My original review of the Eisblock XPX (which hilariously is now called the Eisblock XPX Original) was fairly positive, however skeptical about the ramp system's novelty as it pertains to its practical use in flow rate and thermal performance alike. At that time, other companies were also in the midst of updating their CPU water blocks to cater to the forecast increase in demand due to AMD's AM4 socket, as well as Intel's LGA 115x and 2066 sockets entering the scene. I suspected that the Eisblock XPX had not done enough to keep up with newer blocks released since then, and boy, was I mistaken. Every major player has either given up trying to get that extra tenth of a degree improvement in performance or is targeting high coolant flow, or other features altogether, including onboard displays, sensors, and RGB lighting, of course. The main change in this field has been the entry of more mainstream brands, such as Phanteks and CORSAIR, and in 2019, the Eisblock XPX ends up being more relevant and relatively better than before.

It helps that Alphacool has staged out releases of different versions. Be it with a satin nylon or polished nylon top, variants of the Eisblock XPX are different enough to Alphacool's originals, especially with the plethora of accessories on offer to customize the block. The use of nylon remains something no one else appears to be interested in, with it offering an alternative to acrylic and even polycarbonate, which itself is rarely used. I do also appreciate that Alphacool is able retain a high degree of CPU socket compatibility in a single package at a price point well in line with most others, if not at less than newer flagships today. As it is, the Alphacool Eisblock XPX does enough to merit a recommendation from me.