Alphacool Apex Stealth Metal Aurora 2600 – Chrome Fans Review
Back in 2023, Alphacool showcased the Apex Stealth Fans. This statement from Alphacool describes these fans as such: “High-quality, elegant, and timeless design combined with technical innovation – these are the defining features of the Alphacool Apex Stealth Metal Fan. With its patent-pending decoupling technology, robust metal frame, and specially designed rotor, this fan is built to impress. The Apex Stealth is not only one of the most powerful fans on the market but also remains exceptionally quiet at any speed.”
Alphacool has recently released a 2600 RPM version of these fans in A-RGB lighting. I am taking a look at the 3-fan pack in Chrome edition. These fans are available in:
- Matte Black
- Chrome
- White
I still remember the tag line from Alphacool saying, “The power of heavy metal with the sound of silence”. The design includes a decoupled impeller from the main frame. The main frame is made of metal, hence expect a beefier weight of the fan. The fan blades, motor, and even suspension are decoupled from the metal frame as well. This helps in reducing the overall noise. The second important design aspect is a closed frame preventing tip fluttering at high speeds.
A single fan pack of Apex Stealth Metal 2600 Chrome fans retails at €24.98, while a set of three fans with the original tag of €74.94 can be purchased for €67.44 at the time of this writing, as they are on discount.
Specifications
Dimension
I have taken this picture from the Alphacool website. It shows the dimensions of these fans to be 120x120x25.5mm. The gap between any two mounting holes is 105mm. The fans’ cable length is 140mm. The extension cable has a length of 500mm, which is good enough.
Packaging and Unboxing
The fans are shipped inside a brown cardboard box. All fans are placed inside their own dedicated cardboard boxes. Each fan comes inside a semi-transparent container. An accessory box is placed by the side of the fan.
Alphacool has provided the following inside the box:
- 1x Stealth Fan
- 1x PWM Extension cable 50cm
- 4x M3 Screw
- 4x 6-32 UNC Screw
- 4x M4 Screw
- 4x Stealth Mounting Nut
- 1x cleaning cloth
- 1x aRGB Extension cable 50cm
Alphacool has provided three different thread-based screws with these fans. These are:
- M3
- M4
- 6-32 UNC
This wide range helps the user to install these fans using the most commonly used thread sizes in the PC industry. Hence, regardless of the manufacturer, you are sure that these fans can be installed on any radiator. The picture shows the thread length and pitch of these screws.
Close Look
It is time to take a look at these fans for their design aspects.
Each fan has 9x frosted blades or impellers. These are connected or attached to a ring, which also rotates along with the impellers. The metal frame is silver. The center has a large diameter as it houses ARGB LEDs. However, the non-RGB versions also have the same diameter center.
Blades’ tips have raised surfaces that have an inset design integrated into the outer ring. This seems to be done for structural integrity and reducing vibrational noise and drag. The frame is made of die-cast zinc material.
The cool aspect is the design of impellers, bearings, motor, and suspension, which is completely decoupled from the main frame.
It is clear now that the complete suspension is decoupled from the main frame. Alphacool seems to have achieved a miracle. You can see a 5-arm assembly. Each arm has a slope design to disrupt the airflow in a particular manner that is almost like dispersing.
Core Stealth Metal Aurora Fan is printed on the center. The power rating is mentioned as 12VDC @ 0.28A, taking 3.36W input power. This is better than what we saw on 3000 RPM non-RGB fans. This means three fans would be drawing 10.08W, so we can safely connect three fans on a fan header rated for a minimum of 12W (12VDC @ 1A).
Alphacool has employed Sleeve Bearings on these fans, unlike Hydro Bearings on the non-RGB fans. Also, these fans are from the Apex line-up from Alphacool, meaning they are a flagship solution from the manufacturer. The fan motor is a 6-pole and probably 3 phase design providing smooth commutation and long life.
I am showing a mounting corner of the Apex Stealth Fan. Since the complete suspension is decoupled, there was no need for an anti-vibration pad. This is a sunken design where the screws would sit flush with the frame or border of the housing. This would not only look cool but also reduce the overall thickness of the fans with screws.
All sides have diffuser lining for even spread of ARGB backlighting. All sides have the same design and layout. The two-part metal frames are internally connected. We can see that the main inner housing has a ring design. This ringed component hides the inner components.
Alphacool has routed a short length cable inside the frame, leaving a connector and socket on one end, and the other end has the socket and connector from the same cable. This allows for daisy-chain. Alphacool has used a J connector for ARGB lighting, which is a proprietary connector. However, the fan motor is regulated via a 4-pin PWM connector.
Alphacool has provided three cables:
- 1x PWM Extension Cable 50CM
- 1x ARGB Extension Cable 50CM
- 1x ARGB Adapter Cable
I was trying to show a clearance between the outer ring and the metal frame, but it was a failed attempt. The tip clearance is not that narrow, but I think it is a part of the total suspension being completely decoupled. Alphacool has mentioned that this is a closed design, hence the tips of the blades would not flutter, particularly at high speeds. This can enhance the durability of the fan.
The above picture shows the internal layout of the Apex Stealth Metal fan. A large rubber gasket sits over the fan suspension body to absorb the vibration. You can now understand that the main fan suspension sits over the back side, which has its own frame with 5-arms. There is another ring rubber gasket that sits below the backside of the fan body.
