Alpenföhn have yet another cooler to offer with intent to complete their line-up. Can it compete against its closest rival; the Thermalright Archon?
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Alpenföhn
MSRP: 59.90Euros
Street Price: £46.79
Another week goes by and we have yet another cooler from Alpenföhn, in the shape of the Himalaya. This time, ultimate performance makes way for a cheaper, smaller, lighter and more space friendly alternative. That’s not to say that Alpenföhn are targeting those on a strict budget because the recently released Triglav takes that position already. Instead, Alpenföhn are aiming at the same market Thermalright currently do with their Archon and Venomous X; single tower coolers delivering excellent cooling potential without the cumbersome size-related issues that plague dual tower coolers. Certainly, we only have to look at the six heat piped design of the Himalaya to get an indication of where Alpenföhn are placing this product. Marketed as a ‘SlimTower’ cooler, it fulfils the requirements of enthusiasts looking to buy tall heatsinked memory modules without the compromise of diminished cooling potential that typically goes alongside smaller-sized coolers or so it aims to accomplish. Like many previous Alpenföhn coolers, the Himalaya is hoping to continue the company’s virtue of aesthetics and innovation, which on initial impressions they seem to be achieving thanks to the cooler’s slick aluminium construction and uniquely shaped fins.
Continuing on their naming traditions, the Himalaya takes its name from the famous mountain range separating the Indian Subcontinent from the rest of Asia; perhaps aptly named to reflect the height of the cooler at 164mm. This isn’t dissimilar to the Thermalright Archon’s design and purpose. Alpenföhn are confident that their cooler can match the might of its namesake so we are holding high judgement on the Himalaya. There’s nothing to suggest otherwise after all; the cooler features aluminium and copper construction, six 6mm heat pipes and encompasses many other features borrowed from other Alpenföhn coolers such as the precision CNC machining done to the base, as found on the K2 and Matterhorn, and a single 140mm Wing Boost fan, as bundled with the K2. Again, we can’t fail to draw comparisons to the Thermalright Archon, which is many ways shares a similar design concept.
Let’s see what Alpenföhn have to say about their Himalaya heatsink:
Ultimate performance, ultra-low noise and perfectly finishes surfaces…
With the Alpenföhn Himalaya the engineers of Alpenföhn impressively show what a modern SlimTower cooler should be like.
Ultimate performance, ultra-low noise and perfectly finishes surfaces…
With the Alpenföhn Himalaya the engineers of Alpenföhn impressively show what a modern SlimTower cooler should be like.
Making a very promising start in terms of dimensions and features, the Himalaya is set to compete against some of our best. Can Alpenföhn deliver on this promise or will it disappoint? The Matterhorn failed to live up to our expectations previously so hopefully Alpenföhn have learned their lesson this time round.
Features and Specifications
Features:
Asymmetrical heatsink for enhanced flexibility:
With a total width of 143mm, the asymmetrical heatsink ensures an optimized airflow through the heatsink for any 140/120mm fans.
With a maximum depth of only 55mm all memory slots can be populated – even if high heatspreaders are used on the modules.
All contact surfaces between fins, heat pipes and baseplate are soldered.
Heat pipe/Base plate:
The six U-shape heat pipes have a large contact area to the full copper base plate to optimise the heat transfer from the CPU. By precision CNC machining, the surface of the base plate is extremely flat.
Wing Boost 140:
The Wing Boost 140mm fan is equipped with injected anti-vibration elements, WB Technology and HDS bearing.
With a total width of 143mm, the asymmetrical heatsink ensures an optimized airflow through the heatsink for any 140/120mm fans.
With a maximum depth of only 55mm all memory slots can be populated – even if high heatspreaders are used on the modules.
All contact surfaces between fins, heat pipes and baseplate are soldered.
Heat pipe/Base plate:
The six U-shape heat pipes have a large contact area to the full copper base plate to optimise the heat transfer from the CPU. By precision CNC machining, the surface of the base plate is extremely flat.
