Alphacool adds two more SSD coolers, including a waterblock

Posted on Wednesday, July 19 2017 @ 15:52 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Cooling certain type of SSDs like M.2 models can help a little bit to improve performance by preventing thermal throttling. Alphacool already had some products for this and now the company reveals its Eisblock HDX-2 and HDX-3 coolers for M.2 SSDs. Both come with a PCIe 3.0 x4 adaptor, the HDX-2 is a passively cooled model with an aluminium heatsink while the HDX-3 is a watercooling block. You can buy these products via Alphacool's website for $40.95 and $84.03, respectively.
After developing the compact, very successful Alphacool HDX M.2 SSD cooler, Alphacool is now expanding its product range with the Eisblock HDX-2 and HDX-3 coolers. Both coolers come with a 4x PCIe card, on which the cooler and SSD are mounted. This has many advantages over mounting directly to the motherboard.

Cooling can be difficult on a motherboard due to space constraints and the location of the graphics card, which is often mounted directly above or beside the motherboard. A PCIe card and cooler give you lots of room to set up a good cooling solution. But why do you need to cool your M.2 SSD? When an M.2 SSD is used continuously and for substantial data transfers, it can heat up so strongly that the drive slows itself down and decreases its performance significantly. This can happen after even a few seconds. The only way to solve this problem is with a good cooling solution.

Another advantage is the included 4x PCIe cards, which provide the SSD with a maximum data transfer rate of around 3900 MB/s. 2.5” SSDs are limited to around 640 MB/s over a SATA connection, and many M.2 interfaces on motherboards are only connected to 2x PCIe – half the bandwidth of the HDX-2 and HDX-3 card.

The HDX-3 water block is a complete cooler that can easily be connected to any cooling loop with its G1/4” connectors. The water block itself is made of nickel-plated copper, and the lid is made of a single acetal block. Water flows over the entire SSD and ensures outstanding cooling performance.

With its massive aluminium radiator block and backplate, the HDX-2 cooler offers a large cooling surface for dissipating heat. The thick cooling fins give the Eisblock HDX-2 cooler a classic massive-yet-elegant design.

Both coolers come with thermal pads for one-sided and double-sided M.2 SSDs, making both coolers compatible with all M.2 PCIe SSDs.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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