Having patented a simple yet efficient design of a closed-loop liquid cooling system (LCS) that integrates a pump into the CPU water block in 2005, and successfully protected its IP for 20 years, Asetek has become the world’s leading OEM producer of all-in-one liquid coolers. However, that patent expires on May 6, 2025 — today — and thus Asetek loses its key advantage in the PC market and potentially some clients, reports Heise. Coincidentally, last month the company said it had received notification of interest in its liquid cooling business

The patent in question, registered as PCT/DK2005/000310 in Denmark and also known under the US number 8240362B2, was instrumental in defining the architecture of all-in-one liquid coolers for enthusiast grade PCs. Due to Asetek's legal strategy, many competitors were sued for using similar design approaches. As a result, while most products from various brands were built on this design principle, either through licensing agreements as a result of legal pressure, or by Asetek itself and then sold under other brands.

Very few makers — such as Alphacool or EK Water Blocks — attempted to build all-in-one liquid coolers differently. However, Canadian manufacturer CoolIT was among several companies offering significant alternative solutions, but had to reach an undisclosed settlement with Asetek after disputes.

AiO cooing design unshackled

The scandal surrounding EKWB, the embattled cooling and custom PC building company, keeps growing as multiple former employees have now accused the company of creating a hostile work environment filled with racist jokes and abusive rhetoric in its Texas-based U.S. offices. Just as bad, the employees also say that the firm failed to pay them for required overtime hours and that it damaged relationships with suppliers by repeatedly withholding payments. 

Tuesday, PCGamesN reported that former EK Business Development / Product Manager Dan Henderson had accused the company of racism. Following up on PCGamesN’s report, I spoke to Henderson and four other former team members of EKCS, the company’s U.S. arm, all of whom painted a picture of a workplace as chaotic as it was toxic. 

Founded in 2003 by Edvard Konig, EKWB (Edvard Konig Water Blocks) has its headquarters in Komenda, Slovenia. Located in San Antonio Texas until its offices closed last month, the U.S. branch not only sells custom water cooling components, but also built water-cooled PCs that it sold under the Fluid Gaming brand and enterprise workstations under the Fluid Works moniker. 

According to Henderson and the other employees we spoke to, the Slovenian managers repeatedly belittled the American employees, calling them lazy and stupid and blaming them for issues with the company’s inventory management. Henderson and other employees told us that EK rarely knew how many of any product it had in inventory because its software was so frequently incorrect.

“There were lots of inventory issues. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock were not accounted for,” Henderson said. “It could say we have 50 distro plates in stock, and we have no distro plates in stock.”

According to former Regional Sales Manager Jemari Serraty, employees often spent hours trying to count products on the shelves in an attempt to make up for the shortcomings of poor product management software. However, some members of the management team in Slovenia accused the American staff of stealing inventory as a way of explaining the problems. 

Several employees said that the abusive language went way beyond just calling employees stupid or lazy or accusing them of theft and veered into blatant racism. Serraty, who said he was the only Black employee in the office, described having a former coworker who made racist jokes comparing him to chocolate and almost hit him with a forklift on several occasions. According to Henderson, a visiting manager from Slovenia also told Serraty a racist joke about chocolate. 

When non-white employees weren’t present, the jokes could apparently be even worse. Henderson shared several screenshots with me of a chat room in Teams where white employees used the N-word to describe a black case fan. 

Another former employee said that some managers had described Hispanic employees as “lazy Mexicans.” He also claimed that a former manager had moved his desk so that he was seated next to other non-white employees, effectively keeping the seating in one area segregated. 

A female employee who asked to remain anonymous described the corporate culture as “a boys club” and claimed that got constant pushback when she tried to exercise any authority over her male counterparts. However, she said that nobody explicitly told her that they weren’t listening to her because she was a woman.

In a statement, EK Head of Communications Sasha Robey said that the company had received only two reported incidents of racism and had dealt with both of them. 

“EK fully supports diversity and inclusion among employees. Any actions related to discrimination such as racial, sexual, religious, political, physical or psychological violence are not tolerated in the EK working environment and any EK team member can and should report it to the HR personnel,” she wrote. 

Robey asked that any current or former employees who have not reported discrimination to come forward and do so now.

Employees also describe not being paid for required overtime hours. 

“We were told like ‘hey we have to do overtime with building some of the extra computers to fulfill some orders or to get caught up from being behind.’ We would have to do the overtime and then fill out a form to submit for that overtime,” Serraty said. “More often than not, authority from HQ would have our completed overtime hours shaved off. Instead of getting paid for four hours of overtime, we’d get two hours of overtime.”

Another employee said that she had seen several instances of employees having overtime hours shaved off of their paychecks. Other employees I spoke with said that they had been promised promotions and never received them. 

Henderson claimed that the company had promised him commissions on all sales in his contract, but then failed to pay them. At one point, he says, he invoiced the company for the commission he was due and received a note back from management stating that they didn’t feel he was entitled to the commission and that he would need to agree to new terms if he wished to continue working there. At another point, he said, he was paid a commission he was owed, but then the company refused to pay his regular salary for several months of work, saying that the “accidental” payment of the commission was in lieu of monthly pay.

It was after the company refused to pay the missing money that Henderson decided to make a public statement, calling out EKWB. He said the company has threatened him with a lawsuit over his whistle blowing and demanded payment of 70,000 Euros if he doesn’t remove his LinkedIn post.

“I would say, ‘damn right, I’m disgruntled,’” he told me. “Because the way I’ve been treated over the past year has been pretty despicable. It was my intention to do this anyway. However, I wouldn’t have done it as a social media post. I would have gone straight to the media.”

Apparently, EKWB’s payment issues may have also affected the vendors that supply it with parts to build gaming PCs. Several employees mentioned receiving angry calls from the vendors that supply EK Fluid Gaming with its graphics cards, CPUs, and other key components. Others describe having to fight with management to pay YouTube influencers who were contracted to do videos or events for the company.

“Every call would start with just so you know you guys are 30, 60, 90 days overdue,” a former employee who chose to remain anonymous said. 

In response to the claims of vendors and contractors not being paid, CEO and Founder Edvard Konig issued a statement acknowledging that “external contractors and business partners have experienced delayed payments.”  He promised to improve communication about payment delays to partners and asked any employees who haven’t received their overtime to email reachout@ekwb.com, a dedicated address set up for this purpose.

Employees also complained about potentially unsafe conditions in the warehouse. Two different people said that they were required to drive a forklift when no one in the company was licensed to do so. Another person said warehouse workers were forced to stand on top of boxes of AIO coolers that were stacked very high, a potential falling risk. 

All five people I spoke with described an environment where U.S. staff, particularly the PC builders, worked hard and wanted to build a great product despite the apparent obstacles.

“We had a really unique product. We had fully liquid-cooled PCs to your door,” former Marketing Director Nery Hernandez told me. “I do really believe that we could have had something unique and special.”

Henderson said that he wanted to speak out, not only so that he could recover the compensation he believes he is entitled to, but also because his fellow employees receive any back pay they are owed.

“This industry has given me a lot and offered me a lot throughout my seven years in it,” he posited. “I feel like I somewhat owe it to not just to the industry [to speak out], but also to the people who are coming into the industry, going to companies like EKWB and would never want to work in it again.”

EKWB has responded to recent reports revealing financial disarray within the company. CEO Edvard König issued a public statement affirming the company's faults and promising to rectify issues including outstanding payments to personnel and suppliers, as well as improving internal communication within the company.

König confirmed that everything previous reports discovered was true. He affirmed that EK's external contractors and business partners have experienced delayed payments. Since returning to his position as CEO in February 2024, König reports that he has been able to address several issues within the company, including the amended filing of U.S. taxes. But he states there is still "considerable distance to go" to address the company's ongoing problems.

At present, König states the company has begun cracking down on its most outstanding issues. These issues include delays and uncertainties regarding outstanding payments starting with personnel, and reconciling relations between all subsidiaries and entities of EKWB. He states the company is also working to improve transparency and internal communications with all of its employees regarding its current predicament, and resolving any outstanding pay for overtime work from its employees.

Gamers Nexus was the first outlet to report on EKWB's disastrous state of affairs. It uncovered serious financial issues as well as moral disarray within the company. EK was caught owing its suppliers, employees, and contractors a significant amount of funds due to a lack of revenue being generated from its product stack. Long story short, large volumes of high-end and expensive water-cooling parts take a long time to sell off.

Since GN's investigation began, EK has been scrambling to rectify its outstanding debts, going as far as selling one of its buildings to alleviate its financial stress. We are glad to hear that EK is owning up to its problems with Edvard König's latest statement. However, we expect these issues will have huge ramifications down the road that won't be washed away overnight. The full statement follows:

Dear Community, Media, and Partners,

First of all, I would like to say that we take this very seriously. It is true that some of EK’s external contractors and business partners have experienced delayed payments. We sincerely apologize for the difficulties this has caused them and the lack of adequate communication.

In February 2024, I, Edvard König, resumed the CEO position to return EK to its respected path. Several issues have already been addressed, including the amended filing of US taxes. We have realigned our focuses while our vision and strategic orientations have remained unchanged. There is still a considerable distance to go, and we immediately began by implementing the following key actions:

We appreciate the patience and understanding of our community, customers, and partners during this time. We are committed to fulfilling our financial obligations and regaining your trust. Our mission to elevate computers for a better world remains at the forefront of our focus as we move forward.

Thank you all for standing with us as we work through these challenges, just as you have supported EK for over two decades. We are dedicated to making things right and fostering a more responsible company culture.

—Edvard König, EK CEO

EK Cooling allegedly has slipped itself into a hot soup of seemingly endless financial woes, where it has not paid its staff, suppliers, and contractors for many months as the company is facing liquidity problems and a surplus of inventory left unsold, stuck in the warehouse for a more extended period. Gamers Nexus investigated these claims made by former and current personnel, where he found trails of unpaid bills lasting as long as three to four months and unpaid raises that accumulated for almost a year.

The investigation first highlights suppliers who claimed not to be paid over four months. Dan Henderson is one such person who took to LinkedIn to share his experience, highlighting the challenges he faced during his time with the company. EK responded to this by sending Dan a cease and desist letter for expressing his requirement to get paid like many others who weren't as vocal. To emphasize the scale of this mismanagement, Dan isn't the only person who shares this similar story. Some haven't received their commissions despite promises and cases where overtime hours have been shaved off despite serving the time.

The Endless Purchasing Loop and Unsold Inventory

EK Water Blocks has two entities—a Slovenian-based headquarters and a US-based subsidiary, EK Cooling Solutions. Steve narrated the series of events in detail, stating that the company was reportedly irresponsible and negligent regarding payment. Consequently, partners and employees are forced to share the burden of alleged mismanagement. It all begins with its extensive range of products, leading to a surplus of goods. EK has over 230 water blocks, 40 liquid cooling kits, 85 reservoirs, 40 pumps, 73 radiators, and 212 miscellaneous accessories.

EK does not own all its manufacturing facilities and outsources the task. The companies tasked with manufacturing take orders on a minimum order quantity, which leads to EK ordering items that take a lot of time to sell. Hence, the company ends up with unsold surplus goods worth millions of dollars in its warehouse while being in a situation where it cannot pay bills amounting to five figures. Eventually, suppliers conduct business with EK when there is an upfront payment rather than a line of credit.

Selling specialized liquid-cooled items is challenging and time-consuming, even for well-known manufacturers. For example, a retailer could allegedly sell only two units of its Asus ROG Maximus Z790 waterblock. Another retailer purportedly said EK's revenue fell by 32% in one year, making it extremely difficult to sell all of its minimum order quantity. Above all, EK products are costly, making their products more inaccessible to many buyers within this niche ecosystem.

Internal Bickering and Accusations of Theft

While the non-payment of all personnel is terrible enough, the company has communication issues, which lead to both divisions engaging in petty squabbles and name-calling, and they accused each other of theft. These problems need to be handled with good communication and excellent care, something EK desperately needs to implement. EK has reportedly not paid franchise tax to the State of Texas and has closed its office and warehouse, which employees learned about when it reached the location.

Steve also said that the company has been scrambling to make payments once it caught wind of this investigation. The company is also selling one of its buildings to pay its debts and has sold workstations and prebuilt gaming PC systems under the names 'EK Fluid Works' and 'EK Fluid Gaming' that's outsourced to SwiftTech with hopes of getting a positive cash flow. However, it was further highlighted that despite this, complaints about missing high-value inventory had prompted the threat of involving authorities who would search employees' households. However, this was not pursued further at the time.

The main issue is that EK lacks communication with its personnel—both current and former—employees and contractors. Having its lawyers send a cease-and-desist letter, even if it involves one person, is counterproductive and harmful, as many with the same need to be paid. It also doesn't help when a company with multiple financial obligations has booked a booth at Computex 2024, which costs a significant premium for a company that allegedly encouraged a culture of economic mismanagement.

Ultimately, EK needs to address its inability to communicate with its personnel first, halting many steps that led to financial mismanagement. Many companies make terrible financial decisions, leading to a complete collapse. EK is a well-known company for its niche-specific liquid cooling products. However, the burden of financial disarray causes significant damages; it will take nothing short of a miracle to fix many of these issues.

Delidding AMD's AM5 processors produces some great results for their cooling, which is why more enthusiasts are at least considering giving it a try. To cater to those PC builers, EK on Thursday introduced a special water block for that is specifically designed for custom cooling loops involving delidded Ryzen 7000-series AM5 CPUs, including X3D-badged processors with 3D V-Cache. 

The EK-Quantum Velocity² Direct Die D-RGB – AMD Ryzen Edition incorporates a custom-designed cold plate that aligns precisely with the CPU chiplets and I/O die of AMD's Ryzen 7000-series processors to maximize cooling efficiency. In addition, EK adjusted the fin structure of the water block and now it directs more coolant flow over the CPU chiplets, where it is most needed to boost cooling. 

To address the potential structural vulnerabilities caused by removing the integrated heat spreader (IHS), the water block comes with standoffs at the corners that facilitate a more secure and precise fit over the CPU compared to traditional methods that rely on direct contact with the IHS.  

The EK-Quantum Velocity² Direct Die D-RGB – AMD Ryzen Edition water block is constructed with a clear acrylic top encased in a black-anodized aluminum frame, drawing design inspiration from the EK-Quantum Vector² RX 7900 XTX Radeon Edition, and, as the name suggests, has addressable RGB LEDs. Meanwhile, the unit is compatible with EK's Velocity² platform and, therefore, a wide range of pumps and accessories. 

For enthusiasts looking for some additional assistance with delidding, EK offers the EK-Quantum Velocity² Direct Die D-RGB – AMD Ryzen Edition Signature Edition which includes specialized delidding tools and accessories from Thermal Grizzly. Among these tools is the Delid-Die-Mate, designed for safely removing the CPU's IHS, and the TG Shield, a compound that protects against potential short circuits caused by liquid metal spillage. 

The EK-Quantum Velocity² Direct Die D-RGB – AMD Ryzen Edition products will be available through the EK Webshop and its Partner Reseller Network. The regular EK-Quantum Velocity² Direct Die D-RGB – AMD Ryzen Edition can be preordered for $269.90, whereas the Signature Edition with bundled delidding tools costs $269.90. Separately, the Thermal Grizzly Ryzen 7000 Delid-Die-Mate and Thermal Grizzly TG Shield cost $69.90 and $14.90, respectively.

Thanks to the rise of sky-high modern-day CPU power consumption, EKWB has built the world's first All-In-One liquid cooler tailored specifically for delidded Intel 12th,13th, and 14th Gen CPUs. EK says the new cooler was inspired by the huge surge of PC users delidding their CPUs to enhance performance. The company has also redesigned its direct-die AMD and Intel waterblocks for custom loops and is offering free replacement parts for its existing lineup to improve performance. The company is also offering a 15% discount on the newer models for impacted customers, which we'll cover a bit further below.

The AIO, known as the EK-Nucleus CR360, is a 360mm AIO designed only for delidded LGA 1700 Intel CPUs. The contact plate on the bottom of the pump block has been modified to support delidded CPUs featuring a large indent in the middle to cool the CPU die. The cooler comes with three EK 120mm RGB illuminated fans, an RGB-illuminated pump block, and sleeved cables. 

EKWB's new AIO lowers the entry barrier for direct die CPU cooling massively. Its price is only $183.99, which is a lot cheaper than most custom loops, even ones that only factor in the CPU. An All-In-One solution is also substantially simpler to install since the entire system is put together as one whole unit. With custom loops, you have to build your setup from the ground up and fill up the system manually with coolant — which can potentially lead to a coolant leak for new builders.

EK revealed an interesting tidbit: Apparently, many people are delidding their LGA 1700 CPUs, so much so that EK built its new AIO around delidding based on this fact alone.

There are a lot of good reasons to delid Intel's latest hybrid CPUs. Chips like the i9-13900K, 14900K, i7-13700K, and 14700K consume an impressive amount of power consumption on their own, which translates into sky-high thermals. In our review of the i9-14900K, we found that it can pump out well above 300W in some heavy multi-threaded workloads. Intel's boosting algorithm is similar to AMD where it will utilize as much temperature headroom as possible before clocking down, which means these CPUs love to run hot even on the best coolers available.

Delidding CPUs like the i9-14900K can drastically reduce temperatures, boosting performance and adding overclocking headroom. Overclocking wizard Der8auer delidded a 14900K and found he gained 12C of headroom, bringing the chip's thermals down from 93.1C to 83.2C (yep, even with a delid, the chip still runs in the low 80s).

New Direct-Die EKWB Water Blocks

EKWB also unveiled several new direct-die CPU water blocks for both Intel and AMD processors. The AMD version mentioned is a new product that was designed specifically to improve the installation experience. "Unlike other solutions that require modifying an existing cold plate, this water block features a cold plate specifically designed for delidded AM5 Ryzen 7000 Series CPUs."

Cooling-wise, EKWB also did work to improve performance over previous designs. The new AMD water block reportedly features a fin structure that has been adjusted to direct 100% of the coolant flow over a Ryzen CPU's chiplets.

The Intel water block is a brand new water block built from the ground up just for delidded Intel chips. The biggest selling point is that it shares none of the parts from EKWB's previous Intel direct die water block that was released a year ago. "It includes a purpose-developed cold plate, cooling fin structure, and mounting mechanism. To ensure optimal contact with the CPU, it relies on standoffs positioned at the four corners of the water block, eliminating concerns about applying too much or too little pressure on the bare CPU die, just like the AM5 Direct Die water block does."