The two-part metal frame seems to be interconnected through the mounting corners. You can see spacers between the two opposing mounting corners.
The salient specifications include:
| Dimension | 120x120x25.5mm |
| Speed | 380~2600 RPM ±10% |
| Airflow | 59.79 CFM |
| Static Pressure | 3.35 mmH₂O |
| Max Volume | 36.4 dBA |
| Bearings | Sleeve Dynamic |
| MTBF | 100,000 hrs |
| Starting Voltage | 6VDC |
| Nominal Voltage | 12VDC |
| Power Consumption | 3.72W |
| Current Rating | 0.28A |
RGB Lighting
These fans pack vibrant backlighting, which looks good in person, and pictures simply don’t do any justice.
Testing
The following configuration is used for thermal testing:
- AMD Ryzen 9 9900X [243W]
- ASRock X870E NOVA WiFi
- Custom Loop Setup using Alphacool Gear
- GSkill TridentZ NEO RGB 32GB 6400MHz CL30 DDR5 kit
- ASRock Phantom Gaming RX 7600 Graphics Card for Display
- Biwin X570 Pro 4TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD
- Fractal Design ION+2 860W Platinum PSU
- Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout
- Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 PWM
Here is the settings table for testing:
| Settings | PBO Enabled [243W] |
| Clock (MHz) | Auto |
| Voltage (V) | Auto |
| Thermal Paste | Noctua NT-H2 |
| Thermal Paste Application | Dots Method |
| Test Run Time | 30 minutes |
| Idling Time | 10 minutes |
| All Fans Speed | 100% PWM Duty Cycle |
| Pump Speed | |
| Stress Software | CINEBENCH R23.2 |
| Monitoring Software | HWINFO64 |
I am reporting absolute temperature in the graph with a room temperature of 20°C. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.
Result
The speed range of the fan is shown above. I tested all three fans separately, but none could achievethe rated 2600 RPM speed.
In our first test, I tested the custom loop setup with Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 PWM at 100% PWM or full fan speed. The same was done for the Alphacool Apex Stealth Metal Aurora Chrome 2600 fans. Both fans are head-to-head, but Noctua fans have a clear upper hand, coming from the noise level of 39.3 dB(A) compared to 44.5 dB(A) from the Alphacool fans.
Next, I noise-normalized the setup to 37.5 db(A) and repeated the tests using both brands’ fans. This time, the Noctua fans show a lead of 1.2°C over the Alphacool fans, although 81.8°C is not bad, but the question here is relative performance from the fans in hand.
Noise
The Alphacool fans were doing 44.5 dB(A) at full speed, which is a little out of my comfort zone.
Conclusion
I have taken a spin on the Alphacool Apex Stealth Metal Fan Chrome edition. These are new releases from Alphacool that has same footprint as on the non-RGB versions but with a different spec sheet. The main frame of the metal fans is made of die-cast zinc, which is the same design as on the original.
The complete fan suspension, including motor, bearing, and impellers are decoupled from the main frame, which is an impressive feat in terms of technological advancement. Two gaskets sit under each metal part or frame to dampen the vibration from the complete fan assembly.
The impeller count is still 9 on each fan, and an outer ring connecting to the impellers is also implemented. The center and blades have a frosted outlook since this is an ARGB version. A key change here is the Sleeve Bearing on these fans compared to the hydro bearing on the original fans. This, in tandem with the 6-pole motor design, helps in durability and smooth motor operation. These bearings give the Apex Stealth fan healthy 100,000 hours of MTBF.
I have got the Chrome edition. It has a speed range of 380 to 2600 RPM ±10%. The airflow rating is mentioned as 59.79 CFM, which is nothing extraordinary. The air pressure rating is 3.35mmH₂O. The maximum power rating of the fan is 3.72W, which is way better than the original fans, taking above 6.0W per fan. The sound level is rated at 36.4 dBA.
The accessories include three sets of different thread fan screws and cables for connectivity. The fans have a daisy-chain function and are PWM regulated. The ARGB lighting is controlled via a proprietary connector, though an adapter cable is provided with a standard 3-pin, 5V ARGB connector. You can install these fans for case ventilation, for which 4x nuts are also provided, making for a convenient installation. These fans have a zero RPM mode, which is dependent on the supported motherboard. They featurean auto-restart function.
A single 2600 RPM Apex Stealth Metal AURORA Fan has an MSRP of €24.98. 3 fans pack is listed at €67.44 after discount from the original MSRP of €74.94. Alphacool is giving a 5-year warranty on these fans, which is excellent.
These fans pack a solid performance punch, albeit at a high noise level compared to the rival fans in my testing. The real test was noise-normalized testing, where Alphacool fan’s relative performance was 1.2°C behind the Noctua fans, but the 81.8°C under full, all-cores load stress test on 243W package load is a good performance.
Pros
- Thermal Performance
- Fresh Design
- Decoupled Suspension
- Metal Frame
- Sleeve Bearing with 100,000 MTBF
- Daisy-Chain Function
- Multi-thread Screws
- Better noise profile under 2000 RPM
- Better Sounded Fans
- Reduced Power Consumption
- 5-Year Warranty
Cons
- Fans are a bit loud at full speed
- No fan hit the 2600 RPM
- Price
