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HotHardware’s testing shows the Cooler Master Cooling X delivering the graphics performance expected from a GeForce RTX 4080 system, including strong 4K results, while CPU performance changes noticeably with the workload. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D was competitive or ahead in some tests, but the higher-clocked Ryzen 9 7950X comparator led in Cinebench R23 and Blender. The results come from HotHardware’s October 2024 review and should be read as a test-system snapshot, not a current cross-generation ranking.
Test system at a glance
The reviewed Cooling X used AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, 64GB of DDR5 memory and 4TB of M.2 storage. Cooler Master’s specification identifies the memory as two 32GB DDR5-5600 modules and the storage as two 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives. The official product number is ASP-CXA9-N86CN-R1.
| Component | Configuration |
|---|---|
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D (16 cores, 32 threads) |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 |
| Memory | 64GB DDR5-5600 (2 × 32GB, according to Cooler Master) |
| Storage | 4TB total PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 (2 × 2TB, according to Cooler Master) |
| Operating system | Windows 11 Pro |
| Case size | 14.77 liters; 276.1 × 175 × 379.84mm including protrusions |
| Weight | 17.3kg |
| Warranty | Two years |
These size, weight, operating-system and warranty figures are Cooler Master specifications, not HotHardware measurements. Cooler Master’s US listing showed $3,999.99 and “This item is currently not available” when captured; both price and stock can change. See the official Cooling X specifications.
Storage results: a fast boot drive and a slower data drive
HotHardware identifies the boot drive as a 2TB Kingston FURY Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 and the data drive as a 2TB Kingston NV2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2. The review quotes advertised sequential limits of up to 7,300/7,000MB/s read/write for the Renegade and 3,500/2,800MB/s for the NV2; those are manufacturer-rated figures, not HotHardware’s measured numbers.
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#1 Best Overall
- COMPACT ITX DESIGN: Unleash top-tier performance in a sleek 18.25L system, compact yet powerful for gamers, creators, and professionals—roughly the size of a large shoebox.
- PLAY ANY GAMES: 120+ FPS on High+ Settings on 1440p with GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB | AMD RYZEN 7 9800X3D 4.7GHz (5.2GHz Turbo) 8-Core 16-Thread | Gigabyte B850I AORUS PRO Motherboard.
- MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE: NR200P Max Case | 280mm AIO| 850W 80+ Gold Efficiency Power Supply, unlocks your system to its full cooling & gaming potential.
- SUPERIOR MEMORY: 2TB Gen4 M.2 SSD offers next-gen storage with a Gen 4x4 NVMe controller, delivering high-speed performance for apps, photos, media, and games | 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6000MHz RGB RAM w/ heatsink delivering blazing speed, plus vibrant RGB lighting.
- SPECIAL FEATURES: Glass panel or Mesh panel | Type-C | USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C| 5x USB 3.2 | No Bloatware | WiFi | Bluetooth | 1x HDMI & 2x Display Port | USB Ports | HD Audio & Mic.
In the plotted ATTO Disk Benchmark results, the boot drive’s sequential performance was described as more than twice that of the NV2. The NV2 was considered adequate for ordinary use, but storage-heavy workloads and large game or data transfers can expose the difference between the two drives.
Productivity and creation benchmarks
Cinebench R23
The Cooling X’s result landed just below the Ryzen 9 7950X in HotHardware’s chart. The review explains that 3D V-Cache generally contributes little to this rendering workload, while the standard 7950X’s higher clocks can improve heavily threaded performance.
Blender 3.3.0
The 7950X3D produced a strong result, with only the more power-hungry Ryzen 9 7950X finishing ahead in the comparison. This reinforces that the 7950X3D is not uniformly slower in creator work; the outcome depends on the application and its balance of clock speed, cache behavior and power limits.
Geekbench 5.4.1
HotHardware called this the first convincing win for the 7950X3D over the 7950X in its sequence of tests. Intel processors were favored by that comparison set at the time, so this is a benchmark-specific interpretation rather than a universal CPU hierarchy.
Rank #2
- PLAY ANY GAMES: 120+ FPS on High+ Settings on 1440p with AMD RX 9070 XT 16GB | AMD RYZEN 7 7800X3D 4.2GHz (5.2GHz Turbo) 8-Core 16-Thread | Gigabyte B650 Motherboard.
- MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE: TD 500 Mesh ARGB Case | 360 Liquid Cooler | MWE Gold 850 V3 80+ Gold Efficiency Power Supply, unlocks your system to its full cooling & gaming potential.
- SUPERIOR MEMORY: 2TB Gen4 M.2 SSD offers next-gen storage with a Gen 4x4 NVMe controller, delivering high-speed performance for apps, photos, media, and games | 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6000MHz RGB RAM w/ heatsink delivering blazing speed, plus vibrant RGB lighting.
- SPECIAL FEATURES: Glass panel | Type-C 1x | USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 2x| No Bloatware | WiFi | 1x HDMI & 2x Display Port | USB Ports 6x | HD Audio & Mic.
- HASSLE FREE WARRANTY: 1-Year Parts & Labor with Life Time Technical Support | Assembled in the U.S.A.
Speedometer 2.0 and PCMark 10
Speedometer 2.0 covered browser-style responsiveness. PCMark 10 placed the Cooling X in the review’s “top quadrant,” indicating strong general-purpose performance within that test group.