EK says that its original custom direct-die CPU waterblocks didn't live up to expectations, so it's providing free replacement parts plus a discount on newer models. Here's what the company has to say on the matter:

"EK understands that the LGA1700 Velocity² Direct Die product didn’t meet everyone’s expectations, as was recorded in some of the feedback and sentiment of the PC enthusiast community.  

For customers dissatisfied with their purchase of the Velocity² Direct Die, we offer the option of sending replacement cold plates and die guards free of charge. If these replacement parts don’t resolve the issue, customers can request a full refund for the water block.  

To show love and support for the first adopters of the EK-Quantum Velocity² Direct Die water block, every owner of said water block is eligible for a 15% discount on the upcoming Velocity² Direct Die Core Edition water block and the Velocity² Direct Die AMD Ryzen Edition. These editions have been redesigned to improve mounting consistency and thermal performance while maintaining CPU die safety."

Impacted customers can find more details here. 

Overclocking expert Der8auer has tested a prototype EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 Direct Die D-RGB all-in-one CPU cooler in his lab. The niche this product addresses is highlighted by the name – it is an AiO CPU cooler that is designed for the direct die cooling of (delidded) Intel Socket 1700 CPUs. EKWB’s product is only available for pre-order at the time of writing, but if Der8auer’s test results showing potential 20 degrees Celsius deltas are confirmed by shipping product tests, it could be a compelling product for direct die performance-PC enthusiasts.

Der8auer explains that the EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 Direct Die D-RGB AiO cooler is an unusual product, as it is designed solely for CPU-delidded Intel Socket 1700 systems (Intel 12th, 13th and 14th Gen). The physical qualities of an Intel chip make it an unnatural fit for direct die cooling, mainly as once the IHS is removed an outer plastic socket sits proud of the silicon. Thus, EK has a specially designed cold plate – which fixes to the CPU – avoiding extra user-side complications as much as possible.

Other design touches that make this different from other EK Nucleus AIO products include: the Skull motif on the CPU block, custom rigid backplate and mounting plate assembly, and Der8auer seems pleased that Conductonaut by Thermal Grizzly (his company) is in the pack. On the other side of the equation, you can clearly see that the cold plate is precisely extruded in the center to nestle into the mounting plate gap and touch the CPU silicon.

The overclocking expert said that he would be comparing the EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 Direct Die D-RGB AiO cooler with the best custom liquid cooling solutions in the future, but wanted to establish a baseline to give viewers an idea of the potential on offer.

In the chart above you can see EK’s direct die prototype compared with Corsair’s very capable A115 CPU air cooler. Both coolers would be fitted to a delidded Intel Core i9 -13900KS for Cinebench testing. However, the A115 required a prototype Thermal Grizzly copper heatspreader to fit the consumer-standard air cooler, which would benefit it by 6-8 degrees benefit vs stock, according to Der8auer.

The chart shows an immediate and sustained advantage for the EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 Direct Die D-RGB AiO cooler. It delivered a 15 degrees Celsius delta, which was only getting better over time. Remember, the Corsair air cooler was also aided by the delidded processor and custom heatspreader – otherwise we might have been seeing 20 degrees Celsius and better deltas.

In terms of performance, the air-cooled CPU was seen to deliver about 38,300cb with the AiO-cooled chip achieving just over 39,100cb. The CPU clocks were much more steady at 5.6 GHz using the AiO, but with the air cooler in place they often dipped to 5.4 GHz.

It may be unfortunate timing for the new EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 Direct Die D-RGB all-in-one CPU cooler, as we are nearly at the end of the Socket 1700 era. Der8auer admitted he didn’t know what might need to be done to make the AiO Intel 15th Gen CPU compatible.

The EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 Direct Die D-RGB is available for pre-order in Europe for €200, and we can see it is listed for US customers at $183.99. The estimated delivery date for US customers is March 22. There’s also a handy button to get a reminder when the cooler becomes available.

For some further context, last July we reviewed the closely related EK Nucleus AIO CR360 Lux D-RGB for fully clothed CPUs. Despite price concerns and a slight noise disadvantage against the best rival AiOs, our review crowned it the new king of AiO cooling.

EKWB has launched numerous liquid cooling monoblocks for multiple high-end PC motherboards. But who said that only PCs need liquid cooling? This week, the company rolled out a liquid cooling monoblock for Sony's PlayStation 5 game consoles designed to make the system quieter and cooler, literally and figuratively. Yet, it will have to be installed into an mATX PC case.

While game consoles generally aim at mainstream gamers, EKWB's EK-QuantumX CoolingStation Monoblock for PS5 is designed for experienced liquid cooling enthusiasts. To build a liquid-cooled PlayStation 5, users must disassemble their console, extract the PCB, and install it within the monoblock, which is compact enough to fit into a regular mATX chassis.

To ensure comprehensive cooling, the EK-QuantumX CoolingStation Monoblock for PS5 covers all key PlayStation 5 components, including the AMD-designed system-on-chip with Ryzen CPU and Radeon GPU, its voltage regulating module (VRM), 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, various controllers, and even the built-in SSD (which some may deem a controversial decision since true PS5 enthusiasts use third-party SSDs that may not be compatible with the monoblock). For optimal and safe heat transfer, EK suggests using thermal paste for the SoC and thermal pads for other components. 

Unfortunately, EKWB does not share any details on how liquid cooling affects the temperatures of PS5 components versus stock cooling. It is also unclear whether using a built-in optical disc drive with the liquid-cooled console is possible.

EK-QuantumX CoolingStation Monoblock for PS5 resembles monoblocks for PCs. It has a pair of G1/4″ connectors for integration into a liquid-cooling circuit. It requires a pump to circulate the coolant, a radiator accompanied by fans to expel heat, and interconnecting tubes sold separately. Essentially, users are building a liquid-cooled mATX PC with PlayStation 5 components inside.

To simplify the buildout, the monoblock has an embedded PCB that converts PlayStation's default 2-pin DC plug to dual 8-pin PCIe auxiliary power connectors, meaning users will need a standard ATX PSU to run the unit.

Aesthetically, the base of the monoblock is forged from nickel-plated copper and boasts a transparent acrylic pane. Other embellishments and structural components are fashioned from stainless steel and aluminum. These materials remain separate from the coolant, preventing any undesirable metal interaction.

EKWB believes that its QuantumX CoolingStation Monoblock for PS5 promises to enhance the gaming experience by reducing noise, which could distract from gaming sessions.

EKWB's EK-QuantumX CoolingStation Monoblock for PS5 is not cheap at all. It has a list price of $449/€449 and can be pre-ordered now for delivery in early November.

EKWB’s name is synonymous with PC cooling, although the company is more known for its custom cooling hardware than more mainstream products like AIO coolers. That might change though, if the company releases a few more products like the Nucleus AIO CR360 Lux D-RGB we’re testing here.

While it’s priced on the high end for a 360mm cooler, at $205, its performance is very impressive, and there is much attention here to aesthetic detail. And if you just want the cooling prowess without the RGB and chamfered edges, the company sells the Nucleus AIO CR360 Dark, which ditches the aesthetic niceties for a lower price of $159. While we haven’t tested it, it should perform roughly the same as the pricier, prettier CR360 Lux.

Cooler Specifications

Packing and Included Contents 

The EK Nucleus AIO CR360 Lux D-RGB arrives in a box similar in size to other coolers in its class.

EK put a lot of care into this product’s packaging. The inner contents are protected by thick molded foam, cardboard, and plastic peel to ensure the cooler arrives undamaged. Opening the unit first reveals a welcome envelope that contains stickers, registration information, and a thank you note from EK.

The accessories included are packaged in their own box, which slides open to reveal the included contents.

Included with the package are the following:

• 360mm Radiator & CPU block
• Three 120mm EK-Loop FPT Fans
• Pre-installed Thermal Paste
• Additional tube of thermal paste
• Mounting for Intel and AMD Platforms
• Tool for installing motherboard stand-offs

Installation on LGA1700 

Insalling EKWB’s cooler on our LGA 1700 testbed was fairly simple, but it’s also very easy to screw up.

1. Connect the mounting bars to the CPU block using the included screws

2. Apply the backplate to the back of the motherboard.

3. Secure the mounting standoffs through the motherboard to the backplate using the built in tool. It’s very easy to make an error during this part. I advise first slowly rotating the screw backwards until you hear a “click”, and then secure it normally. This is very important, because if there is any error in securing these bolts, it will reflect in the cooler’s thermal performance.

4. Mount the CPU block on top of the standoffs and secure it using the included screws.

5. Attach the fans to the radiator, and then secure the radiator to your computer’s case. 

6.  Lastly, connect the fans to the PWM & ARGB splitters, and then connect the splitter wires to the motherboard.

Features of EK Nucleus AIO CR360 Lux D-RGB

The CR360 Lux features an aluminum side plate with the edges machined off for a shiny allow finish. This obviously doesn’t do anything for performance, but it’s a nice touch that will make the inside of your system look a bit more premium.

⋇ Diamond-cut brushed aluminum side panel

The CR360 Lux features an aluminum side plate with the edges machined off for a shiny allow finish. This obviously doesn’t do anything for performance, but it’s a nice touch that will make the inside of your system look a bit more premium.

⋇ Rotatable Pump Top

The decorative top of the CPU block can be rotated, which allows one to install the cooler in any orientation while maintaining the proper direction of the logo. 

⋇ Dense Microfin Copper Coldplate with pre-applied thermal paste

EK’s Coldplate incorporates extremely dense microfins, which increase the efficiency of heat transfer from the copper base to the unit’s liquid coolant for maximum cooling performance.

⋇ Additional tube of thermal paste

Most manufacturers either include thermal paste pre-applied, or include a small amount which can be applied by the consumer. EK does both, including a small tube of its EK-TIM Ectotherm thermal paste, in addition to the pre-applied thermal paste.

⋇ Complete RAM compatibility

As the compact CPU block of the AIO does not overhang or interfere with RAM in any way, all sizes of DDR4 & DDR5 DIMMs are supported.

⋇ Fine Sleeved Tubing

The rubber tubes of the unit are reinforced and protected with fine sleeving, which also adds to aesthetic appeal of the unit.

⋇ 27mm Thick Radiator

⋇ EK-Loop FPT Fans

There’s more to a cooler than just the heatsink or radiator. The bundled fans have a significant impact on cooling and noise levels and the unit’s aesthetic. EKWB says these fans were designed specifically for liquid cooling and feature a full frame design which stops airflow from escaping the frame, thus improving total static pressure. They feature EK’s OmniLink daisy chain connectors. These covert PWM and ARGB connections into a single header connected by micro-fit 8-pin connectors similar to CPU power connections. This results in a more secure connection with less cable management to worry about.

Testing Considerations

Modern high-end CPUs, whether Intel or AMD, are difficult to cool in intensive workloads. In the past, reaching 95C+ on a desktop CPU might have been a cause for concern. But with today’s processors, it is considered normal operation. Similar behavior has been present in laptops for years due to cooling limitations in tight spaces. 

Despite assurances from the CPU manufacturers that there is no concern in running the CPU at or near its maximum temperature, many enthusiasts still prefer to have their CPUs run at lower temperatures. Most coolers won’t be capable of achieving this in the strongest and most power-hungry of workloads, but the strongest of 360mm AIOs are able to handle the heat with Intel’s i7-13700K.

Our expectations are high for EK’s CR360 Lux, we expect nothing but the best performance from a premium brand such as EKWB. We’ll be comparing it to the strongest 360mm AIOs we have tested: DeepCool’s LT720, MSI’s MAG S360, and Cooler Master’s newly released 360L Core.

LGA1700 Socket Bending

There are many factors other than the CPU cooler that can influence your cooling performance, including the case you use and the fans installed in it. A system's motherboard can also influence this, especially if it suffers from bending, which results in poor cooler contact with the CPU. 

In order to prevent bending from impacting our cooling results, we’ve installed Thermalright’s LGA 1700 contact frame into our testing rig. If your motherboard is affected by bending, your thermal results will be worse than those shown below. Not all motherboards are affected equally by this issue. I tested Raptor Lake CPUs in two motherboards. And while one of them showed significant thermal improvements after installing Thermalright’s LGA1700 contact frame, the other motherboard showed no difference in temperatures whatsoever! Check out our review of the contact frame for more information.

Testing Methodology

All testing is performed at a 23C ambient room temperature. Multiple thermal tests are run on each CPU to test the cooler in a variety of conditions, and acoustic measurements are taken with each result. These tests include:

1. Noise normalized testing at low noise levels

2. “Out-of-the-box”/default configuration thermal & acoustics testing.

     a.) This means no power limits on Intel’s i7-13700K, and AMD’s default power limits on AMD’s Ryzen 7 7700X.

      b.) Because CPUs hit Tjmax in this scenario, the best way to compare cooling strength is by recording the total CPU package power consumption.

3. Thermal & acoustics testing in power-limited scenarios.

      a.) With Ryzen 7 7700X, I’ve tested with limits of 95W and 75W enforced.

      b.) On Intel’s i7-13700K, I’ve tested with limits of 175W and 125W enforced.

The thermal results included are for 10-minute testing runs. To be sure that was sufficiently long to tax the cooler, we tested both Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE and DeepCool’s LT720 with a 30-minute Cinebench test with Intel’s i9-13900K for both 10 minutes and 30 minutes. The results didn’t change much at all with the longer test: The average clock speeds maintained dropped by 29 MHz on DeepCool’s LT720 and 31 MHz on Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE. That’s an incredibly small 0.6% difference in clock speeds maintained, a margin of error difference that tells us that the 10-minute tests are indeed long enough to properly test the coolers.

Testing Configuration – Intel LGA1700 Platform

Thermal results with noise normalized to 38.2 dBA

Finding the right balance between fan noise levels and cooling performance is important. While running fans at full speed can improve cooling capacity to some extent, the benefits are limited and many users prefer a quiet system. 

EKWB’s performance here is very impressive, with chart-topping results that broke the previous best record shared by MSI and CoolerMaster for thermal performance, with an average of 234W cooled when tuned for quiet operation.

Thermal results with no power limits

Without power limits enforced on Intel’s i7-13700K, the CPU will hit its peak temperature and thermally throttle with even the strongest of air coolers. We would normally measure the total watts cooled in this scenario. However, all three of the liquid coolers we’ve tested for this review are capable of keeping Intel’s i7-13700K under its peak temperature – so we’ll compare the actual temperature of the CPU instead.

At 66 degrees Celsius over a 23 degrees C ambient temperature, EKWB’s Nucleus AIO ties with Cooler Master’s 360L Core for the best thermal result we’ve seen in this test. You’ll pay for this kind of cooling with higher noise levels, though.

I measured a maximum noise level of 50.4 dBA with EK’s CR360 Lux. This is slightly louder than the competing AIOs we’ve tested it against, and is near the edge of what I consider acceptable noise levels. Users who prefer silence will need to implement a fan curve for a more pleasant experience – but as the previous results show, EK’s CR360 Lux still performs excellently when tuned for silence.

175W Cinebench Results

EKWB scores another chart-topping thermal result in this 175W workload, beating DeepCool’s LT720 by 3 degrees C and Cooler Master’s 360L Core by 2 degrees. This is a very strong showing by EKWB, but what about noise levels?

We measured a moderate noise level of 45.3 dBA. This is an acceptable noise level, slightly quieter than Cooler Master’s 360L core. I personally feel that this is louder than it should be as it runs significantly louder than DeepCool’s LT720, which only runs at 40.3 dBA in this scenario.

125W Cinebench Results

The lowest power limit I test with Raptor Lake CPUs is 125 watts. This is a high enough limit to allow the CPU to maintain its base clock speeds even in the most intensive tests, and most coolers should be able to keep the CPU below Tjmax – even low-end coolers. For the most part, these thermal results are academic – noise levels are much more important here.

With that in mind, I was genuinely impressed by the thermal performance of the CR360 Lux in this 125W test. EKWB continued it’s chart-topping lead over competing AIOs, maintaining a CPU temperature 3 degrees C lower than it’s nearest competitor. Noise level measurements were acceptable, on par with all competitor 360mm AIOs tested here, with a noise level of only 40.3 dBA. This is a very low noise level and shouldn’t bother anyone.

Conclusion

EKWB’s Nucleus AIO CR360 Lux D-RGB is the strongest 360mm AIO we’ve ever tested. But that performance doesn’t come cheap, with a MSRP of $209 USD. It can also be noisy under heavy thermal loads. Folks looking for a less-expensive option might consider EK’s Nucleus AIO CR360 Dark, which should offer the same cooling performance with a more value-oriented price of $159 USD. But that cooler doesn’t include RGB and or the decorative shroud.

EKWB and Seagate have announced new special-edition Star Wars Firecuda NVMe SSDs, honoring the most renowned Jedi and Sith Lord in the franchise, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Vader. These new drives will feature faceplates with each character's name and their respective lightsaber designs. Seagate partnered with EK to create heatsinks for the drives, to help keep the drives cool underneath Segate's Star Wars-themed faceplates.

Seagate is using its 2TB and 1TB versions of its FireCuda 530 NVMe SSDs for its Star-Wars-themed drives. The FireCuda 530 is the fastest NVMe drive Seagate makes featuring PCIe Gen 4 support and a maximum read speed of 7300MB/s. In our review, we praised the FireCuda 530 series for its exceptional warranty rating and extremely fast sustained write performance. 

Sandwiched in between the drive and the faceplate is an EKWB-designed low-profile heatsink made from high-grade aluminum featuring an anodized finish. This will keep the drive cool underneath the Star Wars faceplates to maximize performance for extended periods of time.

The faceplates come in a matte black finish, bringing to light the RGB-illuminated lightsaber in the middle of the heatsink. A lightsaber hilt fills out the bottom of the heatsink connected to an RGB strip in the middle that mimics a lightsaber blade. Each drive will come with three different faceplates, featuring different lightsaber colors and hilt designs for Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Vader.

These Star Wars SSDs should feel right at home in any Star Wars-themed setup. The unique lightsaber design will stand out in a typical gaming PC, where the M.2 slots are exposed and spaced out from the primary PCIe x16 slot. This will prevent the graphics card from blocking the faceplate covers, and give everyone a good look at the unique design of each lightsaber. Again, the colors are RGB illuminated, so you can change the blade color to anything you want.

