Introduction

It seems my reviews of the new Watercool Heatkiller radiators generated more interest than I thought, as other companies have voiced interest in having their radiators covered. Bykski was the first to respond, and the 30 mm RC series proved to be fantastic value for money. The USP there was the use of the so-called red copper rather than brass for the core, which Alphacool has touted for a while now. Indeed, there is a recent video put out by the brand to help solidify these claims, but previous tests all showed not much had been gained in either Alphacool's or Bykski's case thermally. This does not mean the brand has stopped putting out new radiators, and both have sent some over my way for testing.


I was about to write that we had previously covered Alphacool radiators until I realized we actually had not. That was all elsewhere, on my old website, and I had only tested a couple of spare radiators I had when I decided to use the triple 120 mm size for radiator testing on TechPowerUp. One of those, the Eisbrecher Pro XT45, was a novel design that did not get used again. It was also the start of Alphacool deviating from its largely successful formula of naming radiators NexXxos + two letters to denote the radiator thickness (ST for 30 mm, XT for 45 mm, UT for 60 mm, and Monsta at 85 mm). The subject of this review is an ST-class radiator, and as the name suggests, the newer ST25 should be 25 mm thick, which is the case since it is 25.5 mm thickness. Let's thank Alphacool for sending the review sample before figuring out whether this low-profile radiator is the one for you.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

This may be our first Alphacool radiator review, but it's certainly not the first Alphacool product, and packaging for the ST25 360 mm radiator follows the same design scheme Alphacool has used to good effect across its product lines. This is not an "Eis" products, and the NexXxos name has predominantly been used for its radiators, with the same continuing here. On the front is the company logo and product name alongside a large render of the radiator inside, which is mostly replicated on the back with the render replaced by certification information. More logos are on the side, where we also see a double flap with "Enjoy." This double flap works with two side flaps to keep the contents inside in place during transit.


Opening the box, we see the radiator right away and not one but two separate brochures on top. One is a contact card should you need to get in touch with customer support and the other a general guide describing the installation of NexXos v.2 radiators, which this newer ST25 is not technically a part of because there never was an ST25 v.1. That having been said, the design scheme is the same as other NexXxos v.2 radiators, and we will examine one of those in the near future as well. Off to the side and sandwiched between two foam sheets comes an accessory box, and this packaging means the radiator isn't damaged by any of the accompanying accessories.


There are eight individually labeled plastic zip-lock bags inside the box. In total, we get a set of twelve 30-mm-long M3-threaded screws for three standard 25-mm-thick 120 mm fans and a case/radiator mount. Two 35-mm-long M3-threaded screws for when you have a thicker radiator mount or thicker fans to deal with have also been included. These are paired with an additional set of twelve 5-mm-long screws to directly mount the radiator to the case/mount. These screws have a hex head, so we also get a matching L-shaped Allen key and a set of spare screws giving you two each of the three sizes. This is more than anyone else provides for radiators, and the only thing I can think of to make it better would be to move from M3 threading to M4 threading in the future. The radiator itself comes safely packed inside a bubble wrap layer on all sides, so this is a good job from Alphacool overall!