The big brother of the MA410P, Cooler Master has also launched the MA610P today. This coolers sports two RGB fans, as well as a well-sized heatsink that utilises 6 copper heatpipes. Hopefully that should provide good cooling performance, but is the MA610P worth £64.99?
The second of the new MasterAir series we have ready for launch, the MA610P is a bit more expensive that the MA410P but it does come with an extra fan and two extra heatpipes to provide better thermal performance. If you're looking to good looks and good performance, this could well be the ticket.
Specification
- Product Name: MasterAir MA610P
- Model: MAP-T6PN-218PC-R1
- CPU Socket: Intel® LGA 2066 / 2011-v3 / 2011 / 1151 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 775 socket. AMD® AM4 / AM3+ / AM3 / AM2+ / AM2 / FM2+ / FM2 / FM1 socket
- Dimensions: 122.3 x 112.8 x 166.5 mm (4.8 x 4.4 x 6.5″)
- Heat Sink Dimensions: 116 x 60 x 158 mm (4.5 x 2.4 x 6.2″)
- Heat Sink Material: 6 Heat Pipes / Direct Contact / Aluminum Fins
- Heat Sink Weight: 616g (1.35lb.)
- Heat Pipe Dimensions: Ø6 mm
- Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 mm (4.7 x 4.7 x 1″)
- Fan Speed: 600 – 1,800 RPM (PWM) ± 10%
- Fan Air Flow: 53.38 CFM (Max)
- Fan Air Pressure: 1.65mm H2O (Max)
- Fan MTTF: 40,000 hours
- LED Color: RGB ready
- Fan Noise Level: 35 dBA (Max)
- Fan Connector: 4-Pin
- Fan Rated Voltage: 12 VDC
- Fan Rated Current: 0.30 A
- Fan Safety Current: 0.37 A
- Fan Power Consumption: 4.44 W
Shipping in a dark box with purple accents, the Cooler Master MasterAir MA610P definitely creates a good first impression.
All the installation hardware just comes in one big bag, though, which is not ideal.
The manual is decent, though, and is more than clear enough to get the job done.
The MA610P itself is pretty well-sized cooler, measuring in at 116 x 60 x 158 mm. It also sports dual RGB fans – from Cooler Master's MasterFan Air Balance range.
The hefty heatsink utilises 6x 6mm heatpipes, too, which should hopefully provide good thermal performance.Here I will walk you through the installation process. It is worth noting we test using a Z97 motherboard – socket LGA 1150. The process below reflects that.
First of all, prepare the backplate by sliding four screws into each mounting hole. Each screw is secured with a plastic clip.
With that done, place the backplate behind the motherboard socket area so the screws slot through the motherboard's mounting holes.
Each screws is then secured with a metal nut.
Moving on, two mounting brackets then need to be secured to the cooler itself – each bracket requires just one screw, so line them up and tighten them down.
Having removed both fans, the cooler can then be mounted and secured to the nuts we installed previously.
Re-attach the fans and the process is complete. It is another dead-easy installation process and I am certain even the most inexperienced of PC builders would have no trouble here.
Moving onto the RGB lighting, both fans as well as some accents on the cooler's top-plate get illuminated by the RGB LEDs.
Users can either control the lighting via a small hardwired controller or use a 4-pin RGB header on their motherboard (if it has one).
Given the price of £64.99, I would've like to see software control supported for users who don't have a RGB capable motherboard – this is something the Cryorig H7 Quad Lumi does excellently. The bundled controller does the job, but it is not overly sophisticated.To test all CPU coolers, we devised an easily repeatable test with no variables other than the coolers themselves. This ensures that figures from every cooler we test are comparable with each other.
Test rig
Using an open-air test bench, we deploy an Intel Core i7-4790K plugged into a Gigabyte Z97X-SOC Force motherboard. Alongside this is 16GB of 2400MHz Corsair Vengeance DDR3, as well as a 120GB OCZ Trion 150 SSD. Powering everything is a Corsair RM750x PSU.
