Review: EK-Predator 240 AIO Liquid Cooling

#5158883 Posted on: 09/15/2015 09:03 AM

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Is it me or does having hi static pressure fans on backwards kind of make having hi static pressure fans redundant if they're just being used to suck air through the rads fins instead of pushing air through them

#5158886 Posted on: 09/15/2015 09:13 AM

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There is another good point of this product design. It can be used for posseidon style hybrid cooled GPU's.

And about the FAN placement... a very tough question. It has to be proven by practice, and most often it has no difference. Or you have to simulate it.

#5158907 Posted on: 09/15/2015 09:59 AM

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From reading the review I can't see any compelling reason to choose this cooler over the Corsair H110i GT, which retails for about half the price.

Comparing the reviews and results it seems that the Corsair H110i GT does a slightly better job at cooling and even though the noise is a little higher, it is still well under the threshold of being 'silent'.

#5158914 Posted on: 09/15/2015 10:16 AM

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Well I missed something, but could see any words about the pump noise?

#5158920 Posted on: 09/15/2015 10:47 AM

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The following page shows that the EK Predator is a little quieter than the Corsair at idle and both are 38dBA under load.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/ek_predator_240_aio_liquid_cooling_review,11.html

As per the information on the page 'So if you want silence then up-to 39~40 dBA is your baseline threshold.'.

So ultimately both are silent designs with the only obvious differences being the Corsair was able to consistently achieve slightly lower temperatures (1C to 3C) at half the cost.

#5158926 Posted on: 09/15/2015 10:57 AM

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Push or pull, it doesn't matter, the airflow is the same either way(physics baby).

Also the for the one wondering the price difference between this and h110i(or whatever). This AIO is built from custom watercooling components which you can use to expand at will, it's pretty much a custom loop. When the Corsair stuff are closed.

#5158937 Posted on: 09/15/2015 11:23 AM

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From reading the review I can't see any compelling reason to choose this cooler over the Corsair H110i GT, which retails for about half the price.

Comparing the reviews and results it seems that the Corsair H110i GT does a slightly better job at cooling and even though the noise is a little higher, it is still well under the threshold of being 'silent'.

The build quality is above and beyond anything found with Corsair AIO's, not to mention the fact that this loop is easily expanded upon. I'd quite happily pay the extra over a H110IGT, which retails for 130-140 Euros give or take. Although I'd probably grab the 360mm with a view to adding my GPU to the loop once I get around to upgrading it.

It's the first AIO that I'd even consider buying.

Great review HH, it's so very tempting!

#5158951 Posted on: 09/15/2015 11:57 AM

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Great rev
EK is OK but Nepton is The King

#5158968 Posted on: 09/15/2015 12:40 PM

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The build quality is above and beyond anything found with Corsair AIO's, not to mention the fact that this loop is easily expanded upon. I'd quite happily pay the extra over a H110IGT, which retails for 130-140 Euros give or take. Although I'd probably grab the 360mm with a view to adding my GPU to the loop once I get around to upgrading it.

It's the first AIO that I'd even consider buying.

Great review HH, it's so very tempting!

It was made quite clear that this 240 system is NOT expandable.
The 360 system uses plastic quick disconnects on the tubing and is expandable. NOT this 240.
Someone please confirm that the cpu used was NOT the one from Silicon Lottery. That one had the IHS popped off and then insulated properly (for $50.00 extra!) at Silicon Lottery after it is binned and at the customers request.
Twice the price of a Corsair H110GTi and the Corsair cools a whopping 3 degrees cooler at load? And yet you recommend this turkey?
Even taking into consideration that you could easily destroy your socket pins?
This system has no business whatsoever being reviewed, let alone being "Recommended" by, Guru3D.
At best it should be laughed at and then completely ignored.
If the 360 system has the same dangerous mounting process then it should also be ignored.
At these prices you can easily put together your own liquid cooling kit that is much safer to mount and will completely outperform any AIO available today.
You've completely disappointed me on this review, Guru3D. You are capable of so much better. Especially since noobies read your reviews with a passion and believe every word you say.
Beginning builders could easily destroy their motherboards using this thing from EKWB, making this review completely unfair and dangerous.
The last time I checked it costs $150.00 to replace the cpu mount on an ASUS motherboard and they do not guarantee it will work.

#5158971 Posted on: 09/15/2015 12:52 PM

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It was made quite clear that this 240 system is NOT expandable.
The 360 system uses plastic quick disconnects on the tubing and is expandable. NOT this 240.
Someone please confirm that the cpu used was NOT the one from Silicon Lottery. That one had the IHS popped off and then insulated properly (for $50.00 extra!) at Silicon Lottery after it is binned and at the customers request.
Twice the price of a Corsair H110GTi and the Corsair cools a whopping 3 degrees cooler at load? And yet you recommend this turkey?
Even taking into consideration that you could easily destroy your socket pins?
This system has no business whatsoever being reviewed, let alone being "Recommended" by, Guru3D.
At best it should be laughed at and then completely ignored.
If the 360 system has the same dangerous mounting process then it should also be ignored.
At these prices you can easily put together your own liquid cooling kit that is much safer to mount and will completely outperform any AIO available today.
You've completely disappointed me on this review, Guru3D. You are capable of so much better. Especially since noobies read your reviews with a passion and believe every word you say.
Beginning builders could easily destroy their motherboards using this thing from EKWB, making this review completely unfair and dangerous.
The last time I checked it costs $150.00 to replace the cpu mount on an ASUS motherboard and they do not guarantee it will work.

