AMD Threadripper CPU Block Review Round Up

1. Threadripper Introduction2. Bench Setup and Methodology3. Alphacool and Aquacomputer4. Bitspower Summit ELX Threadripper5. EK Supremacy sTR46. Koolance CPU-400-A-S7. Watercool Heatkiller IV Pro Threadripper8. XSPC Raystorm Neo Threadripper9. Flow Rate Testing10. Thermal Results11. Summary12. View All

Summary

We have tried to summarize performance by giving points for various categories of which we regard thermal performance as the most important. We’ll start with the best and work our way down.

Watercool Heatkiller IV TR4-PRO – Gold Award

The Heatkiller IV TR4-PRO was our top performing block thermally. The price and restriction are not sacrificed to make this happen and the quality and aesthetics are top notch. This is our favorite block alongside the XSPC Raystorm NEO. We think the Heatkiller has the edge and it’s what we would personally buy, however the XSPC has a slight edge on price and is much lower restriction.

Thermal Performance – 10/10 – The best performing block sets the standard.

Mount – 5/5 – Low profile and perfect TIM spread

Restriction – 4/5 – Low, but not ultra low

Price – 3/5 – $105-117 puts this at the more expensive end

Aesthetics – 5/5 – Clean lines, sleeved LED wire, low profile mount, hides the ugly socket

Features – 4/5 – Instructions and a spare mount screw, but no TIM, spare o-ring or allen key to open the block

Overall – 31/35 = 89%

 

XSPC Raystorm NEO – Gold Award

Props to XSPC for being the first to pioneer the massive cooling engine and setting the standard for what was achievable and expected for Threadripper. The NEO still performs at the top, and of the top blocks provides the best value and lowest restriction.

Thermal Performance – 9/10 – one notch behind the leader

Mount – 4/5 – Good TIM spread, but the thumb nuts are small and stick out quite far

Restriction – 5/5 – Ultra low

Price – 3/5 – $91-115, not as pricey as the Koolance, but also not significantly different to the Watercool block given that we are cooling CPUs at $1000+.

Aesthetics – 4/5 – The thumb nuts are a bit ugly and mismatched metals colors are hard to pull off

Features – 4/5 – Instructions, TIM, RGB LEDs and even an RGB controller, but no spare o-ring or allen key to open the block

Overall – 29/35 = 83%

 

Koolance CPU-400-A-S – Silver Award

Koolance’s block is a solid all rounder with good thermal performance and a good mount.  It has no real weaknesses, the only complaint is that it’s significantly more expensive than both the higher performing Watercool and lower restriction XSPC.

Thermal Performance – 9/10 

Mount – 4/5 – The mount was fine and we like that you can use a screw driver, but the thumb nuts are just so unnecessarily tall that they ruin the otherwise simple clean look.

Restriction – 3/5 – No complaints but not low restriction

Price – 2/5 – at $140 this is by far the most expensive block here

Aesthetics – 4/5 – Clean lines and generally good looking only ruined by those massive thumb nuts

Features – 4/5 – Everything you need but no spares.

Overall – 26/35 = 74%

 

EK Supremacy sTR4

This is EK’s third shot at a Threadripper design and so we were expecting the third time to be the charm.  EK missed the mark here sadly.  At a personal level we’re sad because we had previously floated the idea of a dual jetplate in a news post before the block launched and so we were excited to be vindicated.  The major miss is on the mount where the block just can’t get a good TIM spread without modification, luckily modification is easy and corrects the performance acceptably.  In addition one out of three samples must have had a manufacturing flaw as it couldn’t even get a good mount under any circumstances.  Couple this poor mount with the weirdly low restriction and the smaller than competition cooling engine and you have to wonder why EK managed to drop the ball on three separate items in the design.  This we would understand on the first iteration of a design, but this is the third try and it’s hard to have excuses at this point. Still we are hoping that there will be a V4 that finally gets it perfect because the Supremacy sTR4 otherwise look great and we still feel like the dual jetplate has potential if done right.  If you are considering the block or have already bought it consider removing the circlips and adding additional washers to get a better TIM spread.

Thermal Performance – 7/10 – this is based on the result without adding extra washers. Adding the washers would have boosted this to a 9/10.

Mount – 1/5 – Poor TIM spread and not as nice as the low profile alternatives. Fixing this would have brought this up to a 4/5.

Restriction – 5/5 – The best result we’ve ever seen, even if it’ s somewhat unnecessarily low.

Price – 3/5 – $90-115 puts it in the middle of the pack, but at the low end of the blocks you should be focussed on.

Aesthetics – 5/5 – The block looks really good no matter which version you get

Features – 4/5 – Instructions, premium TIM, RGB LED, the only thing missing is an allen key to service the block and spare parts.

Overall – 25/35 = 71%

 

AquaComputer NEXT

While the NEXT performs great on Intel, it’s simply too unoptimized for Threadripper.  If you already own the block then changing the mount is a good stopgap measure, but we’d still suggest maximizing your cooling with one of the top three instead. Hopefully Aquacomputer will launch their optimized Threadripper block soon because the renders look gorgeous.