The test process
Testing coolers involves taking a total of 4 temperature readings per cooler. First, we measure the idle temperature of the i7-4790K at stock speeds (turbo boost disabled), before measuring its temperature under load at stock speeds. Next, we overclock the CPU to 4.5GHz using a 1.3 Vcore, ensuring greater heat output. In its overclocked state we then measure the idle and load temperatures of the CPU again. The figures we present are temperature deltas – meaning we take each temperature reading and minus the ambient temperature from it. This allows us to test in an environment that is not temperature-controlled.
To ward off potential comments or questions, we know 4.5GHz using a 1.3 Vcore is not the ‘best’ overclock – this particular CPU could reach that frequency at closer to 1.25 on the Vcore, which is more efficient. That is not the point, however. We are trying to stress the coolers to see how they deal with excess heat … hence the higher than necessary Vcore.
Where possible, each cooler’s fans are plugged directly into the motherboard using the CPU_Fan or CPU_Opt headers. Some AIOs, however, ship with their own fan controllers or PWM hubs. If we are unable to plug the fans directly into the motherboard, it is specified in the performance section of the review.
An idle reading comes from leaving Windows on the desktop for 15 minutes. A load reading comes from running Prime95’s (version 26.6) Small FFTs test for 15 minutes – enough time for temperatures to plateau.
Noise output
Unfortunately I am unable to accurately measure the sound output of CPU coolers using a digital sound meter. This is because I am based alongside a busy road (with high ambient noise levels). Using a sound meter is, as such, not possible as there are variables out of my control. However, I will try my best to subjectively describe the noise output in a helpful manner.Temperatures
All temperature charts are sorted with lowest load temperatures at the top.
I must admit, I had hoped the MA610P would perform better than it does considering its size, dual fans and 6x 6mm heatpipes.
Overall it is not a bad cooler, but it is bettered by cheaper alternatives – the Cryorig H7 Quad Lumi being a direct competitor, it cools around 4C better with an overclocked CPU.
Acoustics
The benefit of the two Air Balance fans is definitely acoustics. Just like the MA410P, this cooler is essentially inaudible with the CPU left at stock clocks, while even when overclocked the noise is easily drowned out. This situation is likely helped by the cooler having two fans – they can spin at lower speeds while still pushing the same amount of air that a single fan could achieve.A new RGB air cooler from Cooler Master, the MasterAir MA610P faces very stiff competition around the £60-65 mark.
The MA610P is easy to install, though, and also sports two RGB fans included out of the box – those fans usually retail for around £18, too, so Cooler Master is obviously not cutting corners which is good to see.
However, it is slightly disappointing to see the same RGB controller bundled with the MA610P that comes with the cheaper MA410P. After all, the Cryorig H7 Quad Lumi provides very slick USB control, and that cooler costs £5 less than the MA610P. For £65, we do expect better.
Thermal performance is also slightly lacking. The MA610P does the job just fine, and it is also pretty quiet, but there are several coolers that cost less but actually perform better – and sadly the same can be said of the MA410P.
While the MA410P does have the benefit of being pretty inexpensive at £39.99, the Cooler Master MasterAir MA610P is definitely a tougher sell at £64.99 UK MSRP. I can see it being an option for users looking for maximum RGB potential as the two included Air Balance RGB fans are decent, but I do have to say the Cryorig H7 Quad Lumi is the overall better package for those looking for a ‘tricked-out' RGB air cooler.
The MA610P is not yet available online but the MSRP is £64.99.
Pros
- Two RGB fans included.
- Easy to install.
- Nice and quiet.
Cons
- No software control if your motherboard does not have a 4-pin RGB header.
- Cooling performance is disappointing.
KitGuru says: While the two RGB fans are decent and make little noise, the MA610P is let down by its poor thermal performance. At £64.99, there are better all-round coolers out there.
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