Alphacool NexXxos XP³ Light Acetal Edition - Intel AMD
by
Dark Mantis
Alphacool have been working on an updated model of their processor heat exchanger for water cooling setups for the last fourteen months. From the word go they have always had a good reputation in this field, even before it had really taken off in a big way like it is today. This newest version has been really well thought out from the ground up and as such now will fit just about any CPU from either of the main manufacturers, Intel and AMD. Even the method of changing the mounts is very straightforward and just consists of swapping the mounting plate. This is extremely good as if the owner is someone without much manual dexterity that is still ok.
The blocks come in two versions. Both of which are extremely well packaged in the easilly recognised Alphacool box. One is a very flash brass lidded option (not available to me for pictures) which is finished in elegant black nickel plating with the standard copper base plate and whilst it certainly looks top class it actually only cools roughly 2C better than the standard acetal one that I have here. So all the extra pennies really only go on the outward appearance. As mentioned the style I have is a solid copper baseplate below a black acetal top plate. Both use the same mounting brackets, both of which are supplied along with the other hardware (spings, screws, washers etc). The two fixing plates literaly push onto the acetal (or brass) plate and then the whole unit bolts to the motherboard.
Being acetal the two G1/4" ports on the top are actually marked as IN and OUT with the central port being the inlet as you would expect. Also on top is a solid copper nameplate that carries the Alphacool logo. On turning the block over there is a warning sticker covering the highly polished, in fact mirror finished, interface with the processor. As stated this must be removed before the instalation and some TIM (supplied) spread conservatively over it. You can choose to apply the compound to either the block or the CPU but I wouldn't recommend both. Too much TIM is as bad as too little and it should be just a very thin covering as it is just to fill any micro pits and fine scratches.
The underneath of the ecetal plate has the two ports mentioned previously. The outlet hole is fairly standard and just has a sort of catchment area incorporated to help smooth the flow. The inlet however is far from just a plain hole. It has an uninterupted flow to start with but then reaches what I would call a spreader which consists of slots at right angles to each other that force the flow to be split up. This makes sure that the whole area of the baseplate gets a good flow of water over it and there are no hotspots. Another main plus for this block is that it requires very little pressure to provide a good flow so it isn't important to have a very high powered pump to get the most out of it. It would of course be best to marry it up to a radiator requiring similar chartacteristics with not too many fins per inch.
Looking at the baseplate there is a crosshead brass screw in each corner holding it all together. On careful removal the base and top plates come apart and there is a O-ring providing the seal between them. This is fitted into a channel routed in the acetal. The copper baseplate has been machined with microfine slots in each direction forming a matrix of 2.5mm high square posts which are 0.5mm x 0.5mm wide. This makes a very effective cooling area in which the heat is easilly passed to the cooling solution for moving away to the radiator.
Specifications:
Weight: 0.279 kg
Dimensions CPU Cooler: 57x67x14mm or 63x73x14mm to the mounting brackets
Compatible with AMD Socket AM2 and AM3 and Intel sockets 775, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011 in fact just about any that are currently on the market!
Connection thread: 2x G1 / 4 inches
49,95 €*
Product No.:12153
Delivery:
1x 1x CPU cooler mounted bracket for Intel Motherboards Socket 775, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011
1x bracket for AMD AM2 and AM3 motherboards
1x thermal paste and mounting hardware
Temperatures at idle
Temperatures on 100% load
This is an excellent water cooling block for your CPU and I think the figures speak for themselves. It is reasonably priced too. I award it 9/10 If it had been a bit cheaper it would have received top marks 
Supplier : Alphacool http://www.alphacool.com/ Price : €49.95 (£40.00)
