You can never have enough screens in your tech life, because each one tells you something different. On top of your desk, you may have multiple monitors, a keyboard with a tiny screen in it and a mouse with a small LED readout. And for your PC itself, the case could have a small screen and your motherboard may have some kind of screen on it. But what about your other components? Don't they deserve screens of their own?
Available in 240 and 360mm capacities, Cooler Master's MasterLiquid Vivid AIO will make your screen-less SSD and graphics card jealous. The Vivid has a 2.4-inch, 320 x 240 resolution display right on top of its pump. The circular screen can show vital statistics, such as fan speed and CPU temperature, but it's also capable of displaying any image you want; Cooler Master says it can even show videos.
Cooler Master first showed the MasterLiquid Vivid at Computex 2019, but that prototype unit wasn't close to launching and had a different, square-shaped pump. At CES 2020, the company unveiled a close-to-final version of the Vivid, which had a circular screen and, more importantly, an estimated price and ship date.
The MasterLiquid Vivid should hit store shelves sometime in February with prices ranging from $199 to $219. A model on display at Cooler Master's CES suite had non-RGB fans, but a representative said that the company may opt to sell the cooler with RGB models, either at launch or in the future.
The demo unit we saw wasn't connected to an actual PC, so it was only showing a temperature reading. However, we can imagine the Vivid not only helping builders see the status of their fans and temperatures, but also enabling them to express themselves. You could put anything from a video clip to a favorite sports team logo onto the display, changing the look of your computer entirely.
But the MasterLiquid Vivid is more than just a pretty face. It promises superior thermals, thanks to its dual-chamber pump and enlarged radiator fins. We look forward to testing the Vivid to see how well it really works when it comes out sometime in February.
