EK, the leading computer cooling solutions provider, is introducing a cutting-edge addition to the EK-Quantum Line. EK-Quantum Vector RE RTX3080/3090 active backplate is made to complement the existing EK-Quantum Vector RE RTX 3080/3090 water blocks and actively cool the backside of a reference design NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 GPUs.

EK-Quantum Vector RE RTX 3080/3090 Active Backplates
EK-Quantum Vector RE RTX 3080/3090 active backplate links the water block and active backplate part with a new terminal, which replaces the stock terminal that comes with your water block. This way, the whole enclosure requires only one inlet and one outlet, removing unnecessary additional tubing and reducing clutter. It is the ultimate aesthetic and performance solution that finds your GPU sandwiched between two water blocks, allowing maximum cooling.

EK Waterblocks, who have decided to go by EK for the brand presence in the retail stream henceforth, had a stronger showing at the virtual CES 2021 than most other brands, and showcased a good deal of new products amidst their EK Expo ongoing as of this post. The most interesting product to me at least was their upcoming actively cooled backplate solution, which is different from what Aqua Computer has done to date in that it has an actual cold plate and coolant going through a small block on the back rather than just a heatpipe. Now I will mention that Aqua Computer had shown off some renders of their own take of this, but this is the first time a retail solution has been shown off by a company.

EK says that the new backplate offering will come in either acetal or nickel-plexi variants, and will incorporate a thicker terminal that splits coolant flow to the front and back. The backplate, first coming for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080/3090 reference PCB, will make direct contact with the components on the back as well, with freshly conducted internal testing showing VRAM cooling improvements in significant double digits already. The company plans to make this an option for other popular new GPU releases as well, except for the RTX 3090 FE that gets its own bespoke cooling solution with the backplate connected to the coldplate on the front via thermal pads for a more petite, semi-active cooling solution coming up soon. The first active backplate is due to release in a month, with cost on the order of a typical GPU block itself. Click past the break for more from EK at CES 2021!

Thermaltake, the leading PC component brand offering premium solutions for cooling, gaming peripherals, and enthusiast memory, today is proud to announce the TOUGHLIQUID Series, the newest member of the Thermaltake AIO liquid cooler line up. TOUGHLIQUID ULTRA and TOUGHLIQUID ARGB Sync are built using the TOUGHFAN 12 high-performance fans to deliver superior cooling performance and stability for system builders. Offering a variety of models, supporting radiators sizes including 240mm, 280mm and 360mm, equipped with a LED display or RGB on the pump.

"Intuitive hardware monitoring and advanced personalization are what the THOUGLIQUID ULTRA series brings to the market," said Kenny Lin, the CEO of Thermaltake. "The important information like CPU temperature, frequency, and performance usage can be displayed in real-time on the smart 2.1" LCD monitor. Users can also personalize the display with GIF pictures or with custom RGB lighting modes through our RGB software. Thermaltake is giving PC builders even more customization options with this next-gen AIO watercooler."

EK, the premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is updating EK-Classic Kits by rolling out a special Black Nickel Edition, and that's not where the magic ends. These new, special edition, Classic kits are available for the same price as the previous Classic kits, even though there are now more fittings included.

EK-Classic CPU Water Block 115x/20xx/AM4 D-RGB - a high-end, nickel-plated copper CPU water block for modern Intel and AMD processors. It uses addressable RGB LEDs to light up your CPU area. It features a classic, market-proven design that will perfectly fit the needs of enthusiasts and demanding users. The tool-less mounting system makes the installation process a breeze even for beginners. This block comes with a pre-installed Intel mounting system while the AMD AM4 mounting system is in the packaging and needs to be installed if needed.

Alphacool presents a new tubing. A wide range of different variants of the new AlphaTube HF tubing are now available: Colored or clear, with or without UV reactivity, the choice is yours! This makes it easy to find the tubing that best suits your taste. The AlphaTube HF tubing has perfect flexibility for easy routing. It is flexible enough to be routed without effort, but at the same time, rigid enough that it does not kink, even with tighter bending radii.

Further variations of the AlphaTube HF tubing will be available in the next few weeks.

Alphacool have recently released the creatively named "Alphacool Leak Testing Tool", for detecting leaks in your PC water cooling loop. The device includes an integrated hand pump to pressurize the system and a 40 cm flexible hose which can be attached to any free G1/4" port in the loop. The device can help identify leaks in the loop caused by bad connections or fittings before you fill the loop ensuring no damage to the computer. Alphacool recommends you leave the device 15 - 20 minutes after pressurizing the system to record if the pressure has dropped indicating a leak in the system. The Alphacool Leak Testing Tool is now available from Alphacool for €29.19.

iBUYPOWER, a leading manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, today introduced its new line of Element CL liquid cooled gaming PCs featuring an integrated front panel distribution plate and a new, more affordable, hardline liquid cooling system.

iBUYPOWER has curated a line of prebuilt gaming PCs with an integrated front panel distribution plate and push-to-connect fittings that make tube routing easier and minimizes build time, cutting back on the cost associated with producing a traditional custom loop system. Designed by iBUYPOWER's lab team, the robust cooling system of the new Element CL was created to withstand the turbulent nature of shipping while still providing a best-in-class gaming experience.

