Introduction
When it comes to liquid cooling solutions, the Alphacool needs no introduction. Based on their years of experience and expertise, the users can benefit from high-performance Cooling Solutions including their All-In-One and the All-In-One Connected cooling solutions not to mention the complete custom loop setup possibility. Their ideas are innovative and their expertise has allowed for far more industrial applications of their solutions than just the cooling setup for the PCs. They are also the OEM partners of the various brands including Fractal Design, Cooler Master, Be Quiet, Sapphire, Asus, Nocatech to name a few which speaks of their excellence in the design and development of the cooling solutions.
Custom water cooling, open loop, custom loop; all names of the one and the only thing, cooling the PC components beyond the conventional means of using air coolers or All-In-One liquid coolers. A user has much more considerations when it comes to the loop as compared to the air coolers or AIOs which are simply plug-n-play concept oriented. Manufacturers have been making the life of the novice users who would like to enter in the segment of open-loop cooling but want to avoid a whole lot of selection consideration by offering off-the-shelves water cooling kits. What these kits offer is the convenience and riddance of the cooling components selection. These kits pack almost everything a user would have or could have needed without breaking a sweat. Alphacool has been offering the water cooling kits for some time now. They have recently introduced their new generation of water cooling kits in various categories depending upon the configuration and the components included. The idea behind the kit is simple. A kit will have a water cooling block(s), a radiator, coolant, fittings, hose, fans, reservoir, pump and of course a user manual. The user is no longer required to ponder over what to select for their open loop venture. Pick up a kit and start away, build some experience and then join the ranks of the totally customized loop stuff.
Today, I will be taking a look at the Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 3x120mm kit. Hurricane in the name indicates the category of the loop. Copper means all components of the loop are based on copper/brass. The 45 indicates the thickness of the radiator. This kit packs the NexXxos XT45 radiator which is one of their premium offerings. 3x120mm is giving the sizing of the radiator in terms of the fan mounts. This is a 360mm radiator with 3 120mm fans including. There is also a 3x140mm kit having a 420mm radiator. This kit has Alphacool’s premium CPU water block which Eisblock XPX in deep black color. This block is compatible with Intel 775/1056/115x/20xx sockets and AMD AMx/FMx sockets. We have already done a detailed review of the block in a separate content. This kit has Alphacool Eisbecher D5 250mm Acetal reservoir with Alphacool’s premium Eispumpe VPP755 pump which is a low noise, high-efficiency D5 variant customized by the Alphacool. The main thing that I have seen with this kit is the superior cooling performance yet at low noise levels and they have definitely delivered on it. 3x Eiswind Pure Fans have been included. Hello BeQuiet! The Alphacool has bundled 8x G1/4” 13/10mm Eiszapfen brass made compression straight fittings and 2x 90° rotary fittings. This is not all as they have also included an HF quick connector to expand the loop with the Eisbaer series of components. We have Alphacool’s 1000ml Cape Calvin Catcher pre-mixed coolant. We have 3m of clear PVC 13/10mm tube. 3 meters is more than plenty. 1x funnel, 1x ATX bridge, 1x user manual, and 1x 3-way PWM splitter cable is included. The point here is that nothing is customized but every component of the kit has been handpicked from their off-the-shelve high-end water cooling gear and packed together in a less expensive complete water cooling solution.
Item: Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 3×120
Manufacturer: Alphacool
Price: €318.29 [at the time of the review]
Specifications
Packaging and Unboxing
The kit is shipped inside a large size cardboard box finished in Alphacool’s traditional styling and theme. The dimension of the outer packing box is 591x14x318mm. Keep in mind the measurement! The front side of the box has Alphacool Eissturm printed on the main section. Eisbaer ready logo is printed on the top right side. An OCool logo is printed at bottom left. The back side has an identical layout.
The top side of the box has Alphacool Eissturm printed in the enlarged font size on the top side. An OCool logo is printed below the Eissturm text and the company’s website address is printed at the bottom.
This side has Hurricane printed on the orange color background followed by the kit’s model name. The contents of the kit are printed in the tabular format below the model. An OCool logo is printed at the bottom.
This side has a plain black color background without any text or picture on it. An OCool logo is printed at the bottom in the blue color. The kit is designed in Germany and manufactured in China.
The above is a picture of the kit’s contents.
Closer Look
I will take a look at each component one by one showing its unboxing and discussing it.
