Alpenföhn have sent us their flagship CPU cooler, let’s see if how it stacks up against the competition.
Product on Review: Alpenföhn Matterhorn
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Alpenföhn
MSRP: Not listed
Street Price: £45.95
Alpenföhn have continued the trend of naming their CPU coolers after famous mountains, the Matterhorn namesake originating from the Alpine mountain on the border between Switzerland and Italy. If mountain height is any indication of performance, then the Matterhorn (4478m) should be the Nordwand’s (2866m) worthy successor. Geography lesson aside, the Matterhorn is also sold under the Deepcool Gamer Storm branding. Co-developed by both Alpenföhn and Deepcool, it promises a product engineered for the ultimate performance. Those outside of Europe will be more familiar with the Deepcool brand as Alpenföhn only operate in Europe. Alpenföhn themselves are a branch of EKL that targets gamers and enthusiasts in the consumer market rather than OEM solutions which the parent company focuses primarily on.
Let’s see what Alpenföhn have to say about their Matterhorn heatsink:
Alpenföhn enters the next level and presents the “Matterhorn” .The brand new 120mm tower cooler. Highest manufacturing quality, noble matt black finish as well as multiple features make this cooler the best solution for any application.
Alpenföhn enters the next level and presents the “Matterhorn” .The brand new 120mm tower cooler. Highest manufacturing quality, noble matt black finish as well as multiple features make this cooler the best solution for any application.
Let’s see how all this promise translates to real world performance.
Features & Specifications
Features
Mirrored finished fin design:
The special trapezoid shaped fins that are placed in an alternating pattern create two essential advantages:
-Narrow fin pitch in the centre of the heatsink
This feature increases the thermal surface and ensures a higher heat dissipation
-Wide fin pitch at air inlet area
By having a wide fin pitch at the air inlet area, the Alpenföhn Matterhorn can be run with very low fan speed as the airflow faces less resistance. Despite the heatsink’s closed sides, it helps guide the air through the narrow fin area and offers better mechanical stability.
Heat pipe/Base plate:
The six U-shaped 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.
Fan:
The Föhn 120 Wing Boost fan is equipped with injected anti-vibration elements, Wing Boost technology and HDS bearing.
MPM-System:
The new MPM-System (Multi-Positioning-Mounting) offers highest contact pressure and ensures a solid mounting.
Supported sockets: Intel Socket 775/1156/1155/1366, AMD Socket AM2(+), AM3. The positioning of the cooler towards the case back panel is possible for Intel systems as well as AMD systems.
The special trapezoid shaped fins that are placed in an alternating pattern create two essential advantages:
-Narrow fin pitch in the centre of the heatsink
This feature increases the thermal surface and ensures a higher heat dissipation
-Wide fin pitch at air inlet area
By having a wide fin pitch at the air inlet area, the Alpenföhn Matterhorn can be run with very low fan speed as the airflow faces less resistance. Despite the heatsink’s closed sides, it helps guide the air through the narrow fin area and offers better mechanical stability.
Heat pipe/Base plate:
The six U-shaped 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.
Fan:
The Föhn 120 Wing Boost fan is equipped with injected anti-vibration elements, Wing Boost technology and HDS bearing.
MPM-System:
The new MPM-System (Multi-Positioning-Mounting) offers highest contact pressure and ensures a solid mounting.
Supported sockets: Intel Socket 775/1156/1155/1366, AMD Socket AM2(+), AM3. The positioning of the cooler towards the case back panel is possible for Intel systems as well as AMD systems.
Specifications
•Cooler dimensions: 138x75x158mm (LxWxH)
•Cooler dimensions with fan : 138x100x158mm (LxWxH)
•Cooler weight: 1067g (With 1 fan)
•Heat pipe: 6mm Sintered Heat pipes x6 units
•Cooler material: Mirror finished copper base, copper heat pipes, black nickel plated aluminium fins
Fan specifications
•Fan dimension: Length 120x120x25mm (LxHxW)
•Operating voltage: 12 VDC
•Guaranteed operating range: 5-13.2 VDC
•Fan speed: 500-550RPM @ 5 VDC, 850-900RPM @ 7 VDC, 1500RPM @ 12VDC
•Fan noise level: 8 dB(A) @ 500RPM, 11 dB(A) @ 900RPM, 19.2 dB(A) @ 1300RPM, 24.8 dB(A) @ 1500RPM, 19.7 dB(A) average
•Fan Airflow: 103m3/h
Included accessories
•1x Mounting material for Socket 775,1156,1366, AM2, AM2(+), AM3
•1x 7 VDC Voltage adapter
•1x 5 VDC Voltage adapter
•4x Fan mounting brackets
•1x syringe thermal grease
The Matterhorn boasts some interesting designs that aim to not only improve aesthetics but also improve air flows through the cooler. On the one hand, tweaking the fin array is an innovative way to optimise performance and helps differentiates the Matterhorn from other heatsinks but on the other hand, we have seen more simpler laminar fin arrays generate excellent performance in the past. Alpenföhn have taken a more risky approach in this case but hopefully it pays off.