Wing Boost 140:
The Wing Boost 140mm fan is equipped with injected anti-vibration elements, WB Technology and HDS bearing.
Specifications
•Cooler dimensions : 55x140x164mm (DxWxH)
•Cooler weight: 1002g (With 2 fans) / 859g (With no fans)
•Heat pipe: 6mm x6 units
•Cooler material: full copper heat pipes and base, aluminium fins
•Compatibility: Intel Socket LGA1155, 1156, LGA1366, LGA775 (LGA2011 mounting kit provided free on request), and AMD AM2/2+/AM3, K8, FM1
Fan specifications – Wing Boost 140
•Fan dimension: Length 140x140x25mm (LxHxW)
•Weight: 143g
•Operating voltage: 12 VDC
•Fan speed: 300-1100RPM
•Fan noise level: 10-19.4 dB(A)
•Fan Airflow: 61.62 CFM
•PWM: Yes
Included accessories
•1x Mounting material for Socket 775,1156,1366, AM2, AM2(+), AM3
•4x Fan mounting brackets
•1x syringe thermal grease
Dimensions
The Himalaya finds itself slotted between the Matterhorn and the dual-tower K2 according to Alpenföhn’s marketing. It is part of a new generation of ‘SlimTower’ coolers, as dubbed by Alpenföhn, in the hopes of tackling the growing concerns of compatibility between high-end air coolers and tall memory heatsinks. In previous reviews, we found no such issues with the Thermalright Venomous X which to this day is still one of the best heatsinks around. Despite that, manufacturers have been keen to design narrower heatsinks to settle this problem once and for all. The reasoning is justified given the number of times I see people querying whether a heatsink is compatible with a particular set of RAM, but my personal viewpoint remains that people should always opt for low profile memory. Nonetheless, the demand is still there and if the likes of the Venomous X can handle high heat loads with similar efficiency to the Noctua NH-D14, there is no reason why ‘SlimTowers’ can’t do the same. The first attempt at such a concept was of course from Thermalright themselves in the form of the ]Archon and Alpenföhn are following suit with their Himalaya so it’s hard not to draw comparisons between the two.
In terms of dimensions, the Himalaya is 164mm tall, 6mm shorter than the Archon so case compatibility is less of a problem. There was a degree of irony when the Archon turned out to be too tall for the majority of mid-tower cases when it was so focussed on memory compatibility instead. The Himalaya should face fewer issues here as a result. Depth-wise, the two are very similar; the Himalaya being 55mm and the Archon less deep by 2mm. For comparison, a single radiator on the K2 is 50mm deep. Finally, the Himalaya is 140mm across whereas the Archon is substantially wider at 155mm. Although the dimensions favour the Archon in terms of cooling surface area, it is important to note the design of the Himalaya’s fin stack.
The Himalaya uses a standard aluminium and copper construction for the fins and base respectively. The six 6mm heat pipes are also made of copper. As usual, the Alpenföhn’s construction feels very robust. A noteworthy addition is the supplied Wing Boost 140mm fan. At a rated speed of 1100RPM, it produces less airflow than Thermalright’s TY-140 fan (73CFM) and marginally less than Noctua’s NF-P14 (64.92CFM) but the rated noise level is lower. Alpenföhn have also continued their tradition of supporting all sockets dating back to the AMD K8 days and Intel’s LGA775.
For a lightweight, SlimTower cooler, the Himalaya promises much so let’s take a closer look at what it offers.
Packaging and Content
The packaging
Keeping in theme with their naming scheme, the white box depicts the cold one would experience on the Himalaya and fittingly from their cooler. The package is simple but very effective. As usual, the cooler is illustrated at the front with the brand and model name also printed in bold. The background reveals a silhouette of a mountain and thankfully this is subtle to avoid the tacky effect we found with the Matterhorn. The box further features their traditional handle for easy carrying. Perhaps not as remarkable as the K2’s packaging but it does its job.
