Alphacool Apex 1, AM5

The Alphacool Apex 1 is an excellent CPU block, yet it may not be for everyone. This is partially owing to the cost, with the €170 (inc. VAT) price usually translating to a $170 cost in the USA from authorized retailers. The Apex 1 is thus Alphacool's most expensive CPU block of this generation, with the Core 1 and Core 1 LT costing less. As such, if you are purely looking for best value for your money, then I have to recommend the Alphacool Core 1 LT or one of those ~$40 Bykski blocks if you are okay going the Aliexpress route and hoping everything works out thereafter. The Core 1, which released earliest of the three, is arguably the sweet spot for anyone who wants a metal top block with excellent performance and flow restriction. The Apex 1 looks and performs like it ate the Core 1 for lunch, taking up more physical room and weighing significantly more. Indeed, this may be one of the most complex CPU blocks in terms of several different materials and layers coming together to make up the top here—aluminium, nickel-plated brass, acrylic, and more nickel-plated brass. Add to this a design language that is more aggressive than the Core 1 line, the reduced CPU compatibility, and installation involving more action on the back of the motherboard, and you can see why I stand by my first sentence here.