Introduction

Alphacool is a mainstay in the PC DIY watercooling hobby, offering something for everyone when it comes to water blocks, pumps, radiators, reservoirs, and a vast plethora of fittings. We've covered the brand extensively over the years, including with reviews of the highly impressive Core 1 and the even better value Core 1 LT CPU blocks. You might have noticed a trend with newer Alphacool products, with the more affordable ones falling in the Core series, including the Core GPU blocks, and the premium offerings in the Apex lineup, such as the Apex Stealth fans and the Apex Skeleton case. Logic dictated that we would thus see an Alphacool Apex CPU block too, and it just so happens to be the subject of today's review.


Just as I thought I had finished reviewing this generation of CPU water blocks, Alphacool pulls me back! I first saw the Apex 1 at Computex this year, with Alphacool having so many products on a large table that it was actually easy to miss if you weren't careful. Despite the nickel-plated sections looking grubby from random fingerprints at the show, it was immediately obvious this was meant to be a step up from the Core 1, let alone the Core 1 LT. The Alphacool Apex 1 is more socket-specific thus, with the brand confirming that the cooling engine is differently optimized for Intel and AMD CPUs—including an offset cold plate for AMD AM5 socket for improved cooling performance. I have plans in motion to set up a new each Intel and AMD CPU block test setup, but for now we'll continue to use my existing LGA 1700 test bench and see how the Apex 1 performs in our review today which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below. Thanks to Alphacool for providing review samples to TechPowerUp!

Specifications