Closer Examination

I don't believe the Alphacool Apex 1 will come in different colors/materials as with the Core 1 lineup, at least at this time. So you can expect the Intel and AMD versions to look fairly similar, and certainly matching when it comes to the design language. This is a big departure from all the Alphacool blocks I've tested over the years, with the Apex 1 going for an extremely wide and thick design. Indeed, such is the nature of the thick metal base and top cover that this block, which weighs nearly 900 g and measures in at 88 x 88 x 37.3 mm is easily the heaviest of any blocks I've reviewed in over a decade—some HEDT blocks may be heavier though, especially from the likes of Optimus and Bykski. The height is also only bested by the Granzon GAISC in recent memory, meaning the Apex 1 is certainly a chunky block thanks to the mounting bracket effectively being contained within the body. We see a monochrome colorway, including a black anodized aluminium cover—no contact with the coolant—with ridges on top and bottom left as seen from the front. There is then a nickel-plated brass inlay used for branding as well as to house the two G1/4" threaded ports, with the one near the bottom being the preferred inlet port as outlined in the manual. The metal threads are perfectly cut and there is minimal risk of micro-fractures with fittings being over-tightened as with some acrylic tops. On the other hand, the two ports are close enough to each other to where you will have to plan more with fittings since you can't just use large quick disconnects directly anymore—in case these are still in fashion these days!


A look from the side shows the aluminium top cover has a beveled edge before giving way to a nickel-plated brass base. What's not visible here, however, is that the aluminium cover is quite thin and actually covers a frosted white acrylic top that the coolant enters into. The brass bass is connected to it via several internally hidden screws similar to what we see with larger GPU blocks from some brands, and I think this is a cool idea. This also allows Alphacool to have integrated ARGB lighting, with one side of the acrylic exposed for some side lighting too. The ridges in the top also have cutouts to further allow some light through as we will see shortly, aiding this is a permanently attached cable jutting out the side which ends in a male JST connector. This is where the provided adapter cable comes in to allow you to directly control the LEDs from your motherboard.


Turning the block around reveals a plastic warning sticker placed over the cold plate. Remove this to reveal a shiny polish applied to the nickel-plated copper cold plate which is quite reflective as seen above. I did not notice any blemishes on either block and the cold plate itself appears to be lightly convex as usual.


Disassembly was done after all testing was completed, and this happens from the cold plate side with six hex head screws to remove. At this point the cold plate can be pulled off to reveal a different (from the norm) jet plate and cooling engine, which seems to be an evolved take of the 3D-jetplate we saw in the Core 1. In fact, the jet plate here is made of solid rubber and is 1.55 mm thick compared to the cold plate that is 3.6 mm in thickness. We see a lot of finely machined fins here going for a cross-slot design for added heat transfer area. The fins occupy a relatively large cold plate area in addition, spanning 38.5 x 32.5 mm, and the coolant itself goes with a standard split central-inlet flow pathway through the cooling engine, into the cold plate, and back out the other port.