The AlphaCool Eisbaer Aurora 360 AIO Cooler Review: Improving on Expandable CPU Cooling
by E. Fylladitakis on August 11, 2022 8:00 AM ESTConclusion
Alphacool brings the Eisbaer Aurora as an update of the revered – yet now aged – Eibaer AIO liquid cooler that they released roughly six years ago. The Eisbaer was an exceptional cooler at the time of its release, so the new version has very big shoes to fill.
It may seem like the only upgrade is the addition of RGB lighting, but Alphacool knew this would not be enough to compete in today’s market. Their engineers updated practically everything over the previous version, increasing the dimensions of the contact surface, making the radiator denser and better, and changing the corrugated hoses with flexible TPV ones. The fans are also better in terms of mechanical performance, as they have a much higher maximum speed and 0 to 2500 RPM PWM adjustability.
One of the primary selling points of the first Eisbaer liquid cooler was its very low noise levels. The new Rise Aurora fans are more powerful, and although that may have been a necessity to combat the higher resistance of the denser radiator, that makes the Eisbaer Aurora quite a bit louder. The full range speed control does help and it is highly unlikely that most systems will have this cooler’s fans running at a high speed under reasonable circumstances, as a single CPU cannot stress the capacity of such a monstrous cooler even if heavily overclocked. Regardless, when looking at the thermal performance to noise ratio, we can see that the Eisbaer Aurora 360 is not really significantly ahead of its direct competition.
Ever since the first cooler of the series, the expandability of the Eisbaer coolers was one of their main features. The Eisbaer Aurora 360 is very versatile, with a relatively powerful liquid pump and a radiator that can handle very heavy thermal loads, effectively offering expansion options depending on the user’s skill and needs. It has a quick release connector on the tubing for users that want to keep things simple and expand using parts that the company supplies specifically for the Eisbaer series, plus the company has simple tube compression fittings installed on every part that allow the user to completely remove the tubing if necessary. The Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora 360 practically is a standard, divisible liquid cooling kit that is being supplied preassembled and prefilled by the company.
Expanding the Eisbaer Aurora may be a relatively simple process, but the user has to take into account the impact that such an expansion will have on the performance of the system. For example, inserting a GPU block will add both resistance and thermal energy into the system, respectively reducing the flow of the pump and increasing the load on the radiator. The huge radiator of the Eisbaer Aurora 360 can certainly handle it, but every single part added will definitely drive operating temperatures up. In theory, a single loop can be expanded to cover multiple GPU blocks and more than one radiator but, as the pump cannot be upgraded, we advise against the installation of more than three items per system. It is technically possible to add an external pump into the system but that would beat the purpose of having an AIO solution in the first place, as a customized kit would perform better and cost less at this point.
In summary, the Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora 360 is a one-of-a-kind preassembled liquid cooler that combines the convenience of AIO coolers with the upgradability of a custom cooling kit. Its performance is not mind-blowing, but it is comparable to that of the best similarly sized AIO coolers currently out in the market. The retail price of the Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora 360 is its only drawback, as the cooler is currently retailing for over $200. This is quite a bit more than similar products from other reputable manufacturers, leaving Alphacool's marketing team with the less-than-easy task of convincing end users that the high quality and potential expandability of the Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora 360 are worth the premium.
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Juraj_SK - Thursday, August 11, 2022 - link
Why only 2 years warranty? Why aren't Germans be more confident with their product?There are competitors with 6 years warranty.
Or is liquid cooling something that needs to replaced regularly? (the tradeoff for the piece of silence :))
dysnomia - Thursday, August 11, 2022 - link
Aurora pump is very low quality, mine died exactly after one year.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNKk2QInf_g
meacupla - Thursday, August 11, 2022 - link
If I had to guess, the warranty is shorter because the user is allowed more control over the coolant loop. If extra parts are added, that adds more complexity to the loop, and more room for user error.Things like: insufficient water causing the pump to run dry, adding in water that is not sterile, adding in water with too much mineral content, galvanic corrosion from mixing copper and aluminum parts, etc.
Yes, the liquid should be replaced, or topped off, every so often. Even in CLCs, the water does eventually permeate through the tubes, and results in more air being introduced into the loop. More air means the pump has a chance of running dry, and generally more noise generated.
Gamer's Nexus did a whole video on proper CLC configuration to minimize premature failure of the pump, and it is worth a watch.
Bedub1 - Thursday, August 11, 2022 - link
It would be great to see this system retested with fans that are optimized for high static pressure. Will it still perform as well? Will it be quieter?Makaveli - Thursday, August 11, 2022 - link
Thanks for the review.I'm currently on a Gen 1 Corsair H150i which is very quiet. This cooler has had my eye for abit since I like that you can add on to it. So I was thinking going with
Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora 360 CPU - Digital RGB + Alphacool Eiswolf 2 AIO - 360mm Radeon RX
However I'm considering upgrading my 6800XT to something from RDNA 3 this christmas so will hold out to see if they make an RDNA3 compatible AIO then bite the bullet.
dysnomia - Thursday, August 11, 2022 - link
They have great radiators and not bad fans. That is about all.thestryker - Friday, August 12, 2022 - link
I'm always happy to see cooler reviews pop up here because Anandtech still has my favorite methodology and is computer hardware agnostic.This seems like a good upgrade from the prior though I do wish they'd opted for static pressure fans. I do also find the 2 year warranty period to be on the short side since the vast majority of AIOs have increased warranty period in the last few years. I'm assuming it is due to the custom nature as most custom loop components still are at 2 year, but it's still the lowest warranty in its price/perf range by a lot.
With PCIe 5.0 M.2 SSDs on the way maybe they'll be making a block for those which would easily slot into this and wouldn't have much impact on loop performance.
PeachNCream - Saturday, August 13, 2022 - link
It really makes very little difference in day to day use after a certain point in the CPU performance curve and that point is a relatively low bar if we're being realistic with ourselves (typing this post, for example, from the keyboard of Dell Inspiron 1545 Core 2 Duo laptop running Linux and it's perfectly adequate even 12+ years after it rolled off the assembly line) so cooling solutions like this that are intended to wring a few percent in performance out of an edge case processor which land at high cost are bling toys sold to idiots intent on prodigiously throwing away electricity and generating more waste as they needlessly and mindlessly chase upgrades that external influences have imparted in them as important in seeking out some sort of meaning for themselves. The saddest part is that they're so incapable of self-awareness that they'll always have these simplistic, plant-like responses to being good little consumers of unnecessary products, capabilities, and services.Makaveli - Saturday, August 13, 2022 - link
Wow dude!philehidiot - Monday, August 15, 2022 - link
Because everyone has exactly your needs and you know what everyone should be using. Thank you for sharing your insight, oh benevolent master.The small market for this kind of kit is reflected in the high price compared to competitors. Some of us do genuinely have a use for this kind of thing.
I also run a 12 year old laptop which does the day to day stuff just fine. But I also routinely hit up against the limits of my main PC. Coolers like this might just extract a few extra percent. But they also keep things quiet whilst recording audio and mine has been through several CPUs.
If you don't see a need for it, that's just fine. Those of us who have systems running at full pelt for days on end do actually appreciate an extra few percent when that few percent is time which is also money.
So neeeeeer, mr small willy. Bow before my humongous epeen.