Cooler Master Glacer 240L

Cooler Master Glacer 240L

Lately, the engineers at Cooler Master seem to be all about expandability, with recent product releases such as the HAF Stacker case system and Glacer 240L CPU cooler. We got to test out the latter, which at first blush appears to be an ordinary closed-loop CPU cooler. The kit is prefilled, pressure-tested, and fully sealed. The big difference with the Glacer 240L is that it features 5/8-inch PVC tubing with swivel G¼ fittings that make it possible to connect and expand the system to other liquidcooling components. A G¼ fill-port thread on the radiator lets you quickly remove and add coolant to the system.

Cooler Master worked with Swiftech to create a pump that could handle additional components on the cooling loop. Cooler Master indicates that the Glacer 240L’s pump can reach a maximum speed of 3,500rpm, which equates to a flow rate of 165 liters per hour and a pressure of 2,650mm H20. The exceptional speed of the pump, in addition to the cooling capability of the 240mm radiator, should allow for GPU cooling if you opt to expand your loop. The pump itself is powered by a SATA connection and 4-pin PWM fan connector. It can adjust its speed between 1,200 and 3,500rpm based on system load.

The Glacer 240L’s radiator is built with a mix of copper and brass, which according to Cooler Master provides excellent heat dissipation. To move heat away from the radiator, Cooler Master provides two 120mm Blade Master fans that operate at 2,400rpm. The high-speed fans produce of airflow 86.15cfm and have a life expectancy of 40,000 hours. At 2,400rpm, Cooler Master estimates that the noise level of the Blade Master fans will reach 40.33 dBA. The Glacer 240L is compatible with the usual assortment of Intel and AMD sockets. Cooler Master preinstalls mounting screws for Intel LGA1150/1155/1156/1366 sockets, and spare mounting screws are available for Intel LGA2011 and AMD AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2 sockets.

To test the Glacer 240L, we monitored the CPU temperature with Core Temp and ran three separate tests to give you an idea of performance. First, we let the PC run at idle for 10 minutes, which produced a maximum temperate of 30 degrees Celsius. Next, we ran POV-Ray 3.7 Beta on all cores for 10 minutes to put the processor under full load. The Intel Core i7-4770K hit only 53 C, which is five to 10 degrees lower than what we usually see with closed-loop CPU coolers. Finally, we ran four instances of Prime95 for 10 minutes, and the processor registered a maximum temperature of 56 C. These numbers indicate that the Glacer 240L will give you plenty of room for overclocking your CPU.

You can start out with a closed-loop setup, and if you invest in other liquidcooled parts, the Glacer 240L makes it relatively easy to incorporate them into your loop. It’s an intriguing option for builders who never stop building.

Specs:Materials: Copper (waterblock), copper/brass (radiator); Fans: 2 120mm (2,400rpm); Pump speed: 1,200 to 3,500rpm; Pump power: 13 watts; Warranty: 2 years

Test system specs: Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K; Motherboard: GA-Z87X-UD5H; GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N760OC-4GD; RAM: 8GB ADATA XPG V1.0 DDR3-1866; Storage: 128GB Crucial RealSSD C300; OS: Windows 8 Enterprise (64-bit)