The rather dubiously named Musketeer is so called because it “perfectly corresponds with the spirit of "One for All and All for One"”. Not only is this hideously corny, it’s also a misquote of the original saying, which is of course “All for one, and one for all”. Now I have got that gripe out of my system, let’s see what kind of gadget this is. Basically it is a 5.25” unit consisting of three analogue dials, the first of which displays fan voltage, the second sound pressure, and the third the temperature of the supplied probe. Provide power to this unit and three bright LED backlights will light them up with a blue glow. The effect is VERY cool, easily being the nicest looking accessory 5.25” device I have seen.
Fan Control
The Musketeer allows you to control the speed of a single 3 pin fan. Rather than have to plug the fan socket into the musketeer however, as with rhiobus devices in the past, Coolermaster supply a splitter cable which allows you to send the RPM information to the motherboard (great if your board has fan failure protection) whilst allowing the bay to control the power. This power can be adjusted incrementally from 7V up to the full 12V, ideal if you are running a super powerful Vantec Tornado or Delta, but only want to overclock during 3dmark record attempts. As the fan speed is adjusted by the right hand slider, the dial moves appropriately to show the voltage.
Sound pressure
The musketeer comes with a PCI backing plate with two minijack ports. The first you plug your sound card’s primary output into , the second acts as a bypass into which the speakers are plugged. The musketeer then takes the audio feed, records the sound pressure, then sends it back out the speakers. This allows the central dial to jump around in a very funky way in time to the music just like an old fashioned amp. Moving the slider to the right of the dial adjusts the sensitivity of the recorded pressure. I like this feature as it adds something dynamic to look at which makes your pc case look that little bit cooler.
Temperature Reading
In typical 5,25” accessory bay fashion, the Coolermaster Musketeer allows you to monitor the temperature of any single device in your PC case by attaching the supplied temperature probe to it. Most of you will want to attach this to the underside of your CPU heat sink (naturally NOT between the CPU and the cooler however) to give a more accurate idea of CPU temp than is provided by the dodgy on-board sensors. I think it would have been nice to have more than just a single probe, with the dial output being switchable. Bare in mind that if you are a serious cooling fanatic, a reader with a digital output will be more accurate to read, but will of course not look nearly as cool.
In conclusion, the Musketeer is all about making your PC case look fantastic, which it does admirably. The sound PL meter is a nice addition, and I have become quite accustomed to it jumping merrily along to the tunes I pump out. The temperature reading will also be useful to notify of any sudden temperature jumps, but it’s hardly the most accurate of devices for this purpose. The fan control is also a nice addition too, although how many people have only a single fan in their system? All in all, a well priced high quality aesthetic gadget that’s almost as useful as it is pretty. Remember the cheapest place to buy the musketeer in the UK is Neo Games for £27.03 inc VAT. Find it cheaper, and they will beat or match that price.
Highs:
- Very attractive
- Good Value
- Will not disrupt RPM monitoring
- Sound pressure looks great
- Bright Blue LEDs
Lows:
- Aluminium is a different colour to Coolermaster / Lian Li cases
- Temperature monitoring is of limited usefulness
- Control for just one fan
