1. Introduction
Aquatuning GmbH is an IT cooling company founded in 2002 with its headquarters in Bielefeld, Germany. Aquatuning designs, manufacturers & distributes products meant for cooling IT components. It own brands such as: Alphacool and Phobya.
Official product link:
2. Packaging and accessories
The Cool Answer 240 D5-UT kit comes packaged in a cardboard box with a black background with silver & blue accents. The front side of the box presents the main components of the kit using a general image of each part. The name of the manufacturer and their website are printed on the lower side. The back side and the front side of the packaging are identical.
The sides of the packaging lists the components of the kit, here there is printed the logo of the manufacturer.
Each component is individually packaged, the packaging/boxes use the same layout & design as the packaging of the kit.
Accessories
The product comes with the following accessories:
– 1x Alphacool Power Supply bridge plug
– 1x Clear Cooling Liquid 1000ml
– 2x Alphacool NB-eLoop 1200rpm Fans
– 3x Alphacool Tube AlphaTube HF 13/10 – Clear Tubing
– 6x Alphacool Brass Fittings
3. Specifications
CPU Block: Alphacool NexXoS XP3 Light Acetal Edition
Socket Compatibility:
AMD: AM3 ( )/AM2( )/FM2( )/FM1( )/754/939/940.
Intel: 1150/1151/1155/1156, Intel 1366, Intel 2011(-3), Intel 775.
Weight: 0,279 kg
Connector: 2x G1/4
Dimensions (L x B x H): 63 x 73 x 14mm
Material cooling plate: Copper
Material top cover: Plastic
Radiator: Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 240mm
Manufacturer: Alphacool
Case: Steel
Weight: 1.484 kg
Connector: 6x G1/4
Cooling channels: Copper
Dimensions (L x B x H): 277 x 124 x 60mm
Fan mounting thread: M3
Fan size: 120mm
Fins per inch: 10
Material lamellae: Copper
Number of fans: 2
Pressure tested: 2 Bar
Thickness: L – 60mm
Reservoir: Alphacool Repack – Single Laing D5 – Dual 5,25 Bay Station
Manufacturer: Alphacool
Connector: G1/4″ inner thread
Dimensions: 125 x 148 x 84mm
Weight: 1 kg
Fill-port: G1/4″ inner thread
LED slot: Available (for 5mm LEDs)
Material: Plexi, POM, Brass
Model of reservoir: 2x 5 1/4″ Bayres
Number of connections: 2
Preinstalled pump: No
Pump compatibility: For 1x D5
Pump: Alphacool VPP655 – single edition
Approved fluids: Water, Water/ glycol mixture
Dimensions: 90 x 90 x 90 mm
Weight: 0,282 kg
Material: Plastic, ceramic
Max. Discharge head: 3,7m, Good (2 to 4m)
Max. Flow: 1500l/h, Extreme (more than 1400l/h)
Max. System temperature: 60° C
Possible control range: 8-24V DC
Power connector: 4Pin Molex
Power input: 23W
Voltage: 12V DC
Fan: Alphacool NB-eLoop 1200rpm
Air flow: 76,22 m³/h
Air flow range: 50 – 99 m³/h
Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25mm
Lifespan (at 25°C): 150.000 h
Power connector: 3Pin Molex
Power input: 0,85 W
Pressure: 0,893mm H2O
RPM signal transmission: Yes
Rated speed: 1200 U/min
Rated speed range: 1000 – 1450 U/min
Size: 120mm
Start voltage: 6V DC
Voltage rated: 12V DC
Volume: 16,1 dB(A)
Volume range: 10 – 19,9 dB(A)
Fluid: Alphacool Cape Kelvin Catcher Clear 1000ml
Color: Transparent
Content: 1000ml
Specification: Ready to use
UV – color: Non UV-active
4. Visual inspection
Alphacool NexXoS XP3 Light Acetal Edition
The CPU Block utilizes both copper & metal in its construction. The front side features two ports, inlet & outlet, both with the standard G1/4″ thread, the ports are labeled on the right side.
The base of the CPU block is made out of smooth copper, the plate is held in place with 4 copper screws.
Bundled with the CPU block we find the mounting system, a backplate for both Intel & AMD and a tube of thermal compound.
Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 240mm
The radiator uses a Low FPI (fins per inchO design, thus the fins density is lower, the UT60 uses 12 fins per inch. The radiator has a thickness of 60mm and a length of 277mm.
The radiator is compatible with standard G1/4″ fittings.
The radiator is accompanied by 16 screws of different lengths: 8 screws are meant for using the radiator with 25mm thick fans while the other 8 are meant to be used with fans that have a thickness of 30mm. In the package we also find 5 copper outlet plugs, next we have four golden Alphacool stickers and a Allen key.
Alphacool Repack – Single Laing D5 – Dual 5.25 Bay Station
The reservoir will fit in two 5.25” slots on the case, it utilizes a plexiglass construction. The reservoir uses standard G1/4″ fittings.
The filling of the reservoir is done at the front side, the fill port is placed on the right top corner.
At the back we find the pump slot, which holds the pump in place with a metal ring which is fixated with 8 screws.
The reservoir is accompanied by 8 screws and a Allen key.
Alphacool VPP655 – single edition
The included pump is the VPP655 model. For power the pump requires a 4-pin Molex connector and a 3 pin connector for RPM monitoring.
The pump is accompanied by a rubber washer.
Alphacool NB-eLoop 1200rpm
The two fans included in the kit are NB eLoop models with a maximum RPM of 1200. The blades of the fans are made out of blue transparent plastic, due to its structure the whole unit is solid.
The frame of the fan is black, also the structure of the frame is solid having no flex at all.
The back side of the fan uses 4 plastic beams to hold in place the blades & rotor of the fan.
The fan is powered using a 3-pin Molex connector. The cable of the fan is covered entirely in black sleeving.
The fans are accompanied by 4 metallic screws.
Alphacool Brass Compression Fittings
The kit includes 6 Alphacool compression fittings which use the standard G1/4 size. These compression fittings must be tightened by hand, tightening them with a tool can damage them.
Alphacool Tube AlphaTube HF 13/10 – Clear
The tubing used in the 240 D5-UT kit has a inner diameter of 3/8” (10mm) and a outer diameter of 1 /2” (13mm) with a length of 3m.
5. Testing
The following system was used to test the cooler:
– Processor: Intel i5 4690K @ 3.9 GHz and overclocked to 4.5 GHz
– Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 9 ACK
– RAM: 8GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical
– GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 660 OC Gaming
– SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB
– HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB
– PSU: Antec Edge 550W Gold
– Display: AOC i2769VM
– Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe White
– Thermal compound: Arctic Cooling MX-4
Software used for testing the cooler:
– AIDA64 Extreme Version: 5.50.3600 (9/29/2015)
– Intel Burn Test v2.54
– Prime95 28.5
The cooler was tested with the CPU at the default turbo frequency of 3.9 GHz and overclocked to 4.5 GHz with a core voltage of 1.187 V.
Also the included fans have been used at their maximum speed.
The room temperature was approximately 26°C (78°F), with 2°C margin of error.
The idle test consists of the CPU sitting idle at the desktop for 30 minutes, the temperature was measured at the end of the test.
The settings of the software used are the following:
Intel Burn Test v2.54 – Stress level: Maximum
Prime95 28.5 – small FFT
AIDA64 Extreme Version – Temperature monitoring.
Each test was conducted for 40 minutes.
The test results are as follows:
Idle
Full Load
The noise level was measured at three different distances from the fans (10cm, 20cm, 30cm.) the noise was measured with a margin of error of ± 5 db.
6. Final thoughts
Alphacool NexXxoS Cool Answer 240 D5/UT is a kit which includes all the components required to build a custom liquid cooling system. The performance in relation with the noise is exceptional,the kit is quiet even when the fans are at their maximum speed. Each component of the kit is of high quality, thus the user obtains a quiet & powerful cooling system which can be expanded in the future.
At 263 €, this kit justifies its price through its exceptional performance and the quality of the included components.
To improve the kit: the manual must be rethink-ed; it is quite short and addresses all the kits from the Alphacool range which makes the installation process harder.
The two included fans have a good performance from both an airflow & noise standpoint, however the 60mm thick radiator requires higher RPM fans.
