Top-down CPU coolers are an interesting choice for those wanting to build a smaller, more compact system and Alpenfohn’s Gotthard is one such cooler which is ideal for such a scenario.

We’ve been impressed with Alpenfohn’s products in the past and Gotthard continues this trend. The quality of the heatsink engineering, bundle and fan is very good indeed but the installation can however be a little tricky. The main issue is when attaching the heatsink – the screws that need to be tightened are awkward to tighten with your bare fingers. Alpenfohn should have included cut-outs on the heatsink in order to allow a screwdriver to placed onto these screws.



The results given by Gotthard portray a cooler that fares well when the CPU is left at stock frequencies. Passive performance, although not the best due to heatsink specification still offered reasonable results but when overclocked Gotthard does struggle to effectively cool the CPU. It’s fair to say that this cooler isn’t intended for overclocking and is better suited to being situated in a compact chassis and at stock settings.

Against performance and the product as a whole, the price of £55 is quite steep. Gotthard needs a slight price-drop in order to make it a plausible option. Make no mistake, this is a good product – it offers a good route for those wanting to build a compact system and experience good stock performance.