As previously stated only the 2TB and 1TB special edition variants will be produced with the EKWB heatsink and Jedi/Sith Lord faceplates. Pricing and availability are unknown.

For fans of the popular O11 Dynamic XL, EKWB has a treat for you. The company has announced a new distro plate bundle that includes a 7' inch IPS screen designed to operate inside the case. The combo is currently available for pre-order for a hefty price of $629.99.

EKWB uses a 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution IPS display that mounts directly to the bottom of the Quantum Reflection distro block. Once installed, the display sits at the bottom front of the O11 Dynamic XL's case, sandwiched between the front tempered glass side panel and the Quantum Reflection distro plate.

The monitor will act as a secondary monitor with an HDMI 2.0 cable that needs to be routed to the display connections of your integrated GPU or discrete graphics card. EKWB says the monitor also comes with a USB Type-A connection that we suspect is for power.

The display gives users an extra level of customization to their custom loop O11 Dynamic build. The display can be used to display anything you want, including displaying component temperatures, fluid temperatures, or GIFs and photos. Since the display already acts as a secondary monitor, you could also use the monitor in that role.

Besides the display - and its installation hardware, the pump and distro plate itself are identical to the standard Quantum Reflection version. The distro plate features a reservoir volume of 787ml and features six push-in ports with female G1/4" thread adapters. Moving the coolant inside the distro block is a D5 PWM pump, featuring a maximum flow rate of 1500 liters per hour and a max rated power consumption of 23W. With this combination, EKWB says Quantum Reflection can cool up to three 360mm radiators in total.

For aesthetics, EKWB uses see-through acrylic material on the top portion of the distro plate, along with 27 addressable RGBs installed down the entire length of the unit. When in use, the RGB lights have a completely diffused effect as light bounces off the fluid inside the reservoir.

Again, EKWB's Quantum Reflection bundle with the screen is now available for pre-order for $629.99. Estimated arrival date is April 7th, if you order one today (March 9th).

PowerColor has introduced its Liquid Devil Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card equipped with a waterblock co-designed with EK. The board is designed for systems equipped with a custom liquid cooling system and promises to guarantee "ultimate overclockability."

PowerColor's Liquid Devil Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB uses the company's in-house designed printed circuit board (PCB) that features 14 layers, including a 2-oz power layer, and is equipped with a sophisticated voltage regulating module as well as three eight-pin auxiliary PCIe power connectors that can deliver up to 450W of power to the card. In addition, the board has two BIOS settings supporting enhanced performance: OC setting with more balanced energy consumption and Unleash mode supporting the highest clocks and higher total board power.

One of the interesting peculiarities of the Liquid Devil Radeon RX 7900 XTX is that its water block is a single slot wide, so it is significantly more compact than graphics cards equipped with double-wide or triple-wide air cooling systems. As an added bonus, the waterblock has addressable RGB LEDs. Meanwhile, the board bundles with EKWB's EK-Loop Leak Tester Flex and a small pump to safely test possible leaks of bespoke liquid cooling systems.  

Liquid Devil is the brand that PowerColor uses to market its top-of-the-range graphics cards. For now, PowerColor does not disclose the specifications of its Liquid Devil Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and we can only guess its GPU clocks. However, it is safe to say that the board will be one of the fastest AMD Navi 31-based products on the market, making it one of the best graphics cards.  

What remains to be seen is how much PowerColor plans to charge for its range-topping Liquid Devil Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card. For obvious reasons, the product will cost more than a typical Radeon RX 7900 XTX as it uses a sophisticated PCB and, possibly, cherry-picked GPUs with enhanced overclocking potential. Yet, the exact price of the graphics adapter is unclear for now.

The Nvidia RTX 4090 takes the crown for the fastest graphics card currently available, but it's not without concerns. Of course there's the extreme price, theoretically starting at $1,599 but typically selling for over $2,000 right now. There's also the matter of size. The smallest of the traditional RTX 4090 cards takes up at least three slots, often overlapping into a fourth slot. If you want to build a custom liquid cooling loop with a compact RTX 4090, though, Alphacool has a solution.

Optimum Tech posted a video review of perhaps the smallest 4090 water block currently available, the Alphacool ES Geforce RTX 4090 Reference Design with Backplate. There's a compatibility list for various GPUs, but the cooler in question — model number 13395 — currently only shows compatibility with a few models. One of those models is the Inno3D used in the video, another is the KFA2 RTX 4090 SG, which should be the same as the Galax RTX 4090 SG. Sadly, neither one of those is readily available in the US.

There are plenty of other RTX 4090 water blocks out there, including some single-slot options from EKWB, but none are as compact as this Alphacool model. Of course, you still need to add in the rest of the liquid cooling loop, and with a 450W TBP, going with dual radiators would certainly be warranted.

This particular cooler isn't really designed for home users, though, even if it can work there. It's part of the Enterprise lineup of coolers from Alphacool, with the idea being you could potentially stuff up to four RTX 4090 cards into a single server or workstation. At that point, you'd probably want to tune the cards to run at a substantially lower power limit like 300W, which would make this into something of a "poor man's" version of the RTX 6000 Ada — with half the VRAM.

That's an interesting value proposition, though, replacing a single $6,800 (or more) professional card with multiple consumer grade cards. There's definitely more overlap happening between Nvidia's professional line and the GeForce line, and the current prices on RTX 4090 cards still tend to hover in the $2,000 and higher range. That's a ton of cash to plunk down on a gaming GPU, but if you're doing AI training and inference — including Stable Diffusion — 3D rendering, or other professional work, it might represent  some sort of 'bargain.'

Hopefully, someone will take the time to build a quad-4090 setup using something like this Alphacool waterblock, and then post a video and pictures. Because for a lot of us, that's about as close as we're likely to come to buying such a card.

Intel's Arc 770 graphics cards are rather modest, offering mid-range performance in today's gaming market. However, the folks at EKWB have decided to release the EK-Quantum Vector² for Intel's Arc A750 and Arc A770 boards to give enthusiasts another option to boost performance. 

As the name suggests, EK-Quantum Vector² Arc A750/A770 uses EK's signature Vector² water block that covers the whole board and cools down the GPU, memory, and voltage regulating module. The water block features the company's cold plate made of nickel-plated electrolytic copper with proprietary Open Split-Flow micro-channels, a directly attached acetal terminal, and an anodized aluminum backplate.  

Like other family members, the EK-Vector2 water block for Intel's Arc A770/A750 uses standard G ¼ inch barbs for tubing and thus is compatible with a wide range of custom liquid cooling systems.

Traditionally, EK offers two types of terminals: transparent plexiglass or an all-black acetal. But the company will only provide transparent plexiglass with RGB LEDs for Intel's Arc A770 and Arc A750 boards, at least for now. Since Intel's own Arc A770 and Arc A750 are limited edition products, it hardly makes much financial sense for EK to offer multiple water block SKUs for these parts. 

Perhaps a bigger question is whether it makes sense for anyone to equip their Intel Arc A770/A750 graphics boards with an expensive water block when they could buy a more powerful graphics card. For those enthusiasts who want an all-Intel system with custom liquid cooling, EKWB's product is an irreplaceable part. For others, a more expensive board from our list of the best graphics cards makes more sense.

The EK-Quantum Vector² Arc A750/A770 water blocks are available for pre-order for $240/€240 from the company's online store. EK expects to ship them out in mid-December 2022.

Renowned leaker @KittyYYuko has published the first images of printed circuit board of Nvidia's upcoming GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition graphics card as well as the company's AD103 graphics processor. While PCB of the GeForce RTX 4080 FE resembles PCB of the GeForce RTX 4090 FE, there are significant differences between the two designs.

Just like the designs of Nvidia's Founders Edition graphics cards are similar, so are the designs of the company's printed circuit boards, since they use similar cooling systems. Designs of the GeForce RTX 4080 FE and GeForce RTX 4090 FE PCBs are similar too, and both boards use the same 12VHPWR auxiliary power connector. But since the former board is rated for 320W of  graphics power, whereas the RTX 4090 FE has a power consumption of up to 450W, the RTX 4080 FE has fewer power stages as well as fewer capacitors. Also, because the AD103 GPU features a 256-bit memory interface while the AD102 processor has a 384-bit memory bus, the RTX 4080 FE uses fewer of Micron's GDDR6X memory chips. 

The AD103 GPU, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, is considerably smaller compared to the AD102 processor. This is not something particularly surprising as the AD103 packs 45.9 billion transistors and has a die size of 378.6 mm^2, whereas the AD102 comprises of 76.3 billion of transistors and has a die size of 608.5 mm^2. Since the AD103 chip is relatively small, it also does not feature a metallic frame on its sides. 

Since Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition is not yet available, officially, @KittyYYuko had to place a CPU and an EKWB sticker on the board in a bid to hide certain details that could identify the source of the card. This of course hides the number of power phases featured by the GeForce RTX 4080 FE, but since the product is set to become available next week, we will learn this information soon enough. 

In addition to sharing photos of the GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition and AD103, the leaker also published its 3DMark TimeSpy Extreme benchmark result of 14,100 points, which is in line with other RTX 4080 performance leaks. Such performance numbers are good enough to likely make Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4080 one of the best graphics cards for gaming set to be available this year, although it will be interesting to see how AMD's new RX 7900 graphics cards compete when they arrive in mid-December.

AMD's Radeon RX 7900 XT and Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards are over a month away, but the first water blocks for the red company's flagship offerings should be available by the time the boards hit the market. Since AMD's new Big Navi 31 graphics processor uses a multi-chiplet design, these water blocks must use a new layout. 

Just hours after AMD held its RDNA 3 launch event, EKWB introduced its first EK-Quantum Vector² water blocks for the reference design Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards. The water blocks are designed to cool down Navi 31's main graphics compute die (GCD), memory cache die (MCD), its voltage regulating module (VRM), and GDDR6 memory. AMD's new range-topping Radeon RX 7900 XTX is rated for up to 355W thermal graphics power, so it will clearly benefit from liquid cooling. 

Because AMD's Navi 31 GPU consists of up to seven elements (one GCD and up to six MCDs), EK had to re-engineer its Vector² design. First up, it rotated its Open Split-Flow cold plate by 90° to make fins perpendicular to the die (normally, they are parallel to the die). Secondly, it rearranged liquid flows so that the coolant flow over the graphics core die first, and the memory cache die after. Meanwhile, the flows are arranged so that all MCDs get the same temperature coolant. Thirdly, it increased fin density from 0.6/0.4 to 0.4/0.26mm to account for the increased power dissipation of the multi-chiplet Big Navi. 

Like other Vector² water blocks, EKWB's EK-Quantum Vector² RX 7900 XTX D-RGB water blocks use 11mm-thick nickel-plated electrolytic copper with a directly-attached plexiglass (transparent) or acetal (black) terminal. The water blocks are compatible with regular fittings, so the owners of custom liquid cooling systems should have no problems using them. In addition, all Vector² water blocks are bundled with EK-Quantum Vector² backplate that provides additional passive cooling and rigidity to the graphics card. 

EKWB's EK-Quantum Vector² RX 7900 XTX D-RGB with plexiglass or acetal terminals are now available for preorder from the company's website for ~$240/€240. The manufacturer plans to ship them out in early December, so by the time AMD ships its reference Radeon RX 7900 XTX cards on December 13, EKWB's water blocks will be in the hands of early adopters.

Custom printed board designs (PCB) and custom liquid cooling systems are pricey. Inno3D's GeForce RTX 4090 iChill Black and GeForce RTX 4090 iChill Frostbite boards have those features in an attempt to tame Nvidia's latest entry in our list of the best graphics cards, so expect them to be more expensive than typical AD102-based products. Yet the Frostbite version will likely be cheaper than buying an FE or a reference GeForce RTX 4090 board and an aftermarket waterblock from companies like EKWB.

Nvidia's AD102 graphics processing unit has been specially architected to hit very high clocks, but it needs decent cooling to push its way towards 3 GHz. To help the GPU to unleash its beastly nature, Inno3D teamed up with Arctic to build one of the industry's first GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card with a pre-installed all-in-one liquid cooling system. Also, Inno3D has a GeForce RTX 4090 with a pre-installed waterblock for custom liquid cooling systems.  

Actually, Inno3D is the only graphics cards supplier that currently has two liquid cooling options in its GeForce RTX 4090 lineup. The Inno3D GeForce RTX 4090 iChill Black comes with a custom closed-loop liquid cooling system from Arctic (via TechPowerUp), whereas the Inno3D GeForce RTX 4090 iChill Frostbite is equipped with a specially designed waterblock for custom-built liquid cooling systems. 

Both boards naturally carry Nvidia's AD102 GPU (with 16384 CUDA cores clocked at 2580 MHz boost frequency out-of-box) coupled with 24GB of 21 GT/s GDDR6X memory and features 12VHPWR (12+4-pin) auxiliary PCIe power connector designed to feed the board with up to 450W of power.

While the out-of-box GPU boost clocks of both cards do not seem to be too high (2580 MHz vs. 2520 MHz recommended by Nvidia is hardly a tangible increase), the highly efficient hybrid all-in-one liquid cooling system or a waterblock for a custom LCS promise to provide a very significant headroom both for higher boost clocks and for overclocking. Keeping in mind what typically can be done with GeForce RTX 4090, we are probably looking at 2.70 – 2.80 GHz boost clocks here without much hassle. With some additional luck and tweaking, some of these graphics cards may approach a 3 GHz GPU frequency (keep in mind that overclocking is a lottery). 

Another advantage of Inno3D's GeForce RTX 4090 iChill boards is their dimensions. Unlike Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition as well as AD102-based add-in-board with air cooling, the Inno3D GeForce RTX 4090 iChill Black and GeForce RTX 4090 iChill Frostbite are dual-wide graphics cards that can fit into any cases that can accommodate hybrid AIO or custom LCS. They are also shorter than air cooled boards, which will affect internal airflows within a chassis and will make it easier to install additional components after the boards are plugged in.

Hot on the heels of Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 announcement, Alphacool and EKWB today introduced waterblocks for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition and reference graphics cards. The waterblocks will enable owners of custom-built liquid cooling systems to push these shiny new graphics boards to their limits. In fact, EKWB already says that a 3 GHz GPU frequency is possible for Nvidia's AD102 graphics chip with proper cooling. 

Alphacool's Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N RTX 4090 is aimed at Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 reference design, though the company's datasheet vaguely mentions GeForce RTX 4XXX graphics boards. The waterblock consists of a chrome-plated copper coldplate that cools down the GPU, memory, and the voltage regulating module with transparent acrylic top. To increase performance of the waterblock, Alphacool adapted its fin structure to maximize both waterflow and cooling surface area — fins are now 0.4 mm thick and are located on a 0.4 mm distance from each other. To ensure that the card does not bend, Alphacool's Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N RTX 4090 comes with an aluminum backplate. 

EKWB's EK-Quantum Vector² water blocks are designed for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 FE boards and closely follow the company's Quantum Vector concept of covering the whole board — thereby cooling down the GPU, memory, and power delivery circuitry. The new waterblock uses an 11mm nickel-plated copper coldplate with an optimized fin design and comes with either a transparent plexiglass or all-black acetal top. Both versions include a black-anodized aluminum backplate. 

Waterblocks from Alphacool and EKWB are compatible with standard G1/4-inch connections and also feature addressable LEDs that can be controlled using software from leading makers of motherboards. 

One of the things to note about waterblocks from EKWB is that they are designed only for Nvidia's own Founders Edition GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards and not for reference boards or custom boards from the company's partners. While the green company equipped its GeForce RTX 4090 FE with an extremely sophisticated triple-slot air cooler that suggests overclocking, power consumption of the card is capped at 450W and so far Nvidia has not announced any plans to supply overclocking BIOS for the product to unlock higher power delivery. Thus, while Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition promises to be a good overclocker (at least from Nvidia's own words), some of its partners' offerings — which rumors suggest may have overclocking BIOSes — may offer even better potential. 

Waterblocks for custom liquid cooling systems are rarely cheap. EKWB will sell its EK-Quantum Vector² FE RTX 4090 D-RGB (nickel + plexi or nickel + acetal) for €240 ($237), while Alphacool's Eisblock Aurora Acrylic GPX-N RTX 4090 will sell for €160 ($158). The waterblocks for Nvidia's top-of-the-range Ada Lovelace GPU are no available for order from both companies, with Alphacool setting delivery at three to four weeks from now.

EK Water Blocks has launched a new passive heatsink design for M.2 SSDs. Its latest aluminum-clad heatsinks are designed to fit in with the EK Quantum series aesthetic, and are available in several colors. They fit both single and double-sided M.2 2280 SSDs, and are available now for between 32 and 36 Euros, depending on the color and finish you choose.

You might think EK Water Blocks announcing a passively cooled heatsink for SSDs is a company straying out of its lane. Yes, the Slovenian firm specializes in liquid cooling, but it points out it was one of the first movers in passive M.2 heatsinks, launching its first solution for SSD thermal throttling back in 2017. That was a rather plain and obvious design using a heatsink with fins. The new EK-Quantum Convection M.2 NVMe SSD heatsinks are clearly adopting firm’s EK Quantum design language, as used in a popular family of liquid cooling accessories.

The new passive heatsinks are pleasantly eye-catching and exude EKWB character. However, one must question whether the ‘fluid flow channel’ inspired extrusion passive design is as efficient at heat dissipation as a multi-finned alternative of the same mass.

EKWB addresses cooling performance concerns in its press release. It suggests that water cooling SSDs isn’t necessary at this time. This is because the EK-Quantum Convection M.2 NVMe “will completely prevent thermal throttling in cases with sufficient airflow or otherwise significantly prolong the time before thermal throttling of the SSD occurs.” PCIe 5.0 SSDs could start to make active air or liquid cooling more appropriate, if not a standard requirement, but perhaps EK has another product in the pipeline for such an eventuality.

The company claims that the new heatsink design is adept at cooling M.2 2280 drives with both single sided and dual-sided NAND chips. There is one more specification you need to keep an eye on if you are thinking of purchasing these heatsinks; Due to the bottom plate on the EK-Quantum Convection M.2 NVMe SSD heatsink, your M.2 module holder must be of the type which is 4.2mm in height. Check that before ordering: you will be looking for part number 2199230-X. These details sometimes aren’t listed in motherboard specs so you might have to get out a ruler and measure.

