Water Cooling Kit Group-Test
Up Close: AlphaCool NexXxoS Cool Answer 240 DDC/XT45
Published: 8th July 2013 | Source: Special Tech | Price: £142 - £175 |

Up Close: AlphaCool NexXxoS Cool Answer 240 DDC/XT45
With a name only its mother could love the AlphaCool kit comes packed into a neat briefcase style box. Delving inside we extract similarly coloured Alphacool branded boxes complete with blister packed Black compression fittings. The only exceptions to the brand are the Phobya PSU jumper and the Yateloon fans that come bundled with this kit. The Alphacool ki is also the only one to include a bottle of coolant.
Technical Specification
AlphaCool | NexXxoS Cool Answer240 DDC/XT45 |
Price | £169.99 |
Intel Socket Compatibility | Socket 2011 |
AMD Socket Compatibility | Socket FM1 |
CPU Waterblock | NexXxoS XP³ Light - Acetal Edition - Intel/AMD |
VGA Waterblock | N/A |
Radiator | Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 240mm |
Radiator Dimensions | 124 x 280 x 45 mm |
Radiator Fan Specification | 2 x Low Noise 1300rpm 120 x 25mm Fan |
Pump | Laing DDC-1T Pro Pump : DDC-1T |
Pump Flow Rate | 440 L/hr 10W |
Reservoir | Alphacool Repack - Laing DDC - 5,25 Single Bay Station |
Tubing | Alphacool AlphaTube HF 3/8" ID - 1/2" OD (10-13mm) : Clear |
Fittings | 6 x Alphacool 1/4" Thread Barb Fittings for 1/2" ID : Deep Black |
Fluid | Coolant Clear 1000ml |
Suitability | Simple CPU Watercooling |
Package Contents | 1 x Alphacool NexXxoS XP³ Light - Acetal Edition - Intel/AMD |
Core Components
The beating heart of the AlphaCool system is the NexXxoS XP³ Light Acetal edition. Sporting a large gold Alphacool logo the XP³ Light is quite the recumbent monolith. Two clearly labelled ports are positioned towards the upper edge of the contact plate, and as such their close proximity to each other may limit the size of fittings that can be used and/or the angles that rotaries must be placed at. No such worries with the supplied 13/10 G1/4" Deep Black compression fittings that come supplied in the kit.
The Alphacool repack Laing DDC single bay reservoir when coupled to the Laing AlphaCool DDC 1T Pro pump provides an integrated solution and with a large clear gauged window there should be no problems keeping an eye on those fluid levels. As with a great many bay reservoirs the fill port is positioned centrally in the top and although quite posterior it is sill easy enough to reach into with a bit of tubing and a funnel if you leave a vacant bay above it. At 45mm Thick the NexXxoS XT45 is the second thinnest on test but only a smidge thinner than the 47mm thick EK radiator. The NexXxos is however the only radiator to have fittings on all sides of each of the two end tanks, making for a total of 3 in and 3 out. This of course offers much greater flexibility when it comes to plumbing in your loop and should be applauded.
Assembly and Testing
Although the CPU block is compatible with a great many Intel and AMD socket types instructions for fitting to socket 2011 aren't provided, leaving us to prove we're real men and work it out for ourselves (which was actually easy enough). After first threading a thumb-bolt, spring and washer onto an Allen bolt this bolt is then screwed into the motherboard socket holes. The Thumb bolts are then tightened down to provide pressure via the springs onto the CPU. Assembling the Pump Res set up was again an instruction free adventure, this time with a little more head-scratching and brute force involved. In essence the Pump is inelegantly stuffed into the back of the reservoir with tubular rubber seals around the nozzles making for a watertight seal. If we thought that was hard we were in for a real treat when we came to fit it into our 5.25" bay. Why? Because it's slightly larger in height than the height of a 5.25" bay that's why, or more specifically, the large acrylic port plate at the rear of the reservoir sticks up proud just enough to cause the top of the res to foul the guide rails of the bay above, necessitating these to be bent upwards with some pliers.
With the swearing and grunting over it was time to plumb everything together. AlphaCool have coupled their Deep Black 13/10 compression fittings with some 13/10 clear tubing. The thin diameter of this tubing makes it easier to manoeuvre than some thicker tubes, however the thin walls and high flexibility did seem to make it more prone to kinking than some of the others on test here. On start up we noted the pump was on the noisy side with a distinct vibration through the chassis, seems simply cramming the pump into the rear of the res with only a thin rubber pad as isolation doesn't make for quiet running! On the plus side, the fans were very quiet. God old Yate Loon eh.
Once the whole assembly has been wedged into place, the slightly smoked glass look of the front panel does give the reservoir that little hint of class. The Gold AlphaCool logo is ever present of course but does nothing to detract from the looks
Most Recent Comments
Maybe in the near future I can buy some loop expansion, like other rad, better pump/res and a block for my GC.
Do you think it will be worth? Or should I buy a custom loop directly.
Must say that this gonna be my 1st custom WC project.
Thx again for the review