Size-wise, it is almost identical to the Thermaltake Frio. It’s 7mm shorter but 1mm larger in length and width with a single fan attached. However, the larger copper base adds to the Matterhorn’s weight making it heavier than the Frio with its two fan installed.
Alpenföhn have also placed great emphasis on the fan’s capability. Despite having PWM functionality, voltage adapters are bundled to lower the fan speed making it very versatile for high performance or low noise operation.
Packaging and Content
The front of the box
The Matterhorn comes packaged in a fairly standard cardboard box. Depicted at the front is the brand name printed across the tope left and the Matterhorn logo placed below. The graphics art is very unique and rather than opt for minimalistic approach, a photo of the mountain with the namesake is depicted in the background. It’s not the most attractive of finish but their reasoning is clear.
The back of the box
At the back, the same background pattern continues and this time the actual Matterhorn cooler is illustrated with its single fan installed. The cardboard is fairly thick and the corrugations are apparent.
The box window
To tease potential buyers, the packaging makes use of a clear plastic window through which the heatsink can be seen. It goes a long way at visually improving the fairly bland artistic design of the box. There is also a handle to help transportation which does come in handy when constantly moving boxes around as I find myself doing too much these days.
The specifications
On the side, the specifications are listed in a somewhat hard to read font. The same specifications are provided on the previous page. As mentioned before, the cooler supports all recent Intel and AMD sockets so compatibility is ensured. The overall feel of the packaging is not dissimilar to the Nordwand’s but the background in this case is uninspiring.
Opening the box
Inside, we are greeted by the installation manual that comes as a small booklet and the accessories box. Beneath is a white foam like cut out that secures the heatsink in place to prevent damage. The heatsink sits atop another box retaining the 120mm Wing Boost fan.
The bundle
Bundled with the Matterhorn are the:
-Matterhorn heatsink
-120mm Föhn Wing Boost fan x1
-Installation manual
-AMD back plate
-LGA775 back plate
-LGA1156/1155 back plate
-LGA1366 fittings x4
-Hexangular nuts x4
-Thumbscrews x2
-Washers x4
-Steel fan clips x4
-Intel installation bracket x2
-AMD installation bracket x2
-Xtreme-Low-Noise adapter 5V
-Low-Noise adapter 7V
-Thermal paste
The installation kit makes uses of quite a lot of components, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. For one, it means that losing one part is more likely. It also makes installation more complicated as we will cover later on. Strangely, Alpenföhn use separate fittings for installation on Intel systems rather than a universal back plate. An interesting addition is the inclusion of the low noise adapters that are so reminiscent of Noctua’s own examples. Despite the fan’s PWN functionality, the voltage adapters have been included in case users don’t have 4 pin fan headers on their motherboards.
Closer Look
The heatsink
The Matterhorn has a very distinctive look thanks to its unique fin array. The heatsink uses a standard aluminium construction for the fins but the nickel plating adds a lot of class to the product. What is immediately apparent when first removing the heatsink from the packaging is just how robust it is. Most other coolers appear fragile in comparison and this may be due to the thickened aluminium fins and weighty feel. The thickened fins may not help increase the surface area or increase cooling capacity but its added robustness warrants the design.
The front of heatsink
The fin array is very unique. Most heatsinks tend to have an array of stacked fins that are identical to each other and symmetrical in design. With the Matterhorn, each fin starts off wide at one end and thins towards the other end. They are stacked in an alternating pattern such that one fin starts off wide at one end whereas the fin below starts off wider at the other end. The reason is so that the fin density is higher towards the middle of the heatsink. As Alpenföhn state, the narrow fin pitch means a higher surface area at the centre of the heatsink. Towards the outer side of the heatsink where air will primarily circulate (the area covered by the fan blades instead of the central rotor), the fin array is less dense to ease airflow. Alpenföhn claim that the reduced resistance allows for quieter operation and optimal airflow even at reduced fan speeds.
The fin array
From this angle, the fins give the illusion that they criss-cross each other but this is not the case. Each fin is still flat and stacks above each other in parallel. The illusion is due to the fins becoming wider at alternating ends. There are a total of 47 fins and an additional top plate, each separated by 2.5mm. At the edges, the fin spacing between two similar fins is 5mm.
