Alpenföhn is expanding their air cooling inventory with some potent examples. This new series incorporates two CPU coolers and is under the ‘Broken 4‘ family, a name taken from the highest peak in Northern Germany. So, we have a single tower heatsink that’s rated up to 220W of TDP and a twin heatsink dual fan giant, the Brocken 4 MAX, which can handle up to 250W TDP. We will review both and let’s start today with the Brocken 4.
Alpenföhn is a company which manufacturers cooling components for IT systems, which started its activity in 2008. The Alpenföhn line includes CPU coolers, fans and accessories which include: thermal compound, storage cooling systems and fan mounting systems.
The Alpenföhn brand was created by the company EKL AG, founded in 1995, it is a company specialized in manufacturing industrial cooling solutions.
Prices and Availability
MSRP should be around £59.99 / Є64.99 which is really good value for money when taking into account its main competition, like the U12S from Noctua or the be quiet! Dark Rock 4.
Presentation and Specifications
* Courtesy of their website.
High-performance 220W TDP single tower for sophisticated systems
Matt black surface coating, 6x6mm heatpipes, large asymmetric heatsink and an aerodynamically optimized fin design – Brocken 4 combines pure performance with almost silent operation even in demanding systems.
Features:
- Powerful and quiet thanks to the new Jetstream fans
- Single tower with 6x 6mm heatpipes and 220W TDP
- Matt black surface coating
- Airflow-optimized slats with decoupling elements
- Asymmetrical design of the heat sink for almost 100% RAM compatibility
- 6 high-performance copper heat pipes
- Nickel-plated solid copper base plate
- Rock Mount 3 mounting system
- Expandable fan assembly
- German development and quality standards
- Dimensions (with fan): 127 x 119 x 155 mm (W x H x D)
- Weight (with fan): approx. 1,098 g
- Material: copper (base plate, heat pipes), aluminum (fins)
- Speed: 400 to 1,600 rpm
- Volume flow: max. 94 m³/h
- Volume: max. 22.8 dB(A)
- Compatibility:Intel sockets: LGA 1700, 1200, 115x, 20xx / AMD socket: AM5, AM4
Visual Inspection
This time around Alpenföhn went for a high contrast all dark mysterious look for the packaging design. Alas, it works since the model number and TDP rating are highly visible.
All of the most important specs and features are nicely presented all-around.
The accessories and the fan possess their own box.
The highlight of the bundle is the extra long Alpenföhn branded magnetic Philips screwdriver.
You also get an extra set of wire clips for a second fan if you wish to attach later. All the major modern sockets from Intel and AMD are supported and the installation process should be a breeze.
This is their new 120mm Jetstream fan that spins between 400 to 1,600 rpm, will push up to 94 m³/h of airflow, with a static pressure of 1,74 H2O and shouldn’t be louder than 22.8 dB(A).
The 9 identical blades and the hidraulic bearing rotor should ensure a smooth and long lasting operation.
It has removable anti-vibration pads on each corner and the fan is powered by a 4-pin PWM plug.
The single tower heatsink uses 41 aluminium fins (8 of which are shorter at the bottom for increased compatibility).
These rubber inserts on each side make a perfect docking area for the fan.
The Brocken 4 has an asymmetrical design since this offset will offer a total clearance for memory modules .
Those 8 shorter fins at the base are to ensure no issues on motherboards that possess tall VRM heatsinks.
Everything is connected via these 6x Ø6 mm thick copper heatpipes that unite in the nickel plated copper base plate.
There is almost a mirror finish to it with a minimal convex design.
The fan attaches easily thanks to the metal clips. Overall the Brocken 4 has such cool design, perfect for stealth builds.
The Alpenföhn logo is nicely position on the top base plate and as you can see, all of the ends of the heatpipes have been capped off. That hole under the logo is for the included screwdriver to access the securing bolt from the base plate. Speaking off, next chapter please.
Installation
Installation is very easy on the AMD AM4 socket. First step is to remove the stock front plastic brackets from the motherboard while retaining the included backplate.
Attach the black plastic spacers.
Then secure down the metal plates as seen.
Apply the thermal paste with your own method of application.
Then bolt down the heatsink via the two securing bolts.
Attach the fan and we are done. The Brocket 4 fits perfectly and feels right at home in any build.
