EK Releases Aluminum Based Water Blocks for NVIDIA RTX Series Graphics Cards

[VSG]

EK Water Blocks, the market leader in PC custom liquid cooling, is announcing the expansion of their Fluid Gaming aluminum based custom loop liquid cooling line. With price and performance in mind, EK Fluid Gaming is an inexpensive ticket to the custom liquid cooling world. Following the release of copper blocks for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and 2080Ti cards, EK is now launching one aluminum water block that is cross-compatible with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and 2080Ti cards which use the reference PCB and layout.

The EK-AC GeForce RTX is a full-cover water block designed and developed in cooperation with NVIDIA and it fits several high-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards. This water block directly cools the GPU, RAM as well as VRM (voltage regulation module) as water flows directly over these critical areas, thus allowing the graphics card to reach higher boost frequencies. The loud stock fan gets to be replaced by a slim-line minimalistic water block that will not only make your PC look better, but also make the graphics card perform better. Finally, you will be able to enjoy your favorite games in silence. This water block also comes with a sleek matte black backplate.



To satisfy the fans of RGB LEDs, this water block comes equipped with an integrated D-RGB (addressable) lighting solution, where each LED is individually addressable and controllable through the motherboard RGB software. For the correct header, please consult your motherboard manual, connect it to a 5V D-RGB (A_RGB) header on your motherboard.

Availability and pricing
The EK Fluid Gaming EK-AC GeForce RTX full cover water block is available for purchase through EK Fluid Gaming web-shop at a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of 109.90€ with VAT included. As you might know, mixing copper and aluminum parts in the same loop is not recommended. Always use only one type (only copper or only aluminum) of metal in the same loop!

EK Fluid Gaming kits
EK Fluid Gaming kits are 100% designed and made in Slovenia, Europe and are already available for purchase directly through the EK webshop, exclusively through Newegg in the US, and OCUK in Europe and EvoPC in Russia.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[xkm1948]

Sexy blocks. Contenplating going a full custom loop with hard line in the near future.

 

[15th Warlock]

Wait a minute, the constant flow of coolant between an aluminum block and a copper radiator would cause irreversible galvanic corrosion the moment you add any liquid to a loop that uses these "inexpensive" blocks...

I wouldn't want to be the one to test any of these in a custom water loop.

 

[John Naylor]

EK offers two competing alternate design models for their modular systems ...

1. The premium line is all copper.

2. The budget line is all aluminum

Since, in both cases, all the materials are the same, there are no galvanic issues.

Problem is EKs web site is a maze ... very hard to find things now

 

[Caring1]

EK offers two competing alternate design models for their modular systems ...

1. The premium line is all copper.

2. The budget line is all aluminum

Since, in both cases, all the materials are the same, there are no galvanic issues.

Problem is EKs web site is a maze ... very hard to find things now

And the pump is made of?
I still expect corrosion to occur.

 

[Mescalamba]

And the pump is made of?
I still expect corrosion to occur.

Well, probably should use some alu friendly pump then. SPC from EK is one.

 

[Zubasa]

And the pump is made of?
I still expect corrosion to occur.

Aluminium oxide and ceramic bearing, the impeller is plastic.

 

[Breit]

And the next thing is, someone tries to use a liquid metal TIM on it or the aluminium CPU block from the same series. I'd like a timelapse video of it, please...

 

[newtekie1]

Wait a minute, the constant flow of coolant between an aluminum block and a copper radiator would cause irreversible galvanic corrosion the moment you add any liquid to a loop that uses these "inexpensive" blocks...

I wouldn't want to be the one to test any of these in a custom water loop.

If you use the right fluid, corrosion isn't an issue.

But, yeah, as others have mentioned, these are designed for use with their all aluminum budget line of products.

 

[my_name_is_earl]

When I bought my waterblock for my AMD HD7970 back then. One side is full copper and the other is nickle plated. All at half the price of today's block. Today's block are like 2x the price and half the quality material. So backward.

 

[John Naylor]

And the pump is made of?
I still expect corrosion to occur.

Wetted parts are almost always plastic with small metal or ceramic bushing and metal shafts. Here's a teardown of the H100i and Swiftech H220
https://martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/corsair-hydro-series-h100i-aio-cpu-cooler/4/
https://martinsliquidlab.wordpress....h-h220-prefilled-2x120mm-water-cooling-kit/3/

I expect the EK to be very similar to the Swiftech

Note one limitation of CLCs is defined here... 0.11 gpm

Corrosion will occur based upon the difference in the Anodic Index ...

In your typical custom loop you have copper at 0.35 for the CPU Block, copper and Brass (0.40) in the Rads and Nickel (0.30) surfaces in the GPU blocks. With Aluminum, it will dpend if all items are the same type of aluminum but the range from one end to the other is comparable to that for copper systems. It will of course be less thermally efficient but a lot less than I would have thought.

Here's a copper version from 2018
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EKWB/EK-MLC_Phoenix_360/3.html

I thought there was an older review of an aluminum version but I didnt find it

 

[INSTG8R]

Wetted parts are almost always plastic

My almost 15 year old pump from Thermaltake has a ceramic impeller.