EKWB is selling the new EK-Quantum Convection M.2 NVMe SSD heatsinks with immediate availability via its online store, and they will be available at partners too. EK webshop prices are €31.90 for the black, silver and nickel finishes, and €35.90 for the gold version. Those prices include EU standard VAT which is 20%, so prices for all versions should be under $30 in the US. (At the time of writing 1€ is extremely close to $1.)

EKWB has given us a sneak peak into several new water cooling products the company will fully unveil later today in its “Strictkly Quantum” show. They Include a new waterblock pump combo unit, double rotary offset fittings, and water blocks for the RTX 3090 TI Founders Edition, as well as AIB partner models.

The biggest product of the bunch is the new EK-Quantum Velocity2 Kinetic DDC 4.2 block-pump combo unit. As the name implies, EKWB has integrated a DDC 4.2 water pump directly into a waterblock for a more minimalistic design – similar to Asetek all-in-one coolers. This product will be particularly useful in small form factor builds where space is very valuable.

The Kinetic waterblock is made out of nick-plated brass for the top portion of the exterior, and an acrylic piece that houses all the cooling components and handles coolant distribution inside the block. The brass top also servers the roll of cooling the DDC pump, and features a single fill port for filling up the waterblock and its associated loop.

Platform compatibility will include both AM4 and AM5 sockets from AMD. For Intel, EK says a LGA1700 version is coming out soon.

The next item is a new set of double-rotary offset fittings, including 21 mm and 28 mm variants. These fittings feature a rotary design on one of the ports, which can be optimal for installing tubing from odd angles. The double-rotary fittings can rotate a full 360 degrees if needed and has a clicking mechanism when adjusting the fittings at every 45 degree angle.

The fittings will come in six different finishes including nickel, black nickel, black, satin titanium, and gold.

Finally, EK showed off a first look at its upcoming RTX 3090 Ti waterblocks for both Founders Edition and select AIB partner models. The images shown are ones designed for the EVGA FTW3 and MSI Trio/Suprim RTX 3090 Ti variants. Both waterblocks feature active backplate cooling, and for the FTW3 variant, it includes a rear cut out for routing additional cabling into the computer chassis.

Extreme overclocker and YouTuber der8auer has revealed his 12th Gen CPU Contact Frame, which is being manufactured by Thermal Grizzly. In addition to the precision machined anodized aluminum frame, which evenly distributes pressure on your Intel Alder Lake CPU, the OC expert demoed a new lapping frame. This secondary frame can be used if you wish to ensure your CPU is perfectly flat when installed in the LGA1700-sized Contact Frame on your motherboard.

Before we talk about this new product, we would like to provide some background regarding why some people will be keen to purchase this product or others like it. In brief, the 12th Gen CPU is somewhat longer than previous generations but is still retained by pressure from the Integrated Loading Mechanism (ILM) at its center. Due to this pressure, its surface can become concave. Using replacement ILM frame mods can help reduce or remove any concave surface effect. It has also been found that using 0.5mm plastic washers and the existing motherboard Intel-designed ILM helps to reduce concavity.

One of our more recent articles about the Intel Alder Lake CPU warping phenomenon includes some commentary from an Intel spokesperson. It seems like Intel isn't looking at the warping or bending issues raised as a problem. However, many enthusiasts searching for the best cooling and performance will wish to do something about it. Thus there have been some previous replacement frames launched by Chinese makers like LZMod and Maple, as well as Thermalright.

Der8auer's elegant solution to the CPU warping issue might be the best yet. It is built with black anodized aluminum, a rigid non-conductive construction material. It measures 71 x 51 x 6mm, and a T20 wrench is included in the package.

When considering the material, der8auer selected aluminum 7075 for stability when subject to the heating/cooling from extreme overclockers (+70 Celsius to -200 Celsius). The overclocking expert said plastic, and therefore 3D printed parts, don't cut it as a long-term solution for ILM replacements, especially when put through wide temperature ranges.

It was particularly interesting to see the lapping frame demonstrated in the above video. This product is the result of a conversation that der8auer had with Splave. In February, Splave revealed that he hacksawed a spare LGA1700 motherboard to lap the CPU while under pressure from the standard ILM. As such circuit bone surgery isn't an option for most enthusiasts, the idea for the lapping frame was born. Der8auer demonstrates this frame and its use about ten and a half minutes into the video. The lapping frame doesn't seem to be part of the product package, so it is probably going to be sold separately.

To test his new 12th Gen Contact Frame, der8auer stressed 14 CPUs cooled by an EKWB Magnitude (lapped) cooler and noted that the CPUs enjoyed benefits of up to 7.1 Celsius. One of the CPUs ran a 0.3 Celsius hotter, which is odd, but the average benefit was between four and five degrees.

If you go on to use the lapping frame and a perfectly flat diamond stone, you might be able to reduce temperatures by a further five degrees.

Thermal Grizzly manufactures the 12th Gen CPU Contact Frame in Berlin. Der8auer says the product is in stock and was sent out worldwide to other retailers last week, for availability "soon." Expect to pay approx €35, which is about $38, for the product.

In a statement and interview provided to TechPowerUp, watercooling specialist EK Waterblocks has announced a severe, 25% cut to its workforce. Citing lower than expected sales volume for watercooling components, around 60 of its current 200 employees based in Slovenia, the company's home base, will be dismissed. In addition, the company's 1Q2022 report outlines a 20% reduction to its quarterly earnings since October 2021, a far cry from the company's 30% growth between 2020 and 2021.

The move stands as a step back for the company, resetting its 2021 development, which led to the addition of 64 employees to its roster thanks to five consecutive years of sustainable revenue growth. EKWB even received the Golden Gazelle Award by the Slovenian chamber of commerce to recognize its management success.

EKWB seems to be cautiously approaching current and future market dynamics. In its statement, EKWB justifies its decision based on lower than expected consumer spending, which it attributes mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry's logistics and supply issues, and spikes in PC hardware prices. EKWB CEO Matjaž Krč goes further, citing the pandemic's possible sociological impact on consumers' consumption priorities as they opt to spend more on outdoors experiences and products than those that would keep them mostly indoors (such as gaming).

There is one possible cause that EKWB didn't attribute to its lower than expected revenue: GPU market dynamics following the crushing availability issues in the latest, Best Graphics Cards from AMD and Nvidia. These graphics cards are the prime candidates for EKWB's product portfolio. So it stands to reason that increased pricing on GPUs would hit the sales of specialist aftermarket add-ons due to the additional strain on consumers' budgets.

While GPU sales have experienced record-breaking revenue (something Nvidia almost provocatively touted to its investors), a significant portion of those sales were attributed to cryptocurrency miners. These customers generally don't upgrade their GPU cooling solutions due to both the nature of Ethereum mining's workloads (partial to VRAM) and the additional overhead placed on recouping their hardware investments. Scalping also does little to aid the situation, as it drives GPU purchase costs up, potentially locking consumers out of costly - yet ultimately dispensable - GPU hardware upgrades such as the waterblocks EKWB manufactures.

EKWB stated that its workforce cut has been designed to prime the company for further, sustainable growth whilst shielding it from the current market dynamics. Rampant energy and commodity prices in Europe will likely maintain a downwards pressure on the company's sales for some time. 

It seems safe to say that the longer the Russian-Ukraine conflict lasts, the more specialist PC hardware companies such as EKWB will suffer. While specialists expect the industry-wide shortages to disappear throughout 2022 and towards 2023 on the back of demand adjustments, consumers spending less won't do companies such as EKWB any favors.

Through every generation of motherboards (and graphics cards), every board partner does their best to offer a complete lineup. From budget to flagship-class hardware, there’s something for everyone. Today we’re covering Asus’ flagships in the ROG Z690 Maximus Extreme ($1,099.99) and the water-cooled Extreme Glacial ($1,999.99). Both boards present users with the best hardware available for the platform, while the Glacial raises the bar adding a custom EKWB full cover block to cool the CPU, VRMs, chipset, and more. But are they worth the high price of admission?

Hardware-wise, both the Extreme and Extreme Glacial are the same. Both have the overbuilt 25-phase VRM, a PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket (plus four others), Wi-Fi 6E and 10 GbE connectivity, flagship-class audio, AniMe Matrix and LiveDash displays, and too many other features to list here. Although the E-ATX-size boards look different due to the water block, they both exude a premium appearance and style that works with most builds. If you’re into RGB LED lighting, both boards have you covered, with the Glacial using a lot more.

In our testing, both boards performed basically identically. When we bring other Z690 boards into the mix, we found them average overall, with no surprises in most tests. Our gaming results were a couple of frames per second (fps) slower than other boards, but nothing you’d notice. None of the results were the fastest or slowest but settled in nicely along the mean. Power use was slightly higher than average for both versions of the Extreme, but not out of line. In short, the two Extreme boards perform well out of the box.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at the features of the boards, including the overclocking bits, water cooling block, and any other item that makes the Extreme, well, extreme. Does it have what it takes to make our best motherboards list? We’ll answer that question and share our thoughts on if it’s worth paying such a premium for a motherboard. But first, here’s a detailed list of the Z690 Extreme and Extreme Glacial’s specifications, direct from Asus.

Specifications: Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme / Extreme Glacial

Inside the Boxes of the Z690 Extreme and Extreme Glacial

Inside the boxes, along with the motherboards, Asus includes a slew of accessories (one of the most comprehensive we’ve seen) designed to complement board functionality as well as get your system up and running without a trip to the store. Between the two boards, the accessory stack is the same, outside of the water cooling parts that come with the Extreme Glacial. Below is a complete list of the included extras from both boards.

Asus includes your standard accessories, including SATA cables, Wi-Fi antenna, etc. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• 1-to-3 ARGB splitter cable
• 1-to-2 ARGB splitter cable
• (2) 1-to-4 fan splitter cables
• RGB extension cable
• (3) ROG weave SATA 6G cables
• (4) SATA 6Gb/s cables 
• 3-in-1 Thermistor cables pack
• ROG Fan Controller
• Fan EXT PWR cable
• ARGB input cable 
• USB input cable 
• ROG Fan Controller 3M Mounting tape
• Fan Controller manual
• ROG DIMM.2 with heatsink
• M.2 pad for ROG DIMM.2
• (2) M.2 screw package for ROG DIMM.2
• ROG True Voltician
• (4) Cables for ROG True Voltician
• ASUS Wi-Fi moving antennas 
• M.2 SSD screw package
• Q-connector
• ROG CLAVIS DAC
• ROG graphics card holder
• ROG key chain
• ROG logo plate stickers
• ROG screwdriver
• ROG stickers
• ROG thank you card
• Thermal pad package for M.2 heatsink
• USB drive with utilities and drivers 
• User guide

The Extreme Adds

• Monoblock  
• (3) Screw package for monoblock  
• Thermal pad for monoblock  
• Fittings for monoblock (hard tube) 
• M.2 heatsink

Design of the ROG Maximus Extreme/Extreme Glacial

Starting with the Extreme, Asus uses a jet black PCB and heavy metal heat sinks and shrouds that cover an overwhelming majority of the board. The oversized and heat pipe-connected VRM heatsinks surround the socket and reach over the IO area. On top of the VRM heatsink is the customizable Asus AniMe Matrix LED display (a carryover from the company’s ROG Zephyrus G14 laptop), while just below that is the LiveDashOLED to display system information (among other things). The heatsinks around the M.2 sport small bumps to give the board a unique look and increase the surface area to dissipate the heat from the SSDs below.

The right edge is covered by a shroud hiding the horizontal connections for fans and power. The chipset heatsink sports an RGB LED-lit ROG symbol, while under the right edge is an RGB strip that runs the full length of the board. A backplate protects the rear of the board and offers some passive cooling on the VRMs. Overall, the Maximus Extreme is a good-looking board that gives off a premium vibe, but the dot matrix feature is a love-it-or-hate-it feature for sure.

The Glacial takes the premium vibe the ‘base’ Extreme has and takes it to a whole different level. The included monoblock replaces the heatsinks on the board cooling the CPU, VRMs, M.2 socket(s), and the chipset. Around the socket area, the clear plexi gives way to several integrated ARGB LEDs in the block that shine past the prominent silver Asus ROG branding. You still get the benefits of the Matrix LED and LiveDash OLED in the Glacial, and it blends in a lot better here than on the regular Extreme. Between the EK block, horizontal connectivity and shrouds, you can barely see the PCB except where you need to (where there are headers for fan, RGB, etc. The Extreme Glacial is one of the most high-end-looking motherboards available. Both boards beg to be the centerpiece of your PC.

On the ‘base’ Extreme, the VRM heatsinks rise around the socket area like seats in a sports stadium. The large heatsinks offer a lot of surface area and connect via a heat pipe to share the VRM and M.2 socket heat load. On top of the left VRM bank sits the AniMe Matrix LED, while just below that is the 2-inch LiveDash OLED screen. Both can be personalized, with the LiveDash sharing system information (think voltage and speeds) and images, while the AniMe Matrix LED is more for aesthetics and personalization. You can control what these display through the Asus Armoury software. Just above the heatsink are two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to power the CPU.

The Glacial replaces the stadium seating-like VRM heatsinks with a nickel-plated EK block that covers and cools the VRMs, CPU, and the top M.2 socket. The gloss finish reaches out over the IO panel and down to the top VRM socket which yields an even more premium look. The AniME Matrix and LiveDash OLED have a much cleaner implementation on the Glacial since it’s integrated into the block. RGB LEDs shine brightly through the thick acrylic block, backlighting the ROG symbol branding.

To the right of the socket, both motherboards look the same and have the same features. There are four unreinforced, single-side locking DRAM slots supporting up to 128GB of DDR5 with speeds listed to DDR4 6400+. Of course, your mileage will vary as reaching these speeds depends on the memory kit used and having a CPU with an integrated memory controller capable of doing so. We had no issues with our ADATA DDR5 6000 kit using XMP.

Above the DRAM slots are three (of eight) 4-pin fan/pump headers. In this case, we have the CPU_FAN, CPU_OPT, and CHA_FAN1P headers which are Q-Fan controlled by default. These headers (and the rest of the chassis fans and rad fans) support up to 1A/12W. The two pump headers (W_PUMP+1/2) output up to 3A/36W, supporting nearly all pumps designed for PC watercooling.

All of the holes on the board to the right are for the Asus ProbeIt functionality. With these, you can use a multi-meter to check voltages more accurately compared to software. ProbeIt covers all major voltages, including VCore, VIn, VDD, SA and several others. While most users don’t need this level of granularity and accuracy, I want to see everything Asus has to offer on the flagship and am happy to see it here. For those who truly push the limits of their processor, this is a useful tool to have.

Sitting between the right edge of the board and DRAM slots is the DIMM.2 socket. This slot houses the included DIMM.2 module which adds two additional M.2 sockets to the board. The add-in-card–which looks like RAM–runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds for each module and supports up to two 110mm PCIe storage devices.

Along the right edge, the Extreme(s) sport a plastic shroud that covers the unsightly connectors and simple buttons. A 2-character debug LED is visible from the top, along with rectangle-shaped Start (power) and reset buttons. Sitting horizontally under the shroud are two 4-pin fan headers, the 24-pin ATX connector to power the board, and a supplemental 6-pin PCIe connector for additional board power for multi-GPU configurations. Also located here is the new 6-pin Gen2 addressable RGB connector that fits RGB WS2812B or WS2812B-based LED strips at up to 3A(5V). Sticking up around the shroud is a front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C header.

The air-cooled Extreme also has the PCIe slot Q-Release button that unlocks the primary GPU socket. Even though most users don’t change their graphics card often, that button is high on my list for quality of life changes, as pressing the latch on the back of the PCIe slots can prove difficult, especially on high-end boards with a lot of heatsinks/shrouds and little room to get an adult finger there to press it. I don’t know about you, but I get nervous when I have to stick a screwdriver between the back of the graphics card and some of these heatsinks.

The Asus ROG Z690 Extreme and Extreme Glacial has one of the most impressive power delivery sections in an enthusiast-class motherboard. The 25-phase configuration has 24 phases dedicated to Vcore running in a teamed configuration. Essentially, the 20-channel Renesas RAA229131 controller feeds a pair of 105A Renesas RAA22010540 SPS MOSFETs. The 2,520A available is the highest I’ve come across. You’ll have no issues powering the flagship Alder Lake-based processor in this board, even when using sub-ambient cooling to push the limits.

Although appearance of the bottom half of the boards is different, the hardware configuration is again the same. Under the left side, metal shrouds cover one of the better audio implementations on the Z690 platform. The Supreme FX (Realtek) ALC4082 codec is hidden below, which has higher SNR stereo playback output and recording input values than the ALC4080 we’re used to. Instead of the conventional HDA interface for audio, it uses USB to improve playback resolution from 192 to 384 kHz. Additionally, the ESS Sabre 9018Q2C integrated DAC amplifier provides low harmonic distortion and, according to Asus, “conveys all the subtlety and nuances of the audio track.” Regardless of whether you can hear the difference, on paper, it’s an improvement over the already capable ALC4080 codec many Z690 boards work with. It doesn’t get better than this out of the box–or at least out of the motherboard box.

In the middle of the board are three PCIe slots. The two full-length reinforced slots connect through the CPU and offer sixteen PCIe 5.0 lanes. The top, primary graphics slot runs up to PCIe 5.0 x16 if the second slot isn’t populated and you’re not using the PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket. The second slot runs up to PCI 5.0 x8 speeds. Asus lists 2-Way SLI support but doesn't mention AMD Crossfire.

Next, hidden under the shroud/full coverage water block (depending on the board), are the three M.2 sockets. The top socket hides under the LiveDash OLED and heatsink/block. The slot connects through the CPU and runs PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) speeds supporting PCIe devices only. When this socket is in use, the secondary graphics slot is disabled and the primary slot drops to PCI 5.0 x8. Those wondering about video card performance need not worry the difference with current-gen cards is negligible.

M.2_2 and M.2_3 SSD sockets connect through the chipset with a maximum throughput of PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) and fit up to 110mm devices. The M.2_3 socket supports SATA-based modules as well as PCIe. You’ll find the other two M.2 sockets (for a total of five) on the DIMM.2 module.

