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Guru3D Rig of the Month - December 2018
EK Releasing GeForce RTX 2000 Series Water Blocks
EK is introducing its new generation of high-performance water blocks for the newly announced NVIDIA GeForce RTX series graphics cards, based on Turing TU104 and Turing TU102 graphics processor. The inspiration for the new GPU block name "Vector" came from the sheer computing power of the graphics cards that are on the market today.
Naming a water block "Full Cover" isn't enough these days, when the product is packed with unique features, such as these. The EK Vector RTX water block is specially designed for multiple NVIDIA GeForce RTX Turing based reference design graphics cards. The water block itself uses the signature EK single slot slim look, and it covers the entire PCB length. This sophisticated cooling solution will transform your beefy graphics card into a minimalist, elegant piece of a hardware. The block also features a unique aesthetic cover over the block Terminal which is designed to reveal the graphics card model, visible from the side.
The water block comes in eight different variations and each of them directly cools the GPU, VRAM and the VRM (voltage regulation module) as cooling liquid is channeled directly over these critical areas. This allows the graphics card to remain stable at high overclocks, intensive workloads and also enables it to run at its maximum Boost Clock. Ultimately, you can enjoy gaming at the highest possible performance of your graphics card, stutter-free in a low noise environment.
| Name | MSRP (incl. VAT) |
| EK-Vector RTX 2080 Ti – Copper + Plexi | 129.90€ |
| EK-Vector RTX 2080 Ti – Copper + Acetal | 129.90€ |
| EK-Vector RTX 2080 Ti RGB – Nickel + Plexi | 149.90€ |
| EK-Vector RTX 2080 Ti RGB – Nickel + Acetal | 144.90€ |
| EK-Vector RTX 2080 – Copper + Plexi | 129.90€ |
| EK-Vector RTX 2080 – Copper + Acetal | 129.90€ |
| EK-Vector RTX 2080 RGB – Nickel + Plexi | 149.90€ |
| EK-Vector RTX 2080 RGB – Nickel + Acetal | 144.90€ |
| EK-Vector RTX Backplate – Black | 36.90€ |
| EK-Vector RTX Backplate – Nickel | 43.90€ |
The eight variations include combinations of materials like bare electrolytic copper, nickel plated electrolytic copper, black POM Acetal, Acrylics with some of them having added standard 12V LED strips. Performance-wise all variants of the block are the same, the only difference being the overall aesthetics of them. The newly developed water blocks feature a redesigned cooling engine that has a larger footprint compared to the previous generation of full cover water blocks. This results in a larger surface area for heat transfer which allows the increase of thermal performance of these water blocks. The EK Vector Series water blocks use an Open Split-Flow cooling engine design which proved to be a superior solution for GPU water blocks. It is characterized by low hydraulic flow restrictions, meaning it can be used with weaker water pumps, or pumps running on low-speed settings and still achieve top performance. The jet plate and fin structure geometry have been optimized to provide even flow distribution with minimal losses and optimal performances even when used in reversed water flow scenarios.
With the help of countless flow simulations, the coolant path has been revised over several iterations to ensure each surface and feature is optimally placed. Consequently, we were able to achieve excellent flow distribution with a design that embodies high thermal performance and the precise simplicity of the latest generation of full cover EK GPU water blocks.
Compatibility
All EK Vector RTX 2080 water blocks are compatible with reference design NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 graphics cards based on Turing TU104 graphics processors. This includes graphics cards from vendors that have a custom cooler over a reference design PCB. All EK Vector RTX 2080 Ti water blocks are compatible with reference design NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics cards based on Turing TU102 graphics processors. This includes graphics cards from vendors that have a custom cooler over a reference design PCB.
RGB LED Standards Support
One of the key features of the EK Vector RTX 2080 RGB water blocks is their simplicity as they use a standard 4-pin 12V RGB LED strip. Meaning, they can be used with any standard 4-pin 12V RGB controller with or any of the popular RGB sync technologies from major motherboard manufacturers.
Availability and Pricing
The Vector RTX 2080 series water blocks are made in Slovenia, Europe and are available for pre-order through EK Webshop and Partner Reseller Network. All pre-orders will start shipping on the 20th of September, 2018! Pre-orders for the EK-Vector RTX Backplate - Nickel are expected to start shipping on the 5th of October, 2018! In the table below you can see the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) with VAT included.
EK releasing new AM4 monoblock for the ASRock Fatal1ty X470 Gaming K4 - 08/21/2018 07:52 AM
EK Water Blocks, premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer based in Slovenia, is releasing a new AM4 socket based monoblock tailor-made for the ASRock Fatal1ty X470 Gaming K4 and ASRock X47...
