Alpenföhn K2 Dual Tower CPU Cooler Review

With the CPU cooling market dominated by dual tower air coolers and All-In-One liquid cooling units, there is very little chance for the brands which don’t offer the aforementioned coolers to compete in the enthusiast segment. Alpenföhn have been working hard to release a variety of coolers which suit everybody’s needs since they truly emerged onto the scene in 2010 with their popular Matterhorn. After a relatively short period of time in the limelight of the CPU cooling market, Alpenföhn feel that they are ready to challenge for the cooling crown with their dual tower K2.

The K2 is not too dissimilar to the other dual tower coolers which dominate the air cooling market. It features a pair of aluminium fin arrays which are optimized to work effectively with lower speed fans by utilizing performance-enhancing features. What does set the K2 apart from its counterparts is its set of 8 6mm heatpipes. Yes, you heard me correctly, 8! Each heatpipe transfers heat away from the copper base to the aluminium fin array which makes for some effective heat transfer potential when 8 are combined. A centre 140mm fan is accompanied by a 120mm fan on the front side of the K2. Operating at a maximum of 1100 and 1500 RPM, respectively, and making use of Alpenföhn’s wing-boost blade design airflow should be very accommodating. Controlled by a 4-pin PWM connector which can reduce the fan speed to less than 30%, the fans look as if they offer the perfect balance between noise output and performance.

Alpenföhn offer compatibility with all modern Intel and AMD sockets straight out of the box. Retail pricing for the K2 is £59.99/€64,90 making it very similarly priced to Phanteks’ PH-TC14PE, Thermalright’s Silver Arrow and Noctua’s NH-D14. With competitors like those 3 any CPU cooler is going to have to perform admirably to avoid sinking in this enthusiast market. Does Alpenföhn’s 1378g K2 have what it takes to gain the air cooling crown?