The side of the heatsink
The side of the heatsink is closed, similar to the Nordwand’s design, to focus airflow through the heatsink. The disadvantage is that air cannot be drawn from the side but the benefit is to create more streamlined airflow. Turbulence in airflow is inevitable along the heatsink but at least this does not leak out. After all, turbulence is required for more efficient heat dissipation.
The top of the heatsink
At the top, Alpenföhn have used a steel plate with their brand name engraved into it. Although it covers the end of the heat pipes for a cleaner look, an aluminium plate would have been more beneficial for cooling and aesthetically. The shiny finish is easily marred by finger prints.
The base of the heatsink
The base uses a copper construction for more efficient heat transfer from the CPU. CNC machining means that the base is perfectly flat with a reflective finish. The base measure 48.5mm by 39mm, large enough for any CPUs.
Closer Look (Continued)
The six 6mm heat pipes
The Matterhorn uses 6 6mm U-shaped heat pipes that spread out from either side of the base in two columns of three heat pipes. They are made of copper and are soldered to the base plate for optimal contact and conductivity.
The heat pipe columns
Also present just above the base plate is a small nickel plated copper heatsink which provides additional cooling. The same design is used on the Nordwand and Tuniq’s 120 Extreme Tower cooler. We also have a better look at the columns of heat pipes going through the fins and the fin array.
The Föhn 120 Wing Boost fan
The blue and black Wing Boost fan uses a moulded frame covered with a thin layer of rubber which helps prevent vibrations. The 9 blades have special aerodynamically designed tips to reduce noise. As mentioned previously, the fan has a 4 pin connection for PWM functionality but voltage adapters are provided for good measure. For a more detailed review of the fan itself, have a look at James’s in-depth review.
The fans installed
The fan rests fits snugly onto the heatsink thanks to the side protrusions on each fin. It does mean that 140mm fans are not officially supported without bending the wire clips. We did manage to install the Noctua NF-P14s so it’s not impossible. Alpenföhn bundle enough wire clips for 2 fans although only 1 fan comes with the heatsink. The black and blue theme makes for a very attractive finish.
The fan clips
The wire clips have to be installed below the top steel plate and they clip along the grooves across the height of the heatsink. Annoyingly, the ends of the clips that go into the fan mounting holes don’t go far enough so when installing the fan inside a case, they kept coming out I tried to clip them to the heatsink. Once the fan is finally installed, it remains secured in place very well and can be easily removed.
Installed
When finally installed, the sheer size of the cooler becomes more apparent and the black and blue theme actually go well with the black and red theme employed by the Rampage III Extreme.
Memory module clearance
In terms of memory module compatibility, the fan overhangs the nearest adjacent slot but low profile memory modules can still be used. If that particular slot isn’t being used, then any sized modules can be used without issues.
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 – XFX HD5870 1024MB
Power Supply – Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W
Hard Drive – OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB
Samsung F1 320GB
Samsung F3 1TB
Drivers – ATI Catalyst 10.10
CPU Coolers:
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
Coolermaster 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
AIDA 64 Extreme Edition
CPUID HWMonitor
How I tested:
Testing will be based on temperatures recorded by Core Temp and PC wizard after 20 passes of LinX stress test. The absolute temperatures recorded in the tables are averages of the 4 cores and the delta value provided for a fair comparison, taking into account ambient temperatures. The test will be run at stock speed and at an overclocked speed of 4GHz.
Installation
Installation is fairly straight forward but there are several qualms. Despite different mounting mechanisms for different sockets, the process is very similar for each. The following steps will focus on installation on LGA 1366.
1. Use the appropriate fittings or back plate and place it at the back of the motherboard.
2. Secure the back mounts with the hexangular nuts on the front side of the motherboard.
3. For Intel systems, move the spring loaded screws to the appropriate positions on the UI bracket. A refers to LGA775 sockets, B to LGA1156/1155 and C to LGA1366.
4. Install the bracket to the heatsinks and use the thumbscrews to secure them in the correct holes. The A, B and C labels refer to the same sockets as before.
5. Apply thermal paste on the CPU and place the heatsink on top. Tighten the thumb screws into the hexangular nuts making sure they are properly lined up.
6. Install the fans.
My complaint about the installation is the lack of a universal back plate for Intel systems. Many other manufacturers have opted for such back plates so it’s an oversight by Alpenföhn. Using small circular fittings for LGA1366 instead of a proper back plate is also questionable because the pressure isn’t distributed as well. It also makes installation cumbersome having to install each back mount one at a time. Another issue is that it becomes hard to judge whether the cooler is properly screwed on because twisting the spring loaded screws ends up twisting the nut and back mount. Ideally, the hexangular nut should stay in place. As soon as the screw began turning the nut it was being installed into, I stopped and deemed it secure.
Results
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.