As we shift focus to the right, over the chipset area to the edge of the board, we run into another plastic shroud covering more horizontal connections. From the top, there’s a Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports, a 4-pin ‘RAD’ fan header, and six SATA ports. The SATA ports support RAID modes 0/1/5/10 on the integrated (top four) ports. The SATA “E” ports use an external controller and do not work in RAID.

Across the bottom of the boards are a slew of headers, buttons and switches designed for overclocking, switching BIOSes, additional USB ports, RGB, and even some water flow headers. Below is a complete list of all the headers across the bottom of the boards.

• Front panel audio
• BCLK +/- buttons
• 4-pin RGB header
• 3-pin ARGB header
• RSRVD
• Slow Mode switch
• VLatch switch
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• LN2 Mode jumper
• Temperature sensor jumper
• Retry/BIOS/Safe Boot buttons
• (2) 4-pin fan headers
• Waterflow in/out/flow sensors
• Front panel header

Swinging around to the rear IO area, we run into the preinstalled IO plate that blends in nicely with both board’s aesthetics. The black background with white writing makes the ports easily identifiable.

From left to right, we run into BIOS flashback and CMOS reset buttons and then to the first two (of seven total) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports. Below is the HDMI 2.1 port for use with integrated graphics. Continuing right, we run into the ethernet ports. The first is a Marvell AQtion 10 GbE port, and next to it is the 2.5 GbE Intel port. On the bottom of these stacks are three Type-C ports. From left to right is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (5 Gbps) port, Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps) port, and a 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) port. In all, the seven Type-A ports should be enough, and there’s a Type-C on top of that. While this isn’t the most USB ports we’ve seen, the USB layout is some of the fastest available, with nothing slower than 10 Gbps ports here. Next up are the Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections and the 5-plug plus SPDIF audio inputs, backlit by colored LEDs that match the port.

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Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme Firmware

Asus’ ROG Z690 Extreme BIOS  should be familiar to those who have used any ROG-based boards in the recent past, with a familiar black-and-red theme. The BIOS is loaded with options and menus, though the most frequently accessed items are easily accessible and not buried several layers down. There’s also an easy mode that’s more of a dashboard with limited functionality. We’re a fan of the Asus BIOS and its logical layout. It has everything you need, and then some, to tweak your motherboard and component settings. And if you want to know how to access your BIOS (from any system), we can help!

Software

Asus has applications designed for various functions, ranging from RGB lighting control, audio, system monitoring, overclocking and more. Instead of plodding through each application as if it changes for each review, we’ll capture several screenshots of a few major utilities. In this case, here’s a look at Ai Suite 3, Armoury Crate, Sonic Studio and the Realtek Audio application.

Test System / Comparison Products

Our current test system uses 64-bit Windows 11, with all updates applied as of October 2021. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you need to upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost, wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Z690 Extreme boards did well here, their results competitive with the other DDR5 boards we’ve tested. There’s nothing generally faster or slower here.

Timed Applications

Starting with LAME testing, the Extreme took 9.56 seconds to complete, which is slightly faster than average. The Corona Ray Tracing benchmark's results were also around the average at 53 seconds. Handbrake x264 results were faster than average, completing in 112 seconds, while the x265 results were spot on average at 303 seconds. We didn’t find any performance anomalies here either.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution, with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Z690 Extreme averaged 162 fps with minimums of 138 fps, or just slower than average for both. Far Cry 6 results were also negligibly slower than most boards, averaging 135 fps (versus a 137 fps average) with minimums reaching 123 fps, a middle-of-the-pack result. In the 3DMark tests, the Extreme scored 14,297 on 3DMark Time Spy and 16,876 on Fire Strike Extreme, both average or slightly below average. While the gaming tests were a bit slower, you aren’t going to see or feel the meager differences between results here.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC, minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the Extreme consumed 88W, which is the highest result so far by a couple of Watts. Load power use peaked at 339W, also on the high side of average. Overall, this is one of the more power-hungry boards we’ve tested, but with the extra lighting and features, that’s not really surprising. The Glacial itself uses just a bit more power to support the additional RGB LEDs on the full cover block, the water pump, and any other fans. Still, that difference would be hard to see on your electric bill unless you compare it to some of the more basic (and a lot less expensive) motherboards. That said, you don’t buy a Ferrari and worry about paying for gas or getting the best mileage. And you generally don’t buy a flagship-class motherboard and worry (too much) about power consumption either.

VRM temperatures were surprisingly close between the air-cooled Extreme and water-cooled Glacial. The air-cooled Extreme topped out around 47 degrees Celsius during stock testing and 48 degrees Celsius when overclocked. The Glacial peaked at 43 degrees stock and 45 degrees when overclocked. At first glance, using the Glacial may not seem worth it, but you need to keep in mind that the full-cover water block on the Glacial removes the VRM heat and the CPU, chipset, and M.2 module. We used a 3x120 mm radiator for our testing, which is adequate, but you’ll see better results with the fans turned up (they are forced to ~800 RPM) or a larger radiator. This configuration still beats out nearly every air-cooled motherboard we’ve tested. I suppose the massive heatsinks work really well on the Extreme.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is slightly different from what we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. We set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with the Extremes and the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved relatively painless. Since we’ve found our required voltage with our first review, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore, adjusted LLC to “LLC4”, and tested unsuccessfully. Using the integrated voltage read points and a multi-meter, the voltage landed at 1.10V, well below our target voltage. To get in the ballpark, we used LLC1, which then displayed 1.27V. I’m surprised to see so much vdroop with the recommended settings and such beefy VRMs. But once we switched to LLC1, we had no stability issues.

On the memory front, we set XMP, and off we went with our GSkill Trident Z5 DDR5 5600 CL36 Kit, yielding a 600 MHz increase from the maximum rating of the platform. After months of trying, we finally procured a DDR5 6000 kit to use while overclocking. With this ADATA kit, we set XMP, and off we went without issue.

Using our DDR5 6000 kit, the Extreme pushed past XMP to DDR5 6400 with a CL30 rating. Like motherboards that are explicitly made for overclocking, (Asus Apex, Gigabyte Tachyon, ASRock Aqua), there’s more headroom on tap for those who want to push and get every MHz out of the system.

Bottom Line

After working with the Asus ROG Z690 Extreme and Extreme Glacial, there’s no doubt that these are flagship and halo-class motherboards. From the premium appearance and high-end features, the only thing against these boards, or any high-end board, is paying the high price to own one. And at $1,099 and $1,999 for these two, there’s no denying that the price of top-end boards is higher than ever. Sticker shock aside, the Z690 Extreme and Extreme Glacial offer users the pinnacle of hardware for the Z690 platform, including the rare PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 socket, a premium audio solution, and for the Glacial, a custom EK full-cover water block.

The Extreme’s robust 105A SPS MOSFETs are enough for any overclocking adventures, including sub-ambient cooling. The oversize VRM heatsink does a great job at keeping the power bits running cool,  while the water-cooled version does an even better job mitigating VRM heat and also looks better while doing so. The E-ATX boards sport five total M.2 sockets (three onboard, two on the DIMM.2 module), ultra-fast USB ports including Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps) and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) and several Type-A ports, none slower than 10 Gbps. If you want to monitor your water cooling loop, there are plenty of headers to connect to, including water flow and temperature sensors which you can also use to ramp up fan and/or pump speeds.

Are there areas to improve? Aside from a lower price (which we want for all motherboards these days), the only other thing that stands out are the dot matrix design features. While the boards give of an extreme premium look and feel, the dot matrix look LEDs just feel out of place to me. That said, the fact that it (and the LiveDash OLED) are customizable, certainly helps. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and these boards  certainly aren’t ugly.

Of course, there is competition in this flagship/halo-class board space. Gigabyte’s Z690 Extreme ($899.99) and Extreme Waterforce ($1,899.99) offer users similar high-end features, including a unique audio configuration, they are also arguably the best-looking and one of the ‘cheaper’ options in this class. ASRock’s Z690 Aqua ($1,299.99) and Aqua OC ($1,399.99) also include an impressive array of hardware/features, including Killer-based networking. Both versions of the board use a water block to cool the CPU and power delivery, with their slick silver appearance differentiating from the other boards. Last but not least is MSI’s Z690 Godlike ($1,999.99). This beast matches the Extreme Glacial in price and comes with a unique LCD touch screen display. It includes a whopping six M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0 x4), flagship ALC4082-based audio, and also looks stunning.

In the end, you can’t go wrong with any of these motherboards in terms of performance and features–what any one of them will do your bank account, however, is another thing entirely. Each of these top-end boards has something to love over another, be it price, appearance, or a specific feature one may want or need. Asus’ ROG Z690 Extreme boards bring you a combination of the platform's best hardware and a high-end appearance that you’d be happy to show off. Priced at $1,100-$2,000 will put them out of the price league of most builders, but they do have some of the most comprehensive lists of features around. If you’re looking to build a high-end PC and have the budget to support such a luxury item, be sure the Asus Extreme boards are on your shortlist.

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With its power consumption of 450W and higher, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics card can certainly benefit from liquid cooling. But unfortunately, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti adopts a new design with all memory chips on the front, which is why it needs all-new water blocks. This is where EK Water Blocks comes into play, promising to develop water blocks for reference and custom GeForce RTX 3090 Ti boards. The question is, do you need it? 

"EK is working on a plethora of new Quantum Vector² water blocks for Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti-series graphics cards," a statement by EKWB reads. "This would allow unprecedented performance levels and no worries about wasting heat."

Plethora of GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Water Blocks Incoming

Over the past year and a half, EKWB has developed over a dozen of water blocks for Nvidia Founders Edition, reference, and custom GeForce RTX 30-series graphics cards. None of these water blocks are compatible with Nvidia's latest GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics board that carries 24GB of GDDR6X memory on its front and sets records not only with its performance, but also with its power consumption that starts at 450W.

For now, EK Water Blocks plans to design water blocks for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition, Nvidia's reference boards supplied by partners with custom air coolers, Asus Strix RTX 3090 Ti cards, EVGA's FTW RTX 3090 Ti boards, and MSI's Trio RTX 3090 Ti as well as Suprim RTX 3090 Ti adapters. This is EKWB's preliminary plan; it may add more water blocks, but there are no timeframes as it takes some time to design and produce water blocks for custom graphics cards. 

Traditionally, EKWB's water blocks for GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics cards cover the GPU, voltage regulating module and memory to remove heat from the hottest components of the board. The new water blocks will be compatible with Vector2 and Matrix7 sets for custom liquid cooling systems. The exception is the Founders Edition water block, which will be only compatible with Vector2 as it keeps its signature look and design. 

While EKWB hasn't disclosed all the details about its upcoming water blocks, we expect them to resemble its existing products. Expect them to keep using CNC-machined nickel-plated electrolytic copper base with a plexiglass or stainless steel top. The water blocks will also feature EKWB's proprietary Open Split-Flow design with low hydraulic flow restriction to ensure sufficient cooling performance in cases when a low-speed pump is used or water flow is reversed. 

To make the cards sturdy and enhance their longevity, EKWB will also offer active backplates for GeForce RTX 3090 Ti boards as well. These will not cool memory, but promises improved temperatures across the whole board. 

EKWB hasn't yet specified when it intends to release its water blocks for GeForce RTX 3090 Ti.

But Do You Need One?

For now, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is the world's fastest graphics board. But Nvidia's next-generation Ada Lovelace family is incoming several months down the road and given typical generation-to-generation performance improvements, we expect the current flagship to be dethroned this fall.  

This begs the question whether it makes sense to invest in a custom water block for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3090 Ti or just use an all-in-one liquid cooler that is compatible with a particular card. That cooler will likely retain compatibility with future graphics cards like the GeForce RTX 40-series. Of course, it will not perform just as good as a custom liquid cooling solution as it does not cover memory and VRM. But maybe it will be enough to enjoy the top-of-the-range card for a few months?

Enterprise and professional-grade hardware is rarely cooled down using liquid outside of supercomputer world, but there are situations when liquid cooling makes the most sense. EKWB on Wednesday released two new water blocks aimed at professional-grade add-in-boards (AIBs): Nvidia's A100 high-performance compute (HPC) and datacenter accelerators as well as RTX A6000 workstation graphics cards. 

EKWB's EK-Pro GPU water blocks for Nvidia's A100 accelerator (powered by the A100 GPU) and RTX A6000 40GB (based on the GA102 GPU) graphics card feature a rather simplistic design comprising of CNC-machined nickel-plated electrolytic copper base with a laser-cut stainless steel top and featuring the company's proprietary Open Split-Flow design with low hydraulic flow restriction. EKWB's OSF architecture with low hydraulic flow restriction allows the use of water blocks with pumps running at low speeds or even in reversed water flow scenario and still provides sufficient cooling performance. 

The water blocks cover GPU, memory, and voltage regulating modules (VRMs) of Nvidia's A100 40GB/80GB and RTX A6000 40GB GDDR6X cards to ensure sufficient cooling under high loads and prolong lifespan of components. 

Meanwhile, since the water blocks are only one slot wide, they enable multiple A100 or RTX A6000 cards to be installed into a single chassis (assuming that PCIe slots provide enough bandwidth and the PSU can feed the boards) and never worry about their overheating. To add more sturdiness to the cards and enhance their longevity, EKWB made I/O plates a part of the stainless steel water block top.

As for compatibility, the water blocks have standard quarter inch fittings located on the backside, a placement that is optimal for installation into 4U chassis, but which is not always convenient in desktops / workstations. Still, since most of A100 and many RTX A6000 are installed into servers and are used remotely, such placement certainly makes sense. 

Being aimed at professional and server-grade hardware, EK-Pro GPU WB RTX A6000 and EK-Pro GPU WB A100 water blocks are priced accordingly and will cost €259.90/$269.99, which is slightly higher when compared to consumer-grade water blocks.

As noted by TechPowerUp, EK has released its second-generation QuantumX Delta TEC cooling water block, designed to work in conjunction with Intel's Cryo Cooling Technology. The new block is called the QuantumX Delta TEC EVO and brings improvements over the original QuantumX delta block, giving sub-ambient CPU coolers more cooling power and efficiency.

Intel's Cry Cooling Technology was released last year in an effort to bring Comet Lake-S CPUs down to sub-ambient temperatures to increase performance. These coolers use Thermoelectric technology combined with liquid cooling to achieve these low temperatures.

The new QuantumX Delta TEC EVO improves upon the previous design with a new, more powerful TEC plate, allowing for over 50W of additional cooling power. This new TEC plate is also soldered to the bottom of the water block, improving contact and heat dissipation.

The original block was rated for 300W of heat output, so this new block will give you a maximum cooling capacity of 350W, allowing CPU overclocks to be pushed a bit further than before.

Because this block is designed specifically for Intel's Cryo Cooling tech, it is only compatible with Intel 10th gen and 11th gen CPUs, although the previous model has been demonstrated on AMD silicon before.

The new block is currently available at EK's online store for $389.99. If you don't live in the United States, the block is available worldwide at a number of retailers.

EKWB today finally extended its Quantum Momentum VRM Bridge to AMD-powered ASUS Crosshair Formula VIII motherboards. Previously only available for Intel systems built around the ROG Maximus XII Formula, the EKWB VRM Bridge essentially functions as a distribution plate, connecting your EK-Quantum Velocity CPU waterblock to the ASUS Crosshair Formula VIII's built-in CrossChill EK III VRM cooler. 

Built out of a 2 mm-thick stainless steel base plate, the top cover is CNC-milled out of a single piece of high-grade cast acrylic - meaning that there are no joints or particularly sensitive stress points, guaranteeing both performance and peace of mind. The process of converting your CPU + VRM cooling to a monoblock of sorts is made easy by a patent-pending mounting system that requires users to align four push-in barb fittings. A single screw is present to fix the acrylic top cover to the base plate. According to EKWB, installation should take but a few minutes.

The Quantum Momentum VRM bridge thus simplifies watercooling setups, which no longer require dedicated hoses for the VRM section. And if you don't currently use a watercooling solution on your system's VRM, EK promises that the addition of the bridge will allow for a reduction of "up to" 29.3C in operating temperatures compared to traditional passive air cooling, thus improving its longevity and overall case temperatures. RGB capability is also present, configurable via ASUS' own AuraSync.

The EK-Quantum Momentum VRM Bridge is now available for preorder directly from EK for €92.93 ($110.30 USD after conversion), with expected delivery around mid-July.

After putting the Mirror Maze system together last fall, I needed a break from all the work that goes into a high-end custom build. Plus, I had plenty of PC cases to review. So when Singularity Computers reached asking if we were interested in checking out its Spectre III chassis, I didn’t immediately jump at the chance. But the more I thought about the case, the more I envisioned just what a system in this stunning case could look like, and the itch to build just wouldn’t go away. So I agreed to take on the case, started getting together a list of other parts I’d need and, well, here we are.

I’ve been planning ‘Blue Shift’ for the last few months, and in contrast to what we would usually do, this build doesn’t use the latest next-gen hardware. I don’t have a Ryzen 5000 CPU or an RTX 3000 GPU, and I’d rather the limited stock of those parts go to one of our readers. With everything going under waterblocks in this build anyway, does it really matter if the silicon is hiding underneath is the absolute latest and greatest?

Because this is a more fun (and far more complex) build than we typically do for case reviews, I’ll slow the pace down and look at each step in detail. I’m also leaving the full parts list till the end, because it’s last-generation hardware, and regardless, this build is all about cooling and aesthetics. So without further ado, lets dig in.

What is the Singularity Computers Spectre III?

Most cases cost about $100, stepping up to $200 if you’re shopping premium, and $300 if you’re shopping for a premium ITX case. But Singularity Computers’ Spectre III is a jaw-dropping $1400.

That’s expensive. Really expensive. But the Spectre III is also unlike most other cases out there. For one, it’s designed solely for custom liquid cooling. And instead of being a sealed box for your parts, it’s an open chassis meant to show off your hardware as attractively as possible. Featuring CNC-machined, anodized aluminum and an absolutely massive acrylic reservoir/distribution plate, this case really is unlike anything else that’s out there.

The case also comes flat packed. For details on what that looks like and how to assemble the chassis, check out our Assembling Singularity Computers’ Spectre III feature.

Theme Reveal

If you haven’t guessed already from the build’s name (Blue Shift), the central color theme for this build is going to be blue. Red is a color that I feel is overused in gaming product design. I could have chosen green, but settled on blue as a classic choice with oddly calming qualities.

