Alphacool NexXxos ST30 280mm Radiator Review

Alphacool NexXxos ST30 280mm Radiator Review

Welcome to another Extreme Rigs 280mm radiator review. After just finishing up with the Monsta 280 which is the thickest 280mm radiator of the test group, today we’ll be looking at the thinnest. The NexXxos ST30 280mm from Alphacool measures in with a thickness of a mere 29.5mm and will therefore be of interest to a completely different group of potential buyers.

The ST30 280 is one of 12 different ST30 size radiators available in the 30mm thick range offered by Alphacool. In our review of the ST30 280 we’ll take a close look at it’s construction & quality, analyze the performance data by comparing it’s results against other 280mm radiators and then conclude with a summary.

An interesting reference for some readers/potential buyers will be our review of the ST30 360mm which we published last year.  While not a true 1:1 comparison because of the different size/performance fans used for testing 120.x and 140.x radiators, we’ll pull some of the ST30 360 data and compare against the ST30 280 later on.

Firstly a big thanks to Aqua Tuning for providing the review sample of the Alphacool ST30 280mm. Since we commenced our radiator testing, Aqua Tuning’s commitment to our independent tests has been second to none. Extreme Rigs couldn’t publish the reviews we do without the continued support offered by our sponsors, so a big thanks to all the crew at Aqua Tuning and Alphacool.

Before we start we would again like to say thanks to Noctua for providing the NF-A14 Industrial PPC-2000 IP67 PWM 140mm fans. We use these fans for all our 140mm based radiator thermal performance testing because they have great static pressure which is required to get the best performance from even densest of radiator cores and of course, their proven reliability.

What’s in the Box?

The ST30 280 sample arrived in full retail packaging.

The front and back are almost identical and feature an image of the radiator along with the model and company logo.

Opening the box, we see the usual packing layout for Alphacool radiators. Alphacool really do a great job in ensuring that their radiators have every chance of arriving to the purchaser in the best possible condition.

As always, we are happy to see a bubble wrap sleeve to protect the paint finish from scuffing during transport and the foam pieces at each end keep the radiator from sliding about.

Placing the accessories in a separate box at one end of the package tops off what is a simple yet effective packaging layout.

Extent of delivery as listed by Alphacool:

“1x Radiator
8x Copper-plated M3x30mm hexagon socket screw
8x Copper-plated M3x35mm hexagon socket screw”

It’s interesting that Alphacool have not updated their info since changing from the copper plated screws to the black ones which are now supplied.  Aqua Tuning appear more up to date with their ST30 280 product page. having the following listed as being included:

“1x Radiator
8x M3x30mm hexagon socket screw
8x M3x35mm hexagon socket screw”

In the previous photos we saw a brown box which contains the accessories that are supplied with the ST30 280. Inside there are 4 small bags in total, each of which contain a set of 4 screws and an unmentioned Allen Key.

The shorter screws measure in at 30mm, while the longer ones are 35mm. Each screw has ~5mm of thread before a solid and thicker shank up to the button head, hex key heads.

8 screws of each length are provided, so there are enough to fit the radiator with either a Push Only, Pull Only OR Push/Pull fan assembly straight from the box. BUT as seen below the 35mm are really too long to be used without a grill/case panel and decoupling of some kind.

The supplied 2.5mm Allen Key in used to tighten the hex head screws during installation.

It is unusual that no warning about using correct screw length was on or in the packaging. however the following image is on the Alphacool website.
So we have been warned!

For Push/Pull fan assemblies without grills/gaskets, it is likely that you will need to source another set of 8 30mm length screws, or use the supplied 35mm screws with the less desirable and more ugly option of using washers to pack out behind the screw heads.

Onwards to technical specifications!