Eisblock XPX
Let’s start with the Cooling engine that is the heart of the kit aka Alphacool Eisblock XPX. It is an altogether a new design done from ground zero taking over their predecessor NexXxos XP³.
Alphacool has introduced new design features to improve the cooling performance. The fin structure has been redefined to the 0.2mm micro-channel and fins count has been increased to 81 fins hence we have more surface area for effective heat dissipation. Another striking feature is the “Ramp” which helps to ensure the even coolant distribution over the cold plate. The third major feature is the introduction of the distributor. Using this new design element, Alphacool has been able to reduce the coolant flow resistance of the block that would mean, even running the pump of the loop at a lower speed would not impact the performance by much. The fin structure has a dimension of 34x32mm that would mean cooling large surface chips with more cores should not be an issue for this block. So far, I have mentioned the design and performance related salient features but this is not all as Alphacool has provided a plethora of customization for these blocks. These blocks are available in 4 different colors and for each color, they have bundled the screw caps of matching color. Also, the users can buy modding kits for these blocks to color match the mounting brackets, screws, top caps and change the OCool logo on the block along with the LED. The default is the blue color OCool text with blue LED. Though one would need to carefully take off the top lid using the tool bundled in the kit. I wonder if they were thinking only of the modders to be using this kit or what as I would expect the solution and its customization to be regular user-friendly. As this block is also available in the clear plexi option so Aurora XPX RGB Frame can also be used on the clear XPX block for some stunning lighting effect. These blocks are compatible with the Intel LGA775/1056/115x/20xx and AMD AMx/FMx. TR support is not listed nor does the size of the block suggest it is suitable for the TR4. The dimension of the complete unit is 65x65x30mm. It is made of sandblasted aluminum and acetal. Clear Plexi version is also available. The block is compatible with the Intel LGA 775/1056/115x/20xx sockets and AMD AMx/FMx sockets. The top side of the block has two G1/4” ports in the black color. A blue color OCool logo inlay is visible at the bottom followed by the white color Eisblock XPX text which seems to be laser printed.
We have already reviewed the Alphacool Eisblock XPX in dedicated content. Click here to check it out.
Eisbecher D5 250mm Acetal Reservoir with Eispumpe VPP755
The pump is the heart of any loop and Alphacool has not compromised on the performance and quality of their pump either in the kit. This kit has their D5 variant VPP755 which they have improved in many ways but the main focus is on the power efficiency. The kit has a Pump/Reservoir combo called Eisbecher D5 coupled with their new pump VPP755.
The Eisbecher is shipped inside a cardboard box finished in the Alphacool’s typical theme. The top side of the packing box has OCool logo printed on the top left. The pictures of the reservoir tube are printed in the main section. A serial no sticker is pasted at the bottom right side.
The opening side has an identical layout as is on the top side.
The left and right sides are identical. An OCool logo is printed on the top left side and the company’s website address is printed at the bottom.
Opening the box will show the main product placed inside a transparent container tucked inside the box using two white color Styrofoam pads. The instruction manual is placed on the top.
Contents
Here is what is included in the box:
- 8x M4x12mm Screws
- 8x M4x8mm Screws
- 4x M4 Nuts
- 2x Stands
- 1x 2.5mm hex key
- 1x pump/reservoir combo with mounting brackets pre-installed
The Eisbecher D5 250mm version has a larger reservoir made of plexiglass/POM material. The plexiglass is 60mm in diameter and has a capacity of 360ml of coolant. The dimension of the unit with brackets without stand is 277.5x136x80mm. The dimension with the stand without bracket is 324×87.5x80mm. The combo has every sort of mounting accessory bundled that the user could need. The 120/140mm brackets are pre-installed on the two rings. The user can remove these rings by removing the reservoir main tube. The thickness of the reservoir tube is 5mm and ID is 50mm.
The top lid of the tube has 4 G1/4” threaded ports. The center one is for the dedicated return inlet pipe. The rest three are for refilling but can be used as return inlet. The plugs on the ports are recessed which is a good design but these ports have a bit more depth and you may need a G1/4” extension fitting for the middle port in case you want to use non-Alphacool fittings or want to use a top middle port for return inlet loop. I have used Alphacool straight compression and rotary angled fittings bundled in the kit and they both fit on the top ports just fine. The top lid can be removed as well as the tube can be removed from the base as well easily.
