Installation on our ROG Z790 APEX:
As we mentioned during unboxing, we opted for a Silver Aurora model to blend in perfectly with our ROG Z790 APEX motherboard, whose color code revolves around metallic gray and white. Installation is straightforward, thanks to the instructions available in three languages and the fact that each bag is labelled according to the type of installation, AMD or Intel.
The first step is to identify the support plate which will be placed behind the motherboard and into which 4 threaded rods will be screwed. Alphacool recommends sliding a foam washer between the PCB and the threaded rod. We didn’t think this was a good idea, as even if we tightened the threaded rods by hand and not with a tool, the foam would crush. So we opted straight for 4 thin plastic washers to ensure even tightening.
Some waterblocks come with thermal paste pre-applied to the base, which is not the case here, but Alphacool supplies a syringe of APEX thermal paste as part of the bundle. For our tests, we’ll explain our procedure on the next page. Here it is, set up on our test configuration.
All that remains is to connect the aRGB cable to take full advantage of this Alphacool Core 1 waterblock. As you can see, the combination of Core 1 and motherboard really works!
Let’s move on to the protocol we’ve set up to compare the performance of our three waterblocks.
