MasterLiquid 360 ION Installation
As with most AIOs, the installation of the Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360 ION is a pretty straightforward process. As DIY PC building seems to be getting more popular each and every day, the option of AIO liquid coolers is sure to entice those wanting to have a more advanced build, and easy installation will go a long way towards not scaring off first-time builders. As I mentioned when I covered the included accessories, Cooler Master has included all of the necessary mounting hardware for a large list of both Intel and AMD processors, but they did not include a physical installation guide. We are seeing more companies move to digital versions of their product manuals, and while I appreciate their reduced waste, I still prefer a physical copy of installation instructions.
Our testing is performed with the fans in a push configuration, and thankfully that is how the fans were oriented from the factory. I love the pre-installed fans that many companies are moving towards, though I wish Cooler Master would have connected the fans from the factory, as it can be a pain having to attach three fans and then connect them all together, and then run that mess of cables to a centralized spot for connecting to your system. Hopefully Cooler Master has an updated fan model coming that uses something more modern like many of the cable-less designs we have seen from other manufacturers.
From the factory, the 360 ION doesn’t have any AMD or Intel mounting hardware installed, so my first step of CPU block installation was to install the AMD mounting hardware for my Ryzen 7 1800X test system. This is as simple as placing the included AM4/AM5 mounting bracket on the pump housing in the correct orientation, and then twisting it into place.
Cooler Master chose not to use the factory AMD mounting clips for securing the cooler to the motherboard, so I did have to remove the plastic mounting brackets prior to installing four standoffs on the motherboard.
As I mentioned earlier, Cooler Master preinstalled a stencil to guide the application of the included thermal paste, and provided a spreader in the form of a business card sized thick card. This is a bit different than simply installing a cooler with pre-applied paste, or just putting paste on your CPU and letting pressure do the rest.
This stencil method of installing thermal paste is becoming more and more prevalent, and while it does add a bit of time to the install process compared to just putting an amount of paste on your CPU, it most likely does a better job of spreading the paste uniformly across the CPU heat spreader and the AIO base.
With the standoffs in place, the AMD mounting hardware attached to the pump housing, and our thermal paste applied, the next step for installing the cooler was to place the cooler over the CPU and use the included screws to tighten it into place.
Next up is attaching the radiator to the top of our case. Just like attaching the fans to the radiator, attaching the radiator to the case is a simple task. Using the twelve included screws, simply align them with the appropriate mounting points on your case, and tighten. I also made sure to thread the combo cable and USB cable from the pump housing through the cable grommets in my case in preparation of wiring everything up.
In order to power and control the MasterLiquid 360 ION’s components, I needed to attach the 4-pin PWM connector to my motherboard’s CPU_Fan header. This will allow me to not only power on the pump, but monitor its speed. Next I connected the SATA power, paired the fans’ 4-pin PWM and 3-pin ARGB connectors up, and then connected the Micro USB cable from the pump housing to an available USB 2.0 header.
With everything installed, it was time for testing.
