EKWB’s new AIO 240 D-RGB liquid cooler offers excellent thermal performance, milled aluminum fittings and handsome aRGB lighting effects for premium presentation that sells for an expensive, though not exorbitant $132.
Pros
+
Great thermal performance
+
Modern pump and fitting design
+
aRGB lighting isn’t overbearing
Cons
-
No software UI (can be used with EK Loop Connect controller)
-
Noisy fans at 100% utilization
-
Priced a bit higher than other 240mm AIOs
Why you can trust Tom's Hardware
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
EK Water Blocks (EKWB) has long been heralded for its innovation in the enthusiast-grade custom watercooling realm, including options tailored for the small liquid cooler market disguised as expandable closed loop systems like their Phoenix and Predator series. But the company is back with a new line of closed-loop AIO liquid cooling options for system builders who wish to keep their cooling budget in check while still running EK gear with their PC. Does the AIO 240D-RGB make our list of the best CPU coolers? Let's dig into the details first.
Specifications
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Thickness
1.125" / 28.6mm (2.25" / 57.15mm w/fans)
Width
4.75" / 120mm
Depth
10.9" / 275mm
Pump Height
2.25" / 57.2mm
Speed Controller
BIOS
Cooling Fans
(2) 120 x 25mm
Connectors
(3) 4-Pin PWM, (3) 3-Pin aRGB (w/splitters)
Weight
44.7 oz / 1267g
Intel Sockets
2066, 2011x, 115x
AMD Sockets
AM4
Warranty
5 years
Web Price
$132
Features
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
EK ships its new AIO 240 D-RGB cooler with mounting hardware for limited CPU sockets, focusing primarily on AMD’s AM4 Ryzen processors and Intel’s mainstream 115x desktop line as well as the 2066/2011x. Installation materials are something we rarely make much fuss over, but the 8-language document provided with the AIO 240 D-RGB is one of the densest installation manuals we’ve ever seen. The cooler measures 8.25 x 5.6 inches (210 mmx142 mm) and weighs a meaty 5.2 ounces (148 g).
EK has developed the AIO 240 D-RGB to pair with its EK Loop Connect management system (sold separately), which provides fan curve control, pump performance, lighting control, data collection and temperature monitoring , via the EK Connect software suite. The EK Loop Connect is a hardware/software solution for those who might be weary of making motherboard BIOS adjustments or want full system control and monitoring on the desktop. But it does add $60 to the price of this cooling kit.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
The EK AIO 240 D-RGB ships with a healthy patch of pre-applied thermal paste affixed to the copper cold plate. Complimenting it is a small syringe of EK-TIM Ectotherm compound also included in the event the cooler needs to be reinstalled.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
The top of the EK AIO 240 D-RGB features an opaque acrylic face garnished with a brushed-aluminum EK logo and backlit by a cluster of addressable RGB lighting nodes. Overall, the pump unit itself feels weighty and has a notable density that isn’t often present in many liquid coolers.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
The EK AIO 240 D-RGB base is also a dense acrylic, which has milled channels for mounting brackets on either side of the satin-finished copper cold plate. The pump’s 5v aRGB header features a 3-pin VDG splitter for motherboards that support this connection rather than the traditional 3-pin. The pump itself is driven and managed via 4-pin PWM, typically driven by a motherboard header and managed via BIOS RPM or PWM curve.
The 90-degree swivel fittings are trimmed with milled aluminum caps rather than the traditional crimp fittings or plastic collars.
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Like most AIOs, EK has used an aluminum radiator for the work exchanging heat. A pair of aRGB Vardar S fans come standard on the EK AIO 240 D-RGB, are 4-pin PWM-managed and can be run in parallel from the same header using the 2-way splitter. Each aRGB fan features a standard 5v, 3-pin aRGB splitter to daisy chain with other devices to assist in cable management.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Installation of the EK AIO 240 D-RGB is similar to most closed-loop liquid cooling solutions. The larger, knurled screw caps that secure each corner of the mounting bracket make it very simple to work with limited dexterity environments and feature Phillips driver heads to make the final few turns much easier. The tubing of the AIO 240 D-RGB is rigid, but ultimately forgiving. That said, the over/under placement of the 90-degree ports can lead to awkward tubing manipulation that isn’t seen as often in coolers using the side-by-side swivel fitting layout.
Garrett Carver is a contributor for Tom’s Hardware, primarily covering thermal compound comparisons and CPU cooling reviews; both air and liquid, including multiple variations of each.
EKWB sure is a special company to try to make their crappy fan controller required for an AIO. $190 for their AIO & controller can equivalently get a high quality nickel+copper water cooling kit from China for your entire system meaning water cooling GPU too. Then again, everyone knows how much their QC for custom loops has fallen lately and you buy EK for aesthetics or don't know any better.
It honestly feels very well built compared to other AIOs; it has more mass to the CPU block and pump unit than most, although likely due to the acrylic components used for the top (rather than lightweight plastic).
The reason I didn't rate it higher was the lack of software for control (like iCUE or CAM does) as part of the cooler's included features. It also was listed a bit higher on the EK site as part of a pre-order, so originally it showed $132 vs an initial $119 release price, back up to the $146 it apparently shows today.
For price and performance, you could get a Corsair H100i RGB PRO XT that comes WITH software controls for nearly $20 less.
The EK does look far better, aesthetically though, but it is difficult to recommend it as much as the Corsair when all it does is look prettier while the Corsair is the cheaper, equal-performing alternative and provides a full software suite.
Please do not buy EK Loop Connect, this software is in beta stage, crashing constantly which means it won't control your fans and can damage your computer. There are already cases when the software crashed and water temperature raised so much that the entire system leaked water directly onto users 2080ti! Not only that but half of the functions does not work in EK Loop connect software, stay away, you've been warned