Of course, I could have chosen any number of other colors, or gone with opaque or exotic cooling fluids, but out of respect for the Spectre III’s absolutely stunning, material-focused design I decided to dial the unconventional styling of the Mirror Maze build back and go for a more classic and timeless theme. Because of this, I’ll be sticking to EKWB’s Nickel-plated Torque fittings, paired with transparent blue fluid – a classic color combination that you simply cannot go wrong with.

Step 1: Preparing the CPU Block

Yep, you read that right. We have to prepare the CPU block. Not because there’s anything inherently wrong with EKWB’s Magnitude CPU block, but in service of the Blue Shift theme. So, I popped off the top of the block so that I could swap the accent plate from the pre-installed silver color, to blue.

This plate sits below the acrylic cover, which makes it perhaps a bit scary to replace as it requires not only breaking the factory-tested seal of the CPU block’s internal gasket, but also re-tightening the acrylic afterwards. Acrylic can crack easily, so I was careful not to overtighten the block’s top upon re-installation. But you shouldn’t be getting into custom watercooling with this amount of acrylic if you’re aren’t prepared to take things slow and steady.

Step 2: Motherboard Preparation

I already had the 12-Core AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB of Corsair memory, and two 1 TB Samsung SSDs installed onto the Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula motherboard, but I had two other things I still needed to do here: install the CPU block and disconnect the chipset fan.

You see, as this is an open system, I wanted it to be as quiet as possible. The chipset fan, which sadly shows up on nearly all AMD X570 motherboards, generally isn’t very loud compared to most systems, but I found that in the Mirror Maze system, it was the loudest component, and that was in a closed chassis. So naturally, I did the only sensible thing: tear the board apart so that I could disconnect it. Whether this is wise with regards to thermals remains to be seen, but I’ll be sure to touch on that again in the testing section later on.

Meanwhile, while I had the motherboard’s shroud off anyway, I also routed the EKWB Magnitude CPU block’s D-RGB cable underneath it for a tidier end result.

Step 3: Motherboard Installation

Dropping the motherboard into the Spectre III case was simple. First, I had to install the standoffs. The holes for these are pre-threaded in the acrylic, so I had no fear of having to work these in. Then, I placed the case on its back, laid the motherboard in place, and fastened it with the required screws. I also connected up the GPU riser cable.

Step 4: GPU Installation

Installation of the GPU was a breeze too. It simply slotted right into the GPU riser I had installed earlier and fastened with a spacer and two screws on the IO bracket. I already had the waterblock installed on the GPU from the last build, but if you’re curious how to go about that, check out our how to install a GPU waterblock feature using this specific card.

Step 5: Radiator Installation

I then proceeded to install the radiators. First, I installed the Noctua NF-A12 Chromax.Black.Swap fans onto them, using four black anti-vibration grommets per fan. I made sure to pay careful attention to where I wanted to route my cables: behind the radiators.

Then, I dropped the radiators into place. For the front radiator, I aligned its height to have its ports match the height of the ports on the distribution plate so that I could easily achieve clean tubing runs here later. The top radiator I simply placed in the middle, where I liked it most aesthetically, though I did have to move this later in the build to line up with ports.

Of course, at this point I also had to tidy up the cables for the fans. Luckily, the Spectre III comes with a neat little fan and RGB hub, which has D-RGB and PWM fan inputs, with outputs for six PWM fans and three D-RGB devices. I connected up all six fans here, along with the three RGB strips of the Spectre III.

Then, I shoved all the cables neatly behind the radiators, using zip ties where necessary to keep things in place and looking tidy. These zip ties can be fixed in place using the long screws the fans use to attach to the radiator.

Step 6: PSU Installation

For power, I went with the new be quiet! Dark Power 12 power supply. On-hand we have a 750W unit, which isn’t overly powerful, but it’s perfectly enough for powering our Ryzen 9 3900X and RTX 2080 Super, along with the six fans and RGB devices in our system.

Step 7: Cable Management

Because I’m planning on using an external power supply when filling time comes, I’m happy to get all the cables installed at this stage already. So, I removed the cover on the rear and got to work.

First, I test-fit the cable combs to ensure I was using the correct ones. They come with an adhesive backing, which I removed to stick them in place. Then, I proceeded to install the custom Cablemod ModFlex cables with Pro aluminum combs, which was an oddly meditative task. It was time-consuming, but with a beautiful end result.

That said, although I’m pleased with the end result, in hindsight I would get cables with more combs. For this set of Cablemod cables, I got three aluminum combs on the 24-pin ATX cable, two on the EPS cable, and five on the PCIe power cable. I’d bump those numbers up by one more just so you can chuck a comb at the bottom of the cable, after the Spectre III’s cable management system near the power supply, as it’s quite a messy view going into there, and one comb on each cable could do wonders to tidy it up without making a lot more work of it.

I also connected up the D-RGB cables of the CPU and GPU blocks using an EKWB D-RGB splitter, connecting it to the bottom D-RGB header of the motherboard. I also hooked up the power button, power LED, and water pump headers at the bottom of the motherboard. The case does not have any front IO, so there was none of that to worry about.

At this point, the system was looking great, and I decided to call it a day. Building the custom loop would have to wait for the next day. But for you, that’s just a click away to the next page.

Up until now, we’ve come quite far in the assembly of Blue Shift. The case is built, and most of the components, including the cabling, is installed into the system. But there’s one job that still remains: building the cooling loop. And in terms of time and effort, this might be the biggest job yet.

Because this gives you only a few options for routing your loop, and I was bound to the motherboard, CPU block, GPU block and radiators that I had. I only roughly planned a loop beforehand. Of course, when the time to install the fittings and check my plans came, it didn’t work out quite as nicely as I had hoped.

So, I spent about four hours placing fittings, moving them around, moving the radiators and other bits around, until I was eventually happy with the rough loop layout I had created. Luckily, I had lots of fittings to play with, with tons of extension pieces, 90-degree angled fittings, 45-degree fittings and more. Having all these extra pieces can be crucial to making a loop work, as a 7mm extension piece, for example, can make the difference between having a very easy tube run and a difficult one. If you’re doing a cooling loop, do yourself a favor and buy more fittings than you think you need – you can often return the unused pieces.

Pictured above is the layout I eventually settled on before tubing. Below I’ll take you through the details of each piece as I create and fit the bits of tubing for each spot, starting with the bend from the CPU block to the top of the VRM block. You can check out our recent feature on how to cut and bend hard tubing for details on how to do this right.

Tube Run 1: From CPU Block outlet to VRM block inlet

This is arguably the tubing run I struggled most with, and thus I decided to get it out of the way first as it required removing the CPU block. The two ports don’t line up very nicely, and no amount of extenders or angled fittings could help me, as they would over-correct or not look very nice.

The distance between the two ports was big enough that a bent tube could work, but being pointed straight at each other, I would need to get the two fittings apart far enough to get the tube in. To do this, I first measured out the offset between the two ports, bent, cut, and chamfered the bit of tube, removed the GPU for better access, then removed the CPU block, put the bit of tube in place, and resecured the lot to create the connection.

Did I say before that you need to be willing to improvise and adapt along the way?

Tube Run 2: From Radiator to Flow Indicator

This tube run was very straightforward, with just a 5cm straight piece of tubing doing the trick. To get the fittings far apart enough to get the tube in though, I did loosen up the top radiator panel to get things apart enough for tube insertion. The lining up of these two ports wasn’t super-precise, but the fittings all have a little play, so it wasn’t a problem.

Tube Run 3: From VRM block Outlet to Radiator

This run was just as easy as the previous one, and the loose radiator panel came in handy – the straight bit of tube dropped right in. Again though, it didn’t line up very precisely, and if you look closely, you can see that the tube is angled slightly towards the motherboard near the top. But the difference is minimal and within the tolerances of the fittings’ play, and I was able to move the radiator a bit to minimize the offset.

A Quick Pressure Test

At this point, I plugged off one end of the distribution panel and installed the pressure tester on the CPU block to run a leak test. The loop may not be complete, but if I were to run into issues further down the line, I could then rule this area out from being the problem spot, possibly saving valuable diagnosis and re-assembly time.

Tube Runs 4 and 5: From Distribution Panel to Front Radiator

These two runs were at simple 90-degree angles, but this is where I was slightly unprepared. I hadn’t realized that my EKWB Modulus tool was only meant for 14mm tubes, so I had to eyeball the 90-degree angles. I used a piece of paper to eyeball the angle, and after a couple of pieces of wasted tube, I eventually got the hit right and they fit right in, of course with a loose front radiator panel to get the tubes in smoothly.

That being said, I did start tearing a few O-rings at this point. Puzzled as to why, I made sure to pay extra attention to how smoothly I chamfered the ends of my tubes. And I added a little extra dish soap to my soapy water for added lubrication when pushing the tubes past the O-rings into their fittings – and I think the latter made the biggest difference. The tubes suddenly needed a lot less force to press in once I added more soap.

Tube Run 6: From GPU Inlet to CPU Inlet

Because of the GPU block’s layout, I decided to run it in a reverse-flow direction for aesthetic reasons –the loop would simply get too complicated if I tried otherwise.

Although previously I aimed to use a whole bunch of fittings to achieve this connection because of a slight offset, at this point I was feeling confident, so I spared three 90-degree angles and a whole bunch of fittings, instead attempted a 90-degree bend with roughly a 7-8mm offset sideways, so that the fitting on the CPU block could be pointed straight down instead of at a slight angle. A stack of paper just as tall as the offset was perfect for achieving the right bend.

With the GPU block loose, the bit of tube slipped right into place in one go.

Tube Run 7: From Pump Outlet to GPU

This was the last run, and boy was I happy to have reached this far. I used the same strategy to bend it as I did the last tube, but then with a book and some paper to get to the 5.5 cm height offset in addition to the 90-degree bend. And again, to my surprise, 20 minutes later I had a tube that fit perfectly in one go.

For this run, I used a 90-degree angled fitting to point the GPU’s outlet in the right direction, onto which I fixed an Alphacool in-line fluid temperature sensor. This is because it’s best to run liquid cooling loops based on the fluid temperature rather than CPU temperature. And in this position, I would measure the coolant temperature straight from the reservoir, after it’s been cooled down by the radiators.

Drain Valve Install

I also dropped a compact drain valve at the other end of the distroplate, which will be helpful later when I need to drain the system.

Final Pressure Test Before Fill

I made it, at last. After a week of building (not including assembly of the case), the system was finally done and I could throw the pressure tester on. Of course, I don’t expect a perfect result in one go, but that doesn’t change the fact that my heart sunk a little when it wasn’t holding any pressure at all.

It couldn’t be, I thought. I’ve checked all the fittings throughout assembly, at worst it could leak a little slowly, but no pressure at all? Quickly I realized that although I’d mounted the pump, I wasn’t sure how tight it was supposed to be. I tightened it up a little more, and for a split second, the needle on the pressure tester would raise again, only to drop right back to zero when releasing the pump. This told me that I was at least on the right track, but I wasn’t going to tighten the pump up further in fear of cracking the acrylic.

So, I took off the pressure tester and laid the case on its backside again. I removed the pump, pulled out the gasket, lubricated it with some of my soapy water, and re-installed it. That seemed to have done it, and after tightening up the pressure tester a little further, the loop was holding pressure properly.

Can you imagine my relief? No, you can’t. It was immeasurable. Let’s fill the system up and test it.

Before moving to the next stage though, this section makes it all look like a breeze to work through – but I’m not showing you all the failed bits of tubing. As this is only the third watercooled PC I have ever built, I wasted quite a bit of tube. In the end, I needed seven 0.5-meter lengths of tube, most of which ended up in the wastebin. So if you don’t have a ton of experience, be sure to give yourself plenty of extra to work with.

Filling

Filling the system was quite straightforward. I first got an external power supply jumped it, hooked it up to the pump, but kept it unplugged. Then, after I filled the reservoir up with fluid, I turned it on briefly until the reservoir ran empty. Then I filled up the reservoir again and turned on the pump again, cycling this until the loop was full.

Because I’d run a pressure test before filling, I wasn’t afraid of switching to my main PSU and turning the PC on, nor did I feel the need to paper towels around the system in case of leaks – this loop was solid. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared if attempting your own loop. Especially if you don’t have a second power supply and a pressure tester to make sure everything is working as expected before powering up your precious components.

Time for Some Pretty Pictures

After setting up all the RGB the way it was best (most of it off,  with just the case’s strips and motherboard effects on), and having given the system a few days to bleed most of the bubbles out, it was time for some pretty pictures.

Tuning, Testing Thrermal and Acoustic Performance

With the last-gen hardware that’s in here, I doubt you’re much interested in the benchmark performance of a system like this. The Ryzen 9 3900X and RTX 2080 Super are well established at this point. What is interesting is cooling performance – just how quietly can you run this system?

Full disclosure: I’m someone who is happy to sacrifice optimal temperatures in favor of silent operation, which also means I’m not shy of running a system at a higher Delta-T than is generally preferred. So, I spent some time tuning the fan curves until I was happy with the acoustic performance and, then tested the system.

I tested the system in four scenarios: three with the tune, and one without. With the three tuned scenarios I run the system idle, under a gaming load (using Cyberpunk 2077), and with a synthetic load consisting of Furmark & Prime95 at smallest FFT’s. The Delta-T shown is the difference between ambient and the coolant temperature, with the fan curves based off the coolant temperature for control.

Then, just to showcase how much cooling power this loop has, I ran the pump & fans at full speed to record its temperatures, noise level and achieved Delta-T while running the same brutal synthetic workload.

You’ll spot that acoustically, the system runs very, very quietly indeed--especially for an open case. It can run much louder, but with the noise floor of the room at 33.3 dBA, and a gaming noise level of just 34.9 dBA, the system is barely audible – the coil whine from the GPU, which isn’t even that loud on this sample, is louder than the cooling loop.

Of course, thermally, we could do better, but it’s important to keep in mind that there are a few factors that work against us here. The CPU isn’t delidded, nor are we using a tool like Der8auer’s OC bracket to improve CPU temperatures. I also run the pump at very low speeds, and bumping its speeds up can net almost a 5-degree improvement – at the cost of a bit more noise. And lastly, the GPU is running in a reverse-flow direction, meaning the coolant isn’t being pressed through the jet plate onto center of the GPU as it should, but flowing in from the sides of the fin array and out the inlet.

Meanwhile, above is the chart for the fan speeds resulting from the curves I set up. Yes, this system has its fans running at just 550 RPM while playing Cyberpunk 2077.

Clearly, there is plenty of cooling capacity left to add GPUs and heavy overclocks. This cooling loop is vastly over-dimensioned for the hardware that it’s cooling, but boy does that let you run it quietly.

So, Was it Safe to Disconnect the X570 Chipset Fan?

Remember that earlier on, I removed the motherboard’s shroud to disconnect the annoying little chipset fan? Well, as it turns out, I was reading out the wrong data originally to read out its temperature, so I cannot compare its temperature to how it used to run with its own fan.

I ran the system with the internal fan disconnected, and safe to say, passively cooled without much airflow provided by the liquid cooling loop, the X570 chipset ran a bit hot. A bit very hot, at up to a toasty 83 °C – and that’s under idle desktop use. That’s far too hot of course, and you bet I wasn’t going to try and run a game on top of this.

So, I placed a small black Noctua NF-A9x14 fan behind the graphics card, pointing up a bit at the shroud over the chipset, setting it up to run at a fixed speed of 1000 RPM – at this speed it wasn’t audible and provided a bit of airflow in the area, which would also help the SSDs and memory cool a bit.

The resulting chipset temperatures: 63 °C in desktop use, and about 68.5 °C in-game or under heavy loads. That’s not ideal, but perfectly acceptable and safe for long-term use. Considering the annoying whine from the old fan was now gone, I was very pleased with this result. I was also relieved that I didn’t need to tear the loop down and get the motherboard out to get the fan re-connected--that would have been a massive pain.

Conclusion

In the end, what this build shows, is that if you want a ridiculously high-end PC, and you’re not willing to drop well over 10 grand on a prebuilt, you can save plenty of money by doing the assembly yourself. It’s thrillingly fun, and while not without risk due to the sheer amount of acrylic involved, it is something that experienced and seasoned PC builders should be able to take on by themselves.

Well, maybe bring a friend for help with some parts -- just be sure to do a lot of homework to get every component detail, down to the length of the cables, planned out just right, and then put aside about a day (or four) for assembly, two if you work fast. But you won’t want to, because it’s far too enjoyable a job to just get over with, and you don’t want to rush and break something, or have to do major disassembly far down the line once you realize an early mistake.

That being said, don’t take that as an indication that I’m telling you to go out and buy the Singularity Computers Spectre III. It’s a brilliant chassis, and if you have the money, $1,400 is weirdly worth it for this case if you like its looks and want to build a custom cooling rig. But it’s still a lot of money – paired with a full custom loop, you’re easily looking at spending near $2500 - $3000 on just the case and cooling components if you take taxes into account – heck most of us build PCs for well less than that. Or at least we did back when you could buy GPUs without a scalper or a Shuffle involved.

But if you’re a liquid cooling enthusiast, you have the money to spare and want something like this, I can recommend the Singularity Computers Spectre III chassis, especially if you were considering a fully tricked-out pre-built system from the likes of Maingear or another high-end system builder. Just make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, give yourself plenty of time – and unless you’re very experienced, don’t forget to pick up some extra tubing for all those failed bends.

System Parts

Watercooling Parts

Cables

Sum Total of all Parts: $4,711.50 + GPU

EKWB has officially announced all-new "Active Backplates" for the reference designed RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 graphics cards (not the Founders Edition). This new backplate features an actively liquid-cooled water block to cool all the PCB hotspots found at the rear of Nvidia's top-tier Ampere GPUs. Additionally, for the RTX 3090, some of your rear GDDR6X memory modules will be actively cooled by the EKWB backplate.

To keep cable management in check, EKWB designed the backplate to operate with EKWB's regular RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 waterblocks, so you don't need to install extra runs of tubing just for the active backplate itself.

The backplate comes with a custom terminal that replaces one of the terminals on your main waterblock (that cools the GPU). By doing this, the backplate is directly connected to your primary waterblock, turning both waterblocks into a single unit.

