EKWB takes over Intel's discontinued Cryo Cooling tech — adds 14th Gen support to EK Delta TEC waterblock

EK-QuantumX Delta TEC EVO
(Image credit: EKWB)

Liquid cooling manufacturer EKWB is taking the reins of Intel's recently killed-off Cryo Cooling Technology and is maintaining support of its EK Delta TEC waterblock independently from Intel, according to a report from TechPowerUp. EKWB has added 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh support to the Delta TEC, despite Intel dropping support with 13th Gen Raptor Lake.

Intel apparently did not find its investment into the Cryo Cooling ecosystem to be worthwhile, and the company discontinued its home-brewed Cryo Cooling Technology on July 1, 2023, and discontinued distributing software updates on Dec. 31, 2023. Despite launching with Intel's 10th Gen Comet Lake CPUs several years ago, AIOs utilizing Intel's Cryo Cooling Technology never gained traction — most likely because they were expensive and offered limited functionality. 

Intel's Cryo Cooling Technology takes advantage of the Peltier effect, a phenomenon in which an electric current creates a temperature difference between two materials as it flows through both materials. In other words, coolers using the Peltier effect use the physical properties of electricity to cool the CPU. Coolers utilizing Intel's Cryo Cooling Technology use a combination of liquid cooling and electricity to cool the CPU.

Realistically though, EKWB could just be in this to keep its EK Delta TEC waterblock up to date. We don't even know if EKWB will push its updated Raptor Lake Refresh software support to other Cryo Coolers, such as the Cooler Master ML360. One can hope that EKWB will continue the Cryo Cooling dream Intel started, but this might be the last rodeo for Peltier coolers in the PC space for a while.

Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

  • maestro0428
    EK's pricing is ludicrous. I used the CoolerMaster Subzero and it was great for the price I paid. But 600 bucks just for the block... Not even those of us with crazy budgets are bound to fall for that one. Oh and the software sucked from the beginning, I am sure EK wont have the engineers that Intel had.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    these coolers can generate more than 200W of power by themselves,
    ...
    Ironically, cooling performance is another issue with these coolers. Even though they are capable of producing sub-zero temps, EKWB warns that its TEC cooler is not designed for all-core heavy workloads
    This sounds just insane, to me! I think they'd be better off with a thermostat-controlled chiller. It can avoid condensation/frost, should be more efficient than using TEC directly atop the CPU, and can handle all-core workloads with ease!
    Reply