Final Thoughts
When I first got this cooler in to review I was really interested to see how it would perform. The previous MasterAir MA624 Stealth from Cooler Master has sat at the top of our performance charts for so long it would be hard to beat. This cooler actually has smaller fans so you would expect it to at least be louder if not have worse performance, but in our testing not only did this cooler have the best performance out of all air coolers that we’ve tested this year, it actually had the same noise profile as well. On top of our load tests this cooler actually was the best performing during idle as well, something we couldn’t say about the MA624 Stealth.
One of the things I always worry about when I’m reviewing a massive CPU cooler like this is how hard the installation is going to be. Cooler Master has actually made the installation quite easy as you don’t need to remove the center fan or take the top part of the cooler off to get it installed. You just need to line up the screws and screw it in. I would say you could likely install this cooler in your system without having to remove your motherboard from the case. Just make sure you plug in the Y-cable to your CPU fan header before as it may be hard to access after you have the cooler installed.
While we have excellent performance and noise levels, this cooler does take up a considerable amount of space inside your PC. So much so that with the front fan installed it will completely cover your memory. This is definitely a bummer if you already have RGB memory. Also since this cooler is 165.6 mm tall it is not going to fit in all mid towers out there, so be sure to keep that in mind.
At the end of the day this is our best performing air cooler to date, beating out high-end coolers from the likes to Noctua, Scythe, and DeepCool. That alone is incredibly impressive! Right now you can pick this cooler up at our favorite online retailer for $99.99. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Cooler Master MasterAir MA824 Stealth CPU Cooler a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Best-performing air cooler to date
– Very quiet, especially for a dual-fan cooler
– Easy installation
– Stylish top-cap
Cons:
– Covers up memory slots
– Being 165.6 mm tall it might not fit in all cases