The specifications
On one side of the box is the standard placement for the specifications, listing the heatsink and fans details, as well as highlighting socket compatibility. Although not listed on the package, the cooler has support for recently released LGA2011 motherboard thanks to Alpenföhn’s free upgrade kit. Alpenföhn have to be commended for such support and we can only wish that some other manufacturers follow suit. The specifications provide potential buyers a quick preview of what to expect from the cooler in terms of performance and size.
The features
On the other side, a few key features are listed such as their asymmetrical heatsink design for optimised airflow, compatibility with tall memory modules, inclusion of a 140mm Wing Boost fan and the heat pipe count/ base plate design. So far, very promising.
Opening the box
Inside, the Himalaya is neatly and securely packaged. The heatsink is wrapped in a plastic bag and positioned with foam to avoid movement during transit. The fan is boxed separately within the main package, as are the accessories kit. Whilst not as meticulous as the K2’s packaging, it does a fine job preventing potential damage.
The bundle
Alpenföhn have to be commended once again here for developing a brand new mounting mechanism that is leaps ahead of their previous efforts. The bundle includes:
-1x Himalaya heatsink
-1x 140mm Wing Boost fan
-1x Universal backplate
-4x Fan wire clips (120mm fans)
-4x Fan wire clips (140mm fans)
-2x 7V low noise adapters
-1x 4pin to Molex adapter
-2x Intel mounting brackets
-2x AMD mounting brackets
-4x Nuts
-4x Insulation pillars
-4x Double screw bolts
-4x Anti-vibration buckles
-1x LGA775 insulating washer
-1x Thermal Paste syringe
Alpenföhn have settled for a universal installation kit, the same one found on the K2. This is an excellent decision as the mounting kit is much improved over their previous designs. It is on par with Noctua’s SecuFirm2 and Phanteks’s SoliSku mounting kit. Another observation is the 8 wire clips, 4 of which are for two 120mm fans, and the other 4 for two 140mm fans. We have to note here that although the Wing Boost 140 is indeed a 140mm fan, it has been specially designed with 120mm mounting holes. The additional 140mm wire clips are to allow 140mm fans with standard mounting holes such as the original Wing Boost 140mm fan.
The Himalaya heatsink
Like the K2, Alpenföhn have created yet another heatsink that oozes class and quality. The single tower cooler resembles no other cooler in its class, highlighting the company’s creativity and flair for aesthetics. Its shape is very distinctive and the heat pipe layout and fin array further accentuates its uniqueness. The first striking feature is its shiny silver finish thanks to the aluminium construction and nickel-plated finish. Its narrow depth is the second factor distinguishing the Himalaya from other such heatsinks at a mere 55m.
Closer Look
The front face of the cooler
The front face reveals a very densely packed fin array comprising of 50 flat, laminar fins separated by a mere 2mm. This reflects the design of the K2 rather than other heatsinks which favour a 2.5mm spacing instead. It means that fans with higher static pressures are favourable over high RPM and airflow alone. Compared to the Thermalright Archon, the Himalaya has one less fin. The dimensions give each surface an area of approximately 7700mm squared, 50 less than the Archon and with 1 fin less, the Archon comes out on top. The fins are all parallel to each other so apart from the distinctive geometrically shaped fins, nothing else contributes to increasing turbulence through the heatsink. Unlike the Archon, the width of the front face isn’t overly disproportionate at 140mm so we don’t expect compatibility issues with adjacent expansion devices. Through the array, we can also see the U-shaped heat pipes rising as columns.
The side profile
The side profile highlights how narrow the heatsink is at 55mm. The heatsink protrudes hardly further than the dimensions of the base, a good indication that memory compatibility will be ensured. The sides are also opened unlike the K2’s closed fins. We also observe the notches keeping the stack supported, complimenting the heat pipes. The heatsink features a slight asymmetry so that the thicker half is at the back and therefore does not come in the way of memory modules. As Alpenföhn state, it enhances flexibility during installation.
