Overall and Final Verdict
Cooler Master has a wide range of all-in-one designs in their lineup and this can make it easy for the MasterLiquid PL240 Flux to blend in with the rest. Just off the top of my head, they have their Illusion kits, Mirror, Mirage, MasterLiquid RGB’s, MasterLiquid Pro’s, the V2’s, and the RGB Phantom Gaming Edition. Those are just the coolers with RGB so I wouldn’t blame anyone for having a hard time keeping track. In a lot of ways, the MasterLiquid PL240 Flux is similar to their Illusion lineup, but the top of the pump and the fans are where the MasterLiquid PL240 Flux is different. The new Flux fans drop the outer aRGB lighting ring and just run the center lighting. But the fans can run up to 500 RPm faster while being similar in noise. With that, the MasterLiquid PL240 Flux in our testing was able to perform especially well in the stock fan profile testing compared to the other AIOs that I tested. It did that while also being quieter at both 100% fan speed and while under a normal workload. I don’t think that is a bad trade, especially with the MasterLiquid PL240 Flux still looking great. I like the machined top of the pump and the lighting on the fans, even when just inner LEDs are all you need. I’m also digging that Cooler Masters pump design has gotten significantly smaller with the MasterLiquid PL240 Flux, SFF builds won’t have issues with the 40mm tall design.
There were other unique aspects of the MasterLiquid PL240 Flux, like the thumbscrew fan screws that make installation much easier as well. You can also screw in shorter case mounting screws into those thumbscrews as well. But I do think that a set of normal long radiator screws would be nice to include for situations where the tall thumbscrews won’t fit. The only other downside I ran into with the PL240 Flux was the standard issue of having a mess of wiring to deal with due to the extra RGB cables and the controller. But that isn’t exclusive to the Flux, most AIO coolers with lighting have the same issue.
As for pricing, the PL240 Flux that I tested today has an MSRP of $189.99 and the longer 3 fan FL360 Flux is $209.99. I think the pricing is a little high. For comparison, the Corsair H100i Elite Capellix which has a similar inner addressable RGB set of fans as well as includes a USB controller has an MSRP of $149.99. Which is where I think the PL240 Flux should be. Cooler Master is normally on top of pricing, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see that even out in the future. The MasterLiquid PL240 Flux is a solid cooler if you are looking for addressable RGB lighting and a lighting controller to go with it, so I do hope that the price evens out eventually.
Live Pricing: HERE
