On Friday, EKWB released its water block for the Asus X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Hero motherboard, (which we recently gave an Editor’s Choice award). As its name suggests, the EK-Quantum Momentum ROG Crosshair VIII Hero D-RGB Monoblock covers not only CPU, but also the motherboard’s VRM circuitry, thereby replacing the factory installed heatsinks.
EKWB used a CNC machine to carve the base shape of the block out of copper, before treating it with nickel plating. The top cover is carved of acrylic, making it transparent and handy for the addressable digital RGB lighting. These two parts are mated with a flexible rubber gasket in between and are pressure tested to ensure they will be leak-free.
The channel design of the block itself follows what EK called a "high-flow" design principle, which essentially means that the channels are nice and wide to prevent them from restricting fluid flow. Only the part covering the CPU has more restrictive channels, but even those are optimized: rather than the fluid going in on one side and traveling over the entire CPU, the fluid is channeled in from above the CPU. Afterwards, it's spread towards the left and right. This method is supposed to lead to more even distribution of heat and effectively halves the flow restriction created by the CPU’s cold plate.
Each block comes with a mounting mechanism, thermal paste for the CPU, thermal pads for putting over the VRM circuitry and a backplate for easy installation. Don't forget, that this block is only compatible with the Asus X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Hero.
The block is $189.09 and available via EKWB's website.
