Review: EK-XLC Predator 280 AIO CPU & MSI GTX 1080 Liquid Cooling

#5340276 Posted on: 09/30/2016 01:55 PM

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Thankyou for this review Hilbert awesome work!I'm thinking about buying a EK predator 360 kit for my rig.But i'm not sure if the radiator fits without removing my motherboard in my Corsair 750D.

They realy make some quality products and i dig that custom 1080 block .

When i had to rebuild my 1080FE to a evga hybrid i had sweaty hands.

#5340340 Posted on: 09/30/2016 04:59 PM

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Great write-up! I've been wondering about these kits, now with the QD's and prefilled waterblocks. I've been wanting to go aircooled next build for the sake of simplicity and easier upgrading, but EK has been making me second guess that.

The price for getting those prefilled QD's on the block are really reasonable too. Now we just need some gpu's without stringent voltage caps

#5340469 Posted on: 10/01/2016 12:05 AM

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Nice review, shame about the drop in performance with this one, I wonder if the push pull kit might improve the situation, regardless it's a top performer and at this price you can't fault EK.

#5340504 Posted on: 10/01/2016 05:16 AM

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Glad there's finally a trusted review for a CPU/GPU loop now. Because of lack of reviews i hesitated to jump head first and buy one thinking it might be too much to handle for my overclocked parts. Now i don't regret not buying one.

Although it has nice temps(for the gpu mostly) i get better temps with my two separate CLC's ,and they were cheaper too(although having a full waterblock for the gpu is more reassuring than having ****ty heatsinks).

#5340511 Posted on: 10/01/2016 06:53 AM

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Now do the 360mm version please? With the same hardware and overclocks

#5340529 Posted on: 10/01/2016 09:28 AM

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about CPU Temps, do you switch off intel speedstep and turn off those lower power states?

#5340550 Posted on: 10/01/2016 11:25 AM

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Still those temps are higher than I expected on open air bench table

GPU QDC block looks good too and temps are good too on GPU

Predator 360 should be better option and prices right now dropped for EK and really their price is now bit more competitive but still higher than Corsair

Thanks,Jura

#5340714 Posted on: 10/01/2016 11:12 PM

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Still those temps are higher than I expected on open air bench table

GPU QDC block looks good too and temps are good too on GPU

Predator 360 should be better option and prices right now dropped for EK and really their price is now bit more competitive but still higher than Corsair

Thanks,Jura

Its well worth the price difference. I've used the Corsair and made the switch to EKWB. QDC, expandability, build quality beats anything on the market.. I went crazy with my setup. Currently have Dual 360's and extra 360 Rad only, all connected in a continuous loop, cooling my I7-5690k and Dual FuryX's

#5340720 Posted on: 10/02/2016 12:16 AM

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Yes I agree with yours points,QDC and EKWB name plus their pump is well worth to switch from Corsair to EK

Regarding the switch,I've previously Corsair AIO which failed and I made switch back to air,same with GPU,run there EVGA Hybrid and went with Raijintek Morpheus II,my temps are lot better than has been on AIO/CLC

I wanted get too Predator 360 and extra 240/280mm rad plus extra reservoir,but I decided against this idea for now,I'm very happy with temps right now,maybe in couple of months I will switch back to water

I don't think in yours case you are went crazy,although 360mm rad and one extra rad should be enough in yours case,but still I would have probably add there extra pump with reservoir,not sure what flow right now have yours Predator with CPU and dual FuryX as blocks are quiet restrictive or can be at least

Hope this helps

Thanks,Jura

#5340816 Posted on: 10/02/2016 03:07 PM

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Ehh, he already did that a while ago: http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/ek-predator-360-aio-cpu-gpu-liquid-cooling-review,1.html


As for the 280, I'm a bit disappointed with the results of this one. I would have expected this one to not be that much worse than the 360.....

Why would they put fans with so much less sp than the 360 on this one? I would have thought the 140mm would give an advantage on same ammount of pressure at lower rpm's, not almost twice as low at the same rpm.....Or am I missing something?

(great review btw!)

#5340968 Posted on: 10/03/2016 02:14 AM

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Yes I agree with yours points,QDC and EKWB name plus their pump is well worth to switch from Corsair to EK

Regarding the switch,I've previously Corsair AIO which failed and I made switch back to air,same with GPU,run there EVGA Hybrid and went with Raijintek Morpheus II,my temps are lot better than has been on AIO/CLC

I wanted get too Predator 360 and extra 240/280mm rad plus extra reservoir,but I decided against this idea for now,I'm very happy with temps right now,maybe in couple of months I will switch back to water

I don't think in yours case you are went crazy,although 360mm rad and one extra rad should be enough in yours case,but still I would have probably add there extra pump with reservoir,not sure what flow right now have yours Predator with CPU and dual FuryX as blocks are quiet restrictive or can be at least

Hope this helps

Thanks,Jura

I did contact EKWB before I went this route. They said there would be no issues with flow. I have it hooked up 360--Rad--360-GPU--GPU. I may separate the loops and run the GPU with the extra rad.

#5340988 Posted on: 10/03/2016 03:50 AM

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Nice review. 360 is still the way to go IMO. I had a feeling it would remain strong for a long time to come which is why I pre-ordered mine long time ago.

Its been a super solid performer for me, however I removed the onboard fan control from the loop and am running the pump direct off of my mobo CPU fan header for direct control, and running the vardar fans off of a 4 port fan controller.

This way allows me to quickly dial in my performance/noise levels for what I'm doing rather than letting the software ramp it up and down.

Quite honestly, the cooler is so good (even with a CPU and GPU in the loop) that I generally leave mine dialed at lower RPMs on the fans to keep my system superbly quiet.

My CPU is the main source of heat in my loop.. once I upgrade to a newer CPU, it will likely take the temps down overall.. so will upgrading to a 1080ti

Anyway, rambling. The 360 is awesome.. Super easy setup, great piece of kit. It is amazing if you're looking into getting into Watercooling but don't want to spend a mint for it.
At these new lower prices, it may not be the nicest looking setup, but if you're like me are are looking for straight performance, its tough to beat at that price and ease of setup/use.