Introduction
ALSEYE may sound like a new name but they have been in business for over 10 years. Their specialty is in the field of thermal solutions. Their consumer line segment focuses on thermal solutions ranging from air coolers, liquid cooling solutions comprising of AIO and open-loop kits, fans, and related accessories. They are also in the line of peripherals with gaming chairs.
ALSEYE has sent us their M240 white cooler for review. This cooler is from their Max series of AIO cooling solutions. The M series coolers are available in 120, 240, 360mm sizing with each size available in white and black colors. The cooler features D-RGB lighting on the block and on the fans. The M240 is compatible with – Intel Sockets LGA: 775, 1366, 115x, 1200, 20xx, and AMD Socket: AM4, AM3, AM2+, AM2, FM1. The rated TDP is 350W for this cooler. Here are the salient features of the cooler:
Item: M240
Manufacturer: ALSEYE
Price: USD 84 [At the time of review]
Buying Link: AliBaba
Specifications
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Specifications |
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| Water Block | Dimension | 70x70x44mm |
| Material | Copper/Engineering Plastic | |
| Pump | Rated Voltage | 12V |
| Speed | 2600±1096 RPM | |
| Bearing | Graphite Bearing | |
| Radiator | Dimension | 276x120x27mm |
| Material | Pure Aluminum | |
| Fan | Dimension | 120x120x25mm |
| Voltage | DC 12V | |
| Current | 0.27A ± 10% | |
| Fan Speed | 1000-2000 RPM ± 10% | |
| Air Flow | 38.75-77.65 CFM ± 10% | |
| Air Pressure | 0.56-2.23 mmH₂O ± 10% | |
| Noise Level | 24.2-37.3 dBA ± 10% | |
| Bearing Type | Hydraulic | |
| Socket | Intel: LGA1200/2066/2011/1366/115x/775 | |
| AMD: FM1/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM4 | ||
Packaging and Unboxing
The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard packing box.
There is a picture of the cooler. The RGB lighting has been highlighted. They have mentioned the RGB lighting to be compatible with ALSEYE RGB Style and ASUS AURA SYNC. No other manufacturer is mentioned here. The RGB lighting is compatible with MSI MYSTIC LIGHT SYNC per our testing.
The specifications of the cooler are printed in a tabular format. There are diagrams of the components showing the dimension.
There is a picture of the cooler in the white color indicating that this is a white edition M240.
This is an actual confirmation of the color of the unit. ALSEYE is using the same box for both colors.
The contents are placed in the egged carton. There was no user manual and Styrofoam pad cover.
Contents
Let’s take a look at what ALSEYE has provided in the accessory box.
Each fan is nicely tucked inside a paperboard white color box.
The mounting hardware is included in a white color paperboard box with 240 ticked indicating that the mounting hardware is for the 240mm cooler. We saw a similar box with the PCCOOLER GI-CX360 ARGB cooler.
We have:
- 1x Metallic Backplate for Intel and AMD
- 2x Intel Mounting Brackets
- 2x AMD Mounting Brackets
We have:
- 4x Springs loaded Nuts/caps
- 4x Metallic Spacers
- 4x Intel LGA20xx standoffs
- 4x Other sockets standoffs
- 9x Black color washers
- 4x Metallic Washers
We have:
- 12x Philips Head Screws UNC 6-32 x 30mm
- 12x Philips Head Screws UNC 6-32 x 6mm
There are 4x small size Philips screws to install the brackets on the block.
ALSEYE has provided a protective space for the AMD mounting on the backplate. They have also provided a syringe of thermal paste.
ALSEYE is using a proprietary connector for the D-RGB connectivity. They have provided a sync cable to connect the D-RGB devices to the supported 5V digital light header of the motherboard.
There is a Y-cable for PWM fans connectivity.
There is a sleek design ARGB controller provided in the box. It is Molex-powered. I would love to see the SATA connector instead. The other end of the cable has a 3-pin proprietary connector.
