Micro-Star International, more commonly known as MSI, is one of the most well-known and diverse companies in the PC realm. The Taiwanese company makes and sells almost everything we cover, from laptops to SSDs, motherboards to monitors and, of course, CPU coolers.
Many of MSI’s previous AIOs have been aimed at the premium section of the market, featuring fancy LCD screens and high price tags. But the CoreLiquid I240 and I360 we’re testing today are typically priced at a more mainstream $109.99 and $139.99 USD.
Do MSI’s I360 and I240 AIOs have what it takes to make our list of Best CPU coolers? Let’s take a quick look at the unit’s specifications, then we’ll dive into its features and our testing.
Cooler specifications
| Cooler | MSI CoreLiquid I360 | MSI CoreLiquid I240 |
| MSRP | $139.99 USD | $109.99 USD |
| Radiator Material | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Lighting | ARGB | ARGB |
| Warranty | 3 Years | 3 Years |
| Socket Compatibility | Intel Socket LGA 1851/1700/1200/115x AMD AM5 / AM4 | Intel Socket LGA 1851/1700/1200/115x AMD AM5 / AM4 |
| Pump Speed | 0-3400 RPM ±10% | 0-3400 RPM ±10% |
| Base | Copper | Copper |
| Average Maximum TDP (Our Testing) | ~259W with Intel’s i7-14700K | ~256W with Intel’s i7-14700K |
Packing and included contents
The contents of the cooler box are protected with the typical molded cardboard, plastic linings, and a foam covering.
Included with the box are the following:
- 120mm fans, preinstalled
- 240mm or 360mm radiator
- Thermal Paste
- Mounting for modern AMD and Intel platforms
- Cable management bar
The installation accessories are packed in a plastic container that has a resealable cover. I appreciate this, as it makes it easy to keep track of parts without losing them.
Features of MSI’s CoreLiquid I360 and I240 AIO coolers
*️⃣ 120mm fans with seven fan blades
There’s more to a cooler than just the heatsink or radiator. The bundled fans significantly impact cooling and noise levels, as well as how the cooler looks in your case. MSI’s included fans support zero RPM operation – so if you don’t mind manually adjusting a fan curve, the AIO can operate in virtual silence.
These fans are preinstalled to the radiator and utilize a quick-connect system to simplify cable management. Additionally, MSI includes a covering bar to hide any cables that might be exposed, depending on how the cooler is installed.
| Dimensions | 120 x 120 x 25mm |
| Fan Speed | Up to 2300 RPM ±10% with 0-RPM operation supported |
| Air Flow | Up to 70.7 CFM |
| Air Pressure | Up to 3.61 mmH2O |
| Bearing Type | Loop Dynamic Bearing |
| Lighting | ARGB |
*️⃣ UNI bracket
Most CPU coolers on the market have one top bracket for Intel-based systems and another for AMD systems. MSI took the time to create a bracket that’s compatible with both AMD and Intel systems, and pre-installed it – saving a few moments during installation.
*️⃣ Infinity mirror ARGB illumination
The CPU block showcases MSI’s logo with an ARGB-illuminated infinity-mirror aesthetic.
*️⃣ Full RAM Compatibility
As with most other AIO coolers, the MSI’s I240 and I360 AIOs do not interfere with or overhang RAM DIMMs – so all sizes of DIMMs, no matter how tall, can be used without compatibility concerns due to the height of your RAM sticks.
*️⃣ Does not require the use of additional software
Some of MSI’s AIOs are fully controlled by the MSI Center software via USB. Others have both PWM and USB control options. While there are advantages to MSI’s software, I don’t like being required to use it to control fan speeds because I’ve encountered issues with the software respecting my preferences for maximum fan speeds – it ignores user preferences if the CPU reaches its peak temperature.
While users who prefer maximum performance might not mind this behavior, I find it annoying because I prefer my computers to run quietly in all circumstances. As a reviewer, this is problematic for me because it prevents proper noise-normalized testing for comparison purposes.
Fortunately, MSI’s new I240 and I360 are simpler units that are fully PWM-controlled. No additional software is required to operate these units – the RPM speed of the unit can be controlled normally via the fan control section of your motherboard’s BIOS.
