Cooler Master Mars review

CPU cooling straight from another planet

TechRadar Verdict

A quirky yet effective extra-terrestrial cooling system

Pros

  • +

    Easy to fit

    Quirky design

Cons

  • -

    Motherboard must be removed to fit it

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The mothership has landed! Inside our test rig, no less. This is perhaps the most curious, B-movie prop of a cooler we've ever seen, coming on like a hot air balloon from some steampunk fantasy.

Buried in the centre of its spread of 200-odd cooling fins is an LED-lit fan, to keep the air flowing and your CPU frosty.

Fitting is pretty easy, although like most CPU coolers, you'll need to remove your motherboard from your chassis to install its bespoke backplate (it comes with two, suitable for either Socket LGA775 or AM2), but it's a cinch to fit. And it works.

Running several degrees cooler than the Intel cooler on a Core 2 Duo, it's a useful and good-looking addition to any gamer's rig. And hey, a blue glow is always nice...

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