At stock, there tends to be little difference between cooler performances but unfortunately for the Matterhorn here, it ends up lower down the pack than expected. In its default 1 fan configuration, it is comparable to the CoolIT ECO with dual NF-P12s. This is impressive given the popularity of the CoolIT solution but not so much when we realise that the ECO doesn’t compare well to our high end air coolers. Compared to other tower coolers, the Matterhorn gives very similar results to the Thermolab Baram, our old favourite but times have moved on. Its closest competitor price wise, the Thermaltake Frio, is a good 3C better at stock clocks and other single tower coolers from Thermalright are superior with a single lower RPM 140mm fan.
Looking at different fan configurations, we observe some very interesting results. The single Wing Boost fan gives similar performance to two NF-P12s. At 1500RPM, the Alpenföhn fan isn’t much faster than the 1300RPM Noctua fan and yet the former boasts comparable results. Similarly, two of them yield the best performance on the Matterhorn, outperforming even the faster Coolink SWiF2-120P fans whilst remaining much quieter. It shows the engineering that Alpenföhn have put into tweaking the fan for optimal performance on its own cooler. It goes to show that a second fan is a worthy investment as the 1.5C temperature drop makes the cooler on par with the Prolimatech Megahalem, Thermalright HR-02 and Coolink Corator DS.
Results (Continued)
Results (Overclocked)
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
Again we find that in its default configuration, the Matterhorn falls behind a lot of our mid-high end air coolers. It’s a mere 1.25C ahead of the Silver Arrow running passively but that highlights just how got the latter is. With a delta of 61.25C, it is only ahead of the Nordwand by 1.5C, a fairly small difference given the significant contrast in design. Nonetheless, we have to remember that the Nordwand uses 5 8mm thick heat pipes when most others either opt for 6x6mm or 4x8mm configurations.
Adding a second fan to the Matterhorn improves performance by 1.5C to give a delta of 59.75C. This allows it to outperform a the Prolimatech and Thermolab Baram with two NF-P12s. However if we look at the same fan configuration on the Matterhorn, it is clear that it isn’t as efficient as those other two coolers. When overclocked, the higher RPM Coolink fans proved to be better than the Föhn 120. The Coolink fans allowed the cooler to outperform Noctua’s top down NH-C14 in the same fan configuration.
Overall, performance was not as good as expected and fell behind the likes of Thermalright, Thermaltake and Prolimatech.
Results (Overclocked Continued)
Other Observations
Passive tests
Passively, the Matterhorn holds up well and was only 1.25C behind the HR-02 which was purposefully designed for passive operation.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said when the CPU was overclocked. Not surprisingly, it lacked the performance of our higher end coolers.
Noise
The acoustic performance was very welcoming. It was quieter than the SWiF2-120P and remained inaudible above my case fans. For a 1500RPM fan, it is very impressive and hits the sweet spot in terms of performance/noise. For a more in-depth analysis of the fan’s performance, check our dedicated review. I’d like to note that the clicking observed in the review could not be heard during my own testing.
Conclusion
On paper and from initial impressions, the Matterhorn looked very promising and immediately grabbed my attention. Six 6mm heat pipes, a bulky copper and aluminium construction, a unique fin array design to maximise cooling and to top it off, a nickel plated finish for a very attractive end result. Although it was never destined to compete with the likes of the Silver Arrow or the NH-D14, its price reflected that after all, it came to compete against the likes of the Thermaltake Frio, Thermalright Venomous X and Prolimatech’s offerings.
Unfortunately it failed to live up to those expectations. The default single fan configuration falls behind coolers such as the Noctua NH-C14, Thermaltake Frio and Prolimatech Megahalem. We observe the same trends when the CPU was overclocked and disappointingly, the Matterhorn was only 1.25C ahead of its predecessor, the Nordwand. The cooler fared a lot better with a second Wing Boost fan but it still found itself competing in the mid tables rather than the upper end.
Another complaint is the installation. It’s not as intuitive as its competitors although the instructions provided do help. My complaint is that they should have opted for a universal back plate, and instead of the individual LGA1366 circular back mounts, a proper back plate would have offloaded pressure much better. Nonetheless, they were still functional and I experienced no issues.
Priced at around £45, the Alpenföhn Matterhorn is in a very competitive market. The Thermaltake Frio or Thermalright Venomous X is slightly cheaper and comes with two bundled fans and our personal favourite, the Thermalright Silver Arrow, is only £5 more for substantially better performance. What the Matterhorn does offer is an attractive cooler that bundles a very efficient and versatile fan. From a performance stand point, I cannot recommend it over the above mentioned coolers. Now, where is the K2 already…
Pros
+Well packaged
+Attractive finish
+Bundled fan and voltage adapters
+Support for AMD and Intel sockets
+Quiet
Cons
-Performance
-Installation
-Cost
