Conclusion

Final Words & Verdict

Contrary to popular belief that all was "squeezed" out of water blocks, EKWB was able to prove the opposite by the example of EK-Quantum Magnitude, but I will start with remarks. If desired, you can find many disadvantages in absolutely any product. In the case of waterblocks, this is the eternal pursuit of micro-channel depth, rib size, or optimal use of cold water flow. I did not like the fact that in 2020 the width of the microchannel remained quite large, while the rib height increased slightly. In this nuance, I like the Optimus waterblocks, which have several times the microchannels and the working area is also several times larger. Of course, such products have higher hydrodynamic resistance, which is not a definite value that determines the performance and potential of the waterblock . The larger microchannel area of the EK-Quantum Magnitude to some extent allows more heat to be removed from the IHS, but. But the fact is that the top of the processor with Zen 2 architecture has no heat sources and no solder under IHS to participate in heat distribution. The cold water flow that passes through it does nothing at all.

Many of you may have heard that the metal versions of the waterblock work much better than their acrylic brothers because the "body" also takes part in the heat exchange. The brass chamber of the EK-Quantum Magnitude is quite an intricate detail, which has been spent a lot of resources, but nevertheless, it does not participate in heat removal.

Pricing

Price, the range of 210-270 dollars is certainly not a pleasure for everyone. By the standards of the water block market even for the U.S., it is just costly, and you need to keep in mind that the difference in performance from the mainstream solutions is quite small. The materials used in production have no significant differences from the competitors' products of the same premium segment. Surprisingly, at this price, the user does not get, for example, ultrapure copper 999 or a chamber that will take part in the heat exchange. However, you can't complain about materials and assembly quality. A lot of manual work certainly contributed to the price of the product.

Overall

Speaking of advantages, there are many. The internal design of the water block deserves special attention, the asymmetrical design allowed for an offset for the inlet water flow, which is concentrated on the hottest point of IHS. The area with micro-channels increased by 50%, and the additional Jet Plate 0.6P (which can be found in the package) showed big differences in water block performance compared to the standard Jet Plate. The hydrodynamic resistance did not increase and even decreased by 10-13% compared to its predecessors. A very pleasant thing is the low flow speed requirements, now it is not necessary to "twist" the pump speed up to 50% to get the maximum performance—individual approach, the thesis that EKWB engineers were able to satisfy when designing this product. 

 

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