Friday, June 2nd 2023

Alphacool Presents Apex Stealth Metal Fans, Skeleton PC Case, and Water Cooling Solutions

Alphacool at Computex presented a few new products that highlighted what the company has been working on. First off, we have the Apex Stealth Metal fan among the latest products introduced by the brand, hailed as the world's first computer fan designed with entirely decoupled propellers, bearings, and motors from the chassis. The design minimizes both the vibration and the noise generated by the fan. The fan frame is constructed entirely of metal, showcasing the fresh Apex design. Additionally, it employs a 6-pole motor. The fan is touted as being silent due to its HDB (Hydro Dynamic Bearing) design. The fan blades are also fine-tuned to achieve maximum airflow and pressure, though specific details will still be released. The Apex Stealth Metal fan will be accessible in black, chrome, and white variants. Also in the pipeline is a unique variant called Alphacool ES Stealth Metal Fan Black, specifically designed for "Enterprise Solutions," featuring an integrated ventilation grill. The Apex Metal fan SKUs will be available for around $30 or less.
Alphacool also introduced its inaugural modular case, featuring uprights made from carbon fiber reinforced polymer and a custom distro plate. The design of the chassis harks back to a custom case style. The case is fully dismantle-able and rebuildable, making it a potential favorite among modding aficionados. The product, called Alphacool Apex Skeleton Carbon Case, will be offered in two variations. These are the Alphacool Apex Pro Skeleton Carbon Case and the Alphacool Apex Skeleton aluminium Case, the latter of which does not include a distribution plate or support for a vertical graphics card. The Apex Pro case with a custom distro plate will be available for $899, while the case-only solution will be available for $499.
In addition to the case and Apex Metal fans, Alphacool also introduced a few of the additional components for water cooling. There are new CPU water blocks called Core 1 CPU series, which feature the company's 3D Jet Flow engine and a new coldplate design. Next up, the company presented the Core T45 Aurora copper Radiator, which is a 45-mm thick pure copper radiator with aluminium casing. We have also pictures of some fans, some 3.1 USB cables, as well as massive CPU water blocks for the LGA 4677 socket, in 1U and 2U configurations.
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31 Comments on Alphacool Presents Apex Stealth Metal Fans, Skeleton PC Case, and Water Cooling Solutions

#1
Gungar
Metal frame fan ? it's not even pretty, completely useless for the price.
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#2
claes
I like it (the fan), curious to see how it performs
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#3
RH92
claesI like it (the fan), curious to see how it performs
Yeah curious to see how it performs especially in terms of static presure , considering the sides of the frame seem to be open .
GungarMetal frame fan ? it's not even pretty, completely useless for the price.
What do you mean by ''completely useless for the price ? We have nothing to compare it to for the time being both in termps of perf and price to perf .
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#4
Bwaze
RH92Yeah curious to see how it performs especially in terms of static presure , considering the sides of the frame seem to be open .
Yeah, sides look open, but the fan blades themselvrs have an outer ring, so I don't think thete's much difference compared to normal plastic housing fan.
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#5
EddyAlphacool
Alphacool Rep
RH92considering the sides of the frame seem to be open .
The sides are closed. Only the frame is open, but no air from the fan gets through. If you take a close look at the pictures, you can see that, even if it's a bit difficult to see in the pictures.
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#6
LocutusH
There were some VERY bold claims about performance. Lets wait for proper reviews.
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#7
Snoop05
LocutusHThere were some VERY bold claims about performance. Lets wait for proper reviews.
As usual for Alphacool :)
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#8
bonehead123
LocutusHLets wait for proper reviews.
^^THIS^^ (goes for both the fans & the case) like ASAP please, 'cause although the case looks kinda cool, the photos here don't really do it any justice :(
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#9
Rx771
Haha...... everybody clone a gentle typhoon, everybody become gentle typhoon.
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#10
dyonoctis
claesI like it (the fan), curious to see how it performs
If those numbers are accurate, it's the best fan in the world.
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#11
TechLurker
Rx771Haha...... everybody clone a gentle typhoon, everybody become gentle typhoon.
It IS still the standard by which everything was compared/benched against, being the first with a larger fan hub for more performance at a slight cost to a cooling dead-zone (which is why hardcore OC'ers back then used shrouds to add spacing). Even the Noctua AF12x25 ties with it in some of the tests; winning a few here, losing a few there, in certain RPM ranges and noise. It's only due to the fact that the GTs are old and Nidec hasn't really done any updates to the fan design that others can move into its space. Granted, Nidec is still predominantly an enterprise/commercial cooling provider, and the GTs just started off as a custom Scythe model based on one of Nidec's 38mm fans slimmed and optimized for 25mm.

Heck, if you look at all the actual GTs that have been rebadged, you'll see that Nidec really didn't innovate without investment by the partnering company.



Scythe: First GTs made in partnership with Nidec (Scythe owns/owned the Gentle Typhoon trademark, while Nidec held the design patent); produced 1150, 1450, and 2150 variants with a stock gray fan blade. Later produced high-performance variants under the AP-29, AP-30, and AP-31 models, with 3000, 4000, and 5000 RPM speeds respectively. That partnership included black fan blades, due to the materials needed.
- As a side-note, Scythe is now producing a successor GT named the "Grand Tornado" with a different fan manufacturer. It makes me wonder if they still hold the Gentle Typhoon trademark, or sold it to Nidec. Personally, they should also bring back the screamers as a PWM fan with 3000-5000 RPM named the "Gentle Hurricane" or "Grand Hurricane".

