IntroductionHere we are again, with some brand new water blocks to cool your Nehalem or Lynnfield monster CPU. We got some strong contenders this time, which will give the blocks, that we already tested, a serious run for their money. Last roundup was really lacking most of the Europe fabricated blocks. This time we got them in the lab, due to the big effort done by the guys from Aquatuning. Gathering samples is not easy these days, as many of our mail requests go unreplied. So a big kudos to the manufacturers that already shipped their blocks for the previous I7 Roundup Part 1
Let's get that fluid flowing.
Alphacool Livingstone:Alphacool, based in Germany is a well known and respected brand in Europe. Alphacool's headquarters and main production facilities are based in Braunschweig.
Some technical data ripped of the Alphacool's website:
This block is the result of combining the proven design of the NexXxos XP X² Highflow and the XP Bold Cooler. Due to a high flow rate ( up to 4.7 liters/min) the block ensures good performance on Intel and AMD CPU's. The block in its current design is compatible to all Intel sockets (S775/1366 and the new I5 1156 socket). The AMD version is fully compatible with all the known AMD socket designs known to mankind.
This block was based on the interiors of the NexXos X² blocks, while the exterior was derived from the XP and Bold blocks from Alphacool. Weighing 404 grams this is not a lightweight at all. The all massive metal nickel coated top and bulletproof mounting plate are responsible for its elevated Body Mass Index.
Isn’t she pretty? Look at that massive mount and top block, if ever ya PC should fall of the table, I'm pretty sure the block will be intact while the rest of hardware might be shattered all over the floor.
Base is smooth; some might have expected or preferred a polished surface. It's a known fact however, that the latter does not warrant a performance advantage over the rawer version.
The mounting plate also acts as the diffuser for the incoming fluid... Most modern blocks use a separate jet-plate for that purpose. Alphacool went here for 53 tiny
venture inspired jets. If this nice craftsmanship still works on modern CPU's, that's another question.
The mounting mechanism is based on the well known and most common used screw, spring, washer and nut mechanism. No back plate, nor fittings in the box. Only a small tube of thermal grease is added as accessory.
Livingstone mounted and ready to handle some bucket loads of heat...
Thank you!
Must have been hard work benching so many blocks... and doing them all again just due to change of thermal paste. Thorough to say the least...
Though I am new to watercooling this is the only article I have found that tests this many waterblocks. This will sure help me in buying the right block for me.
Are there any other sources available like this?
None the less. Just felt like after all that hard work you deserved at least one thank you .
And I hope that you will expand this article over time so that it could be a big buyers guide almost... Covering as many waterblocks with real tested data as possible? Or does this exist already? Would be a major way for madshrimps to become even more unique?