Graphics and gaming results
HotHardware tested 3DMark Time Spy (DirectX 12), 3DMark Port Royal (ray tracing), and four games. The review’s charts display many exact scores as images rather than readable text, so only the reported rankings and the one published frame-rate average are quoted here.
3DMark Time Spy
The overall score was in line with other RTX 4080 systems. HotHardware notes that the CPU-related physics component influenced the system’s position in the chart, which is why an otherwise similar graphics card does not guarantee an identical overall result.
3DMark Port Royal
Ray-tracing performance was described as expected RTX 4080 behavior. This test therefore supports the conclusion that the compact chassis did not produce an unusual GPU result in the review’s conditions.
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- PLAY ANY GAMES: 120+ FPS on High+ Settings on 1440p with GeForce RTX 5070 16GB | AMD RYZEN 7 7800X3D 4.2GHz (5.0G Hz Turbo) 8-Core 16-Thread | Gigabyte B650 Motherboard.
- MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE: HAF 500 ARGB Case | Hyper 212 Halo ARGB Air Cooler | 200mm ARGB Fans | 650W 80+ Gold Efficiency Power Supply, unlocks your system to its full cooling & gaming potential.
- SUPERIOR MEMORY: 2TB Gen4 M.2 SSD offers next-gen storage with a Gen 4x4 NVMe controller, delivering high-speed performance for apps, photos, media, and games | 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6000MHz RGB RAM w/ heatsink delivering blazing speed, plus vibrant RGB lighting.
- SPECIAL FEATURES: Glass panel | Type-C 1x | USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 2x| No Bloatware | WiFi | 1x HDMI & 2x Display Port | USB Ports 6x | HD Audio & Mic. Devastator 3 RGB Keyboard and Mouse Combo included.
- HASSLE FREE WARRANTY: 1-Year Parts & Labor with Life Time Technical Support | Assembled in the U.S.A.
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
At 4K UHD with the Maximum preset, the Cooling X ran neck-and-neck with other RTX 4080 systems and was not far behind the comparison machine using an RTX 4080 Super.
Forza Horizon 5
At 4K with the Extreme preset, the Cooling X ranked second in HotHardware’s chart. It outpaced several RTX 4080, RTX 4080 Super and Radeon RX 7900 XTX systems in that particular comparison, and the reviewer highlighted its excellent minimum frame rates.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
With 4K UHD and maximum settings, HotHardware reports an average of 74 frames per second across its tests. Minimum performance compared well with the publication’s RTX 4080 test bench.
F1 22
At Ultra High settings in 4K with no upscaling, the review reports a strong average frame rate and minimum frame rates consistently above 60fps.
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- Cool for R7 | i7: Four heat pipes and a copper base ensure optimal cooling performance for AMD R7 and Intel i7.
- Quiet Cooling Fan: SickleFlow 120 Edge with Dynamic PWM control (690–2,500 RPM), designed for low noise and peak cooling performance.
- Simplify Brackets: Redesigned brackets simplify installation on AM5 and LGA 1851|1700 platforms.
- Versatile Compatibility: 152mm tall design offers performance with wide chassis compatibility.
- Easy Installation: Easy to install with included thermal paste for hassle-free setup and optimal cooling performance.
What the results establish—and what they do not
- Established: In HotHardware’s test suite, the RTX 4080 delivered the expected class of 4K gaming performance in the Cooling X, including strong minimum rates in Forza Horizon 5 and F1 22.
- Established: CPU leadership varied by application. The 7950X3D won the review’s Geekbench comparison, while the 7950X led Cinebench R23 and Blender.
- Not established: The accessible page does not provide every plotted score as text, so chart images should be consulted before quoting an exact value.
- Not established: These results do not prove a current best-in-class position against newer GPUs, CPUs or revised game versions. They are bounded by HotHardware’s systems, software versions, settings and review date.
Cooling design and noise claims
Cooler Master describes a semi-passive, in-house liquid loop. Coolant travels from the pump through the CPU and GPU blocks, across one side panel, through a rear 240mm radiator with two Mobius fans, across the other side panel and back to the pump. The company lists 8,512cm² of heat-dissipation surface and says the system contains 147% more coolant than a typical 240mm all-in-one cooler.
Those figures are manufacturer claims, not independent measurements from HotHardware Page 2. In its technical article, Cooler Master states: “The Cooling X operates quietly, with ambient sound levels peaking at 28 decibels, even during intensive tasks like rendering.” That sentence should not be treated as a HotHardware-verified noise result. The design description is available in Cooler Master’s Cooling X technical article.
How to compare the Cooling X with another PC
- Match the game version, resolution, graphics preset and upscaling setting before comparing frame rates.
- Separate CPU-heavy workloads such as rendering from GPU-heavy 4K games.
- Compare the GPU class and the processor independently; an RTX 4080 result can shift because of CPU physics performance.
- Check memory and storage capacity, including whether a system uses one fast SSD or a faster boot drive paired with a slower data drive.
- Compare case volume and dimensions, then verify that noise figures use the same measurement method and conditions.
- Check the current selling price and stock directly. Cooler Master’s captured US listing was unavailable, so the historical $3,999.99 figure is not a live-market recommendation.
For the complete benchmark context, see HotHardware’s Cooler Master Cooling X review, Page 2.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