The fin array
The Himalaya continues Alpenföhn’s history of having unique fin arrays. We see here that the array is made of 10 five layered stacks where one set features triangular out-protrusions and the set immediately below features corresponding triangular cut-out. These not only increase turbulence to improve thermal transfer efficiency but also add to the visual appeal of the cooler.
Distinctive fin design
From a different perspective, we see that the whole front face is actually flat in profile and the pattern does not protrude further than the linear flat areas. It’s nice to see Alpenföhn coming up with designs unusual from the norm as it really distinguishes them from their competitors and gives them character.
The heat pipes
The Himalaya sports six 6mm U-shaped heat pipes all connected directly to the copper base. These are bent in different shapes to produce three rows of heat pipes. The heat pipes are soldered to the base to improve heat transfer from the CPU. The two end heat pipes curve towards the outside edge of the heatsink such that they are immediately adjacent to each other.
The heat pipe ends
Looking at the top layout of the heat pipe ends, we see three rows of 4. Half of the heat pipe ends are rounded while the other three are grooved at the tip. The top fin is characterised by a partition near the middle dividing the heatsink into two blocks, and separate partitions near the side edges each housing two heat pipe ends. The fin is also very reflective and prone to finger prints, a downside compared to the matt finish of the K2. The centre hole acts to improve airflow efficiency within the heatsink. The heat pipe distribution is very unique but it is not a very efficient design. Although they are oriented such a way that all are cooled by direct airflow, the two heat pipes at the side are too closely spaced to efficiently disperse the heat. There is limited fin surface area over which the heat can subsequently dissipate to.
The copper base plate
The copper base has a perfect mirror finish thanks to CNC machining. Thankfully it is also a lot smaller than the K2’s base so heat transfer more quickly to the heat pipes.
The flatness of the base
The base is ever so slightly convex with a tiny gap at the outer edge of the base. However, nearer the centre where the CPU will be placed under, the base appears to be quite flat. Certainly, it did a great job spreading a blob of thermal paste through pressure alone, indicating a flat surface.
Closer Look (Continued)
The Wing Boost 140mm fan
The Alpenföhn Wing Boost fan is no stranger to the Vortez test bench, having undergone extensive tests and coming out positively in its 140mm variant. The frame is circular in this case as opposed to the traditional square to make installation easier with 120mm fan clips, despite 140mm fan clips being bundled anyway. Otherwise the two Wing Boost 140mm fans are identical mechanically, operating between 300-1100RPM. The fan frame has a rubberised texture acting as a natural anti-vibration layer. Unlike the Noctua NF-P14, the colour is choice is also more pleasant thanks to its inner white casing and blue blades, although the black and white variant bundled with the K2 still looks better.
The back of the fan
At the back of the fan is the logo sticker covering the rotor. The Wing Boost fan features hydraulic bearing with an impressive 100,000 hours lifespan. The frame is supported by four arms.
The fan cable
The fan also features densely woven braided cables with 4 pin connectors for PWM functionality. The cables also feel rubberised. Underneath the braiding, the cables are black and grey so no red, yellow and black cables creating an eye-sore.
The fan wire clips
The fan clips bundled with the K2 are the same as the ones on the Matterhorn and just as tedious to install. The problem is that when installing the fans inside a case, it was hard to clip the ends into the fan mounting holes and clip the sides into the grooves alongside the heatsink at the same time, without the ends coming out of the fan frame whilst doing so. The only sure way of doing it perfectly is to install the cooler onto the motherboard along with the fans outside the case but then there’s the issue of installing the motherboard back in. A better method would have been to somehow secure the clips to either the heatsink or the fans first prior to actually installing the fans. The other three dual tower coolers have no such issues in comparison.