I'm surprised at the performance of the XSPC RS rad, given that it's the thinnest out of the lot. Not much in it at all though really, unless you are trying to get the lowest temps possible, it doesn't really matter which kit you go with.
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Nice review TTL, I really apreciate this beacause I was wondering to buy a kit, and I think the EK looks better for me.
Maybe in the near future I can buy some loop expansion, like other rad, better pump/res and a block for my GC. Do you think it will be worth? Or should I buy a custom loop directly. Must say that this gonna be my 1st custom WC project. Thx again for the review ![]() |
G-Dubs did this review dude. I may own OC3D but theres VB and Gdubs doing reviews too dudio
As SieB said the xspc rs240 result was interesting and makes you wonder how the RX240 kit would of done. (I don't expect you to do it you have done a good job here)
I think it also shows that in all fairness if you are only looking at a cpu loop and never want to upgrade the AIO's are a viable option considering they are cheaper and you could put Gt ap15's or nf-f12's with the money you would save, And probably get near on the same results
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Thanks Gary for the time you put in to this I have been hoping for something like this.
As SieB said the xspc rs240 result was interesting and makes you wonder how the RX240 kit would of done. (I don't expect you to do it you have done a good job here) I think it also shows that in all fairness if you are only looking at a cpu loop and never want to upgrade the AIO's are a viable option considering they are cheaper and you could put Gt ap15's or nf-f12's with the money you would save, And probably get near on the same results |
The RX240 would have scored much the same as the phobya, the CPU isnt maxing the rads hence the temps. Having a bigger rad just means better low speed fan results if you look........
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I was surprised how well the H110 and H100i held up. Seems like AIOs are pretty good these days.
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IMHO water is all about aesthetics and low fan speeds with better than air load temps.
Thanks again TTL and all the crew at OC3d for all the hard work and getting us the info.

watching the graphs shrink with voltage increase was interesting, as the 1.45v
"weed out" temperatures showed kit brawniness.
very good..
(side note: in the graphs Raystorm is Raysorm)
Testing these kits in the fairest and honest way as has been done here, I think vindicates the AIO market somewhat. Performances almost on par, it's about the kind of experience one wants, and how risk averse they are too
.But i wish you guys would change the way you do your graphs..
There so uneasy on the eye....
thank you a lot! 
i become silence adict since i got my sp120QE =DDIt is true that these have expandability options, but honestly if thats your plan you should save up and do it all at once.
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honestly i'm kind of dissapointed in these kits. Seeing as how a NZXT-X60 and Corsair H100i can keep up or out preform them for a cheaper price an no maintenance required.
It is true that these have expandability options, but honestly if thats your plan you should save up and do it all at once. |
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Well the kits don't exactly have much more surface area than the AIOs so for them being as far ahead as they were is pretty impressive.
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You're correct. But think about it.. How much more fluid is actually making contact and how much faster is the fluid going? Not much(mostly) so therefore it as almost always comes down to the fans. So considering how much farther they are it's pretty impressive.
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Also having the ability to expand to a second rad or being able to add the GPU into the loop i guess is where the main value comes into play.


http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/artic...053156396l.jpg
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