Methodology
A Ryzen 5 3600 has to be cooled at factory settings, joined by 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport (2x8GB) DDR4 memory on an MSI B550 Tomahawk (BIOS 7C91vA3). The Asus ROG Strix GTX 1060 6GB runs in zero-fan mode for the CPU stress tests only and a Fractal Design Ion Gold 750W serves as the power source. The whole thing is housed in the Thermaltake Core P3 as an open benchtable.
All records are logged with HWInfo64 v6.30-4240 – 2000ms logging, the specified temperature is derived from the sensor CPU Die (Average). The load of Prime95 produces an average of 88 watts of CPU package power. Since I don’t have air conditioning, the values in the graphs are the delta between room temperature and CPU temperature. This allows all cooling systems to be compared fairly, even if the ambient temperature is different. The thermal paste included with the cooler or pre-applied is used in each case.
I determine the sound level with a Voltcraft SL-200 meter at a distance of 40cm, which operates in 125ms cycles in Lo mode. The room was measured at 33.2 dB(A), an external sample table helps to break it down.
Benchmarks
As usual, first the run with gradually increasing fan speed and pump at maximum speed:
|
Fan |
30% PWM |
60% PWM |
100% PWM |
|
Pump speed |
3060 RPM |
3088 RPM |
3104 RPM |
|
Fan speed |
609 RPM |
1334 RPM |
2255 RPM |
|
Sound level / characteristic |
35.0 dB(A) |
39.4 dB(A) |
48.8 dB(A) |
|
Ambient temperature |
22,2 – 22,7°C |
23,2 – 23,8°C |
21,8 – 22,8°C |
And then again the other way around, increasing speed of the pump and fan firmly set to 60% PWM:
|
Pump |
30% PWM |
60% PWM |
100% PWM |
|
Pump speed |
1358 RPM |
2254 RPM |
3104 RPM |
|
Fan speed |
1332 RPM |
1331 RPM |
2255 RPM |
|
Ambient temperature |
22,9 – 23,3°C |
23,2 – 23,4°C |
21,8 – 22,8°C |
The results were a bit sobering, I had expected a few degrees less under load. However, I already noticed when installing the AiO that the included thermal paste is somehow quite viscous. I unfortunately don’t have another fresh tube of Mastergel Pro at hand, but I seem to remember a slightly more fluid application. Although it still spread out quite well, the doubts remained. So I pulled out a tube of Arctic MX-4 and tested it again:
The fact that the temperatures then got worse again surprised me. However, if you tighten both screws really tight, you can achieve a clearly visible performance leap.
This is how the PL240 Flux then fares against the competition with a 240mm radiator:
ᐅ Review SilentiumPC Navis EVO ARGB 240 V2
ᐅ Review be quiet! Silent Loop 2
ᐅ Review EK Waterblocks EK-AIO Basic 240 / 360
Summary and conclusion
As far as the workmanship of this water cooler is concerned, we can only report good things, all parts are cleanly painted and fit seamlessly into each other. When installed, the FLUX looks really chic, almost noble in a dark system.
The 5-year manufacturer’s warranty also has to be mentioned as a plus point before we continue with the comments and criticism. Cooler Master had warned in advance that the pump speed might not be read correctly on some motherboards, which was also the case on my MSI B550 Tomahawk. However, the correct value can be found quite easily by dividing by 3. Functionally, however, this readout error does not cause any problems. Regarding the thermal paste, I can only point out that other manufacturers are a bit more generous with the amount.
Despite another run with the popular MX-4 thermal paste, the PL240 FLUX could only place in the rear midfield in terms of direct comparison with other 240mm AiO solutions. And all the other water coolers listed here are even cheaper. In my opinion, just under 160€ (at the time of testing) is simply too much for a normal 240mm AiO. Combined with the rather average performance, Cooler Master sends a candidate with little backing into the brutal battle ring of the cooler market here.
The test sample was provided by Cooler Master without obligation. There was and is no influence on the tests and results. There was also no compensation for expenses and no obligation to publish.
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