*️⃣ Standard price
The 240mm version of this AIO is available for $109.99 USD, and the 360mm variant has a price tag of $139.99 USD. While there are cheaper competitors on the market, these prices are fairly typical of 240mm and 360mm AIOs.
*️⃣ Rotatable braided tubing
The ports connecting to the liquid pump can be fully rotated to either side.
*️⃣ Accessible refill port without “Warranty void if removed” scare tactics
In the past, I’ve criticized MSI because, while they included an accessible refill port, they covered it with a “warranty void when removed” sticker. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), these policies violate the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which prohibits companies from putting conditions on their warranties based on the use of a product or service, such as a repair service. The FTC has recently cracked down on these sorts of violations warning Gigabyte, ASRock, and Zotac that they are in violation of US law.
In response, some manufacturers have opted to stop including refill ports, which I feel is an extremely consumer-unfriendly move. MSI, on the other hand, has stopped using “warranty void when removed” stickers and continues to include accessible refill ports. You shouldn’t ever need to refill the unit while it is under warranty, but it is nice to know that a user can easily service their device should the need arise after the warranty period has expired – and we should recognize companies that make pro-consumer choices.
*️⃣ Standard price
The 240mm version of this AIO is available for $109.99 USD, and the 360mm variant has a price tag of $139.99 USD. While there are cheaper competitors on the market, these prices are fairly typical of 240mm and 360mm AIOs.
*️⃣ Cabling cover
The I240 and I360 AIOs include a cable cover that connects to the screws which secure the fans to the radiator. Using this cover results in a clean look, especially if you choose to install the radiator opposite of what is shown below, where the cabling would be evident otherwise.
*️⃣ No cable management clips
Many AIOs now include management clips to help keep the tubing of the AIO tidy. MSI’s CoreLiquid I240 and I360 do not. This isn’t a big deal to me, but it might be important to some builders.
Testing Methodology, and how my testing differs vs the competition
I do a few things to ensure my results are useful to people who buy and use these coolers in typical setups. To begin, I very strictly regulate the ambient temperature to 23 degrees C during testing. I do not accept results at 22 or 24C as valid, even though in theory there shouldn’t be much of a difference.
I also do my best to emulate the conditions a user would encounter using the cooler, with thermal loads similar to real-life workloads, and tested in a real case – not on an open bench, which can decrease the difficulty of cooling.
Many other reviewers test coolers with just a load running on the CPU – I’ve also done this in many of my old reviews. While this does provide good and useful information, it doesn’t paint a complete picture of how a cooler will perform. Many workloads, especially gaming, will stress both the CPU and GPU. As such, to test how well a CPU’s cooler will perform in these situations I’ve added two tests – one with a light CPU and one with a moderate CPU load, both while running a full load on with AMD’s Radeon RX 7900GRE.
Testing configuration – Intel LGA1700 platform
| CPU | Intel Core i7-14700K |
| Motherboard | MSI Z790 Project Zero |
| Case | MSI Pano 100L PZ Black |
| System Fans | Iceberg Thermal IceGale Silent |
| PSU | Silverstone HELA 1300 |
Many factors other than the CPU cooler can influence your cooling performance, including the case you use and the fans installed in it. A system’s motherboard can also influence cooling, especially if its socket suffers from bending, resulting in poor cooler contact with the CPU.
In order to prevent bending from impacting our cooling results, we’ve installed Thermalright’s LGA 1700 contact frame into our testing rig. If your motherboard is affected by bending, your thermal results will be worse than those shown below. Not all motherboards are affected equally by this issue. I tested Raptor Lake CPUs in two motherboards. And while one of them showed significant thermal improvements after installing Thermalright’s LGA1700 contact frame, the other motherboard showed no difference in temperatures whatsoever! Check out our review of the contact frame for more information.
LGA 1700 Installation
- I would start by securing the radiator to your computer case, but this step can be done at the end if you prefer.
- Place the CPU bracket against the rear of the motherboard and secure it using the included standoffs.
- Apply the included thermal paste to your CPU. If you have any questions on how to do this properly, please refer to our handy guide on how to apply thermal paste.
- .Place the CPU block against the standoffs, and secure it with a screwdriver.
- Connect the PWM and ARGB cables to the corresponding headers on your motherboard, and installation is complete.