This reservoir features a sprinkling type of design which serves two purposes. First, it is pleasing looking visually and secondly, it is a visual indicator that the pump is working. The top inlet tube has a cutout at its tip which is otherwise fully closed. The coolant comes out of these cutouts. The user also has an option to use the lower inlet tube with the same design. There is a gap between both tubes inside the reservoir and it looks that good in person. Keep in mind that at pump’s full speed, the top inlet tube could make the water splash quickly which would make some noise and a few drops could spill out from the top G1/4” ports if they are uncovered.
The bottom part of the reservoir located on the top of pump socket has a vented plexi plate. This is to stop bubbles from going inside the pump socket. While this for sure blocks the large size bubbles, the microbubbles still slip through it. The above pictures are showing the bubble plate. The lower inlet tube is going through the middle of this plate securing it over the socket.
The above pictures show the mounting brackets that come pre-installed on the reservoir tank. The rings are free floating even when installed. Maybe this is to ease the installation and changing the direction of the reservoir without having the need to adjust the rings with brackets first.
Now, let’s look at the pump socket. The pump socket housing is unusually large on this reservoir. It is nicely finished with a plethora of screw locations for mounting hardware. The above picture is showing the front side. We have two ports here. The ports are G1/4” threaded and have been clearly labeled which is nice to see. The bottom port is the outlet port meaning the pump will be throwing the coolant out through this port whereas the top port is the inlet port for the lower inlet tube inside the reservoir. If you are not gonna use this port as inlet then make sure to cover it with the G1/4” plug that you would have removed the top lid.
The above picture is showing the backside of the pump socket. It has only one port with plug. The port is G1/4” threaded. You can set your loop drain on this port as well. There are 4 mounting holes at the bottom. You can either mount the 120/140mm brackets here or install stand.
Looking at the base or bottom of the unit, we can spot the VPP755 pump pre-installed using the mounting ring bracket with 8 screws. Removing these 8 screws will remove the pump from the pump socket and the mounting ring. I opened the unit after completing the testing to ensure that a complete kit was tested at factory settings.
The above picture is showing the top side of the pump socket after disassembling the unit. It is wet as I opened it after using it. The middle raised port is the return port. The coolant from the dedicated port on the front side of the socket marked as In would flow the coolant through this port up inside the lower return inlet tube. The hole on the main floor is the outlet one. This is where the coolant goes towards the pump.
The above picture is showing the bottom section of the socket after removing the pump. A thick O-Ring is visible on the inner edges. Looking closely, you will find a cutout in parallel to the surface of the socket. This is where the coolant from the top side is coming to the lower section.
It is time to take a look at the pump itself. This is the 2nd or 3rd revision pump from the Alphacool. It is based on the D5. The main improvement over the previous generation is power consumption. This pump operates at 14W for the same flow rate which is quite remarkable.
Here are the specifications of the pump:
| Voltage | 12VDC |
| Power Consumption | 14W |
| Permitted Voltage | 8-13VDC |
| Pressure at 12V | 4 m water column |
| Maximum flow | 350 l/h |
| Maximum coolant temperature | 65°C |
| Power Connection | 4-pin Molex and 4-pin PWM |
| Material | Acetal |
The flow rate surprisingly seems to be on a lower side but what matters is the pressure or delivery height which is good on this pump with 4m at 12VDC. The maximum rated speed is 4500 RPM.
