MSI MEG CoreLiquid S360 – You won’t hear it coming

Pavel Sekerka

2 years ago

Results – 42 dBA

The MEG CoreLiquid S360 currently represents the top of MSI’s liquid AIO cooler lineup. What sets it apart from most coolers in this category is the large LCD display above the pump block, and the supplied MEG Silent Gale P12 fans, which are some of the best on the market. What we have here is therefore a promise of an attractive design as well as solid cooling effectiveness. The big question is whether this cooler can justify its very high price tag.

Key features of the cooler

CoreLiquid is the collective name for MSI’s liquid AIO coolers. And the MEG designation puts it in the top “Enthusiast” tier of products for the most demanding users. The imaginary heart of the cooler is the seventh-generation Asetek pump, which takes care of liquid circulation within the cooler’s closed loop.

The liquid is routed through a pair of 380 millimetre long hoses with a nylon braid for greater durability, a more attractive appearance and, last but not least, to minimize liquid loss due to evaporation through the wall. As usual, these hoses are connected to the cooling block via 90° swivel fittings, which simplifies their routing inside the case. The radiator used is of standard dimensions and again I will not spare it a little nitpicking about the material used, which is only aluminium. Personally, I would have liked to see thicker copper radiators in the top premium coolers in order to use their full potential. However, I realize that a thicker radiator could lead to compatibility issues in smaller cases, and a copper radiator would further increase the already high price without providing a clear advantage in efficiency or durability of the coolers.

Where MSI hasn’t held back, however, are the fans used. The MEG Silent Gale P12 is one of the best on the market, but unfortunately they are also very expensive, which is reflected in the overall price of this cooler. Somewhat surprisingly, they don’t come with any RGB backlighting. That’s not exactly typical of MSI and I’m glad that quality and efficiency is a top priority here, even at the expense of design appeal.

The contact surface of the block is copper and a thin layer of thermal paste is applied from the factory. Again, however, I don’t understand why a tube of additional paste is not included if you would like to install the cooler in a different build. Thus, the installation of the cooler should be done on the first try and without mistakes and you should purchase a tube of thermal paste for eventual reinstallation.

The visual centerpiece of the MEG CoreLiquid S360 cooler is undoubtedly its 2.4″ LCD display on the top surface of the cooling block. Here, you can view a variety of data such as CPU or liquid temperature, or pump and/or fan speeds. Alternatively, you can enjoy looking at one of the animations on offer, or insert your own text or image here. There’s even an option to view the latest weather information if you don’t feel like looking out the window or going for a walk outside.

A 60mm fan is placed under the display to cool the surroundings of the CPU socket. This is usually where the power delivery and primary M.2 SSD slot are located. However, it is quite noisy at maximum speed. All of this functionality also results in a quintuplet of cables leading straight out of the cooling block. This poses a bit of a problem while stringing them together to make the whole result look at least a little neat in the case.

The MSI Control Center app makes it very easy to choose what information, animation or graphics you want to display on the cooler’s display. You can also upload your own image (maximum supported resolution is 320 × 240 pixels) or text. You can also adjust the brightness of the display and its orientation according to how you have installed the cooling block on your CPU.

In the app, you can also control the speed of the pump, the integrated fan in the block or the fans on the radiator. You can select one of three preset profiles or customize your own. In “Customize” mode, however, it is not possible to control the pump speed below 60 %, which is a bit of a shame. Personally, I find the “Silent” profile ideal, which puts the fans on the radiator and the small fan above the pump into semi-passive mode at CPU temperatures below 50 °C.

Considering the price, the supplied accessories are quite lacking. You will find only two frames for Intel, or AMD socket and backplate for Intel. I personally have big complaints about this backplate. As you can see in the photo, it is very thin, which in combination with the soft plastic looks very cheap. Many significantly cheaper air coolers offer far more robust mounting systems. I understand that there isn’t as much leverage on the CPU socket as with giants like the Noctua NH-D15 or BeQuiet! Dark Rock 4 Pro, but that’s no excuse for such a sloppy component.

Fortunately, installing the cooler is quick and easy. If you have experience with coolers that use Asetek’s design, you’ll feel right at home. Additionally, for AMD processors you’ll use the native backplate, which offers far more strength and security than the supplied backplate for Intel processors. You’ll also find two sets of screws and washers in the package for mounting the fans to the radiator and mounting the radiator to the computer case, respectively. And as I mentioned in the previous text, the lack of any additional thermal paste is a shortcoming that cannot be simply overlooked given the high price of the cooler.

Pump, radiator and fan parameters

I compared the MSI MEG Coreliquid S360 to premium coolers from other manufacturers that I have also tested in the past. The Coreliquid S360 has a similarly sized pump block as MSI’s older K360 model or the competing Asus ROG Ryujin II 360. This is, of course, due to the presence of an LCD display above the pump block. Again, I can’t resist a slight criticism for the presence of an aluminum radiator in this price range. And the warranty should also ideally be at least five years given the price of the cooler.


