Final Words & Conclusion
Final Words & Conclusion
Cooler Master offers a pretty funky product with the Masterliquid ML240R RGB, it offers quite okay performance. While not in the top end-segment, cooling certainly didn't disappoint either. The acoustics are quite decent at default processor clocks as well. Once you start to overclock and the fan RPM starts ramping up, it'll get a bit noisier, but it was nothing that scared me.
The revised Masterliquid ML240R RGB, however, is all about its RGB implementation, and that I have to give Cooler Master credit for, it's a good looking unit. The cherry on top of the cake is the inclusion of a very handy RGB controller. You can still route your addressable RGB fans etc towards a compatible motherboard of course, but really, I like a the HUb style, once place fits it all, and it does come with an extra connector for say your RGB strips. Once sidenote I have to make, the Guru3D logo on this kit is, of course, an extra aesthetic value, the regular retail product has a Cooler Master framework logo stamped on there, do be aware of that as not everybody appreciated logos, they did it subtle enough though.
At a price of just over 109~119bucks, I think Cooler Master offers a very decent product that can compete with the more enthusiast class heat pipe coolers. You're pretty much looking at Noctua D15 performance once tweaked, and that's not a bad place to be at. So, all in all, you get the configurable looks, nice cooling capacity and if you keep things reasonable tweaking wise, a silent enough LCS unit for what it needs to be.
Performance
The cooling performance really remains reasonable, it remains to be just that. We're still using the 95W rated Core i7 4790K as simply put it is a nasty processor to cool. In a default setup (clocks) the performance is fine. However you are at Guru3D.com and we know you will tweak your PC five minutes after you assembled it - so with an added 1.30 Volts the temps remained to hover at 75 Degrees C. At 1.35 Volts reach 79 degrees C though. And once we fire off 1.40 Volts at this processor we reach 83 Degrees C. For short bursts of stress, I could deal with 1.35 Volts. So from the cooling perspective, it's reasonable.
Acoustics
Noise is something we have discussed, as there hardly was any at defaults. The fans don't resonate either. The pump we could not hear either, if it does, however, often after a few days that settles and becomes silent. So at processor defaults, all is silent. However, once we added 1.30 Volts to the CPU, here we reached 35 DBa (under CPU load wPrime 1024M). That is still silent. At 1.35 Volts on the CPU we reached 40 DBa and at 1.40 Volts it finally became noise as the fan RPM kicked in hard, we measured 45 DBa.
Aesthetics
Overall the looks are very tasteful as far as I am concerned, an all-black design with the subtle shades of grey make it an appealing product to the eyes. It is relatively easy to install with this mounting system, and factory filled with coolant in a closed loop. The black design will make this kit look great on any PC. It simply is a good alternative to heat-pipe coolers with the added benefits of being fairly quiet whilst offering very nice looks. The overall looks are nice if you ask me, that however is a subjective statement of course.
Installation
No skills are required other than the need for fifteen minutes to install the kit. The unit is factory filled with coolant in a closed loop. Just install the backplate, the standoff-screws, position the cooler and secure it. The black design will make this kit look great on any PC. It simply is a good alternative to heat-pipe coolers with the added benefits of being fairly quiet whilst offering very nice looks. The wiring, however, is quite a lot to deal with. And the y-splitter cable for the two fans, really, that needs to be all black.
Pricing
The product is introduced at roughly 109~119 USD. We see similar prices in the EU, but that depends on the VAT in your country and the USD to EURO differential. For what you get, honestly, that is a good deal. Addressable RGB fans are expensive, and Cooler Master adds that RGB controller as well. That is pretty nice value.
Conclusion
Performance wise the Masterliquid ML240R RGB seems to offer just the right amount of cooling. It's not extraordinary, but certainly in a good delta. The acoustics are decent if you do not tweak your CPU with too much-added voltage, and sure it offers nice looks. The included aRGB aRGB pump header offers some pretty snazzy looks, and teamed up with included RGB controller is seems to make sense. We love that that controller has got some extra connectors available as well. You push a few buttons and you can color it all static, animated whatever you want. One remark that I have made is fact that there is a fair amount of wires to deal with. So design wise there is far more cable clutter to deal with, it's all fairly easy to tuck away though. Last lines, the cooling performance is adequate much like the acoustics, combined with the aesthetics and the addressable RGB setup we can recommend the new Masterliquid ML240R RGB.
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