The cooler and fan
With the fan installed, the Himalaya is complete. The combination of colours works very well and the fan itself can be adjusted in height so that installation inside cases is made easier. Another two 120mm wire clips are bundled for an additional fan or alternatively 4 140mm wire clips for compatible fans.
The Himalaya installed
Once installed onto the motherboard, the Himalaya actually doesn’t take up much real estate. Instead it towers over everything else, more so than other coolers apart from the Archon. The width of the cooler also means that it doesn’t come into conflict with adjacent expansion devices, especially on the Rampage III Extreme where the top PCIe slot is a fair distant away.
Memory compatibility
Memory compatibility is a non-issue with the Himalaya, not surprising since that was its main goal. Even with the fan installed, the nearest slot isn’t overhung so all slots can be populated with tall memory modules. Even the Archon may have slight problems in this regard because the wire clips protrude further out than the fan so a thumbs up to Alpenföhn here.
Test Setup
CPU – Intel Core i7 920 – 2.66/4.0GHz
RAM – 6GB (3x2GB) OCZ Platinum DDR3 1333MHz
Motherboard – ASUS Rampage III Extreme
Graphics card – Inno3D GTX570 1.25GB
Power Supply – Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W
Hard Drive – OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB
Samsung F1 320GB
Samsung F3 1TB
Case – Lian Li B25B
Drivers – Nvidia ForceWare 285.38
CPU Coolers:
Alpenföhn Himalaya including tests using 1/ 2 Föhn 140, 2 Noctua NF-P12s/NF-P14s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Alpenföhn K2 including tests using 2 stock fans, 2 Föhn 140, 2/3 Noctua NF-P12s/NF-P14s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Cooler Master Hyper 612S including tests using 1 stock fan, 2 Noctua NF-P12s/NF-P14s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Corsair H100 including tests using 2/4 stock fans, 2 Noctua NF-P12s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Phanteks PH-TC14PE including tests using 3 Phanteks PH-F140TS, 2 Noctua NF-P12s/NF-P14s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Alpenföhn Triglav including tests using 1 stock fan, 2 Noctua NF-P12s/NF-P14s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Antec KÜHLER H2O 620 including tests using 1 stock fan, 2 Noctua NF-P12s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Antec KÜHLER H2O 920 including tests using 2 stock fans, 2 Noctua NF-P12s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Prolimatech Genesis including tests using 2 Noctua NF-P12s/NF-P14s, 2 SWiF2-120Ps and 2 Prolimatech Blue Vortex 14s
NZXT Havik 140 including tests using 2 NZXT fans, 2 Noctua NF-P12s/NF-P14s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Alpenföhn Matterhorn including tests using 2 Noctua NF-P12s/NF-P14s, 2 SWiF2-120Ps and 2 Föhn 120 Wing Boost fans
Prolimatech Super Mega including tests using 2 Noctua NF-P12s/NF-P14s, 2 SWiF2-120Ps and 2 Prolimatech Blue Vortex 14s
Noctua NH-C14 (U.L.N.A and default speed) including tests using 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Thermalright Silver Arrow including passive and tests using 2 Noctua NF-P12s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Thermalright HR-02 including passive and tests using Noctua NF-12/NF-P14s and Thermalright TR TY-140
Thermaltake Frio (Low/med/high speed) including tests using 2 Noctua NF-P12s
Corsair H50 including tests using 2 Noctua NF-P12s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
CoolIT ECO A.L.C including tests using 2 Noctua NF-P12s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Thermalright Venomous X using 2 Noctua NF-P12s and 2 SWiF2-120Ps
Coolink Corator DS including tests with dual fan setups
Tuniq Propeller 120(High speed fan)
Noctua NH-C12P SE14
Prolimatech Megahalem
Noctua NH-D14 (U.L.N.A and default speed)
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366
Thermolab Baram (with 2 Noctua NF-P12 fans)
CoolIT Domino A.L.C
Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus including test with 2 Noctua NF-P12 fans
Alpenföhn Nordwand including test with 2 Noctua NF-P12 fans
Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme (Low/med/high speed)
Program Suite:
Core Temp 0.99.5
LinX stress Test
CPUID HWMonitor
How I tested:
Testing will be based on temperatures recorded by Core Temp and HWMonitor after 20 passes of LinX stress test. The maximum absolute temperatures will be recorded after the test and averaged over the 4 cores. The delta is then calculated by substituting the ambient temperature recorded near the intake fans. All tests are conducted with the i7 920 at its default 2.66GHz stock speed and overclocked to 4GHz. As always, the tests are done inside my own Lian Li B25B case to simulate real world conditions. To keep the tests standardised and based on people’s tendency to use their own thermal paste, we apply Thermalright’s ChillFactor II thermal paste to all coolers unless specified in the result entries (where the bundled thermal paste performs better).