You seem to be on a bit of a rant today, no idea where you're getting most of this tosh from.

The 360 has quick disconnects, quite right. That lets you switch parts without having to drain the radiator. With the 240 you'll have to drain the radiator and switch out some tubing in order to expand. It's still expandable.

This unit is a collection of EK's most popular parts. If you were to buy the parts offered in this unit separately, you would pay more than the asking price for this unit. More so when you factor in the product being built for you. Furthermore, the H110iGT costs 130-140 Euros as apposed to this product which comes in at 200. That's not double the price.

#5158976 Posted on: 09/15/2015 01:13 PM

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It was made quite clear that this 240 system is NOT expandable.
The 360 system uses plastic quick disconnects on the tubing and is expandable. NOT this 240.
Someone please confirm that the cpu used was NOT the one from Silicon Lottery. That one had the IHS popped off and then insulated properly (for $50.00 extra!) at Silicon Lottery after it is binned and at the customers request.
Twice the price of a Corsair H110GTi and the Corsair cools a whopping 3 degrees cooler at load? And yet you recommend this turkey?
Even taking into consideration that you could easily destroy your socket pins?
This system has no business whatsoever being reviewed, let alone being "Recommended" by, Guru3D.


Having a bad day ?

No, it is not the Silicon Lottery CPU. Secondly let me make it clear that I will decide what I review or not okay ? I'll leave your rant for what it is but quite frankly I'm disappointed greatly by your tone here. The Predator 240 is a quality product at a better level opposed to cheaper LCS kits, it is extremely silent it has more than good extra cooling capacity for a 240mm unit. It is as close as it can be to purchasing liquid cooling components and creating your own loop, that is a distinct difference.

You are free to disagree with my reviews, not a problem. But the downright condescending tone here is appalling.

#5158977 Posted on: 09/15/2015 01:33 PM

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Twice the price of a Corsair H110GTi and the Corsair cools a whopping 3 degrees cooler at load? And yet you recommend this turkey?


yes because everyone knows corsair is 140 euros worth of rattling.

would not touch it with a 10-foot pole

#5159009 Posted on: 09/15/2015 02:43 PM

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Push or pull, it doesn't matter, the airflow is the same either way(physics baby).

Also the for the one wondering the price difference between this and h110i(or whatever). This AIO is built from custom watercooling components which you can use to expand at will, it's pretty much a custom loop. When the Corsair stuff are closed.

High school physics maybe. Push and pull are fundamentally different, and good for different types of fans. Now I can't really tell the fin density and know essentially nothing of the specs of the fans, so it may be that push or pull doesn't matter much on this specific unit, but that isn't true of most performance radiators.

Generally, higher CFM/low static pressure will do better in a pull configuration. Specifically "quiet fans" usually do better as pull.

Refer here:

http://martinsliquidlab.petrastech.com/Radiator-Fan-Orientation-And-Shroud-Testing-Review.html

And here:

https://martinsliquidlab.word$press.com/2012/01/15/radiator-shroud-testing-v2/

What the high school physics ignores are the losses from the resistance of the fins on the radiator and the pressure build up between the fan and radiator. Some air is also lost through other cracks/passages that are not the fins. It also ignores that air is possible to compress and that turbulence and density affect heat transfer.

At the end of the day, the fan can only spin and push as fast as the air flows through the radiator. If the air is meeting a ton of resistance, the fan just won't work at its maximum CFM capacity. This comes down to a number of factors including fin density, pressure, and CFM of the fan, and how much air is allowed to leak out, not going through the radiator at all.

That said, I would imagine the engineers considered everything here and made the correct choice.

EDIT: Second link, take the dollar sign out of wordpress (really, we can't link wordpress?)

#5159042 Posted on: 09/15/2015 04:05 PM

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I think the only real advantage here is that this cooler can later be used for spare parts in a full custom loop, otherwise I think you'd be better off saving money with something like the corsair h100i. For 250$ I bought a custom loop kit from EK with a 360mm rad including all other parts seperatel, it's a lot harder to install a custom loop but it is well worth the effort. I just cant justify 200usd for this product, maybe 120 max.

#5159062 Posted on: 09/15/2015 04:55 PM

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If you never intend to build a custom loop, the Corsair H110i is fine. If your goal is a full custom loop, this is a fine place to start. I see some complaints of cost, but even at it's set price, it's still a bargain when you consider the cost of the parts individually.

As for Pale Rider's whining.... Dude, seriously. Beginners aren't going to be buying something like this. This kit is directed at enthusiasts that don't currently have an LCS. It's not directed at people building their first PC. Most beginners are going to be looking at the H60 or the Kuhler 620. They aren't going to be looking for an expandable kit. The kind of people that will be buying this kit know wtf they're doing.