Looking at the back side of the pump housing, we could spot a manual speed adjuster with pre-defined 5 levels or stages of speeds numbered from 1 to 5. By default, it is on the number 5 which is the highest speed of the pump. Here is the related speed range against each stage:
| Stage (Number) | Speed (RPM) |
| 1 | 1800 |
| 2 | 2500 |
| 3 | 3200 |
| 4 | 3900 |
| 5 | 4500 |
There are two cables coming out of the pump’s housing. One is the 4-pin Molex connector cable and the other one is the 4-pin PWM cable. The cables are sleeved with a certain portion of the PWM cable not sleeved. The length of the Molex connector cable is 188mm and that of the PWM cable is 502mm. We can clearly see that there is a hybrid control on this pump. The user can either connect the Molex connector to the power the pump and use the adjuster on the backside of the pump’s housing to manually control the speed which is somewhat cumbersome once the unit is installed in the chassis and particularly in the vertical standing position. The other way is to connect the Molex cable as well as the 4-pin PWM cable to the motherboard fan header and control the speed from within the BIOS or speed control software like SpeedFan. There is one more pertinent information regarding the speed control on this pump. Say, you set the manual adjuster to the level 3 and then connect the Molex and PWM connectors for speed regulation, your PWM range’s upper limit will be 3200 and there is no way you could go above the 3200 RPM using the BIOS or speed control software. Thus my recommendation is to leave it on level 5 and then control the pump’s speed from the BIOS or speed control software. I have monitored the speed at the various percentage of speed range from within the BIOS. For each percentage, 5 minutes were given for each value to see if there is any spread or a closer margin in the reported speeds. Here is the result:
| Percentage (%) | Minimum Speed (RPM) | Maximum Speed (RPM) |
| 20 | 2621 | 2673 |
| 30 | 2749 | 2812 |
| 40 | 2973 | 3013 |
| 50 | 3237 | 3284 |
| 60 | 3524 | 2582 |
| 70 | 3802 | 3846 |
| 80 | 3901 | 4041 |
| 90 | 4103 | 4153 |
| 100 | 4411 | 4500 |
NexXxos XT45
Alphacool has bundled their premium radiator in this kit. This is NexXxos XT45. The number 45 indicates the thickness or the height of the radiator. Alphacool is known for making their entire loop using copper/brass where possible. The NexXxos series of the radiators are no exception to this. The entire fin structure, radiator housing, chambers are made of the copper material to ensure the maximum possible heat dissipation effectiveness. Surely there is no compromise on the performance in terms of the design. The NexXxos XT45 is their top seller radiator. This is a multi-port radiator as we will see shortly. It has 16 FPI count hence any fan could do the job on this radiator.
The radiator is shipped inside the cardboard box. The top side of the box has NexXxos XT45 Full Copper Radiator 360 text printed on the upper side. Triple 120mm radiator with a thickness of 45mm with 6 G1/4” ports text is printed below the model. There is a picture of the radiator printed on the right side.
The opening side of the box has OCool printed in the middle.
The left and right sides are identical and have the company’s website printed on them.
Opening the box will show the contents. The radiator is placed inside a bubble wrap container. There is a white color Styrofoam pad on each side of the radiator and a black color accessory box is placed on the rightmost end of the main packing box. The manual is placed on the top of the radiator.
The above picture shows what is included in the box. We have the following:
- 12x M3x30mm hexagon bolts
- 12x M3x35mm hexagon bolts
- 12x small size screws
- 1 Allen key
- 5x G1/4” Port Plugs
- 1x radiator
The dimension of the radiator is 400x124x46mm (LxWxH) with radiator core size having a length of 360mm. Chambers are made of the copper, the fins are made of the copper, the threaded inputs are made of the brass whereas the housing is made of the steel. The color is black. The fan mounts are M3 sizing threaded. The above picture is showing the top side of the radiator. Please, keep in mind there is no dedicated top or bottom side on this radiator. It is just for the illustration purpose that I am using the word top side. The threaded inputs are covered with blue colored silicon covers. Make sure to remove these before using the radiator. There is a protective sheet on both sides under the housing. This serves to stop the fans from excess threading that could damage the fins which would impact performance on in some case might lead to the damage to the channels resulting in the leakage. Alphacool has left no corner uncovered.
The above picture shows the block diagram of the radiator along with the measurements.
The above picture shows the side of the radiator. Both sides are finished in an identical manner. There is an OCool logo printed in the blue color on the bottom right side.
The above picture shows the far chamber. It has a single port there on the right side. It is a dedicated drain/fill port.
The above picture shows the near chamber with 4 G ¼” threaded ports. There are total 6 G ¼” threaded ports on this radiator excluding the dedicated drain/fill port.
The above picture shows the ports uncovered.
120mm Eiswind Pure Edition
The new Eiswind fans in the Pure Edition are based on the globally popular be quiet! Fans. These are bundled with this kit. The finely corrugated fan blades ensure optimum airflow and targeted turbulence to minimize noise. The high-quality rifle bearing also contributes to a high level of smoothness. The fans can be controlled via the 4-pin PWM connection. The fans can be controlled over a wide speed range. Here are the specifications of the fan:
| Property | Value |
| Dimension | 120x120x25mm |
| Voltage | 5 – 13.2V |
| Interface | 4-pin PWM |
| Rated Speed | 500 – 1600 RPM |
| Power | 2.4W |
| Airflow | 81 m³/h |
| Air Pressure | 1.12 mmH₂ |
| Sound Level | 27.7 dB(A) |
The fans are shipped inside the cardboard box of typical Alphacool’s theme. The top side of the box has an OCool logo printed on the bottom left side. Designed in Germany, Made in China is printed on the right side.
