Cryorig M9i CPU Cooler Review

[section_title title=”Conclusion”]

Conclusion

Let’s start with the bad news… I’m very disappointed to be given the choice between losing a stick of RAM or nerfing performance on a medium range cooler because that’s precisely what’s being done here. Yes, there is ram that will fit – RAM without any heatsink or ‘low profile’ stuff – but anyone who has performance memory with a heatsink that reaches above the circuit board will be left using slots 2 and 4 if they have them. If you only have 2 slots then like the H5 Ultimate you will either get high temps when their PC is under load unless you probably have to lose a stick.

I should be fair and say that there are some people who won’t have to make that choice at all, those who can fit the fan above or in front of the VRM heatsinks and use the rear fan vent of their case as intake instead of exhaust. That could mean a lot of fiddling around though as it might involve completely redesigning the airflow around their case but it may be possible to have your cake and eat it in this case.

The temperature wasn’t dangerously high with the RAM blocking the bottom few fins either – around 50-55ºC delta, but add in the effects of time and dust and those temps will surely creep skyward. I know I didn’t test the effects of raising the fan above the height of my RAM but not having air through over 15% of the fins would be the same outcome as when it was blocked, perhaps more effect as at least some of the air escaped previously. I also didn’t even attempt to run the CPU at 4500mhz while there was an obstruction because the clock speed result spoke volumes.

With that out of the way let’s discuss the fitting, and despite the guy in the video having no issues, I found this installation to be a bit frustrating. The pins kept dropping out of the backplate before I had a chance to screw them in which left me holding them in place, not much more than an annoyance really on the testbench but it would have been a contortionist’s nightmare if the motherboard was sitting inside a large case.

Join me next time for our final Cryorig cooler from this supply drop, and as always thank you to Cryorig for sending the M9i for me to review.