ALSEYE has provided a dedicated lighting controller with the M240 cooler. There are three buttons on the controller.
- Mode button will change the light mode.
- The speed button will control the speed of the dynamic modes.
- The light button will cycle through the static colors under the mode.
Closer Look
It is time to take a closer look at the components. The ALSEYE M240 is compatible with Intel LGA20xx/1366/1200/115x/1366/775 sockets and AMD AM4/AM3/AM2/AM2+/FM1 sockets. There is no mentioning of the TDP rating for this cooler.
RADIATOR
The ALSEYE M240 is a 240mm CLC cooling solution. It has a 240mm radiator with 2x PWM D-RGB fans.
The radiator is made of aluminum hence it is lightweight. The dimension of the radiator is 276 x 120 x 27mm. The thickness of the radiator is 27mm. With 25mm fans, the overall thickness would be 53mm with the screws’ heads. The radiator has 20 fins per inch (FPI). There is a gap of 105mm between any two fan mounting holes on the radiator. We have a white color housing of the radiator.
I am not sure about the OEM of the design but given the mounting, it is apparent that the PCCOOLER and ALSEYE are using the same OEM. The blocks on both ends of the radiator are rounded. The fin stack is dense and taking into account the left and right side channels, it has a total of 12 channels for water flow.
There is no protective plating under the mounting holes on the radiator assembly much like what we have seen on the majority of AIO solutions in the market with a few exceptions. But ALSEYE has increased the spacing between the mounting holes and the actual fin stack reducing the risk of damaging the fins. This also indicates that the actual thickness of the fins assembly is less than 27mm.
The radiator assembly has a nice clean finish all around. There is no ALSEYE branding on the side of the assembly.
The far head has a rounded rectangular design and a neat finishing.
The barbs and the tube endings are enclosed in the heat shrinks. This large size could increase the overall thickness of the assembled cooler. There is a sticker pasted showing part no or serial no of the cooler.
There is no information regarding the material of the tube. The tubes have white mesh sleeve wrapping which is in a bluish-white shade.
PUMP/BLOCK
Let’s take a look at the block of the cooler.
The ALSEYE M240 White features a low-profile rounded design block. Personally, I like this low profile design as it would fit in perfect harmony with the white-themed build without highlighting the block needlessly. The block is made of plastic material and is finished in white color. The block has a dimension of 70x70x44mm. There is a mirror finish faceplate on the top which is not fully backlit. There are lining patterns on the border which are backlit. There is an ALSEYE branding on the left side of the faceplate.
One downside of this design is that the orientation of the block can only be done in one direction which is kinda restrictive design. Of course one would not want to show the ALSEYE text upside down!
Following are the specifications of the pump:
| Speed | 2600 ± 1096 RPM |
| Connector | 3-pin PWM |
| A-RGB Connector | 3-pin addressable connector |
| Bearing | Graphite |
| Voltage | 12V |
There is a thick diffuser running across the entire length of the block in a circle. It has D-RGB LEDs underneath and the glow when combined with the lining glow on the top creates one heck of an AURA show. ALSEYE has mentioned that they are using PET electroplating and PET printing on the block. All sides of the block are identical and there is no branding on any side.
Two cables are coming out from the backside of the housing between the barb fittings. The fittings are in 90° fitment making the tubes rotatable. The tube ends on the barbs are under the heat shrinks.
There is a warranty void sticker pasted above the cover which seems to be designed only for factory use.
We have one cable of a 3-pin connector to power the motor of the pump having a length of 285mm and the 3-pin proprietary connector for RGB LEDs on the block having a length of 295mm.
We have a copper base measuring 53x62mm. There is a protective cover on the base cautioning the user to remove the cover before the installation.
FAN
ALSEYE has provided two 120mm fans with M240. These fans feature specially designed (crab-legged) 11 frosted blades to maximize the airflow. The center has a translucent frame. The frame is in a square design with rounded inner edges. Each mounting corner has an anti-vibration pad pasted on it. The mounting corners are unorthodox design as they have a cut on the exterior wall through which the long screw will be visible. These pads are in gray color. These fans are using Hydraulic Bearings.