Cooler	MSI MEG CoreLiquid S360	Fractal Design Celsius+ S36 Prisma	Asus ROG Ryujin II 360
Supported sockets	Intel 115x, 1200, 1700, 20xx; AMD AM4, TR4/sTRX4	Intel 115x, 1200, 20xx; AMD AM4	Intel 115x, 1200, 1700, 20xx; AMD AM4, TR4/sTRX4
Radiator dimensions (H × W × T)	394 × 120 × 27 mm	400 × 123 × 30 mm	394 × 121 × 27 mm
Block dimensions (H × W × T)	84 × 95 × 95 mm	86 × 75 × 45 mm	88 × 81 × 78 mm
Hose length	380 mm	400 mm	380 mm
Pump speed	2800 rpm		2800 rpm
Radiator material	aluminum
Max RAM height	no restrictions
Warranty	3 years	5 years	6 years
Approx. retail price	€ 250	€ 230	€ 285

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The manufacturer has been surprisingly conservative with this cooler, using MEG Silent Gale P12 fans (link to HWC tests), which are at the top of MSI’s range, instead of fans with RGB backlighting. They are also very close to the Noctua NF-A12x25 fans, which many consider to be the best 120 mm fans at the moment. Don’t be fooled by the relatively low paper specs, the real world results are very good indeed. The only thing I would appreciate here is the option of serial connection to tame the already excessive wiring on this cooler a bit.


Fan	MSI MEG Silent Gale P12	Fractal Design Prisma AL-12 PWM ARGB	Noctua NF-F12 iPPC PWM
Bearing	hydrodynamic	sleeve	SSO2
Max speed	2000 rpm
Max static pressure	3.94 mm H₂O	2.78 mm H2O	3.94 mm H2O
Max airflow	121.8 m³/h	145.6 m3/h	121.8 m3/h

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Measurement methodology

As a test processor and heat generator, I am now using an Intel Core i7-11700K on the Asus TUF Gaming Z590-Plus WiFi motherboard. The entire build is mounted on a Streacom BC1 frame with no fans to provide airflow. Acoustic shielding (acoustic foam on OSB boards) is installed around the test setup to eliminate ambient noise.

The Voltcraft SL-100 calibrated noise meter is placed perpendicular to the cooler in a fixed position relative to the motherboard at a distance of approximately 35 cm from the processor socket. Stress tests are performed using Prime95 with a duration of 30-35 minutes. The coolers are tested at three standardized noise levels (36, 39 and 42 dBA) and finally at maximum speed. The tests are run in two sets according to the heat output of the processor.

The first set of tests is at 125 W, the PL1 processor’s enforced limit. The second set of power draw is then about 205–210 W (4500 MHz at 1.285 V). However, this second level represents a very high concentration of heat per mm² due to the small size of the chip itself. Thus, not all coolers can be expected to pass this set of tests at all noise levels. At the end of the test, the highest temperature achieved is always recorded.

All data regarding CPU temperatures and heat output are obtained from the HWiNFO64 application. The measured values are then corrected against the room temperature as the resulting Delta T value. Any higher value means a processor temperature over 95–100 °C and a risk of thermal throttling. Therefore, if the cooler does not pass the load with a Delta T value below 75 °C, such a test is marked as a failure.

Results – 36 dBA

Why is there a missing value in the cooler chart? Either because the cooler could no longer handle the load in the specified mode, or because the fan could not be slowed down to the required level, typically the mode with the lowest noise level.

Results – 39 dBA

Results – 42 dBA

Results – maximum speed

Results – Delta T and dBA relationship

Out of curiosity, I also tested the cooler at noise levels of 45, 48 and 51 dBA to better visualize the relationship between noise and temperature. The graph clearly shows that above the 42-45 dBA level, the temperature differences are very small and it is therefore pointless to torture the cooler in unnecessarily high fan and/or pump speeds. Your cooling requirements and CPUs may vary of course, but the chart below shows quite clearly that this cooler has a decent potential to cool even CPUs with very high thermal output.

Conclusion and evaluation

What definitely cannot be denied is the MSI MEG CoreLiquid S360 cooler’s high efficiency. It effortlessly outperformed all the coolers I have ever had the opportunity to test. This is certainly made possible in no small part by the excellent MEG Silent Gale P12 fans (link to HWC tests), which have a very refined acoustic performance across the entire speed range without any compromise in other areas. The build quality of the cooler is also at a very good level and the visual aspect is not lacking thanks to the well-integrated LCD display on the cooling block.

However, I’m experiencing a slight déjà vu here again with a premium cooler that is attractive, but also expensive and unfortunately not perfected. You can’t just get past the shortcomings in the mounting system, the lack of additional thermal paste or the three-year only warranty. For such an expensive product, it is reasonable to expect perfect execution in all respects. The MEG CoreLiquid S360 has a great potential to become the best in its category, it would just need to improve some shortcomings.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš


MSI MEG CoreLiquid S360
+ Top notch cooling effectiveness
+ Quiet and high quality fans
+ Visually attractive design
- High price
- Absence of thermal paste in the package
- Thin and soft backplate

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Continue: Results – maximum speed