Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240 Review

Performance Analysis

In raw performance terms, the MasterLiquid Pro 240 doesn't blow us away. Its performance on the two Intel systems, for example, is roughly equal to that of the SilverStone Tundra TD02-Slim, a cooler that costs just £60 and comes with slimline fans. However, Cooler Master does gain some ground on the AMD system, where it has its strongest result, suggesting it has a particularly effective mount for these sockets. Corsair's coolers are more effective, it seems – this might have been expected with the H80i GT and H100i GTX thanks to their thick radiators, but the H75 winning on the Intel systems is a bit unfortunate for Cooler Master.


Where Cooler Master does have an advantage, however, is in noise. We test at fixed fan speeds only, and it's only in Performance Mode or at full speed where the Corsair coolers have any advantage. In these modes, their fans are especially loud – at full speed, it almost sounds like they're about to take off – so while they do demonstrate excellent performance it comes at a heavy cost and for most people it wouldn't be practical for everyday use. Conversely, the MasterLiquid Pro 240's fans are merely audible at full speed, and the pump was not a troublesome source of noise either. Both the fans and the pump are PWM-enabled, so in regular use you would get very reasonable noise levels indeed, even in heavy load scenarios. Remember, you can also remount the fans with the speed switches set to unleash their true full speeds, which would net you a bit more performance, but we like the balance Cooler Master has struck here.

Conclusion

We wouldn't say this is a revolutionary product, but few AIO coolers are. It is, however, very well built, mostly easy to work with and capable of striking a very effective balance between noise and performance, which is important since that's a very large part of the appeal of liquid cooling, even in a closed-loop scenario. The blue LED might be off-putting to some users, but if so there are plenty of other options on the market, and conversely it might also be just what you're looking for. If that's the case, or it's just not an issue for you, the MasterLiquid Pro 240 does enough to earn our seal of approval.