I mentioned in the review of the Eisblock ES Acetal that I was not expecting Alphacool to be the best value offering when I went in testing the first batch of GPU blocks I received. That was a touch misleading on purpose since I only mentioned Alphacool, but was actually referring to this block. Coming in at ~$135 with an included backplate, it is the least expensive of the six combinations tested thus far and beats out the other Alphacool option by $15. I was not sure I read that right initially since an acetal top block with no lighting typically ends up costing less than a plexi top version with integrated RGB lighting, but the cooling engine and top construction is basically identical here, and the ES Acetal ends up employing the side-mounted I/O that requires more thought than the more typical top terminal unit seen here.

Those wanting a plexi top block will thus be happy with the Alphacool Eisblock GPX Aurora, although there are some caveats to consider. The distro-plate style top results in a crowded look through the acrylic and lots of O-rings and channels marring an otherwise clean aesthetic. The three-piece cold plate may also not appeal to everyone, at least from the front, even though it is a logical idea to get around taller capacitors on the PCB. The LEDs are more in number than with the EK offering, but still not sufficiently so for uniform lighting effects, especially towards the top. But that same distribution plate setup in the top results in a lower pressure drop across the block owing to the multi-way split, so the Alphacool Eisblock GPX Aurora ends up the least restrictive block tested thus far. Thermal performance is not the best, and looking past these caveats does become a lot easier once you get back to the $135 pricing. By virtue of being the least expensive block tested thus far, I'll give it a budget award, but of the two Alphacool blocks, I'd personally go with the ES Acetal one.