When I went about doing a big GPU block roundup, I knew I had to prepare for a few sticker shocks with many blocks increasing in cost owing to the rising material cost over the last couple of years, especially for copper and aluminium. The average GPU block last gen was in the $150+ range without a back plate included. Now we are seeing them in the $250+ range with a back plate included. It's hard to swallow when CPU blocks are somehow still available in the <$100 range. CPU and GPU blocks also go through iterative designs in that the cooling engine and the aesthetics package around only changes drastically every few years, with most brands opting to only have small changes here and there for socket/PCB compatibility. As such, we have here some new gen block designs and some pre-existing ones. Alphacool is one of those with a new design language as part of its Core product lineup and amazingly it happens to not only be one of the best performers but is also the least expensive full cover block I've tested for this roundup!

I specify full cover here because there is a universal GPU block review coming up and that product of course costs less. The Alphacool Core block discussed in this review is not cheap in either sense of the word at $190-200 depending on where you purchase it from. But when you consider the other contenders are $25-100 more and only the Heatkiller block (at $250) outperformed this one, things are easier to justify. Then there's also the part where the Alphacool Core was the least restrictive block and also comes with everything you need for installation, including an aftermarket I/O bracket and a screwdriver. If you are able to afford a 4090 Strix, then the extra for a GPU block isn't going to empty your wallet. Anyone going this route already has decided to budget for it and I think it's easy enough to say the Alphacool Core GPU block is the one to go for as long as you are fine with the aesthetics. It's not perfect but has the least compromises for its asking price.