The left and right sides have an identical layout. The company’s website is printed on both sides.
The opening side has OCool logo printed on the main section in enlarged font size.
The above picture shows the front side of the fan. It has 9 blades on it with each having air-channeling surfaces. OCool is printed on the sticker which is pasted on the center of the fan. The frame of the fan is made of plastic is in a circular shape. The edges are designed like they are giving the impression of being attached to the main frame. It is a uni-body design. There is no anti-vibration pad on the mounting holes. The cable is flat to my liking and has a length of 448mm.
The backside of the fan shows a 4-arm assembly with one arm having wider depth and a catcher to properly route the 4-pin cable through it. A large size sticker is pasted at the center with OCool logo printed on the top. PURE WINGS 2 is printed at the center top followed by part no and a few specs information. The fan is made in China.
The above picture is showing the arrows embossed on the fan’s frame. These are showing the direction of the impeller movement and the direction of the air flow. They serve the visual help for the novice users to identify the air intake side of the fan.
Cape Kelvin Catcher Clear
Alphacool has bundled 1000ml bottle of their famous Cape Kelvin Catcher (CKC) pre-mixed coolant. CKC contains a special and highly effective copper corrosion protection, dispensed ethylene glycol, ethanediol u. similar additives provide the full heat capacity of water, suppresses and combats algae and bacteria growth includes other inhibitors against corrosion. By dispensing with typical antifreeze, Alphacool CKC is able to retain the full heat capacity of the water – but can be mixed with it. Coolant based on antifreeze must contain at least 25% antifreeze to suppress algae growth, etc. This reduces the heat capacity. CKC is compatible with copper, brass, nickel, chromium plating, anodized aluminum, plexiglass (PMMA), POM, and plastics for pump housings such as PPS-GF40 (Laing DDC®, etc.) as well as PUR, PVC Tygon®, Masterkleer® tubing.
The coolant bottle is included inside a colorful cardboard box packing. This ide has OCool printed in the enlarged font size on the entire length.
The colorful water droplets are printed on the other sides clearly indicating that the coolant is included in this box.
The opening side of the box has OCool printed in the center. There is a seal covering the opening side.
The coolant is clear as can be seen in the picture.
Following is the properties and safety information of this product:
- Odorless and transparent, non-irritating.
- Does not require a hazard designation
- Does not require labeling due to EC directives / GefStoffV
- The usual precautionary measures are to be adhered to when handling chemicals
- Non-flammable, not self-igniting, not potentially explosive
- Biodegradable, not water
- Endangering – S-phrases (according to RL 67/548 / EEC and GHS):
- – S2 Keep out of the reach of children
- – S20 Do not eat or drink while working
Alphacool Eiszapfen Compression fittings
Alphacool has bundled following compression fittings in the kit:
- 8x Straight compression fittings (13/10mm)
- 2x 90° rotary compression fittings (13/10mm)
- 1x HF Quick Disconnect G1/4
Alphacool’s Eiszapfen Connector Series is the high-end execution of these tried-and-true connectors! Alphacool has provided 2x rotary 90° angled fittings of the same sizing. The 90° rotary fittings are a blessing to have as they make the tube routing easier and efficient. They also add to the cosmetic outlook of the complete loop. This connector has a ¼” thread on one side and is thereby compatible with 95% of components. The other side fits a 13/10mm hose. The middle of this connector is turned at a 90° angle in order to prevent complicated hose connections. The threaded side is rotatable for maximum flexibility. Here are the specifications of these fittings:
Material: Brass
Colour: Deep Black
Dimensions: 34,5mm x 20mm x 33mm (LxWxH)
The other fitting is straight socket 13/10mm compression one. This connector has a ¼” thread on one side and is thereby compatible with 95% of components. The other side fits a 13/10mm hose. Here are the specifications of these fittings:
- Material: Brass
- Colour: Deep Black
- Dimensions: Diameter: 20mm, Height: 27mm
The Alphacool HF Quick Disconnect couplings don’t have click mechanism to disconnect the loop but they are screwed to avoid the accidental disconnection. Here are the specifications of these couplings:
- Color: Deep Black
- Dimension: 60.3×21.6mm (LxD)
Both ends of the coupling have G1/4” threading hence any fitting supporting G1/4” can be used on this coupling.