EK releases acetal C6H monoblock for ASUS ROG Crosshair VI and VII - 08/08/2018 06:20 PM
EK expanding the AM4 socket based monoblock portfolio by making an acetal version of the monoblock for ASUS® ROG Crosshair VI Hero, Crosshair VI Extreme and Crosshair VII Hero motherboards. The EK-F...
EK releases AM4 monoblock for the MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard - 07/23/2018 07:08 AM
EK is releasing a new AM4 socket based monoblock tailor-made for the MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard. The EK-FB MSI X470 Pro Carbon RGB Monoblock has an integrated 4-pin RGB LED strip and it ...
EK Releases EK-KIT RGB 240 and EK-KIT RGB 360 Liquid Cooling Kits - 06/22/2018 06:58 AM
EK is expanding its portfolio of kits with two new RGB versions. The EK-KIT RGB 240 and 360 are ultimate fully RGB customizable liquid cooling kits that are built on the existing Performance line o...
EK Releases Full-Cover water blocks for ASUS GTX 1070 Ti graphics cards - 05/15/2018 06:34 AM
EK is on a roll lately, this round they out the EK-FC1070 GTX Ti ASUS water blocks which are compatible with several ASU® GTX 1070 Ti graphics cards. This kind of efficient cooling will allow your h...
Fox2232
Senior Member
Posts: 8121
Joined: 2012-07-20
Senior Member
Posts: 8121
Joined: 2012-07-20
#5581066 Posted on: 09/04/2018 08:40 AM
Functional work of art. While I like AIO solutions over full custom loops, I love how those blocks look.
Functional work of art. While I like AIO solutions over full custom loops, I love how those blocks look.
gydj
Member
Posts: 50
Joined: 2015-01-13
Member
Posts: 50
Joined: 2015-01-13
#5581145 Posted on: 09/04/2018 01:56 PM
Come on, the card can do ray tracing, you should at least pair addressable RGB strips with it!
Come on, the card can do ray tracing, you should at least pair addressable RGB strips with it!
fantaskarsef
Senior Member
Posts: 9503
Joined: 2014-07-21
Senior Member
Posts: 9503
Joined: 2014-07-21
#5581146 Posted on: 09/04/2018 01:57 PM
The RGB waterblocks come with an adressable RGB LED. Only 20$ more
Come on, the card can do ray tracing, you should at least pair addressable RGB strips with it!
The RGB waterblocks come with an adressable RGB LED. Only 20$ more
tunejunky
Senior Member
Posts: 766
Joined: 2017-08-18
Senior Member
Posts: 766
Joined: 2017-08-18
#5581220 Posted on: 09/04/2018 04:17 PM
so sexy.
i'll just have to wait. my 1080ti/monitor combo is fine until one of them dies. actually, it's going into it's 3rd build...
from x99 to x399 to x399 matx...
i spent all of the rtx 2080ti ducats on a 2950x...i think i'll get a better return and usage lol.
so sexy.
i'll just have to wait. my 1080ti/monitor combo is fine until one of them dies. actually, it's going into it's 3rd build...
from x99 to x399 to x399 matx...
i spent all of the rtx 2080ti ducats on a 2950x...i think i'll get a better return and usage lol.
jura11
Senior Member
Posts: 1792
Joined: 2015-03-20
Senior Member
Posts: 1792
Joined: 2015-03-20
#5581238 Posted on: 09/04/2018 04:38 PM
If I would be getting RTX and waterblock then for sure I wouldn't get EK, have 3 of EK blocks, they perform pretty much good, no issues, just their look or quality etc is not the best if you are comparing to Phanteks or Heatkiller or even Barrow or Bykski which do looks better and perform within 1-2°C as max
Used like Phanteks or Heatkiller blocks and still prefer to use them if I could, used few times Barrow or Bykski and they been faultless and temperatures has been similar like with EK blocks
Hope this helps
Thanks, Jura
If I would be getting RTX and waterblock then for sure I wouldn't get EK, have 3 of EK blocks, they perform pretty much good, no issues, just their look or quality etc is not the best if you are comparing to Phanteks or Heatkiller or even Barrow or Bykski which do looks better and perform within 1-2°C as max
Used like Phanteks or Heatkiller blocks and still prefer to use them if I could, used few times Barrow or Bykski and they been faultless and temperatures has been similar like with EK blocks
Hope this helps
Thanks, Jura
illrigger
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 2017-02-16
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 2017-02-16
#5581273 Posted on: 09/04/2018 06:07 PM
Just remember you get what you pay for with watercooling. Even if you don't get leaks (which most of the big Chinese brands like Barrow and XSPC are pretty good about now), the quality of the metals used can be an issue. If a Barrow block costs 1/2 what a Bitspower or EK one does, they had to get that savings from somewhere, and the quality/purity of the copper and nickels used is likely where. Lower quality metals have more impurities that can leech into your fluids and clog the microchannels in the loop over time.
