The shape of the fin stacks is more apparent when we take a look from the top. Both radiators are identical in shape and share the same trapezoid shape. On the inside, the edges of the fins are serrated whereas on the outside, the flat profile is interrupted by the varying triangular cut outs. The finish, I have to emphasise again is perfect, not too shiny but not dull either. Alpenföhn have engraved the top fins with their brand as an added touch.


With most high-end coolers either opting for 6x6mm heat pipes or 4x8mm heat pipes, Alpenföhn had to find a way to maximise performance by altering this geometry. The easiest way was to simply implement two more heat pipes for a total of 8, each with 6mm diameter. These are of copper construction, nickel-plated to follow the same colour scheme as the rest of the cooler. The question is whether this is optimal or just a waste given that a CPU would not be fully covered by them. The U-shaped heat pipes all converge to the copper base where they are in direct contact with the block.


At the top, the 16 heat pipes ends can be seen, 8 aligned along each radiator. They are optimally positioned so that all are exposed to the airflow for better heat transfer. This is not dissimilar to other dual tower coolers. As usual, we see half of them sporting rounded ends and the other half with grooved ends.


The base has a perfect mirror finish thanks to the CNC machining. All 8 heat pipes are somehow packed into the base and to accommodate them, the base had to be enlarged significantly.


The base is ever so slightly convex with a tiny gap at the outer edge of the base. However, nearer the centre where the CPU will be placed under, the base appears to be quite flat. Certainly, it did a great job spreading a blob of thermal paste through pressure alone, indicating a flat surface.


One of the worries I had with the Phanteks heatsink is that its base was too large for the CPU such that the heat pipes wouldn’t overlay the CPU directly. Fortunately for them, their design was perfectly adequate for the Core i7 990x, one of the biggest CPUs around. The K2 on the other hand reveals a different story. With a 59x45mm base area, it becomes immediately clear that it isn’t small. In fact, its length is a whole 17mm larger than the Phanteks base. More importantly, the heat pipes on either end don’t overlay the CPU directly so heat transfer cannot be as efficient. It can be argued that the copper base will help distribute heat to all the heat pipes anyway but the problem may well be that only the centre 4-6 heat pipes can efficiently transfer heat away. Of course, with even larger Sandy Bridge-E CPUs recently released, the K2’s design may prove more effective to them.


At the top of the base are aluminium ridges with a linear groove in the middle to install and secure the mounting bracket as we will show later on.