Installation
Mounting kits has never been Alpenföhn’s forte, not so much a problem with the Triglav and Nordwand, but terrible for the higher-end Matterhorn. It was therefore a great sigh of relief to see that Alpenföhn have listened to our pleas and created a far better option, one that can be considered on par with Noctua’s famous SecuFirm 2 kit. As such, installation is an absolute breeze. The following steps detail installation on LGA1366 based motherboards.
1. The first step is to identify the right mounting holes on the universal motherboard back plate. LGA775 users need to place the square insulating washer on top.
2. Insert the double screw bolts and secure them with the anti-vibration buckles.
3. Install the back plate to the motherboard ensuring all the screws align with the mounting holes.
4. Place one insulation pillar on each corner.
5. Install the appropriate AMD or Intel motherboard bracket so that the semi-circular rim faces outwards and. Secure them with the 4 nuts provided.
6. Place the heatsink on top after applying a drop of thermal and secure it with the retention place. Screw each end bit by bit in an alternating fashion.
Frankly, I have no qualms with their new mounting kit and it demonstrates Alpenföhn’s careful attention to ours and their customers’ requests. The use of a proper back plate and retention plate is welcome as it provides much better support for the heavy cooler and thanks to the retention plate’s specially designed shape; the cooler is firmly secured once installed. The addition of the rubber buckles to the back plate is also very clever, not only in securing the screw in place but also as an anti-vibration insulating washer. Despite the many positives observed on the installation, the fan installation is a completely different story.
Results (Grouped)
The results have been arranged in terms of the fan configuration that yields the best results for each cooler. However, it is important to take into account that many coolers come with their own fans and changing those increases the costs significantly, so the “out of the box” cooler configurations have been highlighted in red each group.
Stock
The group results end up in the middle of our table just ahead of the Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme and the Thermalright Archon so in that sense, not a bad start. Let’s focus on the different fan configurations for now. The Himalaya in its default configuration only uses a single Wing Boost 140mm fan with which the delta temperature is 34.5C. Adding a second fan doesn’t improve performance at all in this case. Changing to some Noctua NF-P12s, we see a small drop in performance whereas with the 140mm variants, temperatures improve by 1C over the stock configuration. The best performance is the result of using two higher RPM Coolink fans.
Results (Ascending order)
Stock
The Himalaya in its default single fan configuration is on par with a lot of other good performing coolers such the Cooler master 612S and even the Thermalright Archon with its single TY-140 fan. The fact that the Phanteks yields the same 34.5C delta temperature passively highlights its efficiency rather than the Himalaya’s weakness since the former is in a completely different league. With the 120mm Noctua fans, the Himalaya becomes comparable to the Triglav, one of Alpenföhn’s budget orientated coolers. However, the other Alpenföhn cooler, the Matterhorn, still lags behind using the same two fans. The Himalaya fares much better using two of Noctua’s NF-P14s and the Coolink fans. With the former, the result is a 33.5C delta temperature which is enough to put it on par with the Archon using the same two fans or even two TR-140s. Coupled with the Coolink fans, the Himalaya is a mere 0.25C behind the Havik 140 and surprisingly beats the Corsair H100 using the same fan configuration.