I am not saying that you SHOULDN'T use Barrow or XSPC stuff, but if you do, be diligent about your loop maintenance.
Just remember you get what you pay for with watercooling. Even if you don't get leaks (which most of the big Chinese brands like Barrow and XSPC are pretty good about now), the quality of the metals used can be an issue. If a Barrow block costs 1/2 what a Bitspower or EK one does, they had to get that savings from somewhere, and the quality/purity of the copper and nickels used is likely where. Lower quality metals have more impurities that can leech into your fluids and clog the microchannels in the loop over time.
I am not saying that you SHOULDN'T use Barrow or XSPC stuff, but if you do, be diligent about your loop maintenance.
illrigger
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 2017-02-16
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 2017-02-16
#5581280 Posted on: 09/04/2018 06:15 PM
Looks like these have standard 12v non-addressable RGB, which is strange because the 1080 blocks had addressable ones. I suppose market penetration on addressable stuff isn't quite there yet.
The RGB waterblocks come with an adressable RGB LED. Only 20$ more
Looks like these have standard 12v non-addressable RGB, which is strange because the 1080 blocks had addressable ones. I suppose market penetration on addressable stuff isn't quite there yet.
jura11
Senior Member
Posts: 1792
Joined: 2015-03-20
Senior Member
Posts: 1792
Joined: 2015-03-20
#5581338 Posted on: 09/04/2018 09:09 PM
Just remember you get what you pay for with watercooling. Even if you don't get leaks (which most of the big Chinese brands like Barrow and XSPC are pretty good about now), the quality of the metals used can be an issue. If a Barrow block costs 1/2 what a Bitspower or EK one does, they had to get that savings from somewhere, and the quality/purity of the copper and nickels used is likely where. Lower quality metals have more impurities that can leech into your fluids and clog the microchannels in the loop over time.
I am not saying that you SHOULDN'T use Barrow or XSPC stuff, but if you do, be diligent about your loop maintenance.
I use only on my loop Barrow or Bykski fittings and never have any issues, currently my loop is running same fittings around 3 or more years and no issues, they're same as I bought them
Regarding the blocks, have use most of the manufacturers like on my builds or builds for friends and no issues
Quality of metals, have good look on EK nickel plated blocks which are prone to flaking after while, there is big thread over on OCN due this I'm not very keen to use their Nickel plated blocks, have one but I use Mayhems coolants only and no issues, friend used EK coolants and his block started to flake, I suspect he have in loop silver which you shouldn't use with nickel at all
I quite like people who never run or tried Barrow or Bykski on their loop and comment on quality or rather judge them
Bitspower or Barrow is exactly same, difference is in logo and wouldn't be surprised if they're made in same company
Why Barrow or Bykski are cheap, probably labour there is way cheaper, less overhead etc
Barrow is now sold by mojor retailers like Watercool.de or Performance PC's
Hope this helps
Thanks, Jura
Just remember you get what you pay for with watercooling. Even if you don't get leaks (which most of the big Chinese brands like Barrow and XSPC are pretty good about now), the quality of the metals used can be an issue. If a Barrow block costs 1/2 what a Bitspower or EK one does, they had to get that savings from somewhere, and the quality/purity of the copper and nickels used is likely where. Lower quality metals have more impurities that can leech into your fluids and clog the microchannels in the loop over time.
I am not saying that you SHOULDN'T use Barrow or XSPC stuff, but if you do, be diligent about your loop maintenance.
I use only on my loop Barrow or Bykski fittings and never have any issues, currently my loop is running same fittings around 3 or more years and no issues, they're same as I bought them
Regarding the blocks, have use most of the manufacturers like on my builds or builds for friends and no issues
Quality of metals, have good look on EK nickel plated blocks which are prone to flaking after while, there is big thread over on OCN due this I'm not very keen to use their Nickel plated blocks, have one but I use Mayhems coolants only and no issues, friend used EK coolants and his block started to flake, I suspect he have in loop silver which you shouldn't use with nickel at all
I quite like people who never run or tried Barrow or Bykski on their loop and comment on quality or rather judge them
Bitspower or Barrow is exactly same, difference is in logo and wouldn't be surprised if they're made in same company
Why Barrow or Bykski are cheap, probably labour there is way cheaper, less overhead etc
Barrow is now sold by mojor retailers like Watercool.de or Performance PC's
Hope this helps
Thanks, Jura
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Senior Member
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Joined: 2014-07-21
heh, coincidentally I was checking their site just yesterday, nothing there by then. I'd probably go with one of their blocks again if I upgrade to Turing.