Packaging

I have become a fan of the graphics design team that does all of the packaging artwork for Cooler Master,  looking at their choice of colors and the way they use them to draw your attention to the product itself is really masterful.  Some companies are content to use a  large font add a squiggly line and call it good to good.  Just as a fine interior and exterior can give you a hint of the price range of an automobile the same can be said for electronic components.  I'm sure you have seen the plain white box items on sale at your local computer emporium, and hopefully you know that these are not the top of the line units.  So what does this mean to you,  quite simply it means if the company takes the time to care about the way the shipping carton looks you can bet they will care even more about how well their products perform.

The front of the carton is nicely done with a picture of the Aquagate Max powered on so that you can see the florescent lime green color of the fans and the internal workings of the reservoir.  One other thing that is noticeable on the front of the case is the ESA logo, for those of you that not familiar with ESA then let us give you a brief run down on it.

"The Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA) is the industry’s first open-standard PC monitoring and control protocol for real-time communication and control of system thermal, electrical, acoustic and operating characteristics. ESA-certified components and applications allow enthusiasts and power users to diagnose component-specific issues and tune their systems to meet their individual needs—whether it be reaching peak performance or modifying for a whisper-quiet home theater operation.  With ESA, PC and component manufacturers can deliver differentiated and value-added products, giving their customers unprecedented visibility and control over their systems and allowing them to achieve the highest possible performance." source Tom Petersen - nVidia.com

The side-panel of the case lists all of the features that can be found on the Cooler Master Aquagate Max water cooling system.  The lower portion the panel presents you with a wealth of information regarding the specifications of the Aquagate max.  After reading this panel there will be little left to know about this product that has not been presented to you here.

The side-panel shows you six 2.5" x 1.5" photos of components that are included in the kit, we will get a closer look at each of the components as we get farther into the review.  Next to the pictures you will find a statement telling you where to find more information about this product in 17 languages.

The inside packaging of the Cooler Master Aquagate Max is stellar, looking at the picture above you can see how each of the items are protected from one another.  I forgot to mention that there is a cardboard box that rests on top of the parts that holds the manuals, tubing and hardware.