Thermal Performance – 6/10 – Not bad, but if you’re overclocking you might run into thermal stability issues.  Not for those in warmer climates.

Mount – 4/5 – We love the low profile mount, we disliked that the first sample gave us a poor mount and TIM spread.  While the second sample improved this, it could have been better still.

Restriction – 3/5 – Acceptable

Price – 3/5 – $85+ puts it on par with some dedicated Threadripper blocks

Aesthetics – 4/5 – The block looks awesome on Intel, but it  looks a little bit lost on the massive Threadripper socket where it doesn’t fully cover the IHS leaving excess TIM spread exposed.

Features – 5/5 – The NEXT comes in a million different versions including ones with an OLED screen and temperature sensor built in.  It also comes with a TIM spreader and premium TIM.  The only items missing are the correct allen key to open the block and a spare o-ring.

Overall – 25/35 = 71%

 

Alphacool Eisblock XPX

We previously reviewed the Eisblock for Intel.  While it performed exceptionally well for Intel we did not like that the block was not user serviceable.  That complaint of course stands for Threadripper too.  However if you already have the block then simply buying the Threadripper mount can serve as a decent stop gap until you get a real thermal solution.  However we would not recommend it otherwise.

Thermal Performance – 5/10 – while it can handle the job, you will be limited on overclocking by thermal stability issues. Given this block had been opened, it’s unclear how much better a virgin block would be.

Mount – 4/5 – the Threadripper bracket is easy to change and solid unlike the previous Intel one.  TIM Spread was decent.  We’d still prefer something low profile.

Restriction – 2/5 – While acceptable, it could certainly be better

Price – 3/5 – $83 makes it similar in price to dedicated threadripper blocks

Aesthetics – 3/5 – The finish of this silver version is coarse and feels a bit cheap.  It’s not our taste and if this was the only version we would give it 1/5.  However the plexi and the black versions are far more attractive and if you combine that with the various modding options that Alphacool given then we will up that to a 3/5.

Features – 3/5 – non RGB lighting plus modding options are great but the huge minus is that their is a history of performance getting worse if you open the block.

Overall – 20/35 = 57%

 

Bitspower Summit ELX Threadripper

In last place of course is Bitspower with it’s terrible thermal performance and mount. While Bitspower have never particularly impressed us with their thermal results, they have never been this bad. While the quality and the aesthetics appear to be good and the accessories supplied are decent, none of this can make us recommend a block that simply doesn’t make real contact with a CPU. We hope this is a one-off manufacturing flaw, but unless we can confirm that, then we have to simply assume all blocks are like this.

Thermal Performance – 0/10 – we could barely even measure how bad it was as it often overheated and crashed before we could even start datalogging.

Mount – 0/5 – while the mount isn’t ugly, the fact that good contact couldn’t be made makes it worthless.  If you desperately want to use this block we’d suggest figuring out your own mounting strategy.

Restriction – 0/5 – At 1.4PSI at 1GPM it’s beyond what we consider acceptable.

Price – 5/5 – $56.50 makes it the cheapest dedicated Threadripper block

Aesthetics – 4/5 – Relatively clean/simple lines and nickel plexi is hard to mess up.  However it’s not as macho a look as Threadripper deserves.

Features – 3/5 – RGB LED built in, spare o-ring and an allen key to service the block are pluses, but no instructions and no TIM leave the product feeling unfinished.

Overall – 12/25  = 34%

Summary

Overall we recommend the Watercool, XSPC and Koolance Threadripper blocks.  For our personal preferences we rated the Watercool the best, followed by XSPC.  Both those blocks win a gold award, while the Koolance wins a silver, mainly hampered by it’s higher price and failure to outright win any category.

The EK block on the other hand needs some design attention and we hope that EK will tweak the design and launch a v4 that finally gets it right.  If that happens we imagine it will be at the top with the rest.

Bitspower also have some serious work to do.  We’ve always questioned their commitment to good thermal performance, but this block takes it to a new level.  This is a block that is only suitable for display and not for real use.  While it may be a problem with this sample, we can’t assume that without a 2nd unit to check.  For now we would advise avoiding this block like the plague.

Both AquaComputer and Alphacool have mount kits that will work to convert an existing Intel block to work with Threadripper.  However we wouldn’t’ recommend buying either block specifically for Threadripper even though they will work just fine if you’re not looking to maximize your Threadripper overclocking performance. Consider them as stop-gap solutions, but if you are serious about Threadripper it would be wise to invest in an optimized solution.

Overall it’s been interesting to finally have a block comparison where there are noticeable winners and losers.  We would like to thank manufacturers for participating and sponsoring this review with parts.  It takes balls to send your products out to a website with a known penchant for strict testing, speaking the truth and being inflexible in massaging results.  So please do support those vendors that took part even if you don’t buy this exact product.  Also please let them know that our independent testing is valuable to you, the end customer.  On the flip side, also consider those manufacturers, like Swiftech, who have a product but who have declined to participate in multiple roundups now.  Those manufacturers are not interested in standing behind their product and so we would suggest you send your money elsewhere.

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