XPG Hybrid Cooler Blurs Air & Water Cooling Lines
When discussing the XPG series by ADATA, most are familiar with their gaming memory and solid-state drive offerings. However, XPG also produces peripherals like mice and keyboards. A few years ago, they significantly expanded their product line, introducing headphones, cases, water coolers, and power supplies, thereby establishing XPG as a sub-brand dedicated to eSports products. With their integrated water coolers and the XPG VENTO series fans, XPG’s cooling product line has made considerable progress.
According to Tom’s Hardware, at CES 2024, XPG unveiled a tower CPU cooler with an integrated water cooling design, officially named the “XPG Hybrid Cooler.” At first glance, it resembles a conventional tower air cooler but integrates features typical of water coolers, such as a pump, microchannels, and a cold plate. The pump is located at the top of the cooler, making the top cover significantly thicker than those of standard tower coolers. The bottom features a large-area copper base, similar to those found in all-in-one water coolers, with heat being conducted through microchannels to the cold plate. The cooler is fitted with two high-performance 120mm XPG VENTO PRO PWM fans, bracketing a 25mm thick radiator to expedite heat dissipation. It boasts a maximum thermal design power (TDP) of 280W.
This design results in a cooler that is considerably lighter than dual-tower air coolers with similar cooling capacities. Supported by two high-performance fans, it manages to keep noise levels below 28 decibels. However, the manufacturer notes that, when paired with workstation platforms, the cooler’s actual cooling performance does not quite match its advertised capabilities, indicating significant room for optimization. Thus, a more definitive assessment of this product might only be possible at Computex 2024 in July.
It is noteworthy that this cooling concept was initially explored over a decade ago by two foreign manufacturers, Evercool and Xigmatek, but did not achieve further breakthroughs or development due to various reasons, only recently resurfacing in the public eye. We previously reported that Acer’s Predator RTX 4090 graphics card also adopted a similar integrated water cooling design, yet its actual cooling performance fell short of expectations, delaying its release.