The above picture shows the side of the frame. The overall build quality of the frame is good. There are no arrow symbols to guide novice users in determining the direction of airflow and blades’ spin. We have a three-line pattern here which ALSEYE has mentioned to be their patent design for the D-RGB lighting. We have a gray area with white lines. The idea behind this design is to approach the 360° lighting.
The backside of the fan shows the 4-arms assembly on the mainframe with one arm having catchers and more width. The cables are routed through these catchers towards the exterior of the fan. The fans are manufactured in China.
Each fan has a 4-pin PWM fan connector having an approximate length of 515mm. The cable is flat in design. The other cable has proprietary 3-pin connectors (male+female) having a length of 510+120mm.
Installation
We have recently upgraded our Intel testbed and are now on the Intel LGA1200 socket. Installation is as follow:
Prepare the backplate by passing the long standoffs through designated holes and secure them using the plastic washers. Make sure that the side with Intel text faces the motherboard PCB.
Install the Intel Mounting Brackets on the block using the Philips screws.
Place the backplate on the motherboard such as the threaded portion of the standoffs passed the mounting holes of the socket area.
Secure the backplate using the 4x plastic washers.
Install the metallic spacers on the threaded standoffs. Remove the protective cover from the base of the cooler. Apply the thermal paste to the CPU. Place the block on the CPU by aligning the holes on the mounting brackets with the threaded portions of the standoffs. Place the metallic washers on the mounting brackets.
The above picture shows the installed backplate.
Secure the block by using the spring-loaded nuts/caps.
We have to deal with 25 components to install the block on the motherboard which is not that user convenient. In my opinion, the mounting should be made more convenient.
The above picture shows the top view of the installed block.
Install the fans on the radiator. You can do this step after installing the radiator in the chassis as well.
Daisy chain the D-RGB connectors of the fans and the block. Connect this to the lighting controller or to the motherboard’s 5V header. Using Y-cable connect both fans to the 4-pin PWM fan header. Connect the 3-pin connector to the motherboard header.
There is no clearance issue with respect to the DIMM slots and first PCIe slot. Make sure your chassis has clearance for a 240mm radiator.
RGB Lighting
I have tested the lighting using the MSI MYSTIC SYNC app. The fans and the block responded to the selected mode from the app and work flawlessly. Here are some pictures. The white color of the cooler and nice AURA of RGB lighting gives it one heck of the cool looks.
Testing
We have upgraded our Intel testbed recently. A few coolers have been tested on this setup. More will be added after the testing in the coming time.
Following test benches have been used: –
- Intel i7 10700k
- MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
- T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE
- addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
- bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
- Open-air test bench
Here is the settings table for testing:
| Clock (MHz) | 3800 All Cores |
| Voltage (V) | 1.025 |
| Clock (MHz) | 4700 All Cores |
| Voltage (V) | 1.255 |
| Clock (MHz) | 5100 All Cores |
| Voltage (V) | 1.345 |
| Turbo Boost | Disabled |
| C-States | Disabled |
| Speed Step | Disabled |
| Thermal Paste | Noctua NT-H1 |
| Thermal Paste Application | Dot Method in the center. |
| Test Run Time | 30 minutes |
| Idling Time | 10 minutes |
| Fan Speed | 100% PWM Duty Cycle and Auto PWM |
| Pump Speed | Connected to the AIO Pump header to run at 100% speed |
| Header | CPU_Fan header for the fans and Pump_Header for the pump |
| Software | AIDA64 6.3 Extreme [FPU] |
We are using Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste for coolers testing. Using the same thermal paste for all coolers would ensure standardization. Delta temperatures are reported on the graphs. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.
Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of the chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.
