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
When liquid cooling became a trend in the 90’s, many companies were founded focused on the design and supply of PC-specific liquid cooling systems. One of these companies was Alphacool, a German manufacturer that diversified into producing liquid cooling systems for industrial and medical applications as well.
Introduction
Perhaps the biggest issue of liquid cooling is complexity, requiring quite a bit of extra effort and attention from the user. For custom loops this was certainly true, even when complete kits were supplied by most manufacturers, as the installation alone is much more complex than that of a simple air cooler. The relative safety and simplicity of all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooling systems does lure those who want a liquid-based cooler with the installation straightforwardness of an air-based cooler. However, AIO solutions are relatively inflexible, and some hardly perform better than high end air-based solutions.
In this review we are having a look at Alphacool’s latest product, the Eisbaer. The Eisbaer, which stands for “polar bear” in German, is a modular AIO liquid cooler that Alphacool designed for those that wish to combine performance and simplicity with future upgrades and flexibility. Alphacool has designed four versions of the Eisbaer that all share the same block/pump assembly but have different radiators and fans. The Eisbaer 120, 240 and 360 come with one, two and three 120 mm fans respectively, while the Eisbaer 280 comes with two 140 mm fans. For the means of this review, Alphacool supplied us with the Eisbaer 240, the dual 120 mm fan version. Although the concept of modular AIO liquid coolers is not new, Alphacool’s liquid cooling parts have had a good reputation, leaving us curious about how their first AIO liquid cooler will perform.
Packaging & Bundle
Alphacool supplies the Eisbaer in a dark cardboard box with relatively simple artwork printed on it. It is very sturdy and the cooler is protected inside a cardboard shell and covered in nylon bags, providing more than enough protection during transport.
The bundle accompanying the Eisbaer 240 is almost typical and limited to the necessary mounting hardware, two “Eiswind” 120 mm fans, an adapter for connecting both of the fans onto one 4-pin header and two doses of thermal compound. It is interesting to point out that the thermal compound is Gelid GC Extreme, a relatively premium thermal paste. The Eiswind fans are PWM compatible, with a sleeve bearing engine and a maximum speed of 1700 RPM.
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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?