MSI, EKWB Partner On Liquid-Cooled GTX 1080, 1070 Sea Hawk EK X Graphics Cards

By Kevin Carbotte
published

MSI has been taking the GeForce GTX 10-series seriously. The company had already revealed eight different variants of the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 cards (if you include the Founder's Edition), but MSI apparently wants an option for everyone, because it revealed that it has partnered with EK Water Blocks to provide "Sea Hawk EK X" cards with factory pre-installed water blocks.

MSI’s GeForce GTX Sea Hawk EK X will come out of the box with an EK Water Blocks full-cover water block already installed. The nickel-plated electrolytic-copper block features EKWB’s standard high-performance split flow design that cools the GPU and the VRMs equally. The top of the block is made of clear acrylic glass so you can see the fluid flow through the card.

EK Water Blocks customized the aesthetic design of the block to match MSI’s branding. The front of the block features MSI’s dragon logo. It also has an embedded MSI logo right next to EK’s own logo. The Sea Hawk EK X cards will come equipped with a matte black backplate adorned with the MSI dragon logo.

MSI said the cards will come with a factory overclock but did not reveal exactly how fast the two cards will operate. We’ve reached out to MSI for further details about the clock speeds and memory, as well as information about the power delivery system that these cards will have. Price and availability also remain a mystery.

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NameGTX 1080 SEA HAWK EK XGTX 1070 SEA HAWK EK X
Memory size/type8GB GDDR5X8GB GDDR5
BackplateYesYes
ConnectivityDisplayPort x 3 / HDMI / DL-DVI-DDisplayPort x 3 / HDMI / DL-DVI-D
Dimensions278 x 165 x 20 mm278 x 165 x 20 mm

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Kevin Carbotte

 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. 

11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • voodoochicken
    What's the point of dressing up the block unless you have some kind of riser card to show off that side of the card?
    Reply
  • kcarbotte
    18133850 said:
    What's the point of dressing up the block unless you have some kind of riser card to show off that side of the card?

    Not every case has the motherboard sitting vertically. There are plenty of cases that place the motherboard tray horizontally.
    There are also plenty of modders that use riser cables to place the GPU wherever they want.

    Reply
  • manleysteele
    I assume this is the same EKWB block that disables half of the available SLI. Yawn. It's especially confusing since it's obvious that all they would need to do to fix it is cut some plastic away.
    Reply
  • kcarbotte
    18134088 said:
    I assume this is the same EKWB block that disables half of the available SLI. Yawn. It's especially confusing since it's obvious that all they would need to do to fix it is cut some plastic away.

    How about you wait until you know the facts before chastising them for it.
    We have no idea if this block restricts SLI, and there's plenty of reason to believe that it won't be a problem for this card.

    EK developed the GTX 1080 block before we knew about the new SLI bridge specifications. MSI and EK worked closely to create this block, so they likely adjusted for the SLI bridge. No reason to assume they didn't just yet.
    Reply
  • spoidz
    None of the pictures enlarge enough to really tell, but is there any metal at the Inlet Ports?

    The picture makes it look like pure Plastic/Glass without even any metal at the bottom?

    If that's how they do all of their
    Reply
  • cats_Paw
    The real question is, what will be cheaper?
    Another brand GPU+separate block or this.

    I actually plan to WC a 1070, but you can bet your ... hat that I will go for the cheapest option (within reason).
    Reply
  • ron baker
    Is it necessary for these cool running cards? More efficient than ever before.
    Also tri + quad SLI no longer supported AFAIK...
    Reply
  • RedJaron
    18135008 said:
    None of the pictures enlarge enough to really tell, but is there any metal at the Inlet Ports?

    The picture makes it look like pure Plastic/Glass without even any metal at the bottom?

    If that's how they do all of their
    Most of EK's blocks are plexi or acetal where the fittings go. The material is plenty tough for it, so long as you don't physically abuse the cards.


    18136511 said:
    Is it necessary for these cool running cards? More efficient than ever before.
    Also tri + quad SLI no longer supported AFAIK...
    I have a similar thought about these. I think it's less about being "necessary" and more about being compatible out of the box with people's existing liquid cooling solutions when upgrading. With the way that power draw, heat, and dynamic clock speeds are handled in current GPUs, a LC setup helps the card perform more consistently and sometimes even on less power.

    And you can run 3- and 4-way SLI with these, you just have to get the card unlocked. NVidia is just saying it's getting less and less useful to run more than two GPUs now ( unless you're chasing benchmark records ).


    So, Kevin, when will Fritz and Thomas send me one of these for my review test bed? ;)
    Reply
  • manleysteele
    18134109 said:
    18134088 said:
    I assume this is the same EKWB block that disables half of the available SLI. Yawn. It's especially confusing since it's obvious that all they would need to do to fix it is cut some plastic away.

    How about you wait until you know the facts before chastising them for it.
    We have no idea if this block restricts SLI, and there's plenty of reason to believe that it won't be a problem for this card.

    EK developed the GTX 1080 block before we knew about the new SLI bridge specifications. MSI and EK worked closely to create this block, so they likely adjusted for the SLI bridge. No reason to assume they didn't just yet.

    I took their word for it.
    Reply
  • jazzy663
    Part of me hates PC hardware, because I want to upgrade every year and I can't afford it.
    Reply