Introduction

The TechPowerUp GPU roundup series continues today with Alphacool, after having examined entries from EKWB and CORSAIR. Alphacool is high up on the list of large, established DIY watercooling brands, and the company had sent two different takes on its cooling solution for the NVIDIA RTX 3080. We take a look at both today, and this article will cover the ES Acetal version. Thanks to Alphacool for sending both review samples to TechPowerUp!

As the name suggests, the Eisblock ES Acetal is a full-cover GPU water block that uses an acetal (POM) top throughout paired with side-mounted inlet and outlet ports, one of the new things to come out of this generation, with active backplates being the other major addition. Alphacool is marketing this for users who prefer function over form, with no RGB lighting and the I/O on the side enabling easier tube routing in horizontal or vertical GPU mounting. The Eisblock GPX Aurora with a review published alongside this article is on the other end of the spectrum, using a full acrylic top and plenty of lighting combined with the more traditional I/O terminal up top. Be sure to read both reviews as the two designs share commonalities but also differ enough to merit the existence of both.

Specifications