Cooler Master V10 CPU Cooler Review

Packaging and Accessories

For a something as relatively “simple” as a CPU air cooler the box this beast comes in is simply massive and easily dwarfs literally any other CPU cooler box we have ever seen. Heck, it makes the Scythe Copper Ninja box or out TRUE Black look like match boxes in comparison.


The box itself is done in a beautifully glossy red and black design which is sure to attract attention and help it stand out from the rest of the competition when placed on store shelves. As befitting a Cooler Master product, the box is not only a pretty face but has all the information you will need to make an informed decision.


When you are finished oohing and ahhing over the slick advertising scheme printed on the outside of the box and open it up, you will be greeted to a welcome sight. For anyone who has purchased a TRUE, or even higher end CoolIT product you will instantly recognise this kick ass packaging scheme. In a nut shell the V10 is cocooned in a deep, form fitting, styrofoam box. This box in a box method of protection is about as good as it gets and seeing CM go with this tells us they really consider this as one of their flagship lines.

The only minor downside to this scheme is getting the sucker to release its precious cargo! As long as you are patient and slowly work the V10 free you should have no trouble; however if you rush it you will break the Styrofoam. This may not be a big deal for you, but for us it would have made getting pristine pictures….challenging to say the least.


The accessories which accompany this unit are not only plentiful and of good quality but they are also down right heavy! In a nut shell you get three thick backplates any of which could easily be used to bludgeon someone with let alone support the "mere" 1.2Kg weight of the V10. Besides the necessary backplates for i7, 775 and AMD systems you also get all the needed screws and assorted items for attaching said backplates to your motherboard and V10. As with all Cooler Master products; a very easy to understand, multi-language instruction pamphlet is also included. Unfortunately, they also cheaped out and only included a ketchup style packet of TIM. Are we really asking too much for a 4g, or heck 2g, multi-application TIM syringe on a $100+ CPU cooling solution?!

All in all we walked away from the V10 with a great first impression. Everything is top notch with no glaring flaws, blunders or corner cutting to be seen. While we are not going to test this bad boy out on i7, we are going to test it on both out normal q6600 and our fire breathing, heatsink melting Phenom which we have used in the past as the final word in cooling potential. It certainly will be interesting to see how the V10 handles those kind of heat loads. In the mean time lets first go over the design of this wee beastie and see what tricks Cooler Master has up their sleeves!