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The MSI MEG Coreliquid S360 is the highest-end offering from the company. With a price tag of US$ 250, it is a direct competitor to NZXT’s Z73. It has been a year since MSI entered the liquid cooling market. After some initial bumps, the company came up with the solid MPG K360. The MEG S360 is an improved variant of the K360, with better fans, a bigger and better blockhead display, and better performance.
MSI was kind enough to send this cooler over for a review. So, let us check whether this cooler is any good.
Contents
Unboxing Experience
The S360 is a performance-focused product. MSI is not going for flashy gimmicks with this thing. This formula reflects in the very minimalist unboxing experience.
The lettering is done in gold font face and it looks premium. But, we do not see anything unexpected in the packaging.
MSI also includes some paperwork with the cooler, but it was nowhere to be found in our review unit.
We liked the simple yet effective unboxing experience. And we are awarding a product a 7.5/10 in the unboxing aspect.
Closer Look
MSI did improve their build quality game with this AIO. We have tested both their entry-level 360R and the mid-range K360 in the past. Something always felt missing with those AIOs. Thus, it is good to see that the company fixed those issues with this product. Although MSI charges a premium for this product, the improvement is noteworthy.
This cooler looks defining. Part of that is because of the large 2.4" display on top of it. The display is huge for a cooler. It is an IPS LCD, so it comes with sharp viewing angles. We believe every AIO with a display should come with an IPS panel. People do not optimize their PC builds for good viewing angles. Any cheap display might become a problem when viewed at sharp angles.
The display is protected by a magnetic shroud. This shroud is quite well built too. Parts of it slap off, but we couldn't understand what good that would do. It probably is just to increase compatibility in small motherboards. You can also use this cooler without the shroud. This feature will come in handy in case you are on an ITX board.
The shroud has a mirror on top of it, and it looks awesome when light reflects off it. It is much better than the one we saw on the K360.
This cooler also has a VRM cooling fan. Normal users would not need it. But, overclocking fans love this. This fan is rated for a massive 4000 RPM. Although, in real life, we saw it hitting the upper 3800s only. We will see how good it is for VRM cooling later in this review.
The cooler is based on a design from Asetek. MSI is going "no risks" with it.
You find 400mm long tubes with this thing. The radiator is quite well built too. The fin density is quite high, coming in at around 11 fins per centimeter. The rad came with a few dents, but this will not negatively hurt performance.
MSI includes three high-performance fans with this thing. It is an innovative design, and MSI calls these their Silent Gale P12 fans. These fans are rated for a massive 2000 RPM and they feel quite sturdily built. MSI is not selling these fans in the market yet, at least not in India, or else there might be a solid Noctua competitor.
But, on the downside, these fans are not RGB. Although that is fine for a performance-focused product, it might hurt its sales provided how much users prefer RGB these days. But, looking at the competition, the Z73, MSI should be fine.
MSI has managed to keep the cable clutter under control. It has SATA power for the display, one 4-pin PWM cable per fan, and one 3-pin header for the pump. But, it comes with two USB 2.0 cables for MSI Center control. It is good that MSI has punched these cables into one header.
Overall, this cooler is very well built. It manages to deliver a flagship experience. We are awarding it an 8.5/10 in this aspect.
Installation
Installing this cooler was a breeze. MSI did not innovate something new, and it is the standard formula followed by hundreds of AIOs in the market.
The box contains a packet in which all of the accessories and mounting hardware are included. MSI also has labeled the mounting hardware, so that simplifies the user experience too.
But, this cooler has a massive inconsistency in mounting the fans. Mounting them requires some brute force. And, the only viable option is to keep two screws of the third fan unscrewed. We had to remove the rubber anti-vibration grips of the middle fan to be able to fit it. You do not expect such design flaws in a flagship product.
We are not going into the details of the installation because that is out of the scope of this review. But, overall, the process is standard. We are awarding this a 7.5/10.
Finished Looks
This cooler looks awesome in any build. The large CPU blockhead's design is unique, and it adds a defining character to your build. The LCD is bright enough for indoor settings too.
But, the lack of RGB can be a concern. So, considering all of this, it deserves a 7.5 again.
Temperatures
This cooler’s thermal performance does not disappoint. The numbers are promising. We see the cooler scale pretty well at higher clock speeds. Not just in Cinebench R23, the results are the same throughout wPrime 1024M and the Blender test suite.
When we add some context and compare them to a much cheaper Antec Symphony 360, you can see the numbers pull up. You might say that the performance difference is not enough to justify the 140$ more the S360 asks for. But, you have to understand that the coolant being used, a liquid, has its limits. You are just paying the premium for, a display, a reputed OEM design, high-quality fans, etc.
Coming to the VRM cooling fan, we did not notice any significant difference created by its 4000 rotations per minute. And, you would not notice anything either if you are a regular user. Only extreme OC guys can benefit from the slight differences created by it.
Overall, we cannot say that we are super satisfied with the thermal performance of this thing. More so because of the price, it asks for. Thus, we are rewarding it a 6.5/10.
Software
You can control this cooler via the MSI Center software. All three of the bundled fans, the VRM fan, the pump, and the display on the CPU blockhead are customizable.
MSI Center software is neither bug-free nor the best software for controlling hardware. It falls apart when you look at what the competition, NZXT, has come up with. But, in our experience with the product, we can give it a 7/10.
Value
This cooler costs a hefty premium. It sells for around 23,000 rupees here in India or around $250 in the USA. And, that is not cheap for a cooler.
The S360 has been built for the highest-end CPUs in the market. We are talking about processors like the 12900K, the 5950X, and at most the 12700K. Pairing it with anything weaker is a waste of money. You do not need such fancy cooling for any Core i5 or Ryzen 5 CPU.
But, if you are an overclocking enthusiast, go for it. This is liquid cooling at its peak. If you are a professional who runs a hot-running CPU with intensive workloads, you probably can consider this. But, if you are a gamer, I am not comfortable recommending this.
Overall, we are awarding a 6.5 in the value segment. Diminishing return is a big problem with flagship hardware.
Conclusion
Pros | Cons |
+ Great build quality | - No RGB |
+ Massive 2.4" display | - Fan installation is messed up |
+ Heavy-duty fans | - Satisfactory thermal performance |
+ Asetek cooled | - Very costly |
+ Decent customization options | |
The MSI Coreliquid S360 is a solid cooler in terms of the performance it manages to deliver. However, it costs a lot. Most people will never spend that much on cooling when the money can be used to buy a better CPU or GPU which will increase performance by a bigger margin.
It manages to score an overall score of 7.29/10. Thus, following our standard review methodology, we are awarding this cooler a Cyber Tech Tok Silver award.
This cooler has been built for enthusiasts who want to maximize their thermal performance and do not care about the cost. If you are one such user, look no further!
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