Overall, the Lian Li Galahad 240 AIO impressed me. At first glance, I figured it would be all looks with middling performance, but my initial thoughts turned out to be wrong. In terms of raw cooling performance, the Galahad 240 did exceptionally well. Under intense loads, it managed to give many 360 mm and 280 mm liquid coolers a run for their money. In the OC FPU test, it missed taking the top spot by just 1 °C. In a more typical high-end workload (AIDA64 OC), the Galahad 240 AIO was just 2 °C behind the EK-MLC Phoenix 360, which placed the cooler firmly in second place in that test. Suffice it to say this level of performance was made possible by some fairly loud fans with our test unit hitting 50 dBA at maximum RPM. That said, dropping fan speed in order to get noise levels down to 45–46 dBA resulted in just a 2 °C rise, which is still good enough to put it in the upper echelons of all-in-one liquid coolers. It also makes for a much more enjoyable computing experience since you are not forced to listen to a leaf blower, so I would recommend tuning your fan profile to fit your personal preferences.

In regards to the build quality, it is good. While not quite the same as with some expandable liquid coolers I have tested, the aluminium accent plates on the side of the radiator, magnetic cover, and other minor details make for a much more premium feel, which left the impression that this is a fully fleshed out product and not just another AIO with company badge and logo plastered on. With the design aesthetically pleasing, at least to me, and build quality good, I have very few complaints. Even the mounting hardware is good since Lian Li uses friction-fit spacers for the backplate so you won't have to hold it in place while also trying to mount the pump. As for socket clearance, this AIO, like most of its competition, does not interfere with the graphics card or any system memory.

There will be those who love or hate the ARGB lighting fad, and while not groundbreaking, the implementation Lian Li has settled on looks quite good. However, I do think the lighting will look better on the black version of the Galahad series of coolers, mostly because the white design turned the red lighting pinkish. With other colors, the change in tone is not as pronounced. Regardless of whether you like it or not, the lighting setup is also a bit more convoluted. It is not difficult, just a bit less convenient as everything uses different connectors and cables. Why Lian Li didn't opt for the standard 5-volt ARGB connectors is a bit perplexing. Either way, once configured properly, everything works. I just wish they had included a longer pump cable for the header on the bottom of my test system's motherboard. On newer systems, this issue is less likely to crop up as most manufacturers have positioned the 5-volt ARGB header near the top-right edge of the motherboard, essentially eliminating this issue.

Overall, the Lian Li Galahad 240 AIO offers exceptional performance for a 240 mm liquid cooler at the expense of excess noise. However, when the cooler is set to a more palatable fan curve, its lower-noise operation is still very good. Once you factor in the easy installation and 5-year warranty, it becomes quite easy to recommend.