Installation Process
The mounting system should be familiar to anyone who has used a recent Cooler Master cooler, such as the Hyper 212 EVO or the recently reviewed MasterLiquid Pro 240. The backplate can be assembled for use with any recent Intel socket (with LGA2011 installs not requiring the backplate, of course), and the plastic caps on each corner act as an insulator against the motherboard.
After the base is in place, it is a simple matter of applying thermal paste (a tube is included) and screwing the cooler down with the four included thumbscrews. These are quite small, and it can be awkward to do this without a screwdriver. I found it easier to start them with my fingertips and tighten down the cooler with a driver.
The Maker 92 presented zero clearance issues, even on this cramped mini-ITX motherboard.
The nice part of the hinged design is that switching from vertical to horizontal can be done at any time after installation.
One thing I noticed while switching positions is that the cooler maintains its position at random points between the two standard orientations, as the hinge is tight enough to hold it in place. This could allow for some interesting custom applications; permitting the user to be in full control of airflow direction – even if this is an unlikely use-case. For the purposes of this review I simply used it fully seated into its default vertical/horizonal orientations.
The last step is to connect the Maker 92 to the CPU fan header and an available 4-pin SATA power connector.
Next we'll look at the performance from the Maker 92.
now all the industry needs is
now all the industry needs is a reason to upgrade from an i5-2500K
Can’t believe you gave this
Can’t believe you gave this turd an award. Very disappointing
Considering its worse than a
Considering its worse than a decent air cooler i agree. It is a terribly engineered solution.
Don’t worry there’ll be
Don’t worry there’ll be something else you can hate on soon enough.
It’s too well designed and
It's too well designed and built not to give it an honorable mention. I debated whether that could be grounds for an award, and finally did – with this provision:
If it fits your particular needs the MasterLiquid Maker 92 is an outstanding option considering its compact design, size/performance ratio, and unique transforming design.
If you own, say, an In Win 901 mini-ITX case, which only includes a 92 mm rear fan opening and has poor airflow, this would be an interesting option. The primary flaw with this product is that it was designed for a need that doesn't exist for most people. But it's a really cool idea, and well realized.
In other words, it's not a "turd".
For all you students out
For all you students out there, the above comment is a great example of the a red herring.
Cooler Master’s own cases
Cooler Master’s own cases that this cooler is targeted at aren’t even compatible with this. Sorry, but I just see this as a fail. Plus the it really doesn’t perform any better than a much lower priced air cooler. I just fail to see the point. The engineering and design is to be commended for sure, but it just isn’t a product I would every buy, and I am curious as to how many units they will sell on the market.
Yep, I think this is a silly
Yep, I think this is a silly product too. It has all the downsides of an air cooler without the benefits of a big radiator. The whole point of doing water cooling is to increase your surface area. A small radiator that you cannot move to a convenient location is actually not that different than heat-pipes embedded in fins.
@Sebastian:
“A look at the center of this chart shows the intersection of height and performance, with the MasterLiquid Maker 92 coming in as the winner;”
This type of definition of “winning” depends a lot on how you scale your axes. You can put the intersection anywhere you wish. I’m not saying you are cheating, I’m just saying that it is not very well defined and calling it “winning” is a bit of a stretch.
I’d say 95mm is not a sweat-spot for cooler height since you either have a case that can fit a +120mm GPU, or you don’t and then 47mm seems more logical. Moreover, if somehow 95mm happens to be your exact limit, I’m not sure it will perform as presented in the review, with limited clearance on the “breathing” side of the radiator.
I strongly agree with your
I strongly agree with your assessment of “winning” based on the intersection.
Thank you for writing this so I didn’t have to.
This type of definition of
This type of definition of "winning" depends a lot on how you scale your axes. You can put the intersection anywhere you wish. I'm not saying you are cheating, I'm just saying that it is not very well defined and calling it "winning" is a bit of a stretch.
Same scale as the benchmarks. Defined by parameters of the chart.
I'd say 95mm is not a sweat-spot for cooler height since you either have a case that can fit a +120mm GPU, or you don't and then 47mm seems more logical.
The point of the "sweet spot" is that of height vs. max temp in this particular group. Of course 95 mm is not a sweet-spot for cooler height in general. Look how well the Hyper 212 EVO performs! It wins most price/performance battles and is obviously taller than 95 mm. Where is the argument made that this is a better option than other coolers that cost less, or even have a lower height? Context matters.
Moreover, if somehow 95mm happens to be your exact limit, I'm not sure it will perform as presented in the review, with limited clearance on the "breathing" side of the radiator.
It will, and it did. I don't make numbers up.
Thx for the reply, I don’t
Thx for the reply, I don’t think we will converge on this topic, but that is ok. I general, I’m very positive about your work, this one is a decent review as well. There was no personal agenda. Until next time.
Interesting. All the above
Interesting. All the above comment are obsessed about performance. The fact that it works, works well seems to be beside the point. I’m going to wager that this little gem is going to sell out quick just because it’s neat. Good design and engineering has its own reward and I’d love one in my case.
Bottom line, most people who
Bottom line, most people who are motivated to comment on this product will look past any of the good aspects of the design.
Lets be honest. The reason
Lets be honest. The reason they dont like it is because they dont understand what the intended use is. Also because it doesnt say corsair and have flashing LED’s all over it.
rgb or gtfo ;}
maybe next
rgb or gtfo ;}
maybe next years model will get the infection.
Poor cpu socket, holding all
Poor cpu socket, holding all this weight.
Great intro photo Sebastian –
Great intro photo Sebastian – well done!
As an added bonus, this
As an added bonus, this behemoth will quickly find any weakness in your motherboard’s strength. Bend…CRACK!
well there is a another bonus
well there is a another bonus – in a pinch you could use the rig as in a shot put competition.
but i personally do not like the large (and extremely large) coolers- this one is heading into the OMG WHAT IS IT! category
the numbers are really not bad, however i would have expected better I7 numbers to get a silver award.
but then i have an opinion like everyone has a ……
.
I bought this because my 1080
I bought this because my 1080 ti has a radiator which takes the only mount which can fit a radiator (rear exhaust) the top Mount can not fit a AIO because it fouls on the motherboard otherwise I’d have 2 radiators. Also because hoses go towards the bottom they hit either the PSU or GPU (in my case anyway) so it’s really annoying but this is the only AIO that is compatible with my setup short of cutting it apart to make room. I’ll have this mounted on the CPU so it’s blowing straight up to the top exhaust fan, and side cover will have 2 intake fans so plenty of fresh air going through the rads