Results (In-depth analysis)
In the next comparison, we look at the default cooler performance as they come out of the box with their bundled fans. Coolers that come with no fans have been coupled with Noctua’s NF-P12 or fans that the manufacturers intended their coolers to be used with.
In its default configuration, the Himalaya finds itself in the middle of the table. It is comparable to the Cooler Master Hyper 612S and its closest rival, the Archon. The Matterhorn and Triglav are lower down the table, indicating as expected that the Himalaya is a higher end offering from Alpenföhn. It is also a mere 0.5C short of the Corsair H100 with its fan at 1300RPM which given the smaller footprint of the Himalaya is impressive.
Using two Noctua NF-P12s, the Himalaya falls slightly short of the Archon suggesting that the latter is more efficient with the smaller fan. Surprisingly, it matches the 3 heat piped Triglav. The Himalaya impresses in that it can generate the same result as Antec’s high end 920 ALC but disappoints compared to other single tower coolers.
With the Coolink fans instead, its efficiency proves better than the Corsair H100 and Antec’s ALC units. It also sounds beats the Archon by 1C implying that the more densely packed fin array benefits from the higher RPM fans.
The Himalaya was built with 140mm fans in mind so it’s not surprising to see it perform admirably with two Noctua NF-P14s. It matches the Archon’s efficiency and can only be outperformed by larger single and dual tower coolers.
Results Overclocked (Grouped)
The results have been arranged in terms of the fan configuration that yields the best results for each cooler. However, it is important to take into account that many coolers come with their own fans and changing those increases the costs significantly, so the “out of the box” cooler configurations have been highlighted in red each group.
4GHz
We often see Alpenföhn coolers losing ground trying to cool overclocked CPUs and irritatingly, the Himalaya doesn’t overcome this habit. Immediately, we see the whole group trailing near the bottom of our table but as usual, let’s take a closer look how the different fan configurations perform first. The worse performance comes from the default fan configuration at a 63.5C delta. This time, adding a second fan results in a 1C temperature drop due to the higher heat load requiring faster thermal transfer. Opting for Noctua fans improves temperatures further, the NF-P14 contributing more so to drop the delta by 3.5C compared to the stock single fan configuration. Once again, the best result is attributed to the Coolink fans.
Results Overclocked (Ascending order)
4GHz
Seeing how the Himalaya compares against its competitors, our chart immediately highlight that the results skewed to the bottom. The default single fan configuration fails to even outperform the Triglav, despite the latter being budget orientated. Even with two fans, it only manages to match the much older Nordwand in its default configuration. Thankfully, the non Alpenföhn fans fare much better. Although the two NF-P12s allow the Himalaya to outperform the Coolink Corator DS and the Triglav with two 140mm fans, the Himalaya still lags behind the default Matterhorn configuration. The NF-P14s are not enough for the Himalaya to break the 60C delta barrier whereas the Coolink fans fail to beat the HR-02 with a single fan. For comparison, the Matterhorn requires lower RPM fans to produce the same results.
Results Overclocked (In-depth analysis)
In the next comparison, we look at the default cooler performance as they come out of the box with their bundled fans. Coolers that come with no fans have been coupled with Noctua’s NF-P12 or fans that the manufacturers intended their coolers to be used with.
Taking a closer look at the results, we see that the Himalaya doesn’t fare well against the competition. Despite matching the Archon at lower CPU speeds, it drops behind by 5.25C with the overclocked CPU. Even the old Nordwand and Matterhorn fare better.
Efficiency with the Noctua fans is lower than the Archon by 2.75C. The Nordwand and Matterhorn once again prove to be superior.
