Overall and Final Verdict
I’ve been in the industry for 13 years now and every year it is, of course, exciting to see things like the latest CPUs and GPUs but for the most part over time you start to see that most things are improvements on the previous generation. But every once in a while something comes out that you just don’t see anyone do before or after. When Cooler Master brought out their V10 cooler, it was one of those products. The ML360 Sub-Zero is another one. I didn’t think we would ever see Peltier cooling come back into anything close to a mainstream part. But here we are. Cooler Masters partnership with Intel on this has created a unique and interesting product. The combination of the 10900K and the ML360 Sub-Zero allows for pushing the limits of the CPU in a way that just isn’t possible with traditional cooling. The 360 AIO that I tested it against, which is a solid cooler in itself, only allowed me to overclock up to 5.2GHz and that was with heavy throttling where the ML360 Sub-Zero allowed our 10900K to run at 5.6GHz without breaking a sweat.
The ML360 Sub-Zero is completely blacked out which isn’t what I would have expected for such a high-end product. But I do like that they went all-in with it, even not using stockers on the center of the fans. The only downside to the overall look is that it is a large cooler. Both with the water block with the TEC being built-in being taller than any other AIO and because that doesn’t include the inline water pump that you also need to mount.
The ML360 Sub-Zero also had a few large downsides as well to keep in mind. Like it being limited to just Intel and some boards not fitting as well but Cooler Master has a list of cases, power supplies, and motherboards that they have tested on it. The cases and PSUs are from their lineup. It also pulls a LOT of power when cooling. It doubled the power draw of our test system. When you turn the TEC completely off it is also limited in its cooling capabilities. It can keep things cool to a point, but don’t expect to have a 360mm AIO coolers cooling with it off. It runs 20c warmer than a similar sized AIO when the TEC is off. I also had noise issues, but I think that might be our kit specifically. If the PCB isn’t putting out a coil whine the pump and fans are quiet.
The other big hurdle is of course the price. It has an MSRP of $349.99 which would get you multiple high-end AIO coolers. Of course, none of those will perform like the ML360 Sub-Zero. In the end, this is a niche product but if the ultimate gaming performance is your goal the 10900K paired up with the ML360 Sub-Zero doesn’t have any competition.
Live Pricing: HERE
