CoolerMaster MasterLiquid ML240L RGB Review

Conclusion

With the AIO market being a tough one, and the 240mm sector being perhaps the most competitive sector of it, it’s sometimes necessary for manufacturers to make their product stand out in some way.  Certainly aesthetics, performance noise and software interfaces are one way, but then, so is the route that CoolerMaster have chosen with their brand spanking new MasterLiquid ML240L RGB.  You see, although some coolers may have illuminating cold plates, and some may indeed have a software interface that enables you to alter the colour of the lighting on the cold plate, there aren’t many, if any that come with RGB fans that can also be integrated with the cold plate and controlled in the same way to offer a whole host of colours and effects at the press of a few buttons.  Although the ML240LRGB boasts RGB LEDs, it isn’t actually possible to blend colours on the spectrum or to fine tune them, as might be the case with a software interfaced spectrum wheel, you do though get a choice of seven, which if we’re honest is enough for most folk out there, so if you’re happy with either Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Cyan, Purple, or White, then this will suite your needs.  That said, we felt the yellow was a little pale Greenish tinged, and the white may well have been a very, very, very, very, very pale Blue.  As well as being able to toggle through the colours, the controller also offers the ability to choose from five different brightness levels, from retina burning bright, down to a nice subdued glow.  The last trick the controller has to offer is to enable the user to toggle between several modes or lighting effects, these are, in toggle order; Flashing single colour of choice, Pulsing/breathing Single colour of choice, Smooth transition between all colours in order, Flashing while changing colours, and finally Pulsing/breathing while changing colours.  The only slight down side is that the slim controller that, by virtue of how it’s wired in, it must remain within the confines of the case, which means if you’re the sort that likes to fiddle a lot you’re going to be taking one or other of the side panels off quite a bit.  If however, like us, you’re a firm believer in finding the colour, brightness and/or effect you want and sticking with it, then this slight restriction in access won’t be an issue.

So that’s the aesthetics, but what about performance?  Well the ML240LRGB didn’t embarrass itself, far from it, but neither did it top the charts.  From a price versus Performance perspective though, it did very well indeed, offering near £1 per degree performance.  This performance does though come at a price, and that price is the noise.  At an observed 65.7dB(A) it’s loud, not ear splitting loud, but loud enough to be slightly annoying at full pelt.  Do remember though that we run the tests with a full 12volts being fed to both the fans and the pump, both of which would normally be attached to a PWM enabled motherboard fan header, so you wouldn’t necessarily be running them flat out while you were pottering around the old inter-web.

So what do we have as the sum total?  Well, we’ve got a cooler that’s well made and aesthetically pleasing.  It has decent performance although its on the loud side, and it has quite unique RGB colour coordination.  All in all we think it’s a winner, and are pretty convinced at the £69.99 being asked for them, they’re going to sell as fast as bottles of Bubbly on New Years Eve. 

From an awards point of view the ML240L RGB gets the coveted OC3D approved award, as well as the well deserved value for money, for offering all that it does for a mere £69.99.  We thought long and hard about the Innovation award, but then decided that CoolerMaster hadn’t innovated new technology, but rather applied existing technology in an innovative way, and the two things are not quite the same.  Good show though CoolerMaster, Good Show! 

     

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