Maximum Noise Levels
The maximum noise levels for the I240 and I360 AIOs are middle of the road. At 47.4 dBA, the 360mm model runs a little louder than I’d prefer. The smaller 240mm unit has a more tolerable peak noise level of 44.9 dBA.
You may notice that the chart above starts at 35dBA. First, this is because noise level measurements are logarithmic. A person with typical hearing will perceive a doubling of noise for every 10 dBA increase, but the impact can vary from person to person.
Second, 35dBA was chosen as the “zero” because it is the lowest level my noise meter can accurately measure. This is also low enough that other case or component fans are likely to be loud enough to drown out the noise of the CPU cooler.
CPU Thermal results without power limits
Without power limits enforced on Intel’s i7-14700K, the CPU will hit its peak temperature (TJ Max) and thermally throttle with even the strongest of air coolers and even most liquid coolers on the market. When the CPU reaches its peak temperature, I’ve measured the CPU package power to determine the maximum wattage cooled to best compare their performance.
In this test, the 240mm I240 was on par with Montech’s Hyperflow ARGB. With an average of 256W during the course of testing, it handled a few watts more than iBuyPower’s AW4 240mm AIO. More importantly, it sustained this level of performance while running half as loud as the competitors mentioned.
It is important to note that the results of this test can vary significantly depending on the ambient temperature of your environment. At my typical testing ambient temperature of 23 degrees C, both the 240mm and 360mm models of this MSI cooler “fail” this test and as a result their results are measured by CPU package power.
In colder temperatures, even the 240mm is capable of “passing” this test and keeping the CPU under its peak temperature. For example, at 15.5C (60F) the CPU’s average temperature is only 85.1C, and even at 21.5C (70.7F) the cooler is able to maintain a toasty average temperature of 93C.
Thermal results with noise normalized to 38.9 dBA
Finding the right balance between fan noise levels and cooling performance is important. While running fans at full speed can improve cooling capacity to some extent, the benefits are limited and many users prefer a quieter system.
With this noise-normalized test, I’ve set noise levels to 38.9 dba. This level of noise is a low volume level, but slightly audible to most people. MSI’s I360 did especially well here, tied with Valkyrie’s SYN 360 for the second-best noise-normalized result I’ve recorded using this system. The 240mm version also did well, outperforming both of the 240mm AIOs I’ve tested it against.
165W CPU + 275W GPU results
I’ve recently updated my testing methodology to better represent the scenarios a user might actually encounter in real-life use. The first of these new tests is designed to emulate, though not perfectly, a CPU-intensive game with a full GPU load. MSI’s I240 and I360 AIOs performed reasonably well here, with average temperatures of 73C and 71C, respectively.
What’s more, the noise levels of both units were better than all competitors,save for Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III.
110W CPU + 275W GPU results
Our second round of CPU + GPU testing is performed with a lower CPU power limit and, in theory, it should be similar to games that are moderately intensive for a CPU. There’s not as much of a thermal difference between AIOs in this scenario.
That said, MSI’s I360 has the second-best thermal performance I’ve recorded thus far in this test. The 240mm model performed on par with the competitor’s thermal results in this test.
120W Noise Levels
With my previous testing methodology, I used to record the temperatures and noise measurements using a 125W CPU-only test and I would emphasize how temperatures do not matter in this scenario.
The temperature of the CPU in this scenario is largely irrelevant, but the results for liquid coolers are similar to those reported above in the 110W + GPU tests if you are particularly concerned about this information.
Noise levels were moderately low at 40.3 dBA for the 360mm unit, quieter than most (but not all) competitors. Depending on your sensitivity to noise, I would consider this a moderate-to-low noise level. Ideally, I would prefer to have fans running at less than 38.2 dBA in this scenario. The 240mm version performs closer to my ideal noise level in this situation – running at only 38.9 DBA, quieter than the competing 240mm AIOs I’ve tested it against.
Conclusion
MSI’s I240 and I360 AIOs provide strong thermal performance, paired with moderately low noise levels, and with this release MSI has rectified the two biggest complaints I’ve had about their past products. These AIOs do not require use of MSI Center, and they no longer include “Warranty void when removed” stickers. These are good AIOs that will satisfy the needs of most users.