Introduction

Cooler Master makes some the most solid, attractive cases on the market. It also makes some top quality power supplies and cooling products, too. The company's focus on green power supplies and a new hardware monitoring architecture garnered it a lot of attention, and we at ThinkComputers believe that Cooler Master is doing a lot of cool and good things. Read on for coverage.

ESA

Enthusiast System Architecture is a new way of monitoring hardware. nVidia is the primary developer of the system, which can monitor not only the motherboard sensors, but the power supply, a watercooling system, and a case. The system provides a graphical tool for configuring these parts of the computer and monitoring them in a heads up display. Cooler Master did not show off the interface at CES, but a few other companies did.

There is a specific version of the Cooler Master Cosmos case that is meant for ESA, as well as a specific version of the 1000 W power supply, a water block, and water pump.

Real Power Pro PSUs

Cooler Master's Green Guard program focuses on the efficiency of power supply units and how users can reduce their power consumption while keeping their power hungry rigs. The Real Power Pro series of PSUs are all 80 PLUS certified, which means that they are at least 80% efficient at all times. There are five models: 1250 W, 1000 W, 850 W, 750 W, 650 W, and 550 W. All are currently available.

There's an ESA-certified model of the 1000 W, too, called the ESA 1000 W. It will be available at a price similar to the RPP 1000 W when the ESA specification is solid.

Cases

While the Cooler Master Cosmos has been out for a while, it is still Cooler Master's top case right now. It's a sleek-looking beast that combines silence and performance. The PSU is on the floor of the case, and the floor is raised on rails to give the bottom of the case more efficient airflow-it has a fan. There's a removable and washable filter for the fans, something which those enthusiasts with dusty environments (everywhere?) appreciate. The Cosmos costs $199. It was used in Maximum PC's Dream Machine 2007, an achievement of which Cooler Master is very proud.

The Cooler Master Cosmos S is the company's latest case. It's a revision of the Cosmos that trades some silence for all-out performance. Cooler Master calls it the "sport model" of the flagship case, so it's a little louder because of the many, many fans inside. The whole case is made of aluminum, rather than a mix of steel and aluminum like the Cosmos is. It will cost $279 when it it available in March.

The company also showed off cases from its CSX division. CSX means "Customized Style eXperience," and the division offers custom-designed artwork on the cases it sells. CSX teamed with Smooth Creations to offer these awesome designs. These cases start at $899.

The designs are available at www.cmcsx.com.

Cooling

The V8 and V10 coolers for CPUs will be available in May. The V8 will cost $45 to $50; the V10 will be $70. The former operates at 19 dBA, the latter at 22 dBA. The former has 8 heat pipes and two fans, the latter has 6 pipes and two fans.

However, the V10 also cools the system RAM with its large side fan. There is an exhaust fan, too, which delivers the hot air from the CPU directly to the case exhaust fan. The makes for even more effective cooling.

Both are multisocket and require a brace to function.

Be sure to check out our CES 2008 Photo Gallery!