Home Water Cooling Radiators Alphacool Eisbrecher Pro XT45 360mm Radiator Review

Alphacool Eisbrecher Pro XT45 360mm Radiator Review

Dec 2, 2016

Thermal Performance

Thermal Performance scores are derived from the relevant Performance Factor scores. We set this scale with 75% and below as the 0 mark, with each 2.5% increase from 75% in relative performance adding 0.5 to the awarded performance score.

Note On Thermal Performance Scores Below: The Eisbrecher Pro XT45 is being scored comparatively against results from a very small test group of only 3 other radiators (plus our modified version). Therefore the results could easily become heavily biased in favor of the best performer in each category, however given that the regular XT45 is the thickest radiator in the group, we believe the Eisbrecher Pro’s has the best possible chance of achieving a good scores.

Push Only Thermal Performance

3.0/5

The Eisbrecher Pro XT45’s Push Only APF result of 87.5% just managed to achieve a performance score of 3/5. It had weak comparative performance with low and medium speed fans, and just barely outperformed it’s much thinner ST30 sibling with high speed fans.

With the Air Breaker Mat and a grill from each side removed, the modified version’s performance was much better and scored a 4.5/5.

Push/Pull Thermal Performance

2.5/5

The Push/Pull APF result of 85.4 translated into a thermal performance score of 2.5 out of 5. The Eisbrecher Pro proved to have poor performance comparatively with a Push/Pull fan assembly. It placed last in each of the three fan speeds that we test at.

In a complete reversal of the results, our Modified version placed 1st in both the medium and high speed fan tests, and was on par with the regular XT45 with low speed fans.

Overall Thermal Performance

2.5/5

The Master Performance score of 86.5 generated a relatively weak score of just 2.5/5 and was the last placed radiator in the small batch test group, even finishing behind 2 x ST30 variants which are much thinner.

The Modified version on the other hand placed equal 1st and achieved a 5/5 thermal performance score.

The Eisbrecher Pro XT45 has the potential to perform very well, but it has been crippled with the inclusion of the Air Breaker Mat. Buyers wanting better performance are advised to remove the ABM and extra grill from each side before installing this radiator in their system. In fact only users who want a difficult to access, coarse dust filter should leave these pieces in place.

Features & Quality – 2.0/5

The Eisbrecher Pro XT45 is a NexXxos XT45 floating in a very smart looking, premium quality enclosure. We really like the enclosure because it is very solid, has a great finish and really dresses up the standard looking radiator within. The inclusion of an LED lit logo is not something we approve of, but this is more personal opinion than a fault, as it is likely many users will like this “feature”.

Most features we like on Alphacool radiators are present such as the screw protection plates and multiple ports, however we again see the Eisbrecher Pro has been crippled in comparison to the regular XT45. Only 2 of the 6 ports are really usable at a time due to the size of the holes the port extenders go through to screw into the radiator and only 2 port extenders are provided.

The Air Breaker Mat is a complete waste of time and resources. It’s intended purpose of disturbing the fans’ air output for a more even flow across the radiator core has a detrimental effect on the air flow/pressure making it a glorified dust filter than is difficult to access for cleaning.

The core is biased towards medium to high speed fans, but due to it’s lowish 12 FPI core, it is capable of decent low speed results once it has been modified. The 12 FPI count means the Eisbrecher Pro will not require excessive amounts of cleaning time from accumulated dust and it’s low restriction level should not pose any issues for pump power requirements.

Summary – 2.5/5

The Eisbrecher Pro XT45 had us excited at first. It’s enclosure looks fantastic but we soon discovered that the enclosure actually hinders the usability of the radiator. It’s no good having something premium looking that is frustrating to actually set up and use.

Performance wise, out of the box the Eisbrecher Pro is a big disappointment. This is because it is actually worse then the regular XT45 which is inside the enclosure and we have no doubt in saying that the weaker performance is due to the Air Breaker Mat. This review would most likely have been much more negative on the Eisbrecher’s performance results had we not also tested it in a Modified set-up.

The Eisbrecher Pro XT45 is very expensive compared to other 360mm radiators with similar thickness cores, and for the premium price we get weaker performance with crippled features. This just does not add up in out books, but because the enclosure looks so darned good, we think it’s likely Alphacool will still sell a tonne of these radiators.

You can get better performing 360mm radiators that are thinner, more user friendly and cheaper. Despite these facts we bet some of you will still be wanting one of these for your next project.