The backplate itself is made from CNC-machined nickel-plated electrolytic copper and features a six-channel fin array for improved water flow.

Hopefully, we'll get one of these backplates to test for ourselves in the future; it seems there isn't much benefit in going with a liquid-cooled backplate for the RTX 3080. But the backplate makes a lot more sense for the RTX 3090, as GDDR6X can generally get pretty hot — especially if you plan on mining Ethereum.

In either case, you will be able to order these water blocks early next month, or you can also pre-order one right now at the EK Shop. The Acetal variant can be purchased for $144.99 and features an all-black aesthetic. Or, for $149.99, you can grab the Plexi model with a see-through design.

PowerColor has lifted the curtains on the brand's Liquid Devil Radeon RX 6900 XT and RX 6800 XT. The new graphics cards arrive with a full-cover EKWB designed waterblock and are ready to be integrated into your custom watercooling system.

The Liquid Devil Radeon RX 6900 XT and RX 6800 XT jump out of the same mold. Both offerings measure 266 x 162 x 42mm while only requiring two slots from your case. PowerColor has outfitted the RDNA 2 graphics cards with a 14+2-phase power delivery subsystem to unleash Big Navi's full potential without any compromises. 

Both of the cards come with 16GB GDDR6 of memory but their clock speeds differ, with the RX 6900 XT offering a 2,135 MHz game clock, and 2,365 MHz boost and the 6800 XT coming in at a slightly slower 2,110 MHz and 2,360 MHz respectively. Powercolor has also implemented high polymer capacitors into the card that can deal with over 400W of power. Naturally, the EKWB waterblock plays an important role in cooling the graphics cards.

The waterblock features a nickel-plated copper baseplate that effectively transfers the heat away from the GPU. It features a full-cover design that covers all the important components inside the graphics card, such as the GPU, memory and PWM. The waterblock is partially made from acrylic so it also offers some RGB flair. A matching aluminum backplate rounds out the design.

The perks of putting a graphics card under liquid cooling include performance and silence. In regards to performance, Liquid Devil models are up to 6% and 5% faster than AMD's reference specification.

Since not everyone wants to go all out on performance, PowerColor added a handy switch on the graphics card to switch between the vBIOS profiles. Both the Liquid Devil Radeon RX 6900 XT and RX 6800 XT come with two operational modes: Unleash for the utmost performance and OC for stable overclocked performance.

The graphics cards require three 8-pin PCIe power connectors to function correctly. PowerColor recommends a power supply that has a minimum capacity of 900W to feed these monsters. As for display outputs, both offer one HDMI 2.1 port and two DisplayPort 1.4 outputs and the USB Type-C port.

The Liquid Devil Radeon RX 6900 XT and RX 6800 XT will be available starting March 15, but PowerColor didn't reveal their pricing.

If you're a watercooling enthusiast eyeing Intel's upcoming Rocket Lake processors, you may be interested in the child prodigy that resulted from a collaboration between MSI and EK Waterblocks. It's called the MSI Z590 Carbon EK X, and it's a high-end motherboard that comes with a CPU and VRM waterblock from the factory styled to match and for a pretty modest price tag. At least for those looking to liquid cooling, this board could be a strong contender for our best motherboards page.

Of course, $499 isn't nothing -- that's still a ton of money for a motherboard, but if you consider that at the very high-end, some motherboards with waterblocks can easily command price tags well north of $1200, this may not be such a bad deal. It's the same recipe that the companies used for their Z490 series board, and apparently, it was a big enough success to go for round two. 

More IO Than You'll Know What To Do With

The motherboard itself features a classic high-end MSI design with wildly over-specced VRM circuitry with a 16+1+1 Duet Rail power design around the LGA1200 socket. Four DDR4 memory slots are present, a multitude of expansion slots, two M.2 slots, PCIe 4.0 support, and, of course, tons of RGB.

Even the rear IO connectivity is to die for with more USB ports than you'll know what to do with (including 20 Gb/s USB 3.2 Gen2x2), 2.5 Gbe Ethernet, high-end 8-channel audio, and WiFi 6E. The rear IO shield comes pre-installed on the board for better shielding and installation convenience. 

Topped with a Proper EKWB Waterblock

Meanwhile, the EKWB waterblock will take care of cooling, not just the CPU, but also that lavish VRM circuitry around the CPU. It comes with a milled copper block that has been nickel-plated for corrosion protection, sealed with an acrylic top. This acrylic will help the D-RGB effects shine through well, and it'll let you see the water channeling over the CPU and through the block. It even comes with a flow indicator built-in -- so you'll know: if it stops, you need to look at your pump real fast.

The board also comes with EKWB's leak tester and a coupon for $65 worth of credit in EKWB's webshop to get you started on the custom loop you'll need to complete the kit -- which, of course, is required to use this motherboard.

EKWB is taking pre-orders through its webshop starting February 22nd, with delivery in March -- and yes, we have a review of the board coming soon. 

Lian Li's O11D Mini came out at the end of last year (our review here), and thanks to its incredibly modular internals, it's honestly one of the most fun cases 2020 had to offer. Now, EKWB already has a distribution plate ready for it, and call me weird, but I find it quite exciting. 

Being a chassis with lots of glass to look into it, a distribution plate at the front of it is the perfect foundation for watercooled systems with hard acrylic tubing. The distribution plate has inlets and outlets in all the right places to line up with most hardware combinations, meaning you should be able to get away with just a single bend per stretch of tubing.

And that's key to a successful liquid build. I built a system in PCMR 'Special Edition' O11D, also with an EKWB Quantum-Reflection distribution plate, and it really made it a breeze to get my tubing runs to look good. Don't get me wrong, it was still a two-person all-day job as a first-timer to hardline tubing, but the end result looked proper without much waste, failed bends, or hair-pulling fear of leaks.

O11D Mini + EKWB Distro Plate = Magic

Having come to the conclusion that the O11D Mini and an EKWB distribution plate ought to be a magical combination, let's get into a few of the details. 

The plate itself is made primarily out of acrylic, and a D5 PWM pump is used to generate flow. This is a massive-power 23-watt pump that can push through even the toughest, most complicated of loops, and chances are you'll never actually need to address its full power. I appreciate that this distro plate doesn't have a metal cover to hide the pump from the front of the case, allowing you to see it do its work in its fullest glory.

D-RGB is included in the form of a light strip on one side, which illuminates the entire distro plate and can react nicely with pastel fluids. 

Pricing isn't cheap though at $350 for this unit. That said, a D5 pump-res combo unit will also easily cost you about $200, and in all fairness, I reckon the added $150 is worth the convenience in port placement for easier tubing runs if you're already going down the custom liquid route anyway -- and of course the looks. The catch is that it will only fit the O11D Mini, so you'll have to be sure about your decision before committing to the build.

EKWB is currently taking pre-orders with shipping slated for early March.

Gigabyte presented nine Intel Z590-based Aorus-branded motherboards at CES earlier this month, but didn't actually showcase perhaps the most ambitious model in the lineup: The Z590 Aorus Tachyon, which can deliver up to an almost-ridiculous 1300A of power to Intel's upcoming Rocket Lake chips. For reference, most flagship motherboards top out around 1000A. 

If you're looking for the ultimate in overclocking performance, it all starts with power delivery, and the Tachyon comes well-equipped for the task – just be sure to bring either extreme cooling, like LN2, or one of the new sub-ambient coolers, like the EKWB QuantumX Delta TEC or Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360 Sub-Zero.

Tachyon is a hypothetical particle that travels faster than light. As the motherboard's name suggests, the platform is aimed at the most extreme overclockers and has several features designed for professional overclockers. 

The motherboard features a 10+2+1-phase (Vcore+GT+VCCSA) digital voltage regulating module based on the Renesas ISL69269 PWM controller with phases rated for up to 100 Amperes each, according to ChipHell. But as photos of the board published by Overclocking.com indicate, a VRM that can deliver up to 1300A to Intel's 11th Generation Core 'Rocket Lake-S' CPU is certainly just one of the features meant to maximize overclocking potential of the Z590 Aorus Tachyon.

The Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Tachyon comes in the E-ATX form-factor that allowed the manufacturer to ensure the best possible routing with thick traces, enough space between traces, smooth angles, and other aspects to ensure signal integrity and clean power. As a bonus (in this case), the large form-factor allowed Gigabyte to install overclock-specific elements onto the motherboard (e.g., a range of manual hardware overclocking buttons).  

The Z590 Aorus Tachyon motherboard has only two slots for DDR4 memory, which was done to maximize DRAM overclocking potential by simplifying signaling topology and delivering cleaner power to memory modules. Of course, two memory slots limit the motherboard's maximum memory capacity to 64GB, but this is a fair tradeoff if you're looking to do some heavy memory overclocking.

Like most platforms for overclockers, Gigabyte's Tachyon features two BIOS ICs: one for overclocking experiments and another for regular usage. But in the case of the Z590 Aorus Tachyon, some BIOS settings can be controlled manually using six switches. One knob can switch between BIOSes, and another two switches are assigned for LN2 operation, but it is unclear what the rest three do. Additionally, the Z590 Aorus Tachyon motherboard has hardware A/B and +/- buttons to alter the CPU multiplier and control BCLK. 

The platform also has a traditional debug LED able to display a two-symbol code. For more precise control of overvoltages, there is an onboard voltage measurement module to conveniently probe voltages with a multimeter. 

Other notable features important for enthusiasts include four PCIe x16 slots, pre-installed radiators for M.2 SSDs, Gigabyte's proprietary 'Solid Pin' ATX power connector, and two EPS power connectors. 

Gigabyte classifies its Z590 Aorus Tachyon as a successor of its rather legendary SOC (SuperOverClocking) series motherboards from the mid-2010s.

Gigabyte doesn't list its Z590 Aorus Tachyon motherboard on its website among other Intel Z590-powered platforms yet, which may indicate that either the company has not finalized the feature set and design of the product, or it just doesn't want to share them before the board hits store shelves. Anyhow, right now, we have no idea when the Z590 Aorus Tachyon is set to be available and how much Gigabyte plans to charge for it.

Back in November last year, EKWB finally revealed its special edition waterblocks for the Founder's Edition RTX 3080, but the RTX 3090 wasn't getting such love, at least not at that time. Now, EKWB caved and revealed the Special Edition waterblock for the FE RTX 3090, and boy is it magnificent. 

The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3090 is only compatible with Nvidia's Founders Edtion RTX 3090 card. This is because it's designed to accommodate the triangular 'bite' that's taken out of the PCB where the fan blows through, re-using the space to move the G/14" threads for fittings to the back of the card instead of on the side, as more commonly seen on GPU waterblocks.

The cold plate of the waterblock is milled from a block of copper, which is then nickel-plated to protect it against corrosion. An acrylic top ensures you can still see inside the block for your color fluid and RGB, and this construction is then encased in an aluminum shroud. 

Of course, you can't mix metals in open cooling loops, so EKWB carefully engineered the shroud so that it doesn't come in contact with the fluid.

The shroud is then anodized in either black or gray, and the backplate in opposing color. D-RGB lighting is also included, and EKWB even goes as far as adding a replacement IO bracket that only occupies a single slot.

End result? A waterblock that's truly worthy of the Founder's Edition RTX 3090. 

Pricing isn't cheap at $340, but if you've already managed to get your hands on an RTX 3090 and have a custom loop ready for it, I suppose it's not a totally outlandish price to pay to cool the Best Graphics Card with the premiumest waterblock of all. You'll find the black waterblock here, or the gray variant here.

EKWB might be known for its high-end custom watercooling loop parts, but not long ago, the company figured that the AIO market might be suited to them too. It started with the EK-AIO D-RGB, then followed the EK-AIO Elite. Now, the company is following suit with the EK-AIO Basic, bringing Slovenian watercooling to systems designed on smaller budgets. 

At launch, these AIOs are only coming in 240mm and 360mm variants, either with two or three all-black 120mm fans. These fans spin at speeds between 550 and 2200 RPM, which is a decent range with a lavish top end you'll likely rarely need to address. Noise per fan is rated at 33.5 dBA at full speed when they'll produce 2.89mm of static pressure and 77CFM of flow if unimpeded.

Being budget-oriented AIOs, the radiators are made of aluminum and only the cold plate is made of copper for better thermal performance. This is mixed metal, but it's a recipe used in almost all other AIOs on the market, and with the right corrosion inhibitor in the fluid, proven not to be an issue in closed loops.

The pump, meanwhile, is rated to spin at 850 to 2600 RPM, so you can lower its speed when the CPU isn't under load. 

No RGB is present on this unit, but despite being the most budget-oriented option with pricing to match, the pump cover looks as classy as the more premium units and will look good in many systems. At least to me, this looks like a clean, minimalist AIO that doesn't shout 'budget' with its looks, and that's a good thing!

Pricing is set at $90 for the EK-AIO Basic 240 and $120 for the 360mm variant, and both are available for order directly from EKWB immediately.

Mounting your GPU vertically is the latest trend in PC building, but the implementations are often a little lacklustre -- either too close to the glass panel, too saggy, or not compatible with many cases. EKWB's latest vertical mount aims to fix these issues.

The bracket is called the 'EK-Loop Vertical GPU Holder - Shifted' and the GPU is shifted further inwards to the system for better cooling performance of air-cooled graphics cards. However, 'shifted', in this instance, means that the GPU is shifted inwards slightly towards the front of the case, making the bracket compatible with closed-back expansion slot cases.

But of course, EKWB is a watercooling company, so their primary interest is in that department. As such, the bracket bolts into the top of the motherboard standoffs, giving it plenty of structural rigidity to avoid a sagging GPU -- an important feature with vertical mounts for EKWB, as unstable GPUs can lead to issues with the tubing and fittings during transport. 

EKWB says this bracket makes systems safe to transport with all the tubing and fitting bits installed, and while we will take their word on that, if you can drain systems with custom loops for long journeys, we always recommend you do and refill it at the destination.

However, in all the things this vertical mount bracket does right, there's one thing it doesn't do: PCIe 4.0 -- this bracket is only rated up to the PCIe 3.0 standard.

The bracket comes with all the mounting screws you need and an angled DisplayPort 1.4 cable.

Pricing is set at $75 with immediate availability. This makes it about $20 to $30 more expensive than many other brackets on the market, but given its strengths, we'd say it's not a crazy premium for a proper vertical GPU mount implementation.

Just last week Intel revealed its Cryo Cooling Technology with EKWB, which takes thermo-electric heat transfer tech and turns it into a real-world product. Shortly after Cooler Master followed suit with an AIO-type solution, but thus far, the products have only had support for Intel sockets. This hasn't changed, but many of us were wondering what would happen if you installed this tech onto an AMD chip. So, you can guess who found his call to action: the one and only Der8auer. He tested the cooler on AMD's latest and greatest, the 16-core Ryzen 9 5950X.

Of course, installing the EKWB EK-QuantumX Delta TEC onto the AMD chip wasn't quite straight forward for two reasons: socket compatibility and software control. Der8auer gathered some bits and pieces from other coolers in an attempt to improvise a mounting mechanism that adapts the AM4 AMD socket to accommodate the Intel-socketed cooler, which for the most part resulted in a relatively neat fitment.

Then, because the Intel control software won't run on the AMD system, der8auer set up a second rig using an Intel 10900K-based system to control the software of the Intel Cryo cooling tech.

Software control is required for this device for a couple of reasons, but mainly to ensure condensation doesn't become a problem. When the system is idle, the TEC unit isn't fed as much power, but when the CPU is running at full blast, the software tells the TEC unit to cool as hard as it can in an attempt to keep the chip at sub-ambient temperatures. Fortunately, the unit has an 'unregulated mode' that allows it to override all the safeties.

5950X Cooled by Intel, Overclocking Results

Under single-core loads, with the TEC unit disabled the 5950X saw CCD temperatures of up to 90 °C under single-core Cinebench R15 loads. Enable the TEC, and thermals dropped to about 50 °C.

In-game, the 5950X pulled speeds of up to 5.050 Ghz for single-cores on its automatic boost profile, with the entire chip often boosting to 4.8 - 4.9 GHz on all cores at once (with variances between the CCDs). 

Unregulated, with no load the TEC unit dropped the chip's thermals to as low as 2 °C. Without a load, Der8auer was able to push the chip to a staggering 5323 MHz on all cores, when the system promtly crashed.

For comparison, Der8auer used the Cryo Cooler to push the i9-10900K to 5.8 GHz for validation and about 5.6 GHz for single-threaded Cinebench workloads, which are higher clocks. But, that chip has six fewer cores and lower IPC compared to AMD's chip, so the Ryzen 9 5950X is for all intents and purposes faster than the Intel chip, also when using Intel cooling tech.

Just yesterday news broke that Intel was working on new thermo-electric cooling (TEC)  solutions to increase performance of its high-TDP chips, with the first contender to bring a product to market being EKWB with its EK-QuantumX Delta TEC. Now, Cooler Master is also joining the fray with a slightly more modest TEC-solution, calling it the MasterLiquid ML360 Sub-Zero.

The MasterLiquid ML360 Sub-Zero comes in the form of an all-in-one liquid cooler, and the CPU block uses the same thermo-electric technology to generate a temperature difference on two sides of its TEC unit, essentially pumping heat into the fluid using Intel Cryo Technology.

The benefit of this is that the cold plate can reach sub-ambient temperatures, and thus you can run the CPU at higher clocks and get more performance out of it. If you don't want to go the rather impractical LN2 route, this kind of product offers a more real-world application.

But, when you go sub-zero, condensation forms, which is why Cooler Master's unit also uses Intel's combination of software and hardware to manage the condensation problem: the cooler itself has a condensation barrier to ensure the little condensation that does form doesn't leave the CPU socket area, and software ensures that the TEC-unit only cools the chip down to a certain temperature. This means that when your system is idling, it will consume less power, cool less, and ensure the chip doesn't get so cold that condensation becomes a problem. Humidity sensors are also present to manage this issue further.

Of course, the TEC unit does consume quite a bit of power. Whereas EKWB's thermo-electric waterblock is rated to consume up to 200W, Cooler Master's MasterLiquid ML360 Sub-Zero has the same rated power for the entire device, which takes into account the fan and pump power consumption too. Of course, all that heat has to be dissipated too, so you can expect the three fans on the 360mm radiator to have to work hard to get the job done -- this isn't a cooling solution for those seeking peaceful silence.

