This is the second review regarding Alpenföhn’s newest range of CPU air coolers, where we will have a look at the most capable one, the Brocken 4 MAX. This is a dual heatsink, dual fan CPU cooler that is rated up to 250W of TDP.
As an added bonus, we’ll delve into the JetStream fans featured on the Brocken 4 MAX cooler, as they are also available for separate purchase. This exploration holds particular intrigue, given that these fans are designed for versatile use and can also be obtained as part of a triple pack upgrade.
This new series incorporates two CPU coolers and is under the ‘Broken 4‘ family, a name taken from the highest peak in Northern Germany. If you want to check the smaller brother in action, please click here.
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
It should retail around $80. Nothing yet on Amazon but for the UK, you ca grab it here. At this price level, it posses direct competition to the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4.
Also worth mentioning that you can even get the slim fan and regular fans separately, since they sell a triple pack of the JetStreams for around £40. These are useful for example if you want an AIO upgrade because they include a 3-way fan splitter adapter and even longer screws. Or if you require specifically the slim variant from the Brocken 4 MAX, you can get that one as well.
Presentation and Specifications
* Courtesy of their website.
Matt black surface coating, 6x6mm heatpipes, large asymmetric heatsink and an aerodynamically optimised fin design – Brocken 4 Max combines pure performance with almost silent operation even in demanding systems.
Main features:
- Powerful and quiet thanks to the new Jetstream fans
- Dual 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
Mounting brackets/decoupling elements are already included in the scope of delivery - German development and quality standards
Visual Inspection
Packaging design is identical to its smaller brother, with this darker theme.
All the main specs and highlights of the heatsink and fans are covered on every side of the box.
The list of accessories is pretty much identical to the regular Brocken cooler with the notables exceptions of the extra pair of fan clips and the fan splitter adapter.
Since the Brocken 4 MAX uses two fans of different thickness, you get matching pair of wire clips.
One fan is the 120mm JetStream, that spins between 400 to 1,600 rpm, will push up to 94 m³/h of airflow, with a static pressure of 1,74 mmH2O and shouldn’t be louder than 22.8 dB(A). This is 27mm thick while the second slim fan is 16mm thick and has the following specs: 600-1800 RPM, 89 m³/h of airflow, 1,20 mmH2O static pressure and 24.7 dB(A). The triple pack we will cover later in review.
The imposing heatsink for the Brocken 4 MAX features the same asymmetrical design and a strategic shorter number of fin that ensure maximum compatibility with modern motherboards.
The antivibration strips are present on all sides of the tower.
We have 6x 6mm thick copper heatpies that are nicely capped of at the top base plate. Everything is in matching black and only the Alpenföhn logo sticks out.
At the other end we have the nickel plated base that is semi-mirror polished and with a slight convex profile to it.
We have the complete perspective after attaching the fans. At just 158mm tall, the Brocken 4 MAX will fit many cases since it’s under the 160mm sweet-spot threshold.
As highlighted earlier, Alpenföhn provides the option to acquire the fans separately from the Brocken 4 MAX cooler. Included in their offerings is a triple JetStream 120mm pack, strategically designed to facilitate a 360mm AIO upgrade. This package conveniently includes extended radiator screws and a 3-way fan adapter.
They are also excellent case fans for those who prefer the stealthy aesthetic approach. Moreover, these fans come with the standard screws as well, for easy installation.
Even the slim JetStream fan comes with its own custom length screws, for both AIO and case installation.
Installation
The whole process is virtually identical to the previous review. Thus, the 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 dispersion.
Then bolt down the heatsink via the two securing bolts.
Slide in the regular fan in between the towers.
Since this motherboard already features two CPU fan ports, the included splitter isn’t necessary on this build. Keep it since it will come handy one day.
The finished result is flawless, with no interference of any sorts around the socket area.
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 Pro 4 and the Noctua U12A. We will also include the results from the previous review, with the regular Brocken 4 CPU cooler
- As the main torture test, we will employ a 2 minute run in AIDA64
- Room temperature was recorded at ~22°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
- The JetStream 120mm fans will be installed as case fans and will run at 30, 50 and 80% RPM points to record the CPU temperatures, which will be overclocked to 3.8 GHz @ 1.30v to have a fixed reference point. As for the Slim fan, we will compare this separably on the Brocken 4 MAX heatsink as an addition to the stock fans, resulting in a triple fan configuration
- 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.
Considering the fact that the be quiet Dark Rock Pro 4 is its direct competitor in both specs and price, the Brocken 4 MAX is showing great results.
The 2 minute long AIDA64 stress test should impose the maximum workload just for the CPU, therefore we should get the highest stress scenario.
Sometimes this test has weird spikes so we take the normalized overall results. Both Brocken 4 coolers are really good considering its competition.
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.
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. Thus the Brocken 4 MAX, despite its dual fan setup, is still quiet even in the higher RPM ranges.
Having observed the fans in action as CPU heatsink coolers, let’s now shift our focus to the JetStream Triple Pack installed as case fan. Suffice to say, that they will get the job done since they are intended as a multi-role fan.
Lastly, for evaluating the additional Slim JetStream fan, we affixed it to the Brocken 4 MAX as an exhaust fan, creating a three-fan setup. It does help a bit but only in the higher RPM range, hence our fixed 80% point.
Conclusion – Brocken 4 MAX
The law of diminishing results applies wonderfully here since there is no point to get anything more expensive than the Alpenföhn Brocken 4 MAX if you are after such a big air cooler. This is another success story from this company since you are getting a complete product, especially given today’s markets. It will handle a mild OC while staying also quiet thanks to its combo setup of a thick and slim fan. Until something else cant beat it at a lower price point, which we highly doubt it, this should be at the top of your wish list!
The good:
+ Clever off-set design
+ Combo fan setup
+ Superb cooling performance
+ Silent running
+ Sleek and stealth design
+ Great build quality
+ Practical accessories
+ Easy to install
+ Maximum compatibility around the socket area
The bad:
– Since it’s a new series, it’s a bit hard to find worldwide
Glob3trotters “Editor’s Choice” Award – 5 out of 5
Many thanks to Alpenföhn for supplying us with this epic cooler!
Don’t forget to check out the previous review as well!
Conclusion – JetStream Fans
It’s truly refreshing to see when a company goes the extra mile to provide the same fans utilized in their top-tier heatsinks as standalone purchasable items, without any differences in specifications. This thoughtful approach opens the door to a matching multi-fan heatsink configuration or enhancing your build with these fans as case or an AIO upgrade.
The good:
+ Multi-role fans
+ Stealth design
+ Good overall performance
+ Quiet operation
+ Includes extra long radiator and case screws
+ Standard frame thickness or slim variant available
The bad:
– As mentioned before, hard to find for now
Glob3trotters “Recommend” Award – 4.5 out of 5
Many thanks to Alpenföhn for supplying us with these packs!
