Alphacool NexXxoS Cool Answer 360 DDC/XT Watercooling Kit Review

👤by Richard Weatherstone Comments 📅29-06-13
Conclusion

The Alphacool NexXxoS Cool Answer 360 DDC/XT is a very good watercooling kit but it does have some issues.

Firstly, the major oversight of not including a set of comprehensive instructions is unforgivable. Experienced watercoolers are unlikely to opt for a pre-prescribed watercooling kit such as this, instead specifying components of their own. Instead a watercooling kit such as this, despite its high end aspirations, is aimed squarely at the enthusiast who perhaps does not have the benefit of experience. To this end, not including a set of quality instructions is less than ideal because if there is one thing a 'kit' should provide, is confidence to the novice installer. In fairness, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out but is it too much to ask for an easy to follow step-by-step guide?

Secondly, the finish on some of the products is a little shabby. While the occasional viewer may not see the minor flaws, someone who looks closely at the components included will be left less than impressed with the finish. The compression fittings are very thinly coated, the reservoir has some rough edges and overlapped glue along with some acrylic dust left in the reservoir which will need flushing. The Yate Loon fans were not sleeved which make them look unsightly. The CPU block while on the outside looks great, has residue remains on the internals. While none of these negatives would affect the performance assuming adequate precautions are made such as pre-flushing the components before installation, at £176 available from Aqua-Tuning, we expected better, especially from a German company which stereotypically are leaders in precision engineering.

The reservoir design, while odd, worked fine and while 3/8" tubing may not suit most due to the skinny looks, it does have a higher bend radius than 7/16" or 1/2" tubing which will make matters easier for the novice builder.



Negatives aside, it was the best performing kit thanks to the excellent radiator, pump and CPU blocks which would easily find themselves at home in a custom watercooled setup of any proud enthusiast. The inclusion of coolant was also a nice touch and rarely seen in pre-built watercooling kits. We liked the copper highlights of the screws and plugs which matched the 'acool' logos perfectly.

To Summarise, the Alphacool NexXxoS Cool Answer 360 DDC/XT kit is a high performing kit with some excellent components but it is let down by the lack of an instruction manual and the fit and finish of the reservoir and compression fittings. With a few small improvements, it could be an awesome kit for both beginners and experienced alike. As it stands though while we would recommend it, it is not a perfect product for either party. For this reason it is given our Silver award but it could have so easily been Gold.

Pros:
+ Excellent cooling performance
+ Very Quiet
+ Well specified components

Cons:
- Little/no instructions
- Fit and finish of some components could be better


*NOTE*
Feedback from Alphacool:
"Alphacool are currently working on a new professional set of instructions that will be sent out with the next batch of kits and will also make these instructions available to download."



Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net. Thanks to Aqua-Tuning for providing today's review sample.


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