The above picture shows the fitting after disconnecting. This coupling has given these kits a capability to expand with the Eisbaer family of the products from the Alphacool.
The above picture shows the illustration on how to use this coupling. I am showing two 13/10mm straight socket compression fittings using G1/4” threading. These will be screwed on each side of the coupling.
The above picture is showing the fully assembled coupling. All that needs to be done is to connect the hose on both ends and you are good to go.
Tubing PVC 13/10mm
This hose is a highly flexible PVC hose with an outer diameter of 13mm and an inner diameter of 10mm. Here are the specifications:
- Material: PVC
- Colour: Transparent
- Inner diameter: 10mm, 3/8″
- Outer diameter: 13mm, 1/2″
- Wall thickness: 1.5mm, 1/15″
- UV – color: Non-UV-active
- Color: Transparent
- Operating pressure: 4 Bar (at 20°C)
- Service temperature: -20°C ~ 60°C
The front side of the paperboard box has Alpha Tube 13/10mm printed on the top indicating the OD/ID of the tubing. The length of the tube is 3m which is plentiful. There is an oval shaped cutout on the bottom right showing the clear tubing. OCool is printed on the bottom left side.
The backside of the box has the same layout as is on the front side. For better understanding, the OD/ID is pictorially shown in the center of the box. The product is made in China. The wall thickness is 1.5mm.
Miscellaneous Items
The other included items in the kit are:
- ATX Bridge
- Funnel
- 3-way PWM splitter cable
The ATX bridge will help you to power up the PSU without powering the motherboard. This is very handy as it will allow you to fill the loop with the coolant and run a leak test without powering the complete system up. The funnel is helpful is filling the reservoir and using 3-way splitter cabled will allow you to connect all three fans to a single fan header on the motherboard.
Testing
I have assembled the loop inside the Thermaltake View 71 TG chassis. Following configuration was used:
- Intel i7 8700k (5.0GHz)
- Asus Strix Z390-E Gaming
- CORSAIR Vengeance Pro RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE
- Samsung PM961 256GB NVMe SSD
- Antec HCP1300 PSU
AIDA64 Extreme version 5.99 was used to test the CPU in the Windows 10 x64 build 1809. The test was run for an hour. The average temperature was calculated by summing up each core’s maximum reported temperature and dividing it by the number of the cores which is 6. The ambient temperature was subtracted from this average temperature to give the delta temperature which is reported on the graph. Since this is the first kit on our bench, we don’t have any comparison data. Hopefully, this graph will have more entries in the coming time.
Conclusion
The Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane 360 Copper kit is a complete open loop based liquid cooling solution that packs Alphacool’s premium liquid cooling components. Kits make is easier for the users who would like to enter in the water cooling with open loop stuff without going through various considerations over the selection of the components. Buy a kit, assemble the loop, voila, you are all set. Almost all the leading custom loop manufacturers have been offering the kits to their customers. Alphacool has released their new generation of the water cooling kits that have broadly three categories:
- Hurricane
- Blizzard
- Tornado
The names are clear indicators of what these kits are supposed to do when it comes to cooling your CPU. We have taken a spin on the Eissturm Hurrican 360 version. This kit has the following components included:
- Eisblock XPX [Deep Black] CPU Water Block
- NexXxos XT45 360 All Copper Radiator
- Eisbecher D5 250mm with Eispumpe VPP755 Pump/Reservoir Combo
- 3x 120mm Eiswind Pure Edition fans
- 3m PVC tubing
- 8x Straight Socket 13/10mm Compression fittings
- 2x 90° Rotary fittings 13/10mm
- 1x HF Quick Disconnect Coupling
- 1x Cape Kelvin Catcher pre-mixed coolant 1000ml
- 1x Funnel
- 1x ATX Bridge
- 1x 3-way PWM fan splitter cable
- 1x Instruction Manual
All of these components are available off-the-shelf should a user wants to buy any of them. Buying them separately will cost you more than buying a kit which is another benefit of the kit. This kit is also available in the 420mm version using Eisbecher D5 D250 and in Eisbecher D5 D150 variants. All that the user needs to ponder over is the compatibility of the stull with respect to the chassis. Pay close attention as D5 250mm has quite a height to deal with and not all chassis may support it.
