Four high performance heatsinks photographed including the unreleased Brocken 2 and Everest – a prototype ‘Triple-Tower’ design.
Alpenföhn are held in very high regard by us at Vortez, and we were eager to see the high performance CPU coolers they would be bringing to the table in the coming year. Suffice it to say that when the time came for us to meet them at CeBIT 2012, they didn’t disappoint.
Firstly, lets get straight to that triple-tower cooler. The Everest, no doubt so named due to its imposing size and status as by far the largest cooler in their range, is still in the prototype stages. The contact block feeds no less than eight 6mm diameter heatpipes, with the majority of the heat being channelled to the central tower.
Those fans are 140mm in diameter and appear to be a variant of the Föhn 140 Wing Boost, ensuring maximum airflow with a minimum of noise; however as with all parts of a prototype package the fan choice is no doubt subject to change.
The monstrous size and cooling potential of the Everest speak to the intended market: LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E Processors. The cooler would frankly be overkill on the small and cool Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs, but ideal for the larger SB-E which has a larger die and is significantly more toasty under load.
Up next, the Matterhorn Shamrock and True
Matterhorn Shamrock and Matterhorn True
The Alpenföhn display also included two versions of the mid-to-high-end Matterhorn, Shamrock and True. The Vortez review of the original Matterhorn in May of 2011 can be found here, and whilst a solid performer it wasn’t able to stand out from the pack in a highly competitive segment. We have higher expectations for the new versions.
The Matterhorn Shamrock has been on the market for some time now and is perhaps one of the most striking coolers on sale today: an all black metal polish finish is complemented by a pair of black 120mm fans with green trim, giving it a look which is certainly unique. As a six heat-pipe tower cooler with large fin surface area performance should be good, ideal for overclocked AMD Bulldozer and Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs.
The Matterhorn True appears to be a cooler for those in need of a solid mid-range performer without garish or obtrusive styling. Essentially all the cooling potential of the original Matterhorn can be seen but without any of the aesthetic design features, the True makes do with copper heatpipes, unpolished fins and a utilitarian appeal.
It’s probably wise to expect the Matterhorn True to come on at a price point some way below that of the Shamrock, competing instead purely on raw price/performance.
Lastly, our final sneak peak is at the Brocken 2.
Brocken 2
The final CPU cooler Alpenföhn shown off was the Brocken 2. In common with the Everest, it’s an unreleased part which may make it to the shelves later this year; however the Brocken 2 seems to be targeting the mid-range rather than extreme performance segment. The design is a significant revision of the Brocken which sported four 8mm diameter heatpipes. The Brocken 2 will instead feature six heatpipes that don’t make use of the direct touch principle unlike the original. The fin surface area also appears to be significantly larger, further augmenting cooling.
An interesting feature is the offset fin design. Many tower coolers interfere with or block RAM entirely on Intel and AMD motherboards due to the fan overhanging the first DIMM slot. Alpenföhn have chosen to move the tower backwards relative to the socket, alleviating the issues surrounding blocked DIMM slots whilst not sacrificing cooling potential. It’s an innovative solution to a frustrating problem, but we shall have to wait and see if it impacts negatively on cooling potential.
As with the other unreleased products we currently have no information as to release dates and pricing. We hope to update you when we can.
Thanks to Alpenföhn for tour of their in-development products.
