Some gamers want a basic cooler that is unobtrusive and can be installed with confidence, knowing that their PC is in good working order. On the other hand, there are users who take pride in their PC and treat it like an art piece, and it is this latter group that MSI is targeting with the MEG Coreliquid S360 all-in-one liquid cooler. Its gorgeous 2.4-inch IPS display demands to be shown in all its glory. But at its price of $279, is it worth the price of admission?

MSI has been on a roll the past few years and, with the exception of the CPU of course, has expanded its product lineup to include everything you need to build a complete PC: the Coreliquid S360 is not MSI's first AIO CPU cooler, but beautiful display, quality fan,

An important feature is the out of the box LGA1700 compatibility for Intel's Alder Lake CPUs. This, along with Intel and AMD's HEDT compatibility, means that the S360 is compatible with virtually every socket from the past few years.

The Coreliquid S360 comes with three MSI Silent Gale P12 fans. Optimized for high static pressure, they are ideal for use with the radiator. Even at full load, up to 2000RPM, they produce very little noise. The noise produced is more of a hum than an intrusive noise. Interestingly, there is no RGB lighting; has MSI reached "peak RGB? "The Silent Gale P12 fans sell for about $30 each, which is a significant expense in itself. The unit also supports a zero-rev mode for when the PC is idling.

AIO coolers with displays on top of the block are nothing new: Asus ROG Ryujin II, NZXT Kraken Z73, and Thermaltake Toughliquid Ultra are all available. Still, the MSI S360's 2.4-inch display is the obvious highlight of this unit. This display can be rotated 90 degrees to ensure the correct orientation at all times; the 320x240 2.4-inch display is crisp and colorful. It can also display .mp4 video, which not all screen-equipped AIOs can do. It can also display monitor information, GIFs and images, system clock and weather. [All of the S360's screen, fan, and pump functions are controlled via the MSI Center software. The fan and pump controls are especially commendable. The design is simple and intuitive; MSI seems to have consciously chosen a "creator" theme rather than opting for the gamer-friendly Dragon brand. It is one of the better system control apps, and is a refreshing step back from the sometimes overly flashy UI.

The AIO cooler cools the CPU very well, but compared to traditional air coolers and their adjacent fan locations, the use of AIOs can lead to insufficient airflow around the socket area which can lead to VRM, memory, or M.2 drive overheating issues This is a result of recent deep deep cooling. This was found during a recent cooling deep dive; the Coreliquid S360 also has a 60mm fan built into the pump block to help solve this problem.

First and foremost, an expensive cooler must perform, and we tested it on an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X inside a Razer Tomahawk ATX case. This case is a bit more restrictive than more open design cases and open benches, but it is well suited for real-world testing. After 30 minutes of AIDA64 stress testing at an ambient temperature of 19°C, the Coreliquid S360 performed nearly as well as the NZXT Kraken Z73 360mm in cooling performance and lower noise levels.

The TT Toughair Ultra 360 was only one degree warmer, but even quieter. Overall, we feel that MSI has designed this cooler to be in a good sweet spot, delivering low load noise levels while ceding only a couple of degrees to units with higher fan speeds.

Most competing AIOs tend to look a lot like Asetek-based units, especially the S360. Features such as the display and fan are the main differentiators. Of the three recent high-end AIO coolers I have personally tested, MSI, Thermaltake Ultra 360, and NZXT Kraken Z73, MSI is a strong competitor; MSI has the best display, is nearly as quiet as TT, and nearly as cool as NZXT performance.

Which one you choose may depend on matching other products in your system. If you have other MSI products, you will be happy to know that you don't have to install many other control apps.

Getting back to the MSI Coreliquid S360, this product is one of the best AIOs on the market, but it is for users who like to show off their PCs. But that is limited to users who love to show off their PCs. Honestly, it's too excessive and expensive to recommend to all PC gamers, but if you want an attention-grabbing look for your high-end rig, you should take a closer look at the MSI MEG Coreliquid S360. It can cool a CPU with a high core count without compromising on noise levels. It supports Alder Lake right out of the box and is compatible for years to come.