Darkside: After Scythe ended its business, Darkside paid Nidec to produce black fan blade versions of the more popular 1150, 1450, and 2150 RPM variants, and have marketed them since as Dark Edition GTs. Still being sold to this day.

Unspecified Distributor: At some point, Nidec finally added PWM to their GT line, and it comes in a 900-2150 RPM version, but with their stock gray fan blades.

ADATA: Under ADATA's XPG performance brand and rebadged as the Vento Pro, Nidec finally added anti-vibration pads to their PWM GT and basic wire-based daisy-chaining, but still has gray fan blades.


As far as Alphacool's new design goes, the concept seems sound, and could alleviate the issues with vibrations still making it to the case due to a lack of total isolation of the vibrating elements. The real question is how durable is the rubber-like dampening material that isolates the two frames from one another is without cracking or sagging over time.
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#12
Gungar
RH92Yeah curious to see how it performs especially in terms of static presure , considering the sides of the frame seem to be open .



What do you mean by ''completely useless for the price ? We have nothing to compare it to for the time being both in termps of perf and price to perf .
Well that's easy to answer, they aren't talking about performance in the announcement. So it's not top tier, buy it's high end price.
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#13
Eskimonster
That case and fan looks great, i want it.
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#14
GeekyTechnician
dyonoctisIf those numbers are accurate, it's the best fan in the world.
Yet the top fans on the market aren't there? Where's the Phanteks T30, Noctua iPPC 3000RPM PWM, Arctic P12 Max, Lian Li P28? That chart just makes it look like another run of the mill fan.
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#15
dyonoctis
GeekyTechnicianYet the top fans on the market aren't there? Where's the Phanteks T30, Noctua iPPC 3000RPM PWM, Arctic P12 Max, Lian Li P28? That chart just makes it look like another run of the mill fan.
The NF A12x25 is better than the NF-12 industrial when it comes to low noise/performance. The latter can only beat it when it's going above 2000RPM, and the SW4 is no slouch either :D. That graph is just vey odd tbh. A fan spinning at 2400 RPM and managing to stay below 30dB is just unheard of. And the numbers just don't match what other reviewers have measured.


So according to LTT even at 2900RPM, that fan sounds like it's running at 900RPM...Alphacool engineers themselves didn't expect that. We might have a fan revolution coming our way
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#16
eidairaman1
The Exiled Airman
GungarMetal frame fan ? it's not even pretty, completely useless for the price.
Its rigid
GungarMetal frame fan ? it's not even pretty, completely useless for the price.
GungarWell that's easy to answer, they aren't talking about performance in the announcement. So it's not top tier, buy it's high end price.
@EddyAlphacool
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#17
claes
dyonoctisSo according to LTT even at 2900RPM, that fan sounds like it's running at 900RPM...Alphacool engineers themselves didn't expect that. We might have a fan revolution coming our way
Igor’s lab does pretty decent reviews… if any of these claims are true then wow
eidairaman1Its rigid

@EddyAlphacool
Don’t know why y’all keep asking… @dyonoctis posted alphacool’s testing numbers above. They’re available here:
download.alphacool.com/legacy/Marketing-Material/Apex%20Stealth%20Metal%20Fan.pdf

Seriously can’t wait to see Igor’s review, hope @VSG can get one asap. If half of these claims are true then fan market = broken, Noctua and Phanteks et al are gonna have to revise real quick
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#18
Tomorrow
GungarMetal frame fan ? it's not even pretty, completely useless for the price.
What? $30 for a metal frame is suprisingly cheap considering other high end fans that use plastic cost about the same.
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#19
RH92
EddyAlphacoolThe sides are closed. Only the frame is open, but no air from the fan gets through. If you take a close look at the pictures, you can see that, even if it's a bit difficult to see in the pictures.
Ok thank you for the precision because from the released pictures it appeared that the only thing preventing air to go sideways was the blade ring .
BwazeYeah, sides look open, but the fan blades themselvrs have an outer ring
Yeah that's what i thought too .
dyonoctisIf those numbers are accurate, it's the best fan in the world.
Where do these measurements come from ?
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#21
RH92
Rx771Haha...... everybody clone a gentle typhoon, everybody become gentle typhoon.
Actually Scythe are getting out a replacement for the GT , they call it the Grand Tornado ( it uses LCP for the blades and for the hub too i believe ) . Things are about to get VERY competitive in the fan space .

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#22
claes
You mean it’s an a12/all of the lcp gt’s coming out lately?
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#23
Waldorf
@Gungar
lol, of course the world is turning around you..

do you have a pink bike? no? so we shouldn't make them, cause your not buying them?

just because something is not for you, doesnt mean its useless.
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#24
Dammeron
I'm also intrigued by those fans - might be a good option for solid front cases with narrow vents on the sides, like Define 6/7, or H510.

I'm more interested in their new Core2 tube res though. @EddyAlphacool - does it have an in-built D5 pump? It looks slick. I'm currently planning an LC loop for my Zotac 3070ti and now I don't know, if I should wait a bit for all this new stuff You've shown. :)
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#25
VSG
Editor, Reviews & News
FYI, the main thing I got with my brief time with the fans is dampened lower frequencies of the sound profiles from the fans. This is where most people listen well enough so the perceived sound is less. Not sure about the absolute sound level in SPL. The motor is certainly very efficient.
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