INTRODUCTION

   AIO (all in one) liquid CPU coolers may have been around for the past decade or so but they've still haven't managed to catch up with "regular" CPU air coolers in terms of price and the higher-end water cooling kits/loops in terms of cooling efficiently. Realistically speaking an AIO liquid CPU cooler can never match the price of a CPU air cooler of the same range but when it comes to cooling efficiency manufacturers are just not willing to give up that easily. Of course since up until recently the largest AIO liquid CPU coolers were based on rather think 360mm radiators they couldn't really keep up with the much more expensive water cooling kits based on much thicker 360/420/480mm radiators (and more powerful pumps). In an attempt to balance the scale Alphacool last year released the Eisbaer 420 CPU AIO Liquid Cooler and after quite a few months of waiting we finally got our hands on one and more specifically the newest version featuring 140mm fans by be quiet!.

   Alphacool was founded in 2003 in Braunschweig, Germany. The aim was to develop and market high-quality water cooling products. In the same year Alphacool actually released the best CPU cooler to date called Alpha 1, which led to the breakthrough of the company. Since 2010, the manufacturer has been trading under the name Alphacool International GmbH, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aquatuning GmbH. Product development continues to take place from Braunschweig with a total of over 80 employees. Alphacool now offers the world's largest portfolio of water cooling products - not only for the end consumer, but also on a large scale for the industry. Alphacool's products always combine maximum efficiency, highest quality and exemplary performance in a first-class design.

   The Eisbaer 420 CPU Liquid Cooler is a combination of the NexXxoS ST30 full copper 420mm radiator (489x144x30mm), two 320mm PVC tubes with anti-kink springs and a single quick-release mechanism (can be used to quickly add extra components like a second radiator and/or even an GPU water block in the loop) and the same high-RPM (2600RPM) ceramic pump Alphacool has used with previous Eisbaer models which is capable of pushing up to 70 litres of liquid per hour at a height of up to 0.85 meters. However as mentioned earlier unlike past models which were paired with Alphacool's 120mm Eiswind fans (1700RPM speed/63.85CFM airflow/29dBA noise/1.66mm H2O air pressure) the Eisbaer 420 CPU liquid cooler is their very first AIO to be paired with the 140mm Pure Wings 2 fans by be quiet!. Unfortunately we don't know much about those new fans aside that they are PWM models that can spin at up to 1300RPM.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Eisbaer 420 arrived inside a black box that has the company logo at the front and a small sticker pointing to the new be quiet! fans right in front of a partial product picture.

Just the mainboard compatibility list and the product serial number and barcode are placed at the rear of the box.

As usual everything is wrapped inside plastic bags and placed in a formed piece of thick cardboard.

Contained inside the box is the radiator/tubes/pump combo, three 140mm Pure Wings 2 fans, 3pin to triple 3pin fan split cable, thermal paste tube, installation instructions for Intel and AMD mainboards, backplate and all the necessary screws and mounts to install the Eisbaer 420 onto Intel LGA 775/1150/1151/1155/1156/1366/2011/2011-3/2066 and AMD 771/604/C32/G34/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1 compatible mainboards.

THE EISBAER 420

The NexXxoS ST30 420 radiator is the longest model to be used in an AIO to date.

The radiator is 30mm thick (29 to be exact) just like all the other models in the Eisbaer line.

The same goes for the FPI (fins per inch) count since once again it's again 16.

Thanks to the G1/4 fittings the PVC tubes are replaceable.

Two interesting features the Eisbaer line has are the anti-kink coils used on the PVC tubings and the quick-release mechanism which allows easy connection to another radiator or a graphics card water block.

Once again the fill port is located at the top of the pump right next to an illuminated company logo.

You may not be able to rotate the two tubes from the base of the Eisbaer but this clear acrylic section allows you to check and see if the pump is working properly and of course the coolant levels.

Just like with all the previous Eisbaer models the Eisbaer 420 features an all-copper polished base.

Unfortunately, since be quiet! isn't using this specific Pure Wings 2 model we only know their speed (1300RPM).

With the fans mounted the NexXxos ST30 420 radiator now measures almost 55mm in thickness.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Testing complete water cooling kits or individual radiators is no different than testing CPU Coolers and since we want all of you to be able to compare similar products we created new and separate charts (you can still cross-compare results however since we are using the same test rig). So once again single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of our test rig while dual/triple/quad (240/260/280/360/420/480/560mm) solutions with the radiator mounted at the top. For the dBA tests complete water cooling kits or radiators with bundled fans are measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting (PWM fans do that on their own without our intervention). Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside the room. When testing complete water cooling kits we use the Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste. Finally much like when testing CPU Coolers it's very important to point out that just because a water cooling kit outperforms another when tested with our test rig (when we test complete water cooling kits) that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).

     To successfully record the load temperatures we use the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests (when fans exist in the bundle) are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the radiator. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   When Alphacool initially released the Eisbaer 420 the bundled fans didn’t feature the best possible performance/noise ratio which is obviously why they turned to be quiet! to use their award winning Pure Wings 2 fans (and a special version at that since we couldn’t find this particular model in their Pure Wings 2 line). Of course this means that we can’t comment on the performance of the very first Eisbaer 420 models released last year. With that out of the way as expected the Eisbaer 420 not only outperforms the 360 version but it does so without producing higher noise levels. To be completely honest with you we would like to see higher-RPM fans with the Eisbaer 420 (perhaps RGB ones to also target gamers) which you’d be able to control via software to adjust their RPM and thus their performance and noise levels but we can’t really complain with the results. Of course a AIO based on a 420mm radiator obviously has a rather limited target audience but we can’t have it all.

   Currently the Eisbaer 420 CPU Liquid Cooler by Alphacool retails for USD175.25 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and for 156.90Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is very balanced for the largest AIO model in the market today. Bottom line if you can fit one in your case and you don’t care much about RGB illumination (this could affect some potential buyers) then the Eisbaer 420 CPU Liquid Cooler by Alphacool is the way to go (just double check that you’re getting the new version with the Pure Wings 2 fans and not the old ones) which is why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Top of The Line Cooling Efficiency
- Expandable (Can Add Extra Radiators, GPU waterblocks, CPU waterblocks, Pumps)
- Quick Release Mechanism
- Noise Levels (be quiet! Pure Wings 2 Fans)
- CPU Compatibility
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- 489mm Long Radiator (Case Compatibility)
- No RGB Illumination