PC Components

Alpenföhn Black Ridge – CPU cooler for ITX systems with performance option

Small ITX systems are absolutely in trend. They do not take up much space, are often nice to look at and can be quickly transported or stowed away in case of need. But the small boxes always have a big disadvantage due to the narrow construction: high temperatures or a high noise level. So if a successful manufacturer of CPU coolers and a successful manufacturer of Mini-ITX cases together develop a CPU cooler especially designed for ITX systems, then one can hope for a very good CPU cooler.

That’s what happened some time ago between Alpenföhn and the case manufacturer DAN Cases GmbH. These two companies sat down together at a drawing board and created the Alpenföhn Black Ridge. This is a low-profile cooler that is supposed to convince with its good performance and a low overall height of only 47 millimetres. If the € 49.98 can convince us with this expensive cooler, you’ll find out in this review.

Technical details

Cooler specifications

Dimensions (with fan) 140 x 47 x 120 mm (W x H x D)
Weight (with fan) 420 g
Material copper (base plate, heat pipes), anodized aluminium (fins)
Heatpipes 6x Ø 6 mm
Compatibility AMD AM4
Compatibility Intel 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156
Price € 49.98

Fan specifications

Fan designation
Dimensions 92 x 92 x 15 mm
Speed 800 – 2,800 rpm
Volume min. 14 dB(A), max. 37.6 dB(A)
Flow volume max. 80.03 m³/h

Packaging & scope of delivery

The Black Ridge hairdryer comes in a relatively large cardboard box. It is colourfully printed and contains all technical information and pictures about the cooler or fan. All information is written in English.

If you open the lid, you will find a protective mould made of soft foam that covers the heat sink and all mounting accessories. In addition, there are installation instructions, thermal paste in a syringe and four wire brackets for mounting additional fans.

The packaging is very well thought out and protects all components during transport. Since the Black Ridge can only be mounted on the AM4 and 115x sockets, the mounting material is limited to the most necessary. Unfortunately, our specimen also lacked a plastic writing on one of the mounting screws. This washer should actually shield the metal screw from the PCB. However, it can be assumed that this was an isolated case and the support will help in such a case.

Design & workmanship

The Alpenföhn Black Ridge lives up to its name and has a very dark design. The cooler is based on six 6-millimeter heatpipes, 75 aluminum fins and a smooth, nickel-plated copper base plate. All heatpipes and fins are also dark anodized. The pre-installed fan is hidden on the underside and is connected to the heatsink with four screws. The fan is oriented ex factory so that it sucks in air from the motherboard and transports it upwards through the cooler.

If you turn the radiator upside down once, the specially shaped fins and the asymmetrical design are immediately noticeable. These adjustments are primarily intended to reduce the RAM compatibility.

The included Alpenföhn fan is, matching the cooler, kept completely black and has no RGB lighting. It rotates with a maximum of 2800 revolutions per minute and is connected to the mainboard via a black 4-pin PWM cable. With a thickness of only 15 millimeters, the fan fits perfectly between the base plate and the heat sink.

If there is a bit more space in the case or if you plan to use very low profile RAM, 120 millimeter fans can also be installed on the Black Ridge. With the included mounting brackets, either a 15 millimeter thick fan can be mounted below or a 15 or 25 millimeter thick fan above the heat sink.

Mounting

A test system on a benchtable is used for the review. This enables us to exclude factors such as heat accumulation in the housing. The test system consists of the following components.

If you take a normal AM4 board as a basis, the AMD retention module must be completely removed at the beginning. Even the backplate is not needed for mounting. Afterwards you should prepare the Black Ridge for mounting by screwing the AM4 retaining clips to the cooler base and then leave the heat sink upside down.

Then you coat the CPU with heat conductive paste, turn the mainboard upside down and position it over the cooler. At the backside the cooler is now connected with four screws.