The Eisblock XPX has been Alphacool’s premium and top-notch cooling engine. It features two dedicated G1/4” threaded ports on the top cover. It has a double distributor and Ramp design to help ensure the direct injection of the coolant on the fin structure and on the same time reduce the resistance to the flow. The fins count has been increased to 81 and fin area has been increased to 34x32mm making it possible to cool the large die CPUs packing more cores. It is compatible with the Intel LGA 775/1056/115x/20xx and AMD sockets AMx/FMx including the AM4. They have released a dedicated TR4 block. The jetplate, cold plate and fins are all made of the copper and finished in nickel coating. There are topplate and the midplate as well on this block. Every section has o-ring for proper seal. Alphacool has provided tons of customization options as well through various modding kits. The OCool logo on the top cover can be replaced as well as its LED. Alphacool has also included cover for the screws and these covers match the color of the block. the block comes in 4 colors; Deep Black, Silver Matt, Titanium Gray, Chrome. We have already reviewed the Alphacool Eisblock XPX in dedicated content. Click here to check it out.
The pump is integrated into the reservoir already in the Eisbecher D5 250mm. The reservoir has 360ml of the capacity and has 4 ports on the top each having G1/4” threading. The centered port is facing the return inlet pipe which has cutouts on its end making the water to sprinkle out making one hell of a splash effect inside the reservoir. Alphacool was wise enough to provide the similar mechanism from the bottom side of the reservoir as well making sure that if the user would like to use the return port on the pump socket then they still can have the same splash effect. Additionally, there is a bubble plate at the bottom of the reservoir right above the pump socket. Its function is to stop the bubbles from going inside the pump. This is applicable only for the medium to large size bubbles. The socket itself is quite large. It has two ports on the front. Both are marked for the user’s convenience. There is another port on the rear side as well. The user can set up a proper drain set up on that port as well. Both sides have plenty of mounting holes as Alphacool has provided almost every sort of mounting hardware with this unit. Be it 120mm/140mm fan mounting or the stand, the user is covered. One observation that I made was that the user can’t install two 90° rotary fittings on the In and Out ports of the socket at a time which is strange. The ports on the top lid are a bit recessed hence it may make it difficult for some fittings to be installed properly for which G1/4” extensions would be needed though I did not see any issue in installing the Alphacool’s straight and rotary fittings on these ports.
The Eisepump VPP755 (version 2 or 3) has been provided with this unit. It is a D5 variant optimized for silent level operations at a better power efficiency (14W). It has voltage-based control as well PWM interface is also provided. There is a notch at the bottom with 5 pre-defined levels or stages of the pump speed starting with 1800. I have found contradictions in the stated specifications on their website as the main page of the product is showing the pump having a flow rate of 350 l/h and power of 14W whereas the technical details page is showing them to be 1500 l/h and 23W respectively. They need to address it. The pressure head is 4m at 12VDC. The maximum operating temperate of the coolant is 65°C which is quite impressive.
Alphacool has bundled their premium and top-selling NexXxos XT45 all copper 360mm radiator with this kit. This radiator has 6 G1/4” threaded ports made of brass whereas the chambers and the fins are made of the copper. The housing is made of steel. There is a G1/4” threaded drain/fill port at the far chamber. There is a protective plate under the fan mounting to avoid accidental screwing of the fans that could potentially damage the fins. Alphacool has included M3x30mm and M3x35mm screws as well as the Allen key.
Alphacool has bundled their premium Eiszapfen Compression fittings as well. There are 8x straight socket compression fittings and 2x 90° rotary fittings each made of the brass and having a sizing of 13/10mm. They also have included 1x HF Quick Closure coupling that would help the user to expand the loop with the Eisbaer family of the products from the Alphacool. They have also included 3 meters of the clear4 PVC hose with 13/10mm sizing. The Cape Kelvin Catcher (CKC) coolant is also included. It is a premixed clear coolant and 1000ml is included. 1x ATX bridge, 1x funnel and 1x 3-way PWM fan splitter cable is also included.
The Alphacool Eissturm Hurrican 360 kit is listed at €318.29 at the time of the review making it one good value product with high-performing premium water cooling components from the Alphacool. The kit has cooled our 8700k at 5.0GHz really well and most importantly has done that at silent levels as the pump could not be heard even at 100% and Pure Wing fans are almost silent as well. Damn good performance, indeed and the kit comes recommended by us.
We are thankful to Alphacool for giving us the opportunity to review their Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 3x120mm kit.
