Cooler Master MasterAir G100M CPU Cooler Review: From Roswell With Love

[alextheblue]

Saw an installation of this in a fairly standard mATX case. That thing is so wide that the rear exhaust fan couldn't be installed.

Sounds like a questionable case and/or board layout. I could have fit this on the last mITX cube I built.

 

[bit_user]

I don't care whether the review stays or goes. However, if it stays, that graph showing an i7-5930K to reach 110.9 degrees C over ambient seriously needs to be fixed. Could it possibly be 110.9 degrees F over ambient? 'Cuz it ain't C.

 

[rubix_1011]

Ambient room temp was dropped to about 1.5 C during load testing.

The purpose was to eliminate ambient temp from the equation as much as possible, especially since initial testing resulted in thermal throttling at 20 C ambient.

 

[bit_user]

Sorry, I just thought all recent CPUs would throttle before that point.

 

[Flying-Q]

Looking at the last picture, showing the lifted cooler over the CPU, that is an excessive amount of thermal grease. It is spilling over the sides of the CPU and down the edge of the IHS. No good can come of this.

 

[rubix_1011]

The photo with the thermal paste actually looks 'worse' than it really was. There was not any excess paste that exceeded the edge of the CPU IHS and both the cooler base and the CPU IHS had a very thin, uniform marking from where the heatsink was seated.

 

[cryoburner]

Looking at the last picture, showing the lifted cooler over the CPU, that is an excessive amount of thermal grease. It is spilling over the sides of the CPU and down the edge of the IHS. No good can come of this.

Considering it goes out to the corners of the heatspreader despite the copper plug being round, I get the impression that they may have spread it prior to applying the heat sink, so it might look like there's a bit more than there really is. Even so, I can't say it really looks like it's "spilling over" onto anything, and even if it did, It's MX-4, so it isn't conductive or capacitive. About the worst that will likely happen will be that they waste more thermal compound than they need to, and have more to clean up afterward.

Edit: By the time I got to replying to this, it already received a rather similar response. : P

 

[stdragon]

I get the impression that they may have spread it prior to applying the heat sink, so it might look like there's a bit more than there really is

Hope not. For those that aren't aware, never spread! That almost guaranteed to trap an air bubble, which acts as an insulator. Thermal compound should always be applied as a dot or line. That way, when you apply the HSF, the compound is displaced in an omnidirectional outward manner so as to prevent the entrapment of air. That all said, yes, be careful to not use too much so as to prevent spillover as well.

 

[jr9]

A very interesting cooler. I can't decide if I think it's a joke or love it. I'd probably hate it during the installation process.

Overclocked Core i7-5930K is a lot to ask for of this cooler. Most people with that kind of TDP would probably be looking at more robust solutions. I would have liked to see how it performs with more normal TDP processors. As it's a low profile cooler it also would be nice to see it compared to current top drawer low profile coolers like the C7 or NH-12.

 

[rubix_1011]

It is going to also be evaluated on our compact systems reviews. And you would be correct on the installation, it is more difficult than average.

 

[cryoburner]

Hope not. For those that aren't aware, never spread! That almost guaranteed to trap an air bubble, which acts as an insulator. Thermal compound should always be applied as a dot or line. That way, when you apply the HSF, the compound is displaced in an omnidirectional outward manner so as to prevent the entrapment of air. That all said, yes, be careful to not use too much so as to prevent spillover as well.

Different thermal compounds have different consistencies, and different heat sinks have different surfaces, which could affect which method works best, but in practice, it's probably not going to matter that much. Lot's of tests have shown that there isn't a particularly large difference from one application method to the next, in terms of overall thermal results.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Thermal-Paste-Application-Techniques-170/

Here's a test by Puget Systems, for example, where they used a clear acrylic plate to allow them to show coverage and any air bubbles that resulted from a variety of application methods using MX-2. Checking with the clear plate, a number of tiny air bubbles were indeed trapped in the "smoothly spread" compound, but when it came to load thermals, that method actually had the second-best results out of the twelve methods tested, likely due to its good coverage. Only an "x shape" performed better in their test, while a "rice sized dot" was close behind, which amusingly tied with a "happy face" method that added eyes and a mouth. The line methods were actually some of the worst performing in their tests.

Of course, some tests elsewhere have shown different results, and a lot of that may come down to the kind of thermal compound, cooler and CPU that is being used, along with the amount of compound and application technique. It's pretty unlikely that one application method will work best in all scenarios, and a spread method is likely fine depending on how it's performed. Some methods like the dot technique can have their advantages in terms of ease of application and reduced waste though.

 

[bit_user]

Of course, some tests elsewhere have shown different results, and a lot of that may come down to the kind of thermal compound, cooler and CPU that is being used, along with the amount of compound and application technique.

One reason I like direct-touch heatpipes is that the base has grooves to bleed trapped air and hold excess compound.