EK Water Blocks, based out of Ljubljana, Slovania, is one of the world's leading water cooling companies. EKWB makes water blocks, radiators, pumps, fittings and tubing for water cooling enthusiasts. The company typically makes water blocks for the major GPU brands, including custom PCB-designed cards from the likes of EVGA, Asus and Gigabyte. Today, the company announced availability of two blocks designed for Asus' GTX 980 Ti Strix graphics card.
EKWB said that the block is available in two different variants. The first one is nickel-plated with a clear acrylic window that lets you see the fluid inside. There is also a version with a black acetal top rather than the clear acrylic. Other than the window, both blocks are identical and are designed to be a direct replacement of the DirectCU III cooler found on the 980 Ti Strix card.
The EK-FC980 GTX Ti Strix water block is designed to actively cool the GPU, memory and VRMs, and features a central inlet with a split-flow cooling design unique to EKWB. The company said this provides the best possible cooling performance. The design is capable of working with fluid flowing in reverse (something many blocks can't do), and it has a low enough flow resistance to be used with low flow rates from weaker pumps.
In addition to the water blocks, EKWB announced a pair of backplates to complement the blocks, which will come in black or nickel. EKWB said the backplates will be available in the second half of August. The EK-FC980 GTX Ti Strix blocks are available now for $149 from the EK Webshop and various partner resellers.
Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.