The coolers are also tested using the Auto PWM function. MSI is using Smart Fan mode in the UEFI/BIOS which is not pure Auto PWM but it is what is available to us. The above picture shows the MSI default fan curve for the Smart Fan mode. Since all the coolers will be tested using the same configuration and settings, the same margin of error applies to all.
Let’s take a look at the results.
3.8GHz All Cores
All the 240mm AIO coolers are in the same error of margin offering similar performance at all cores set to operate on 3800MHz.
4.7GHz All Cores
The ALSEYE M240 White has a solid performance on the synthetic load at 4700MHz all cores.
4.7GHz All Cores [Auto PWM]
On Auto PWM, the fans on the cooler were running above the 90% PWM range under load which is why this cooler is sitting near to the 360mm coolers in terms of thermal performance.
Fans’ Speed on Auto PWM
The above graph shows the maximum speed attained by the fans on the Auto PWM. For comparison, we have included the rated speed of the fans to have a reference in determining the Auto PWM range. As mentioned above the ALSEYE M240 fans have a tight PWM regulation as they were as high as 94% on the PWM duty cycle.
5.1GHz All Cores
Now coming to the ultimate challenge of handling the CPU with all cores set to run at 5.1GHz using 1.345V, the relative performance of the ALSEYE MF240 White is quite good in this price range.
Noise
The maximum recorded noise level on the ALSEYE M240 White was 57 dBA in an ambient noise level of 34 dBA. The fans at full speed were making a rattling noise.
Conclusion
ALSEYE has sent us their M240 AIO cooler for review. This is a 240mm version in a white color housing. The Max series coolers are available in 120mm, 240mm, and 360mm sizes with each variant available in white and black color. The M240 is compatible with – Intel Sockets LGA: 775, 1366, 115x, 1200, 20xx, and AMD Sockets: AM4, AM3, AM2+, AM2, and FM1.
The cooler has an aluminum radiator measuring 276 x 120 x 27mm. The thickness of the radiator is 27mm. The overall thickness would be 53mm after installing the fans. The radiator has 20 FPI. The radiator has a white color housing and a white color fin stack. This particular unit has too many bend fins with many of them broken from the middle. Their QC department should up their game. The ALSEYE is using rubber tubing with white color mesh sleeves running to approximately 375mm in length including fittings. The tubes are installed on barb fittings on the radiator with heat shrinks.
The cooler features a circular-shaped housing made of plastic material. The top features a mirrored faceplate with lining pattern on the boundary. This lining pattern is backlit. The block has a dimension of 70x70x44mm. We have a low-profile block that would blend in quite well with the overall theme of the white build. The pump is using graphite bearing. The block has a copper base with a cold plate. The surface of the base is flat and we have roughly 53x62mm dimension of the base. The ALSEYE text on the lid is fixed which would restrict the orientation of the block on the socket.
The ALSEYE M240 comes with two 120mm D-RGB fans. These fans are rated for up to 2000 RPM ±10% speed with a maximum airflow rating of 77 CFM at air pressure rating of 2.23 mmH₂O. These fans feature 11 blades in crab-leg design to ensure high airflow with low noise operations. The installation of the cooler involves 25 items required for the block’s installation and roughly 12 steps needed for the cooler’s installation itself. This cooler has exactly the same mounting and warranty cover on the block which we saw on the PCCOOLER GI-CX360 ARGB cooler giving us the impression that both manufacturers have the same OEM.
ALSEYE has provided a dedicated controller for the ARGB lighting. The fans and block’s ARGB cables are not using standard 3-pin ARGB connectors. They have provided an ARGB sync cable allowing the users to connect the ARGB devices to the 5V header on the motherboard. The lighting effects are subtle and not overly done.
The ALSEYE M240 is listed at $84 at the time of the review. ALSEYE is offering 3 years warranty. The thermal performance of this cooler is very good in this price range and warranty period. The only caveat is the high noise output. The ALSEYE M240 White based on its good performance has won our Performance Award.
We are thankful to the ALSEYE for the provision of M240 white cooler for the review.
