Closer Examination

The Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge looks similar to other Eisblock XPX water blocks in that it comes without a mounting bracket installed, but has a top that houses a version of their recently developed cooling engine. However, this is a high profile CPU block with a lot going on in and out. This block has a polished plexi top with a brass underlay and aluminium side cover, which is black with my sample as opposed to the chrome finish with the other version. An Alphacool logo has been put in the bottom-right corner of the front, below two BSP G1/4" threaded ports and markings on the brass underlay underneath to indicate the preferred inlet and outlet directions. These ports are well threaded and spaced far enough apart to fit most large fittings easily, including 16 mm OD fittings.

The side cover houses the 15 addressable digital RGB LEDs that shine inward on all four sided, and a cable comes out the side; it has a connector and pass-through that goes to some of the RGB controllers out there, including Alphacool's first-party offerings. The provided adapter cable converts it for a motherboard LED header as well.


Each side has a notch in the top, just where the pieces of the mounting bracket slide in and mate with each other above the cold plate. As seen above with the Intel bracket, for example, it is a secure fit, but you will have to get around the initial inclination, so be delicate as you have to press the pieces against each other hard to get them to overlap and stay in place. Once done, it looks more like any other Intel CPU block (or AMD with the AMD bracket) as it comes out of the box. Alphacool has implemented this mounting-bracket design across their CPU block generations, and it has the added benefit of increased customization in the form of optional color brackets that are sold separately. I will mention here that one of the two Intel mounting bracket pieces was warped out of the box, and I had to press down on it to flatten it before it would fit properly.

Turning the block over, we see a large transparent sticker telling us to remove it prior to installation lest it inadvertently adds a barrier against heat transfer. It is used to protect the mirror finish given to the cold plate, which is very reflective. There is a slight convex bow to mate with a convex/flat CPU IHS, and the installation mechanism should provide for good contact in the center and all the way to the corners.


Disassembly would generally be done after all tests are complete, but one of the O-rings in the top was slightly loose and coming out of the channel to where I did not feel comfortable testing it out of the box, so I took it apart to put the O-ring back in its place. Doing so is fairly easy—unscrew the four screws on the base plate and it comes apart. Multiple pieces and materials make up the Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge, including the plexi top with two ports and the ramp system, which we can get a good look at through the clear top. The coolant enters a designated inlet port and is moved towards the center and up a ramp. Then, the coolant is accelerated through a Venturi chamber which also splits up the flow before it is moved through the jetplate. Alphacool's intention is to split flow up across a larger contact area on the microfins and microchannels. Alphacool claims this will help produce more uniform and perhaps even above-average performance at lower coolant flow rates (0.3–0.6 GPM). The O-ring at the top is the one that was loose, and it had in fact come out completely when I was disassembling the block, so I encourage Alphacool to perhaps replace these stiffer translucent O-rings with others that will remain in place. I, and others, had a similar issue with the jetplate O-ring in the original Eisblock XPX, which Alphacool then updated as well.


The brass underlay has the markings for the ports, and the underside houses the stainless steel jetplate, which is thicker than average at 0.3 mm—it will provide for a noticeable bow all things remaining equal. Quick heating and quenching may have likely led to that oil-spill birefringence on the brass, which does not hurt performance if you were curious, but is another thing Alphacool could have gone the extra step for. The cold plate has 55.75 mm wide sides and is 3 mm thick, which is slightly more than most and decreases the rate of thermal transfer through it as a result. We get the usual machined set of ultra-thin microfins and microchannels which are ~0.2 mm thick and ~2 mm tall. The microfins occupy an area of 32 x 34 mm, which is above average, and there are a lot of these at 81, so all other things being equal, liquid flow restriction should be higher, but the increased surface area will aid thermal transfer from the cold plate to the coolant.