The Coolermaster MasterLiquid ML360 Sub-Zero AIO is only set to be compatible with Intel 10th-Gen and 11th-Gen Rocket Lake CPUs (Alas, Alder lake following later will have a different socket shape). AMD's chips aren't supported, but then again, AMD chips don't run hot enough to warrant this kind of cooling solution.

Expect pricing around the $350 mark with availability from November -- but if you intend on buying this, also factor in the effect on your power bill: the peak 200W consumption of the cooler, paired with Intel's chips that already happily churn through 250W before overclocking is bound to put a dent in your power bill. 

EKWB has joined forces with Intel to produce the new EK-QuantumX Delta TEC, a thermoelectric waterblock that's tailored towards the chipmaker's 10th Generation Comet Lake-S processors.

The EK-QuantumX Delta TEC leverages EKWB's own EK Quantum cooling engine and Intel's Cryo Cooling Technology. It would appear that the latter is a complete sub-ambient cooling package that includes hardware, software and firmware. For now, that's all we know, but we're reached out to Intel for more information on its Cryo Cooling Technology.

The EK-QuantumX Delta TEC is essentially comprised of two pieces. You have the waterblock itself and then there's the TEC controller. The waterblock features an all-metal design and standard G1/4 threads. The CNC-machined electrolytic copper cold plates exhibits a large surface with 51 cooling fins to transfer the heat away from the processor.

Condensation is one of the challenges of sub-ambient cooling. To prevent this phenomenon from happening, EKWB incorporated a compact insulation shroud that separates the cool surfaces from the other environmental factors inside the system. Intel's Cryo Cooling Technology constantly monitors and adapts to the temperatures to reduce the possibility of condensation from happening.

The EK-QuantumX Delta TEC draws power from a conventional 8-pin PCIe power connector. Thermoelectric cooling is notorious for its power inefficiency though. While the EK-QuantumX Delta TEC can cool up to 300W of heat, it does consume up to 200W to do its job. 

Understandably, the EK-QuantumX Delta TEC is product of a collaboration with Intel so it's only compatible with the LGA1200 socket. Its cooling capacity is more than enough for Comet Lake-S. The Core i9-10900K, which is the most power hungry Comet Lake-S chip, has a PL2 (Power Level 2) rating of 250W. Therefore, the EK-QuantumX Delta TEC is likely gearing up for Intel's forthcoming Rocket Lake processors.

EKWB has already put the EK-QuantumX Delta TEC up for preorder at its online store for $359.99. The watercooling specialist expects to start shipping out orders in early December.

As spotted by hardwareluxx.de, EKWB could be building a prototype CPU waterblock that uses an electrothermal transducer, assisted with water, to cool a CPU. LinusTechTips gave a sneak peek at this "prototype EKWB" CPU cooler in one of its latest videos. There was no explanation of exactly what it was, but they were able to hit 0 degrees Celcius on a 10900K at idle and 50C under load without the need for LN2, suggesting some sort of electrothermal technology was being used.

Thermoelectric cooling relies on the Peltier effect, which allows electricity to transfer the heat (energy) from one source to another. The discovery was made in 1834 by a physicist named Jean Charles Athanase Peltier. If used effectively, this could be applied to cool CPUs or anything that requires cooling in general. The interesting thing about this technology is the fact it uses current, not air for cooling, meaning sub-ambient temperatures are totally possible (as shown by LinusTechTips with the 0C idle temps).

However, as harewareluxx points out, many manufacturers have already tried this.  The problem with this technology stems from a large amount of waste heat the cooler builds up -- as well as condensation. So it'll be interesting to see whether EKWB can solve these problems if they plan to launch this prototype CPU water block to the masses.

At the start of the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 launch, EKWB teased that it had waterblocks for the Founder's Edition cards.  At the time, few details were available, and while EKWB did also confirm that the Founder's Edition card was not identical to the reference PCB design for AIB partners in revealing the blocks for the non-FE cards, buyers of Nvidia's Founder's Edition cards were still left wondering how to watercool their oddly-shaped PCBs. Now, the wait is over.

If you're looking for the prettiest waterblock of all, you may just have found it. EKWB's waterblocks for the Founder's Edition RTX 3080, called the EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 D-RGB, feature a very unusual design and go over-the-top in every detail. 

Because the FE boards have a triangular bite taken out of the rear to make space for the cooling fan, EKWB has taken the liberty to move the G1/4" threads over to the rear -- which is unlike any GPU waterblock I've ever seen.

One of the attributes of the FE cards is that none of the PCB is visible from outside the card, other than the PCI-Express slot, of course. Whereas normally a backplate is a separate part you have to purchase, EKWB's waterblock takes a cue out of Nvidia's book, and from the factory, the EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 comes with a backplate, thereby covering the entire PCB.

Going the full mile on... everything

Being a flagship part, EKWB went the extra mile on manufacturing quality too. The external casing around the acrylic top is made from anodized aluminum for a finer-looking finish, arriving in black and silver options with contrasting backplates. 

But, Aluminum must not come in contact with the water or you'll get serious corrosion issues, so EKWB ensured that it doesn't. The cold plate itself is made from nickel-plated copper, as parts should be in a custom loop.

To complete the package, addressable D-RGB lighting is also included, and EKWB even ships the waterblock complete with a replacement IO shield, because who wants to see that ugly, dual-slot IO shield on a beautiful, thin, watercooled graphics card?

However, all this painstaking attention to detail isn't cheap. The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 D-RGB comes in at a price tag of $280, which is a steep incline over the non-FE waterblocks that come in at about half the price. But pair this with a vertical GPU mount, and you'll certainly have something special to look at. 

Asus has banded together with EKWB to release custom GeForce RTX 30-series (Ampere) graphics cards that would leverage the latter's waterblocks. The new graphics cards are ready to be integrated into custom liquid cooling systems right out of the box.

There is no denying that Ampere is a hot beast. With the GeForce RTX 3090 rated with a mind-blowing 350W TDP (thermal design power) and the GeForce RTX 3080 for 320W, many custom models resort to thick coolers that can take up to almost three PCI slots. The Asus-EKWB connection will bring single-slot Ampere offerings to the market. The only catch is that they are tailored towards enthusiasts who are planning to put Ampere underwater. A pre-installed waterblock saves consumers the hassle of going through swapping the factory cooler with the waterblock. 

The Asus EKWB GeForce RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and RTX 3070 come equipped with a full-cover waterblock that cools the GPU, memory, and VRM. The waterblock adheres to EKWB's Classic design and features Asus branding. There's addressable D-RGB Aura Sync lighting that adds some bling to the graphics card. The base is fabricated with CNC-machined electrolytic copper that boasts a nickel-plated finish, while the top is made of acrylic.

Asu EKWB GeForce RTX 30 Series Specifications

Inside the waterblock, you'll find EKWB's Open Split-Flow cooling engine. According to EKWB, the design flaunts a low hydraulic flow restriction. It allows for top cooling performance even if the graphics card joins a cooling system that has a weak water pump or if the pump is operating at really low speeds.

As usual, Asus produces the trio of graphics cards with the company's proprietary Auto-Extreme technology, which is basically a 100% automated production process. Furthermore, the graphics cards sport an aluminum backplate to provide extra rigidity to the PCB. The single-slot mounting bracket is manufactured with 304 stainless steel to prevent corrosion.

For the time being, Asus is keeping the specifications a secret. Nonetheless, the renders show the Asus EKWB GeForce RTX 3090 and RTX 3080 with a pair of 8-pin PCIe power connectors, while the Asus EKWB GeForce RTX 3070 appears to depend on the 12-pin PCIe power connector. Regardless of the model, though, the display output layout is the same. You get one HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

The Asus EKWB GeForce RTX 3090 and RTX 3080 will be available in mid-November, while the Asus EKWB GeForce RTX 3070 will land at the end of the month. However, Asus didn't reveal the pricing.

AMD just announced its new RX 6000 graphics cards, just after it revealed the new Ryzen 5000 CPUs only three weeks ago. It is safe to say that we're very excited about them. Of course, many of you are planning builds with these parts, and if you're in the extreme high-end segment, possibly tempted to look at custom watercooling. In a tweet from EK Water Blocks it appears that AMD and EKWB are collaborating to bring you some special edition parts, designed, themed, and built specifically for these new AMD chips.

At this time, not a lot of information is available about these, but that's okay. EKWB shared two pictures: one of a GPU waterblock with big and bold Radeon branding on it, along with an image of a CPU waterblock branded with Ryzen. Of course, the lighting is red, making these parts perfect for an all-AMD, AMD-themed watercooling build.

But that's not all. AMD's Frank Azor also revealed a slide showcasing these two parts, next to an array of other watercooling parts including AMD-themed EK-Vardar fans and an EKWB-themed reservoir. 

No word on when EKWB will be releasing these parts or which graphics cards will be compatible, but historically, the company always ensured that it had waterblocks available as soon as you could get your hands on the GPUs, as it did with Nvidia.

Custom water cooling is, and always will be something reserved for the wealthy few that can afford it. Or will it? As spotted by techPowerUp, Corsair just launched a new CPU block for just $60, called the Hydro XC5 RGB, making this one of the more affordable waterblocks you can buy. 

The Hydro X Series XC5 features a cold plate that's milled from copper with a high-density fin array on the inside to aid heat transfer from the copper into the water. It comes with pre-applied thermal grease, along with a nylon top that should be cheaper to make and less prone to cracking than the acrylic in the XC7 and XC9 blocks (Acrylic is pretty, but difficult to work with).

Despite its $60 price point, the XC5 does still pack addressable-RGB lighting with 16 LEDs. But, those 16 are grouped in pairs, giving you a total of 8 RGB zones you can control -- less than the flagship blocks, saving a little bit of money in the controller. 

Corsair listed the blocks in an Intel variant for use on LGA1200 sockets, along with an AMD flavor for use on AM4 sockets.

To date, Corsair hasn't been very vocal about its custom watercooling components, seemingly inching into the market to test the waters over the course of the last few years while it builds a name for itself in the space.

Of course, we welcome competitors to this market -- especially when they compete this aggressively on price as although its practical uses are limited, custom water cooling is an extremely fun and rewarding way to cool your PC. The catch with Corsair's stuff appears to be less premium materials compared to the makes of EKWB and Bitspower, but as long as it's all good enough to be water-tight by the time a build is finished, none of that really matters. 

If you're into Anime, there's a good chance you know about the Gundam series as it's a hugely popular series that has been running for a long, long time, with a handful of spinoffs, video games, and movies. Now, it looks like Asus is working on a series of PC parts geared at fans of the franchise, for when you just can't get enough. 

The initiative was spotted by @9550pro on Twitter, and Videocardz got the scoop on the Maximus XII Extreme Gundam motherboard along with the Asus GTX Gundam graphics card.

Of course, the star of the show here is the motherboard. Based on the Maximus XII Extreme design, it features an LGA1150 socket wired to a Z490 chipset, making it good for CPUs up to the Core i9-10900K.  The motherboard comes with a huge, custom EKWB waterblock that covers the CPU and VRM circuitry -- which won't come cheap. 

When it comes to the graphics card, the GTX Gundam card appears to be a GTX 1660 Ti model, as noted by Videocardz based on its similarities to the GTX 1660 Ti TUF X3. You would expect that next to the lavish motherboard, Asus would at least drop an RTX graphics card -- but alas, buyers will have to make do with a GTX model.

The image from @9550pro also shows a handful of other products, including a more mainstream class motherboard, power supply, AIO, and even monitors and cases -- so you can go all-out on your Gundam-styled build if you were so inclined -- and find a way to purchase these items.

On that topic, it's difficult to say what availability will be like in the US -- if at all. It's likely that this is a release that's only slated to land in Japan, so you might need to hit up your friends from abroad if you want to get a hold of these.

Whether you like it or not, the popularity of addressable RGB is on the rise. But, despite it being 2020, one thing that the hardware vendors can't seem to get right is the darn connector. It's just 3 or 4 pins plugging into a socket, with nothing securing them but the pressure on the pins -- and they come loose. A lot. 

Fortunately, EKWB has come up with a solution for this: a velcro strap with cutouts. They're called the EK-Loop CMS. 

I wish I could say I'm kidding, but I'm not. All these straps do are tie the connectors together to ensure they stay connected. That's not only good for when your rig is in-transit, but also for stationary systems, because the loose-connector problem really is that hopeless. 

Don't believe me? The Mirror Maze system I built a while back has a bucketload of RGB in it, and I reckon I had to re-open the rear panel at least half a dozen times to re-connect RGB connectors that came loose -- just from closing the system -- before all the lights actually stayed on (and.... they still come loose from time to time).

So until a better connector comes around, EKWB's EK-Loop CMS straps will have to do the job. Fortunately, they don't cost much at just $4.99 for a pack of six. 

But honestly, the fact that there is a need for a product like this is absurd.

EK wants dibs in the vertical GPU market with a new patent-pending design that is unlike anything you can buy today. The bracket is designed to work with liquid-cooled cards and traditional air-cooled GPUs and rotates the cards 90 degrees using a specially crafted frame which mounts to the motherboard. (Via ekwb)

The vertical GPU mounts primary features focus on structural rigidity and sag-prevention featuring 1.5mm thick black-coated steel and additional motherboard mounting points to ensure you don't encounter any horizontal sagging. The unit is designed to fit inside ATX chassis and designed to mount onto ATX motherboard mounting points. This is a really good design, especially for beefy graphics cards like the RTX 3080 Founders Edition and RTX 3090 Founders Edition which are the heaviest graphics cards we've ever seen.

The mount requires 6 open PCI-E expansion slots. The graphics card's I/O shield needs to be one or two slots in width, but the GPU cooler can be much thicker and it won't interfere with compatibility. So cards like the (almost 4-slot) AORUS RTX 3090 Master should fit without a problem (as long as your chassis can support the width). The bracket also includes a 200mm long PCI-E Gen 3.0 riser cable.

But don't worry, if your case doesn't meet the open PCI-E slot requirement, EK will be making another vertical GPU mount that is partially recessed into the case, the mount will include a 1.8m DisplayPort cable with an angled design which allows display cables to pass through the rear PCI-E slots in your chassis.

You can order yours for $76 at EK's online shop right now.

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards are notoriously known for their rather extreme dimensions. Still, we also know that even though the new Ampere boards use a short PCB, they are large because of their cooling systems. To take advantage of the diminutive PCB and make your 3090 more compact, you'll need to swap the cooler for something smaller. EK Water Blocks seems to have a solution. 

EKWB published the first picture of its upcoming waterblock for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards on its Twitter account on Friday. The image is mostly a teaser, but it also gives us a basic idea about what to expect from the product.

Since the PCB design used for the GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition is rather short (i.e., it is shorter when compared to previous-gen flagship graphics cards), using a custom-built liquid cooling solution can easily make the cards shorter, too. Meanwhile, it is unclear from the photos whether EKWB’s upcoming waterblock for Ampere Founders Edition cards still features a single-slot design, or is somewhat thicker.  

Because both upcoming Founders Edition cards use Nvidia’s new 12-pin auxiliary PCIe power connector that is located in a rather unusual place, EKWB had to move water fittings to the back of the waterblock. The fittings are nickel plated and look very elegant. 

It is noteworthy that EKWB’s waterblock has a black cover that mimics the shape of the PCB above its transparent acrylic surface. We don't know if this cover has certain functionality or serves decorative purposes only, but it certainly adds to the style of the product. 

EK Water Blocks is not the only one company working on a waterblock for Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards. Bykski recently announced its own waterblock for these cards. This part will be priced at €140 for European customers.

With the launch of the Nvidia Founder's Edition RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 cards, one of the concerns is availability of waterblocks for these cards. Nvidia is launching two board designs, one Founders Edition and one ‘Reference’ board that features a more traditional board shape. Watercooling company EKWB is making waterblocks for the latter version, but thus far there has been no sign for a block for the Founder's Edition cards. Until now. 

Manufacturer Bykski has outed a waterblock for the FE cards, as listed at ezmodding.com. This waterblock covers the memory, VRM circuitry, and GPU, and accommodates the V-shaped cutout. 

Of course, the question you really have to ask yourself is why you would want to bother watercooling a Founder's Edition card. The unusual design is there to accommodate the flow-through cooler, and it would be a shame to pay the Nvidia premium for this card if you could simply opt for a more regular-design card from one of Nvidia's AIBs and ditch a cheaper cooler. 

If you do though, Bykski's waterblock does look the part. The variant with the nickel-plated copper base and an acrylic top is currently sold out, and there is no other version for the FE cards yet. Pricing is set at €140 for European customers. It's unclear whether this block specifically will make it to the US, but I'm sure there will be a US option in due time.

EK Water Blocks has long promised that it would be shipping water blocks for the RTX 30xx series GPUs upon launch, so it's not a total surprise to see the Slovenian watercooling manufacturer list those products. However, what is surprising is what the listings tell us: the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 share the same board design.

Of course, before you shout at me that this isn't possible because the RTX 3090 is a triple-slot behemoth with a wide board, and the RTX 3080 isn't, EKWB is unintentionally also confirming another bit of information: the Founder's Edition boards are not equal to the reference boards. 

EKWB's water blocks are specifically built for the reference boards, and it highlights that the Founder's Edition cards don't have reference boards. That's no surprise, as Nvidia built a wild new flow-through cooler for its FE cards, which required a total board redesign. The reference boards feature a more traditional design.

With the RTX 2000-series cards, the FE boards and reference boards used by manufacturers were identical -- the only difference was which cooler was mounted on the board. For watercooling enthusiasts, this meant that they could optionally skip the FE card with its expensive cooler and opt for a card from Nvidia's AIBs with a cheaper cooler, but that has the same board design.

Naturally, the option of looking out for a card with a cheaper cooler doesn't change with the RTX 3000 series -- except, there is no sign of water blocks for the Founder's Edition boards. That means that this time around, if you're looking for a GPU to watercool, you'll expressly have to look for a reference board card from the AIBs, or wait for water blocks to come out that are specifically built for the FE card or cards with custom board designs. That's not a problem or a bad thing, but just something to keep in mind. 

Other than that, EKWB's blocks feature the usual design, covering the GPU, VRM circuitry and memory. They'll be available in bare copper with an acrylic top, and nickel-plated copper with Acetal and acrylic tops. Pricing ranges from $140 to $160, and naturally, backplates will be available too.