The Alphacool Eisbaer 240 CPU AIO Liquid Cooler Review
by E. Fylladitakis on August 1, 2016 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- AIO
- Water Cooling
- Cooler
- Alphacool
Testing Results, Maximum Fan Speed (12 Volts)
The thermal performance of the Alphacool Eisbaer 240 in relation to its noise level output is impressive. With an average thermal resistance of 0.078 °C/W, the Eisbaer 240 does perform about on par with other similarly sized AIO liquid cooling solutions, falling only slightly behind the Corsair H100i and NZXT Kraken X60, and overtaking the Reserator 3 Max Dual and SilverStone Tundra TD02 (first version).
| Core Temperature, Constant Thermal Load (Max Fan Speed) |
Even though the thermal performance of the Eisbaer 240 is very close to that of these coolers, there is a world of difference in terms of acoustics. The sound pressure level emanating from the Eisbaer with its fans running at maximum speed is the lowest that we have recorded from a dual 120 mm fan AIO liquid cooler up to this date and many dB(A) lower than that of nearly every competitive product. The EKWB EK-XLC Predator 240 is the only dual 120 mm solution that offers slightly better thermal performance at the expense of some additional noise, while the dual 140 mm Corsair H110 offers about the same overall performance but with a 280 mm radiator and larger fans.
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HomeworldFound - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I've used quite a lot of watercooling gear and actually own quite a few Alphacool products. 6 radiators from 360mm to 480mm at the least. I think the company is overlooked a lot but the products they offer are sound. I'm not sure about their All-In-One coolers but as a long term watercoooling part provider I would trust them more than brands with no experience.HomeworldFound - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
P.S I trust Alphacool far more than say.. EKWB.. that company has had so many scandals that it tried to brush under the rug and even blamed its customers for its manufacturing failures.ikjadoon - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Ouch. How did EKWB, a huge brand in terms of custom water-cooling, release a product that leaks more often than a Corsair kit, which came from Asetek anyways?http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/ekwb-issues-recal...
Do you have any info on blaming consumers? I can't seem to find that online.
Frangelina - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Exciting to see Alpha keep going. Alpha was the Beatles of cooling in the 90's. I am sure Anand remember. Alpha said "adios" to the "default" cooling from Intel or Amd. I bet it is an excellent product. My brain does not have as much time for the games anymore, but I felt I had to write something positive coming from my memories. They inspired Thermalright!know of fence - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
It's nice that AT now uses a heating plate setup to test coolers. I'd like to see some line graphs next, even if it doesn't include direct comparisons to other coolers, it still shows how performance increases with ramping RPMs.Also some on the BOX information, like the wattage of Pump and Fans would be nice, after all these AIO plumbing solutions consume more electricity in idle than a CPU at this point!
Is there any info on the MTTF.
Do they throttle down when my CPU runs 0.8 GHz and 0.8 V or they still continue to tirelessly push liquid in a circle? How do you set up a FAN profile considering the delay, that is inherent to any water based system.
Will we ever get apples to apples comparisons, is it possible to fix other meaningful variables than Wattage (and even less meaningful like FAN Voltage), for instance compare different noise at the same thermal resistance or compare thermal resistance at a constant dBA level?
wylie102 - Monday, August 29, 2016 - link
Okay so if we assume modern CPUs don't require as much cooling and air coolers can be roughly as effective as liquid AIO options. Also GPUs should potentially be the focus of our cooling setup.Given this is there any benefit to the fact that you can arrange the AIO cooler to vent the warm air directly or of the case therefore reducing the ambient temp in the case and enabling the rest of the case ventilation to better cool the graphics card(s)?
Wouldn't this be a more cost effective option than buying water cooled GPUs given that AIO options are widely available and aren't too much of a cost increase?
For example I read a bit around running graphics cards in SLI and there are documented performance improvements when 1. The cards are spaced more widely and 2. One is a blower and one open air (as long as they are arranged correctly).
This suggests that ambient case temperature around the cards affects performance. Surely since an AIO cooler vents heat out rather than in there could be some benefits to the GPU From water cooling the GPU for less money than upgrading to a water chilled GPU?
wylie102 - Monday, August 29, 2016 - link
Edit: I'm typing on a tablet and autocorrect screwed me.Last sentence should hypothesise there's a benefit to the GPU From water cooling the CPU and that this might be more cost effective than water cooling the GPUs themselves.
Thoughts on this?
SeanJ76 - Tuesday, October 25, 2016 - link
Hyper Evo best $25 coolerElcs - Saturday, November 26, 2016 - link
No 120mm and 360mm review?