INTRODUCTION

   Starting the day with a nice trip to the nearest beach (it may just be 20 miles away but with that much traffic it gets to be an entire trip until you actually get there) is perhaps the only reason as to why i would ever feel exhausted enough to think about doing a review (too much heat tends to do that). Still for me at least work almost always goes before pleasure and since CPU Coolers from pretty much every manufacturer around have been piling in our lab (i hardly have room for more) i thought it would be nice if i finally started working on them (besides it makes sense especially in the summer). So for the past 2 days on our test bench we have the latest CPU Cooler by Alpenfoehn, the mid-end Matterhorn PURE.

   Alpenfoehn is a yet well-respected German based company founded back in 2001 and is focused ever since in manufacturing efficient cooling solutions for PC systems. The company got its rather strange, yet ideal name for their field from a specific type of extremely cold wind in the Alps mountain range called Alpenfoehn.

   It was roughly 5 months ago when i last checked a CPU Cooler by Alpenfoehn, namely the massive, dual-fan K2 which was clearly designed to go up against the Noctua NH-D14 and the Thermalright Silver Arrow (and it did). So compared to the K2 the new Matterhorn PURE is not really something special but since we rarely do see special designs and technologies used (if at all nowadays) in CPU Air Coolers so that's not really the right way to judge a product. Performance, noise levels and price is what really matters in CPU Coolers (with performance and price the more important factors for most users) so let’s see just what the latest Matterhorn PURE CPU Cooler by Alpenfoehn is all about.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The box in which the Matterhorn PURE arrived is quite simple and only has a product image at both the front and the rear along with several peaks (must be the Alps).

The unit’s specifications and CPU compatibility list are placed at the right side.

At the left side we see two product pictures and in-depth explanations about its two main features.

The main bundle is placed inside two cardboard boxes (one for the 120mm fan and the other for the rest of the bundle) while the main heatsink is placed between two small pieces of Styrofoam.

After taking everything out from all the boxes you will have the main heatsink of the Matterhorn PURE, one 120mm PWM fan, 2 mounting fan clips, installation guide, a small pouch with thermal conductive material inside and all the necessary mounting hardware for Intel LGA775/1155/1156/1366/2011 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1 compatible mainboards.

THE MATTERHORN PURE

Unfortunately the bundled 120mm PWM fan is plain without any LEDs but it's quite fast and capable of reaching speeds of up to 1500RPM with airflow of 63.6CFM at 24.8dBA.

The 120mm PWM fan also comes ready with 4 anti-vibration rubber pads and a y-splitter at the end of the cable so you can attach a second PWM fan on the same mainboard connector.

Unlike most fan clips the ones supplied with the Matterhorn PURE need to be inserted just before the top aluminum fin.

For a single fan solution the Matterhorn PURE is quite large measuring 158mm in height, 100mm in depth and 135mm in width while weighing a total of 803g.

Alpenfoehn is using the typical bending of the fins to keep the air from leaving the heatsink.

There are 48 aluminum fins on the main heatsink body.

The company logo is placed on the top aluminum fin.

Of course you can add a second 120mm fan in push & pull for improved performance. Unfortunately Alpenfoehn doesn't supply a second set of mounting clips so you will have to purchase them separately.

We rarely see six 6mm all-copper heatpipes with CPU Coolers so these should boost the unit’s performance.

The copper base features a mirror like finish and is even from side to side.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

     I always take things quite seriously when it comes to work so just like with the previous LGA1366 database we will not be testing each CPU Cooler on its own and with different ambient temperature levels so we can actually have yet another valid CPU Cooler database. Testing a CPU Cooler automatically means that you need to know where it stands against the immediate competition and to accomplish that we have spent both money and time through the years, something that i plan to continue to do so in order to get the most accurate results for the end users who read these lines. Every CPU cooler in this database will be tested with its bundled 140mm/120mm/92mm/80mm fans while working at 100% of their speeds for all the temperature tests. CPU Coolers that do not come bundled with a fan/s are measured using a Noctua fan (size dependent on the model) to test for the temperature tests but due to the lack of a stock fan we will not be measuring their dBA levels. For the dBA test every cooler in the database was measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting. PWM fans do that or their own without our intervention. Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside the room. The Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste is used with every CPU Cooler in our latest LGA2011 database (although initially this was not the plan we had to change things to get the most accurate results). Finally it's very important to point out that just because a CPU Cooler is better than another when tested with our test rig CPU, the Intel Core i7-3930k that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).

     To successfully record the load temperatures we use the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Well after recording all the results it's quite clear that the Matterhorn PURE would be doing a lot better if it was bundled with an faster 120mm fan since this one is obviously not the right one for the job, at least not for users who put performance above all else. However the fan is far from being the loudest one in our charts and even with these results the Matterhorn PURE still manages to keep up with the SD1283 Nighthawk Edition by XIGMATEK. Of course if you add a second 120mm in push & pull configuration you should see a drop in temperature of around 2 degrees (best case scenario however) so i really can't figure out why Alpenfoehn doesn't bundle a second set of fan mounting clips to make it easier for people.

   Perhaps the only thing that turns the Alpenfoehn Matterhorn PURE into a tempting solution is its price tag which is currently set at 38Euros inside the EU (Overclockers.UK). Unfortunately just like with many products from EU based manufacturers i was unable to find the Matterhorn PURE by Alpenfoehn for sale anywhere inside the USA. Overall the performance of the Matterhorn PURE is quite good but we are basically talking about a high quality heatsink coupled with a mid-quality (or at least performance) 120mm fan and that's really its sole drawback. You can obviously swap the fan with something better and faster but unless you have one laying around then you'd be better off with a whole different CPU Cooler, cost-wise at least (perhaps the Shamrock CPU Cooler again by Alpenfoehn). Long story short if you are out to buy a new CPU Cooler and you are interested in a good price/performance ratio then we really recommend taking a look at the Matterhorn PURE by Alpenfoehn which is also why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Good Performance
- Dual Fan Solution
- Size
- Price

CONS

- Bundled 120mm fan (Could Be Better)
- Availability