Thoughts and Conclusion
In the PC industry and especially in the enthusiast space, knocking off the top dog takes a lot of engineering work. To say that the Cooler Master V10 is the king of air coolers is to forget that it is a hybrid. The V10 works great and cools great, as we have seen thanks to the 70w TEC. The additional cooling provided to the other components can be tough to measure, but using the ever scientific finger test, we could easily feel a difference at the Northbridge of both the Gigabyte and ASUS boards. Memory in each system was also a bit cooler. With this in mind you could say that the V10 is more than just a CPU cooler and helps keep the most critical components cooler than more traditional heat sinks. This also makes it easier for most of us to justify the additional price over another CPU cooler. At the time of this article the V10 has a street price starting at $126.95. At that price it is nearly double the price of the already expensive TRUE.
The knocks against the Cooler Master V10 are few but significant. Finding a case made by someone other than Cooler Master to fit this hulk can be a bit of a challenge. With a bit of finesse you can get it to fit into the smallish Antec 900, so make sure you do your homework on the sizes(notice they were included on page 1). The second thing to point out was that just about any, but not quite all memory kits will work with this cooler as we mentioned earlier in the article. Still this should not be a deal breaker as the need for giant ram sinks is negated by the cooling that the V10 provides to RAM even with standard heat sinks.
Keeping in mind that you need a quad core or higher CPU to really see any advantage with the V10, the Core i7 CPU seems to be the perfect storm for this cooler to really stretch its legs. The thing that makes this cooler seem so awesome is its sheer size. It is truly massive, and as such it can be a bit cumbersome when trying to get everything put into the case. I do not suggest trying to fit this into a smallish case like the 900, spare your sanity and consider something with a little more room.
When it comes down to it the V10 offers CPU cooling that is at the top of the air cooling class. In addition to that comes the cooling it provides to other components surrounding the CPU. For some the peace of mind that comes with having all of your critical components well cooled will easily be worth the extra money spent on this cooler. For others having the top air cooler is worth it at any price and at $127.99 plus shipping the Cooler Master V10 costs less than many water cooling kits.
I have to say that I really like the V10. Cooler Master has been hard at work on it for over a year and it looks like all that hard work paid off. Yes it is big, yes it is bulky, but that and the ability to cool so well are what make this thing awesome. Even though you may not get Megan Fox under your side panel checking it out, I'm sure that you'll have plenty of friends asking you about your new CPU cooler.
Legit Bottom Line: The Cooler Master V10 is beast of a CPU heat sink that backs up its size with great cooling. Besting even the top CPU cooler on the market, the V10 deserves its spot in your system.
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