Even if you have a motherboard where the first full PCI-E slot is next tot the socket, it will still not interfere with the heatsink.
As promised, full clearance for any RAM sticks, regardless of how tall they are.
Top and left heatsinks are again safe.
The installation is easy and there were no compatibility issues even on this particular motherboard that has such a tall left VRM heatsink and cover.
Testing methodology
- The CPU cooler will be tested in 2 different scenarios with the help of the AMD Ryzen 7 2700 CPU, first at stock settings and then overclocked at 3.8 GHz for 1.30v
- The Alpenföhn will be tested against the AMD Wraith Spire, be quiet! Dark Rock 4 and the Noctua U12S & Noctua U12A.
- As the main torture test, we will employ a 2 minute run in AIDA64
- Room temperature was recorded at ~23°C
- For the noise testing, we used our Pyle PSPL01 placed 30 cm away from the setup – all other fans will will be off or set at minimum RPM and a lav mic was places at the same distance for the audio sample
- Thermal paste used Noctua NH-H2
- All of the side panels will be attached and the Alpenföhn’s fans will be left on auto % RPM to simulate real life usage or manually adjusted and pointed out accordingly
- Any results over 90°C in any condition are considered a fail
Hardware used:
– CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700
– RAM: 16GB DDR4 Crucial LPX Vengeance 3200 MHz CL16
– Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F Gaming II ATX @ BIOS 5102
– Boot SSD: Samung 870 EVO 1TB SATA III SSD
– Video card: MSI GTX 970 4G OC
– PSU: EVGA 600W W1 80+ ATX
– Case: Sahara Gaming P35 C500B ATX
Software:
– OS: Windows 10 Pro x64 Version 22H2
– NVIDIA Drivers – 536.40
– CPU-Z v1.95 – To verify the CPU’s and RAM’s statistics
– Core Temp v1.18 & HW Monitor v1.51 – To see the temperatures in real time
– AIDA64 Extreme v6.60 – Memory analysis and Benchmark suite
– MSI Afterburner v4.64 – To record the FPS and load/temperatures
– Cinebench R23 – Great overall CPU benchmark tool
– 3D/Game(s) – Rise of the Tomb Raider, set at 1080p, high quality settings, no V-Sync
Testing, Results and Analysis
The first series of tests come from Cinebench R23 which will put a serious load on the CPU while it renders a specific frame. Thus from left to right we have the stock and OC (3.7 GHz @ 1.30v) scenarios.
Things are very interesting! The Brocken 4 manages to take the lead over its direct competitors, especially the Dark Rock 4 which also has 6 heatpipes and a bigger fan.
The 2 minute long AIDA64 stress test should impose the maximum workload just for the CPU, therefore we should get the highest stress scenario.
Things change a bit for the Brocken 4 but not too much from what we have seen in R23. The Stock AMD wasn’t worth the risk to even bench it while the U12A is of course an incredible air cooler, with its 7 heatpipes and dual 120mm fans.
If a CPU cooler manages to survive the torture tests, then a benchmark run in a gaming scenario, should be a walk in the park. Games are not as stressful as a synthetic torture tests but are a great indicator of real life usage. That’s exactly what we see here as well.
The noise output test is an important challenge for any CPU cooler because if you can’t live with the noise, this negates any of the other advantages. The Brocken 4 is really quiet even in higher RPM ranges which is massive win!
Conclusion
This is a home run for Alpenföhn because the Brocken 4 is an excellent air cooler, that provides ample cooling headroom, even with a mild overclock. (If you want more OC’ing, wait for the MAX review). It’s also quiet and thus gives Noctua and be quiet! a proper run for their money! Overall it ticks a lot of boxes from great build quality, easy installation, great bundle (that highly practical screwdriver) and zero interference on modern motherboards. If you can find one for the MSRP, just get it.
The good:
+ Excellent performance to price ratio
+ Silent running
+ Sleek and stealth design
+ Great build quality
+ Practical accessories
+ Easy to install
+ Superb compatibility around the socket area
The bad:
– Hard to find
Glob3trotters “Best Buy” Award – 5 out of 5
Many thanks to Alpenföhn for supplying us with this excellent cooler!
Stay tuned since the big brother is next !
