B
etter-known for its cases than CPU
coolers, the first liquid cooler we’ve
seen from Lian Li impressed us
from the outset with some solid-feeling fans
equipped with anti-vibration mounts, not to
mention a brushed aluminium-encased
radiator and pump. It looks fantastic, and
unlike most of the radiators included with the
other coolers on test, you’d actually want to
make the 240mm model here the
centrepiece of your PC.
The lighting is high-quality and accurate
too, with vivid colours that looked better
than the lighting from cheaper coolers such
as the Antec Neptune 240, and the semi-
transparent fan blades diffused the colours
attractively as well. What’s more, the pump
unit has a large ring of densely packed circles,
which allow the light to shine through them.
Plus, if you prefer to cover up the Lian Li logo,
there’s a magnetic aluminium cap you can
place on top instead, which still allows the
lighting to be visible.
Installation is a little more involved than
usual, with more components needed than
average, but it’s a pain-free process and
it’s particularly easy on Socket AM4, where
LIAN LI GALAHAD
240MM /£110 inc VAT
SUPPLIER overclockers.co.ukthe cooler makes
use of the existing
socket mounting
mechanism
(although it’s not
compatible with previous AMD sockets).
You also get a separate tube of thermal paste
included in the box, so you won’t have to buy
more if you upgrade your CPU in the future
and need to reseat the cooler.
The only issue with the installation process
is that you need to deal with a number of
cables to hook up all the various bits. There
are splitter cables for the fans, but the
pump will need a header of its own. The
RGB lighting cables do thankfully have a
three-way splitter, so you can control both
the fans and pump from a single source,
although there’s still quite a bit of spaghetti
to tidy away.
Meanwhile, lighting control can be
performed using your motherboard’s
software and connecting the cooler’s
3-pin RGB connector to a header on your
motherboard, or by using the basic included
RGB controller. The end result is a setup that
easily matches the Corsair iCUE H100i Elite
Capellix in terms of lighting prowess, but not
in the fan control department, thanks to the
Corsair cooler’s software control system.
In our AMD system, the Galahad 240mm
matched the Corsair cooler’s performance
with a delta T of 51°C when dealing with our
overclocked Ryzen 7 5800X. It was also a
little cooler than the Phanteks Glacier One
240MPH HALOS and a couple of degrees
cooler than the be quiet! Silent Loop 2 and
Antec Neptune 240.
The Galahad also achieved the best
result when pitted against our toasty Core
i9-11900K, with a delta T of 60°C compared
to 61°C for the Corsair iCUE H100i Elite
Capellix, 63°C for the Phanteks Glacier One
240MPH and 65°C for the Antec Neptune- The Galahad’s pump was quiet too, with
just a very slight whine audible from a foot or
so away.
Conclusion
With a reasonable price tag, excellent cooling
and great build quality, the Lian Li Galahad
240mm is our pick if you have around £100
to spend on a CPU cooler, and don’t need the
extra features offered by coolers such as the
Corsair iCUE H100i Elite Capellix. Its lighting
is fantastic and it can tame the latest CPUs
from Intel and AMD with ease, while including
a few extras to make your life a little easier
when dealing with its mass of cables.GALAHAD
+^ Excellent cooling
+^ Fantastic RGB lighting
+^ Great-looking pump
and radiator
BRAVE SIR ROBIN-^ No software control
-^ Lots of cables
to deal with
-^ More than average
number of installation
components
SPEC
Intel compatibility LGA1200,
LGA115x, LGA2066, LGA2011
AMD compatibility Socket AM 4
Radiator size with fans
(mm) 120 x 277 x 52 (W x D x H)
Fa ns 2 x 120mm
Stated noise 32dBAVERDICT
A good-looking, great-performing cooler for
a surprisingly reasonable price.COOLING
39 / 40
DESIGN
14 / 20FEATURES
18 / 20
VALUE
17 / 20OVERALL SCORE
88 %
COOLING
38 / 40
DESIGN
15 / 20FEATURES
18 / 20
VALUE
17 / 20OVERALL SCORE
88 %
FITTING
EasyFITTING
EasyLGA 1 2 0 0AM 4c
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