Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 280 Review

Performance Analysis

It's pretty much the same story on all three of our test systems. The Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 280 achieves excellent results regardless of what CPU it's installed on. None of the results are chart-topping, but the cooler is never far off the top spot, and the take-home message is that you won't need to worry about temperatures with this cooler even if you run a heavy overclock. The combination of new tubes, a larger radiator, and bigger fans sees the new model achieve great results compared to the older 240mm model we have – it's 6°C cooler on both Intel sockets.


All of our results are based on the fans (and pump, where applicable) running at full speed, with additional lower speed tests only run if they are available options, which with this cooler they are not. At full speed, the MasterLiquid Pro 280 is like most other all-in-one coolers in that it's too noisy for 24/7 use, but it doesn't reach the ridiculous jet engine like levels that the Corsair coolers do, and the pump is very quiet too. Also, most motherboards offer great fan control options these days, so you shouldn't have difficulty striking a decent balance between noise and performance, and we actually don't mind the lack of software control.

Conclusion

While the mounting process could use a little work, there's little else to complain about with this cooler. It doesn't feature fancy RGB lighting or software-based LED/fan control, but we reckon most users will see these as frivolous extras anyway, and it's thankfully cheaper than the Corsair and NZXT coolers that do have this functionality. The £100 asking price is still high, but the build quality is excellent all round. Provided you have room for it and don't mind the blue lighting on the pump unit, the Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 280 is a solid choice for overclocked CPUs.