Introduction
Brand: Cooler Master
Model: MasterGel Maker Thermal Gel (MGZ-NDSG-N15M-R1)
UK RRP: £9.99 for 4ml Blister Pack
US RRP: N/A
MasterGel Maker has been developed for users demanding the best thermal conductivity for high-performance CPUs, GPUs or even chipsets. The non-curing and non-electrical conductive properties help avoid any short-circuiting and provide protection and performance for long-term use. This however has been no secret to us at Play3r as we actually got hold of a pre-production sample quite a long time ago and had the pleasure in using it in our 2015 thermal compound comparison article – CLICK ME
Now that the MasterGel Maker Nano thermal paste has now been launched and we can officially lift the lid on the thermal performance as well as what the MasterGel compound is all about!
Closer Look Gallery
What’s Nano Technology?
The high-tech Nano Diamond particles allow the MasterGel Maker to be extremely lightweight and, therefore, easy to spread or remove while at the same time avoiding auto-oxidation or erosion.
Specifications
Colour – Grey
Thermal Conductivity (W/m-K) – 11
Specific Gravity (g/cm3)(25℃) – 2.6
Volume (ml) – 1.5
Net Weight (g) – 4
Scraper – Yes
Grease Cleaner – Yes
Thermal Conductivity (W/m-K) – 11
Warranty – 2 years
How to apply MasterGel Maker?
Test Setup
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K (3.9GHz @1.1v & 4.5GHz @1.25v)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 OC Formula
RAM: Kingston GSkill TridentX 2400MHz 8GB (2x4GB)
PSU: Cooler Master V1200 1200w Platinum
OS: Windows 7 Premium 64 bit
Testing Methodology
As each thermal paste requires different curing times, different bedding in times, it made testing each thermal paste quite an arduous task in terms of time; no fear, taking our time is what Play3r does best and the following method was devised for the testing, something each of the thermal pastes had to go through prior to obtaining results.
Step 1 – Applying each thermal paste by each of the manufacturers recommended methods; where no methods were given, common sense and experience comes into play.
Step 2 – Running the test system for 24hrs with a run of Prime95’s torture test for an hour to help cure the paste in; some don’t need curing, but tough, we did it anyway!
Step 3 – After 24hrs, I ran Prime95 for 30 minutes on each of the following settings saved from BIOS; 3.9GHz @ 1.1v and 4.5GHz @ 1.25v; this is to give a completely level playing field
Step 4 – Delta temperatures were taken due to any variance in ambient temperatures; British weather can be a marvellous thing and be cold and wet one day, to warm and sunny the other. Bare this in mind when reading our results. Delta temperature is core temperature minus ambient temperature which is believed to give more consistent results, some will disagree, but I prefer this method.
Thermal Performance
Now that we can actually show the performance off properly of the new Cooler Master MasterGel compound off to the world, we have done a comparison against some of the leading brands/pastes currently on the market.
Conclusion
As you can see from the performance charts above, the new Cooler MasterGel Maker Nano thermal paste has been a very highly thought out product. If you compare it to previous Cooler Master thermal pastes, the MasterGel reigns supreme very easily by at least a 2c margin with delta temperatures. It even surpasses the thermal performance of Noctua NT-H1 which is a really credible showing; we tend to use Noctua’s offering as a baseline in all of our cooling reviews due to the superb nature of the product, but the MasterGel beats it with ease, showing what a great job Cooler Master have done this time round. Another great feature is the non-abrasive nature of the the MasterGel, which will not remove the vital batch information from your CPU’s; something IC Diamond is horrible for!
With a £9.99 price tag, it’s certainly not on the cheap side, but when you compare it to the Thermal Grizzly at £10.99 for 5.5g (99p more), that does kind of represent better value for money, albeit with a very marginal performance difference. I do however expect the price to drop depending on the retailer and demand as the £9.99 is only the RRP for the UK. US availability and pricing is currently unknown at the time of publishing, but we do expect to receive more information very soon, so make sure you follow Cooler Master UK on Facebook for all the latest updates.
I would like to award the Cooler MasterGel Maker Nano thermal compound our gold award for not only being very easy to use and apply but of course for the great thermal performance this paste delivered in our testing. If the Cooler Master research and development team continue to make strides over previous products, 2016 is looking like a good year for Cooler Master and CM Storm fans alike!
Huge thanks to Cooler Master for sending in some more samples for us to test with!
FAQ
Q: Do the nano-diamond particles leave scratches on the cooler base or CPU IHS?
A: No, the particles in the MasterGel Maker are too small to leave any scratches.
Q: Why do I need to clean the CPU before applying the MasterGel Maker?
A: When removing a CPU cooler, the old thermal grease is left over. It needs to be removed to improve thermal conductivity, which leads to lower temperatures.
Q: Do I need to use the plastic brush for spreading the grease?
A: No, but it is recommended. You can also press the CPU cooler on the grease and twist it a bit to make sure it spreads over the IHS.
Q: How many applications does one tube last when using the pea size method?
A: It is difficult to precisely determine the number of uses one tube can have. However, if the amount for each time is very close to ‘pea size,’ users should at least be able to apply the thermal grease over 10 times.
Q: How long can the thermal compound be used once opened, but sealed correctly after use? A: Every circumstance is different depending on various factors, such as the environment. Usually, the thermal grease can be preserved for two years without opening. We highly suggest users keep thermal grease in a dry and clean place and avoid direct sunshine once opened.
Now I’m just waiting for a review of the Gelid GC-Pro. I actually thought that was the TOP SECRET thing rather than this but this was a pleasant surprise. Definitely wasn’t expecting CM to just top out the charts like that.
Just wondering why the test results are so different comparing 4.5 GHZ and 3.9 GHz. Doesn’t really make sense in my eyes. Do you always use the same FFT size in prime? because that matters a lot. It looks just odd that PK1 is almost on top in the first test and pretty bad in the 2nd test.
We used the same settings for every paste etc. The only way I can really answer why a thermal paste would perform better at 3.9GHz and poorly at 4.5GHz would be to consider this; Usain Bolt can run the 100m a lot faster than Mo Farah, but when it comes to the long race, Mo Farah would destroy Usain. Obviously the hotter the chip gets with the PK1, the worse it kept its thermal integrity. Well it was the case in our tests anyway!