Maximum PC - USA (2019-10)

THE FIRST THING that strikes us about
the MasterLiquid ML240P Mirage is just
how much there is in the box. The cooler
itself isn’t anything unfamiliar—a pump
connected to a 240mm radiator by two
coolant tubes—but beside the two ARGB
fans, there are brackets for various CPU
sockets, a sturdy plastic RGB controller,
and a massive assortment of wires and
connectors. It’s a little intimidating, but at
$160, this is hardly a cooling solution for
the FNG of system building.
Don’t be daunted by that box of loose
bits and pieces, though—you won’t be
using most of it. Cooler Master has
just done its utmost to ensure system
compatibility here. The MasterLiquid
ML240P Mirage is compatible with just
about any modern CPU, including TR4
sockets for Threadrippers. Assembling
the backplate proved more than a little
awkward, and there are far too many
screws involved here; having to fit 12
different screws (and four stand-offs,
with four plastic clips) made us yearn
for the clip-on simplicity of Corsair’s
AIO brackets. Once it’s fixed in place,
however, it’s the Mirage’s time to shine.
Or shimmer enticingly, perhaps.
We used a shiny new Ryzen 9 3900X
processor for our testing, which proved a
struggle, given the new chips’ problems
with overclocking. Happily, we were

Cooling in color

Cooler Master

MasterLiquid

ML240P Mirage

9

VERDICT Cooler Master MasterLiquid

ML240P Mirage

OASIS Top-quality cooling;

visually appealing; very customizable.

DEHYDRATED Too many cables; Mirage

mode doesn’t do much.

$160, http://www.coolermaster.com

SPECIFICATIONS

Socket

Compatibility

Intel LGA2066, LGA2011-v3,

LGA2011, LGA1151,

LGA1150, LGA1155,

LGA1156, LGA1366,

LGA775, AMD TR4, AM4,

AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2,

FM2+, FM2, FM1

Radiator Size 240mm

Radiator

Dimensions

10.9 x 4.7 x 1.1 inches

Cold Plate

Material

Copper

Fan Airflow 60.95 cfm

Fan Noise 27dBA

Warranty Five years

MasterLiquid ML240P Mirage AMD Wraith Prism

Idle CPU Temperature (C) 29 31

Prime 95 @ Stock (C) 42 51

Cinebench R15 @ Stock (C) 39 47

Ghost Recon: Wildlands @ Stock (C) 38 46

Prime95 @ 4.2GHz (C) 46 58

Cinebench R15 @ 4.2GHz (C) 43 49

Ghost Recon: Wildlands @ 4.2GHz (C) 39 49

BENCHMARKS

Best scores in bold. Our test bed consists of a Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB of Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4-3200,

an ASRock X570 Taichi, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, a Corsair Neutron 240GB SSD, and a Be Quiet! Dark Power

Pro 1,200W PSU.

able to hit a perfectly stable 4.2GHz

overclock using AMD’s own Ryzen Master

software—no BIOS meddling needed

here. We compared the ML240P Mirage to

the 3900X’s stock cooler, the AMD Wraith

Prism, and you can see the full results

below. The Prism is an excellent air

cooler, considering that it comes bundled

with the CPU, but the Mirage blew it pretty

comfortably out of the water.

SILENT DISCO

Even overclocked and under heavy

load, the CPU never broke 50 C with the

Mirage cooling it. The cooling quality

is undeniable; on an older processor,

this will likely provide all the heat

management you could need, and we’d

say it’s a good choice for the new AMD

chips, too. The tubing feels durable, but

isn’t difficult to flex into position, the

sleeved exterior giving it a high-quality

appearance. And it’s quiet; the pump

impeller is powered by a PWM motor

with a silent driver, keeping the coolant

flowing while maintaining a minimal

decibel count. The fans run softly as well,

using a design with an outer ring that

connects all the blades into one solid

piece of plastic for minimal fan distortion.

Of course, one of the key selling points

here is style. Two ARGB fans is nothing

mind-blowing, but Cooler Master didn’t

stop there. The coolant pump has a

transparent plastic cap with an LED

module beneath it that illuminates both

the visibly spinning impeller and the

outer ring of the pump module itself. It’s a

lovely looking piece of hardware.

The lighting is all designed to be

compatible with RGB mobos, enabling

easy synching, although using Cooler

Master’s own lighting control software

is generally a better option. The Mirage

also comes with an RGB controller,

which requires an obscene number of

cables to connect. Getting this cooler

set up for maximum lighting control is a

rather rage-inducing exercise, requiring

some serious cable management skills.

Included connector brackets and splitter

cables make this process easier, but it’s

still more complicated than it ought to be.

One of the selling points is the Mirage

mode effect, which supposedly does...

something. To be honest, we’re not

quite sure. We think it might make the

colors a little brighter by adding a touch

of white backing to the LED spread, but

it takes longer to set up than simply

plugging in the controller and finding a

preset light pattern that works for you.

Now we’re just complaining about little

things, though; we actually really like this

cooler. The flaws we’ve mentioned are

mere squished bugs on the windshield

of a 1969 Boss Mustang—easy to look

past and admire the powerful machine

underneath. –CHRISTIAN GUYTON

maximumpc.com OCT 2019 MAXIMUMPC 87