Summary and conclusion
On the one hand, I am personally happy that our test results for the washer mod can be repeated for the most part, on other motherboards and at a later time. So even in today’s test, the relatively inexpensive 1 mm washers already bring a noticeable improvement in temperatures by 4-6 °C for the dedicated water blocks. The small potential for improvement in the H150i AIO is also reproducible, but it is still measurable again in the low single digits.
Especially the almost completely flat Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora literally screams for a modification of the ILM, no matter if with the official Alphacool developed Apex backplate or by other means. 5-10 °C in core temperatures and also some thermal paste can then be saved with the various adjustments. However, the Thermal Grizzly 12th Gen Contact Frame does by far the best job here and that is completely independent of the water block used and its mounting hardware. The only drawback of the frame is the slightly fiddly assembly, which often takes several attempts. The price of 40 Euros is not cheap at first glance, but in times of raw material shortages and considering the development efforts, it is still quite fair and justifiable.
Alphacool’s Apex backplate is a valid alternative if you already have a compatible waterblock installed anyway, like the XPX Aurora from today’s review. While the temperatures are effectively identical to the Washermod’s, it also stiffens the entire area around the base and board, which brings other benefits and possibly a calmer conscience during long-term use. The Apex backplate is not the big breakthrough in terms of cooling performance, but it is also much more affordable at 15 Euros.
Today’s tests once again confirm that the contact pressure between the IHS and the base plate is not the decisive factor for cooling CPUs in the LGA1700 socket. This is once again illustrated by the H150i AIO, which can deliver respectable results even with very low contact pressure, and the XPX waterblock with Apex backplate, which cannot achieve the best results despite greatly increased torques and stiffening.
Instead, the decisive factor for cooling Alder Lake CPUs seems to be the smallest possible distance between the IHS and the base plate, mainly in the center, where the silicon die is located underneath the IHS. This is where the Thermal Grizzly Frame comes into play, effectively ensuring that the CPU presents an almost completely flat surface at the top. As long as the cooler is at least convex or flat, the two surfaces first meet in the center of the IHS and this is exactly where the significantly better cooling performance comes from.
Thanks again to my acquaintance, who does not wish to be named, for the loan of the frame. Roman has already promised me a press sample, but due to delivery bottlenecks, nothing has come of it yet. I hope that changes soon, as I would hate to remove the Thermal Grizzly 12th Gen Contact Frame from my Alder Lake test system again. 😉
Thermal Grizzly CPU Contact Frame, Gen. 12/13 Intel CPU, Contact Frame by der8auer, CPU-Kontaktrahmen (TG-CF-i12G)
Alphacool Apex Backplate XPX/Eisbaer LGA1700 Metall Full Cover (13072)
 | Lagernd im Außenlager, Lieferung 2-3 WerktageStand: 29.04.25 13:12 | 14,85 €*Stand: 29.04.25 13:13 |
 | Lagernd | 14,90 €*Stand: 29.04.25 12:47 |
| Computerxtreme.de | Lagernd | 14,90 €*Stand: 28.04.25 20:07 |
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