooler was measured with CoreTemp, which reports the CPU's integrated digital thermal sensor for maximum accuracy. Each temperature result was calculated by taking the maximum value of the cores inside the CPU.
After idling the computer for more than an hour, the temperature stabilized at 20 degrees Celsius, while with two fans, it dropped one degree to 19 degrees Celsius. This is kind of in the middle of all the other results on this list. The 140 mm fan RPM was also fairly low at this point, so it was nice and quiet. I always find the idle tests to be a very small indication of a cooler's overall performance, so let us not waste more time and have a look at the load results.
I was slightly surprised at the high temperature results the Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 140 produced with one fan. With a decently thick radiator, I expected something better. The stabilized temperature came in at 70 degrees Celsius -- eight degrees warmer than the next closest cooler on this list. With two fans attached, there was a big difference. The stabilized temperature came in at a very respectable 58 degrees Celsius; quite the improvement over the one fan configuration. I was very impressed by these results, especially considering it did 4 degrees Celsius better than the SilverStone Tundra TD02-SLIM with a 240 mm radiator, and got really close to the huge Scythe Fuma air cooler with two fans. I think we can safely say Cooler Master's new FlowOp technology definitely helped for performance.
For anyone not using over-the-ear headphones to block out everything except your game or music, sound is pretty important to the enjoyment of using your computer. Using a scale between 0 and 10, where 0 is silent and 10 is a jet taking off, I would rate the Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 140 at 4.0/10 at idle, while under load, the sound comes in at 4.5/10. The RPM of the fans really ramp up to keep the system cool, but they were mostly silent during idle. The pump noise was the most annoying. Now and then you can actually hear the liquid being pumped around the loop, and it was not quiet. Generally speaking, depending on your sensitivity to noise, the MasterLiquid Pro 140 will be adding a moderate amount of noise to the rest of your system while keeping it under safe temperatures. Perhaps if you are very picky with noise emissions, you could change the RPM range of the pump, but that will affect cooling performance.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
