After Akasa, Arctic also updates a small, simple and inexpensive cooler for Intel LGA 1700. With the Alpine 17, it builds on the Alpine 12 design. The new Alpine (17) looks like a good option for 65-watt Alder Lake processors that ship without a cooler. The Intel The Alpine 17 will probably not outperform the Intel Laminar RM1, but it does have a few features that some may prefer it for.
Arctic’s latest cooler – the Alpine 17 – is a top-flow cooler and is based on the same foundation as the Arctic 12. While we don’t have complete specs yet, the heatsink is most likely identical. It is a circular aluminium monolith with straight fins that split into a Y-shape towards the end. This is to increase the total radiating area. You can also find topologically similar designs in older Intel coolers.
Alpine 17 has a slightly taller profile though, at least compared to Intel coolers from recent generations. However, it lacks the copper core and is completely made of aluminum, on which the 92 mm fan sits. It is fitted to the Alpine 17 in two speed variants.
The base cooler (no adjective), which you’ll also recognize by the white rotor, is probably 150-2000 rpm and the Alpine 17 CO will be about 250-2700 rpm. We write “probably” because Artcic hasn’t published official specifications yet (the manufacturer’s website doesn’t even have a product page yet), and we’re assuming that the parameters won’t differ from the Alpine 12.
The biggest design change is likely to be the wider spacing (78 × 78 mm) of the mounting holes. The CO variant also differs from the regular variant in the type of bearings used. While the Alpine 17 has fluid roller (FDB) bearings, the Alpine 17 CO fan is based on double ball bearings. These are supposed to have a significantly longer life span and this variant (with the grey fan) is therefore also recommended for continuous operation. In this case it is no longer speculation and this is for sure. Arctic has had it this way for a long time with other coolers as well.
The thermal paste is pre-applied to the base and it is the Arctic MX-4. There is little difference in this compared to the Alpine 12 with the Arctic MX-2. However, it will have no effect on cooling performance. Alpine 17 will again be suitable for processors with TDP up to 65 W and operation with power limits that will keep the long-term power draw at this value (65 W).
According to internal tests, the Alpine 12/17 even outperforms the more than twice as expensive Noctua NH-L9i(-17xx) at the same 28 dBA noise level. If this is true (which we will confirm or disprove in tests in a very short time), the Alpine 17’s disadvantage is in almost double the height. At 68.2 mm, this cooler won’t fit into many slim cases anymore.
Alpine 17 makes sense in combination with processors that do not come with a cooler. However, these versions tend to be only 5-6 euros cheaper, and to make pairing with an Arctic cooler worthwhile, you have to find some negatives on the included Laminar RM1. The latter, together with the CPU, will come cheaper (the combination of CPU without cooler + Alpine 17 costs more). The lower minimum speed or, in the case of the CO variant, more durable bearings may weigh in favour of the Arctic cooler.
You’ll soon find out how the Alpine 17 holds up against the Intel Laminar RM1 in our tests. The recommended retail price for the Alpine 17 is 13,99 euros and for the Alpine 17 CO it’s one euro more.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
