MSI MAG CoreLiquid 360R Review

Final Score: 84%

Is the new MSI MAG CoreLiquid 360R ‘perfect’? No. By not opting for a manufacture with multiple generations of refinement and instead opting for basically a gen 1.0 design there are going to be issues that crop up. Issues that Alpatek will squash in future ‘gen 2.0’ models. In this instance, the largest negative that the average buyer will encounter is noise related. By moving the pump off the waterblock and into the radiator MSI’s MAG CoreLiquid 360R is going to be louder than one would expect from a 360mm AIO. Potentially significantly louder. The are a few reasons for this. The first is obvious. By moving the pump from the deep inside your case to right next to a big opening in the top/side/front/etc. noise that is typically muffled by your case is suddenly going to become noticeable. It is just basic physics. Even if it was as quite as Asetek pumps, which it is not, this pump is going to be closer to your ears with a lot less sound dampening parts in between you and the pump. Closer to your ears with the fans themselves focusing the noise out of the case. That means more perceivable noise. Further exacerbating things is by mounting the pump inside the delicate radiator there really is no easy way to properly dampen vibrations. In fact, most of the noticeable noise from the pump come from vibration related harmonics.

The only way to solve this issue is for Alpatek to either use a ton more vibration material between the rad and the pump, repositing the pump so that it can be solidly mounted, or use a thicker radiator so that they can use a better mount… or some combination of the three. Neither are happening on this generation 1 based model. As such, if you are concerned about harmonic frequencies, that are wee bit annoying to say the least, all you can do is reduce the pump’s speed. Basically, at 100 percent / 4.2K RPMS it is going to be annoying. At 75percent / 3.15K(ish) RPMs it is not and at 60 percent(ish) or lower it is virtually silent. Your mileage may vary on what you find to be the sweet spot between noise and performance. Regardless of where you end up our recommendation is simple: run the pump slower and the fans faster to compensate for the loss of performance potential. That is an easy fix, and when properly configured this unit is virtually dead silent.

On the performance front, no… this is not the best performing AIO we have ever seen. You are going to be giving up surface area available for cooling. When compared against typical 360mm AIO models this reduction in surface area results in anywhere from a rounding error to a couple degree differences in temperatures. Quite honestly, we doubt most will notice a few degrees difference in CPU temperature from Asetek clone A/B/Z and this big boy. It is only highly overclocked or hot running system owners that may notice the change. Either way, while they were adding in user-friendly features MSI really should have spec’ed out a thicker radiator. They did not, so while the MAG CoreLiquid 360R is still a good performer it is not the absolute best available.

Those are the only major issues with the MAG CoreLiquid 360R. In return for having to dial in noise levels a bit more than an Asetek model, buyer’s get a much easier to install AIO. An easier to install AIO which performs almost as well as any other thin radiator based AIO, costs less than the typical Asetek variant, and and looks drop dead gorgeous while doing all of it. When you mix in the fact that you will be supporting a company trying to get rid of the veritable monopoly that has infected the closed loop AIO marketplace… well… the end result is the MAG CoreLiquid 360R demands to be on your short list. It may not be perfect, and we probably would not want to go below 240mm sized versions, but it deserves your attention. Now if they would only make a sTRX4 version with a ‘double thick’ radiator and a proper TRX40 sized waterblock and we would be completely happy.