With the Coolink fans, the Himalaya drops very close to the bottom of the table. The Archon once again proves to be the better alternative with a 2.25C temperature advantage.
Unfortunately, the Himalaya simply cannot compare to the other tower coolers and the Archon extends its gap in terms of efficiency with the NF-P14s.
Conclusion
It becomes irritating when a promising product comes in for testing and it fails to live up to our expectations and even the company’s product marketing. Alpenföhn are one of the biggest culprits in those respect. Over a week ago, we met the much anticipated K2 and despite excellent performance, it wasn’t enough to match the best in its class. The Himalaya has turned out to be very similar relative to its target market, failing to deliver leading performance to be made an example of. The cooler was designed as a ‘SlimTower’ to tackle the growing concerns of memory compatibility and ease of installation. On that note, Alpenföhn have to be credited to doing just that and giving us a solution that allows all memory slots on a motherboard to be populated by tall modules. Cooler dimension was always going to be key here and even Thermalright had to make compromises to compensate for its narrow depth. Thankfully, the Himalaya doesn’t sport unusual dimensions that end up creating more problems than they solve. As such, it is narrow to prevent conflicts with memory modules and wide enough to not cause any problems with adjacent expansion devices. It even features an asymmetrical design to further enhance compatibility and flexibility. The only notable observation is its height which at 164mm may hinder installation in smaller mid-tower cases. At least, it isn’t as tall as the Archon. The question is whether Alpenföhn also compromised on cooling performance.
From our initial observations and based solely on fin surface area, we expected the Himalaya to fall just slightly short of the Archon. The six heat pipes, 50 aluminium fins and copper base is standard practise for most high end heatsinks so there was nothing to indicate any substantial debility in the design. And yet the performance figures tell a different story. At stock CPU speed, performance was good, matching or even outperforming the Archon in all cases. Overclocking the CPU however, failed to flex the Himalaya’s muscles, ending with the cooler trailing behind its closest competitors by a large margin. We also observed its older Nordwand and Matterhorn sibling delivering better efficiency which should not have been the case considering that the Himalaya was meant to be a higher end offering.
All the negativity aside, the Himalaya has a few consolation factors. Like the K2, the design direction opted by Alpenföhn proves very appealing and unique. The unit is also very quiet thanks to the 140mm Wing Boost fan so those seeking a good looking, quiet alternative to the Archon and not looking to overclock their PC should definitely consider the Himalaya. Granted our reviews tend to cater more for enthusiasts, we do have to consider that many people only care for aesthetics and Alpenföhn delivers on that note. Other redeeming factors include a very robust and easy installation mechanism, and a fan boasting PWM functionality, as well as support for all Intel and AMD motherboards.
At a retail price of around £46, The Himalaya isn’t a cheap investment and there are superior solutions such as the Thermalright Archon and Venomous X which can also accommodate taller memory modules. From a performance point of view therefore, we cannot recommend the Himalaya
Pros:
+Good performance at stock CPU speed
+Aesthetics
+Packaging
+Ease of installation
+Bundled fan with PWM functionality
+Low Noise
+Support for Intel and AMD sockets (including free upgrade to LGA2011 mounting kit)
+Memory compatibility
Cons:
-Lacking performance with overclocked CPU
-164mm height might not fit popular small mid-tower cases
-Efficiency
-Loses to competition
-fan wire clips
-Price
+Good performance at stock CPU speed
+Aesthetics
+Packaging
+Ease of installation
+Bundled fan with PWM functionality
+Low Noise
+Support for Intel and AMD sockets (including free upgrade to LGA2011 mounting kit)
+Memory compatibility
Cons:
-Lacking performance with overclocked CPU
-164mm height might not fit popular small mid-tower cases
-Efficiency
-Loses to competition
-fan wire clips
-Price
Marketed as a high-end cooler, the Alpenföhn Himalaya doesn’t quite live up to its claims but it still deserves our Creative Award for such an elegant heatsink design.
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