Unfortunately, neither a blackplate nor spring-loaded screws are used during assembly. Both could distribute the contact pressure or the load evenly on the board. If you tighten the screws or tighten them to the end of the thread, the mainboard bends visibly. This could lead to a damage of the board in the long run. All in all the assembly is simple but not really optimal.

With our motherboard* you will notice that the cooler does not completely cover the PCI Express slot. Even though many ITX systems use riser cables, there are still ITX cases where the graphics card has to be mounted without riser cables. But if the graphics card has a backplate, the card can be installed, but most probably not screwed to the case. Buyers of the Black Ridge should also avoid using protruding heatspreaders with RAM. Fortunately, the modules we use are hardly higher than normal RAM modules and therefore just about fit under the Black Ridge.

Volume and cooling capacity

As already shown in the previous chapter, we use an AM4 system based on the Ryzen 5 1400 and the Gigabyte B450 I Aorus Pro WIFI as test hardware. The Ryzen runs at 3.8 Ghz at 1.275V. The Black Ridge’s fan was built in such a way that the air passes through the cooler and is transported to the motherboard.

To heat up the processor, the processor was loaded with Prime95 for 15 minutes. The CPU temperature was then read out with the CPUID hardware monitor. This test was performed in two different scenarios and then compared to the values of the AMD Boxed Cooler (Wraith Stealth). During the temperature measurements, the room had a temperature of 20° C.

Cooler Operating scenario RPM Temperature
AMD Wraith Stealth 50% PWM 1400 rpm 102 °C (crash)
AMD Wraith Stealth 100% PWM 2800 rpm 97 °C
Alpenföhn Black Ridge, 1x 92mm 50% PWM 1800 rpm 99 °C
Alpenföhn Black Ridge, 1x 92mm 100% PWM 2950 rpm 86 °C
Alpenföhn Black Ridge, 1x 92mm + 1x 120mm 50% PWM 1800 + 1100 rpm 82 °C
Alpenföhn Black Ridge, 1x 92mm + 1x 120mm 100% PWM 2950 + 1800 rpm 71 °C

The manufacturer states for the Black Ridge that it can handle a maximum of CPUs with a power dissipation of 95W. An overclocked Ryzen 5 1400 should probably reach and maybe even exceed this value. This is also evident in the temperatures. Even at full fan speed, the CPU temperature rises to a very warm 86°C. On top of that, the fan already operates with a noticeable volume from 50% fan speed. At 80-100% the fan can be described as annoying and is more like a vacuum cleaner.

However, since overclocking is not an issue in many ITX systems, we finally tested the Alpenföhn Black Ridge once again at a fan speed of 50% and with a CPU that isn’t overclocked. On the used gigabyte mainboard, the voltage is then 1.05V and the clock frequency 3.2 Ghz. In this scenario a good value of 60°C was achieved.

Alpenföhn Black Ridge, 1x 92mm 50% PWM 1800 rpm 60 °C

Conclusion of the Alpenföhn Black Ridge review

Let us now come to the conclusion of the Black Ridge Review. The low height of only 47 millimeters, the chic look of the heatsink and the easy mounting speak for this cooler. In addition, there is also the possibility to mount larger fans on the Black Ridge and the good cooling performance with not overclocked processors up to a TDP of 95W.

What we didn’t like, however, is among other things the rather rudimentary mounting system. By not using a backplate, the motherboard can bend dangerously and cause irreparable damage. We also noticed the noise of the included fan negatively. This is already audible at lower rpm and thus not suitable for silent enthusiasts. A final point is also the RAM and motherboard compatibility. Due to its dimensions, the heatsink on most mainboards covers the RAM slots and the first PCI Express slot. As a buyer, you should therefore avoid heatspreaders on the RAM and choose an ITX case by connecting the card with a riser cable.

All in all the € 49.98 * expensive Alpenföhn Black Ridge is a good but not perfect cooler for ITX systems.

Alpenföhn Black Ridge

Design
Workmanship
Mounting
Cooling
Volume
Value for money

80/100

Good cooler for ITX systems with weaknesses in volume and mounting system.

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

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