Alphacool Eisbaer 240 AIO CPU Cooler Review

Test System and Benchmark Results

Test System:

Test was conducted on a DimasTech MiniV1 open-air test-bench for parity performance between tower-style coolers and C-type downward or upward blowing coolers. Ambient temperature is measured at the fan intake and kept as constant as possible (room controlled temperature). All case and heat sink fans were benchmarked with fan control settings disabled and running at 100% unless otherwise specified.

To get closer to real world performance, a non-delidded Intel i7-7770K CPU was used. Integrated Intel graphics is used so that a discrete GPU does not add heat near the CPU area.

CPU Loading Methdology

Temperatures are averaged (last minute) from individual core temperature results monitored by AIDA64 after 15 minutes using the default CPU, FPU, Memory and Cache simultaneous load. AIDA64 is able to use the latest instructions including AVX and AVX2, etc unlike other older CPU load tests so it is also a lot more “future proof” as more software start to utilize it.

FPU-only load average is used to simulate worst case scenario load levels similar to Intel Burn Test or OCCT. Please keep in mind that this test is brutal and not even close to real-world load (especially not that constant for that amount of time), so not many CPU coolers are expected to pass this test but the ones that do are exceptional. Results marked “100″ and in red means thermal limit was reached and the CPU was throttled, even for just but a second. This includes results where even just the first core reached the limit and even if it briefly happened.

It is marked as 100 in red in the review if it happens three times. Three runs are conducted per cooler and a fourth run is done after a remounting to verify. Last minute average is taken instead of peak because it represents the averaged behaviour of the thermal performance instead of worst-case scenario or a snapshot. Temperature delta results are used to account for variance since not all heatsinks can be conducted on the same day.

Sound Testing Methodology

The Corsair HX850W power supply’s fans only ramp up when system load is past 20% making it an excellent power supply to use for when testing the CPU cooler’s noise levels. Any load under that and the fan does not spin at all, effectively acting in passive mode.

The American Recording Technologies SPL-8810 meter is placed 20-inches/50cm from the source fan to measure sound level. The entire test unit is moved to an acoustically treated room to get the ambient noise as low as controllably possible for real-world results. All other fans are disabled to eliminate sound sources that are not from the cooling unit itself that is being tested. This includes all case fans and all other component fan is shut off. The boiler during winter or the air conditioner during summer is also shut off to eliminate ambient noise further and sound testing is conducted from 2AM to 5AM so sound traffic from the outside is minimized as much as possible. Fan levels are controlled manually via software and at a separate time from the temperature testing.

Sound level measurement is logarithmic so it is on a separate graph than temperatures because it is on a completely different scale.

Benchmarks

Stock Load Benchmarks

4.7GHz Load Test

The performance of the Eisbaer 240 is within expectations as the larger Corsair H110i with higher RPM fans produced cooler temperatures. Putting the noise level and the fan speed in the context however, the Eisbaer showed the best performance with the noise level factored in. In PWM mode, the Eisbaer is extremely quiet since even at 1500RPM, the fan noise is equivalent to that of Noctua’s NH-D15. The Eisbaer also leaves the 240mm radiator CM MasterLiquid Pro 240, Deepcool Captain 240EX and Silverstone TD02-E AIO coolers far behind.

15-minute Sustained Load Test:

Any CPU cooler considering itself high-end or cost over $90 should pass this test. Mainstream coolers fail this test quicky, and older generation AIOs cannot sustain cooling performance without throttling for more than 15-minutes of continous FPU-only load. The Eisbaer 240 passed without a problem.

Sound Profile (Fan RPM vs Noise Level) – Room ambient noise is 34.8dBA:

Final Thoughts

The words ‘silent’ and ‘AIO’ is not often mentioned in the same sentence. However, the Alphacool Eisbaer is truly quieter than others. It is quieter by design, using the right radiator with the right set of fans. It is also a very solid alternative to regular AIO CPU coolers with the flexibility of a custom loop.

Modders will find this flexibility a welcome change as they can easily afix their own preferred fittings, go hardline and even change radiators. Since the radiator is copper as well instead of aluminum, it can be incorporated in other custom loops and reused as well.

Overall, for providing the performance and value as promised, the Alphacool Eisbaer easily earns the Modders-Inc Editor’s Choice award. It does not rely on fancy effects or shiny extras, but it is highly functional and actually expandable without costing more than typical CPU AIO units. The only major downside is that the AM4 bracket costs extra. It is also available in a variety of radiator sizes and its expandable parts are readily available through authorized Alphacool re-sellers as well such as ModMyMods.com, Performance-PCs or Aquatuning.de.

Alphacool Eisbaer family Pricing information:

• Eisbaer 120 = $99
• Eisbaer 240 = $120
• Eisbaer 280 = $130
• Eisbaer 360 = $145