Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora HPE 360 LT in test – flat, expandable and with copper radiator

1 - Intro and technical data 2 - Optics and Haptics 3 - Test Methods, Results and Conclusion

Methodology

A Ryzen 5 3600 has to be cooled at factory settings, joined by 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport (2x8GB) DDR4 memory on an MSI B550 Tomahawk (BIOS 7C91vA3). The Asus ROG Strix GTX 1060 6GB runs in zero-fan mode for the CPU stress tests only and a Fractal Design Ion Gold 750W serves as the power source. The whole thing is housed in the Thermaltake Core P3 as an open benchtable.

All data sets are recorded with HWInfo64 v6.30-4240 – 2000ms logging, the specified temperature results from the sensor CPU Die (Average). The load of Prime95 produces an average of 88 watts of CPU package power. Since I don’t have air conditioning, the values in the graphs are the delta between room temperature and CPU temperature.  This allows all cooling systems to be compared fairly, even if the ambient temperature is different.  The thermal paste included with the cooler or pre-applied is used in each case.

I determine the sound level with a Voltcraft SL-200 meter at a distance of 40cm, which operates in 125ms cycles in Lo mode. The room was measured at 33.2 dB(A), an external sample table helps for the breakdown.

Benchmarks

First, another run with fixed pump speed and gradually increasing fan speed. This will help determine how well the new radiator scales with higher fan speeds, as the dense fins will likely require more static pressure than normal radiators.

The second run is performed with the fan fixed at 60% PWM. While the pump remains pleasantly quiet even in this smaller setup, we’ll take a look at the scaling at multiple voltages anyway:

And this is how the LT variant ranks in comparison to its tall brother and other AiO water cooling with 360mm radiator:

=> Review Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora HPE 360
=> Review Corsair H150i ELITE LCD
=> Review Sapphire Nitro+ S360-A
=> Review Bykski Ice Dragon Kit

Regarding the tough Alphacool thermal paste, I already did a counter test with Arctic MX-4 in the article of the normal Aurora HPE, which could not show any remarkable difference. I therefore saved myself the trouble of redundantly testing it again with this AiO.

Summary and conclusion

Interestingly, the LT is slightly behind the previously tested variant of this complete water cooling system with a different design of the pump block. Curious, because nevertheless both use the identical DC-LT 2 pump. The advantages resulting from the compact pump housing, however, are not to be neglected. Especially the hoses, which are mounted on the side here and can be rotated, facilitate the installation in narrow housings immensely.

The side cables are also more pleasant for looks and cable management. The possibility to forward the RGB signal from fan to fan via daisy-chain saves some additional cables, but in the end you have to convert from the proprietary connector to 3-pin ARGB via the included adapter. However, the technical advantage in the form of QDC connections for independent expansion as well as freely accessible filling port on the pump block compared to other AiO solutions is great.

After all, a few drops of coolant are lost when the quick release is opened. Normally, however, you shouldn’t have to open the caps all the time.

I can only repeat myself at this point, Alphacool sends another powerful complete water cooler into the race. In this variant, however, it is even easier to install and cheaper than the normal Eisbaer Aurora HPE or the competition. And that with copper in radiator and coldplate, no mixture with aluminum as usual!

Material safety, good performance, expandability and a reasonable price thus speak in favor of this water cooler, which you first have to combine in one product. All the more I would have liked to see the last gold medal picked up in terms of warranty. Two years is okay, but other manufacturers simply offer more. And if they give up to 5 years despite possible corrosion, this must also be feasible with such an all-copper solution. Overall, however, Alphacool can convince here.