Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB Review

Test System Specifications:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
• Motherboard: Gigabyte X670 Aorus Elite AX
• Memory: 32GB Kingston Fury FK560C36BBEAK2-32 DDR5-6000
• Graphics card: Gigabyte RX 6700 XT Gaming OC
• Storage: 500GB Corsair MP600 PCIe Gen4 NVME M.2 SSD
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
• Chassis: Open Test Bench
• Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
• O/S: Windows 11 Version 22H2

Testing Methodology:

We are primarily focussing on the performance of each cooler at 100% fan speed and also when locked to 40dBA noise output. We will focus on cooling performance using a manual overclock with all-core frequency and VCORE locked to 5.2GHz/1.3v and Precision Boost Overdrive performance.

• The test data is logged using HWINFO and the final 10 minutes of the data is calculated to find the average CPU temperature and CPU clock multiplier (PBO Test) and then plotted in the charts.
• For testing, we use a 30-minute looped run of Cinebench R23 and record the steady-state CPU temperature at the end of the test. This ensures that the CPU has had ample time to warm up and reach a steady state under all of the coolers.
• The ambient is maintained at 19-21 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add extra repeated tests to ensure consistency. However, this is well controlled now with A/C.
• We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of poor mounting spoiling results.
• Ambient temperature and humidity are controlled via a mini split air conditioning system inside the test room. Ambient temperature is maintained between 19-21C, Temperature delta figures are shown in the charts (ambient temperature is deducted from the measured component temperature).

Test Results:

Acoustics

Let’s take a look at noise output first as this will give us a good indication of thermal performance based on noise output.

The Cooler Master 360L Core ARGB is the loudest cooler that we have had so far on the new test bench. At 55dBa maximum noise output, it can become distracting and annoying quite quickly so you will need to tune the fan speed to your preferred noise level if you want to run the cooler at a constant fan RPM.

Thermal Performance

With the fans still at maximum RPM and with a fixed CPU overclock in place, the Cooler Master 360L Core ARGB performance sits towards the bottom end of our chart, with an average CPU temperature of 73 degrees C. It's beaten by some older and smaller coolers at maximum fan speed.

Tuning the fans to 40dBA doesn’t help with performance, if anything it shows that compared with its competitors the performance is quite poor, with a recorded average CPU Delta temperature of 79 degrees C. During the test actual CPU temperature was consistently over 100 degrees C.

In the PBO test the important metrics are clock multiplier and cooling power as the temperature delta between coolers will be very close. Again the performance isn’t great with PBO enabled, the average clock multiplier is 51X which is towards the bottom end of the chart while package power is at 197W. Some older and smaller coolers are able to perform at this level which is rather disappointing.

Become a Patron!