Alphacool is expanding its portfolio with the new 14 mm Eiszapfen HardTube connectors. As with all Eiszapfen connections, the paint on these Eiszapfen is applied with a special chromate coating, making them particularly scratch-resistant. For sealing Alphacool uses three O-rings for this connection, which also ensure a high tensile strength. The connections are compatible to all HardTubes with an outer diameter of 14 mm. The connections are available in the colours black and chrome. In addition to the individually available connections, there are also sets of 6 connections. The connectors have a total height of 22.2 mm with a thread length of 5 mm and a diameter of 22 mm which is very compact.

Bitspower today introduced the Touchaqua Sedna whole case kit for the Antec Torque chassis (model name: BPTA-WDPTORQUE-KIT). The kit includes a reservoir+pump+distro plate device custom designed for the Antec Torque (BPTA-WDPTORQUE-R-PWM), a Touchaqua Summit CPU water block for Intel sockets, a Lotan full-coverage VGA water block with acrylic top, for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series graphics cards (BP-VG2080RD-A2), two Tarasque 360 radiators which are otherwise EOL on Bitspower's product stack (BPTA-NLSS360-F2PB), six NJord dual-fin 120 mm fans, matching fittings and tubing. Available now, the Touchaqua Sedna for Antec Torque kit is priced at the equivalent of USD $680.

Corsair today introduced the Hydro X series iCUE custom water cooling kits. These include the Hydro X Series iCUE XH305i, and the Hydro X Series iCUE XH303i. Both kits are nearly identical, differing with the included radiator fans and reservoirs. The XH305i kit includes an XC7 RGB CPU water block that supports AM4, LGA115x, and LGA1200 CPU socket types; an XR5 360 radiator, an XD5 pump+reservoir combo device, XL5 clear coolant, 3 m XT Hardline 10 mm and 14 mm tubing, eight Hardline 14 mm fittings, a pair of 90° rotary adapters, a 250 ml filling bottle, a Hardline tubing bending toolkit, a trio of QL 120 RGB fans, iCUE Commander PRO, and RGB Fan LED Hub. The XH303i is mostly similar to the XH305i, except that it includes a trio of SP 120 RGB PRO fans, and XD3 pump+radiator combo device. Corsair is pricing the Hydro X Series iCUE XH305i at 579.90€, while the XH303i is going for 499.90€. Corsair is also selling the Hardline Bending Toolkit for 49.90€.

As hardware gets increasingly more powerful it generates more and more waste heat. This can lead to thermal problems, especially with server racks that have the hardware packed so close together. Compact air coolers are hardly able to dissipate the excess heat from processors. It becomes even more problematic when one or more graphics cards also need to be cooled. At full load processors and graphics cards struggle with temperatures and can quickly start to throttle down their clock rates early due to thermal throttling.

Many server operators want simple and cost-effective solutions to solve this problem. Therefore, Alphacool has developed and launched a whole range of water cooling sets for 1 to 4U server racks in cooperation with its Enterprise Solutions customers. All sets can also be individually extended or adapted. Quick-release fasteners, additional pumps, radiator, and graphics card coolers can be added by arrangement and the components can be adapted to individual requirements. The sets are delivered to the customers pre-filled.

Tech innovator GELID Solutions launches the BATTLE STATION X-the latest Mid-Tower ATX gaming PC case. The BATTLE STATION X is part of GELID Solution's Gamer product line. The BATTLE STATION X is designed for gaming. It features excellent style with tempered glass panels and robust chassis with highly versatile layout. Tailored to accommodate top-performance components, the BATTLE STATION X provides extended space for the latest GPU and high-power PSU,and also supports full-fledged water-cooling setups with front, top or rear radiator mounts fitting up to a 360 mm radiator and 3 optional 120 mm fans.

The BATTLE STATION X boasts multiple storage options with easy-to-use internal drive bays for 3x 3.5" HDD and 2x 2.5" SSD. And especially, a set of USB ports and HD Audio/Mic outputs are located on the top panel to facilitate connection of gaming headsets and other peripherals. "For gamers, details matter. BATTLE STATION X is energized to pursue perfection in every aspect. And you can craft a perfect home for your gaming rig with it", said Gebhard Scherrer, Sales Director of GELID Solutions Ltd. The Battle STATION X is available now and has a MSRP of USD 85.99 or Euro 79.99.

EK Water Blocks, the premium water cooling gear manufacturer based in EU, is releasing the sleek matte black PreciseMount sets compatible with all EK-Quantum Velocity CPU water blocks (Magnitude and Velocity sTR4 blocks NOT supported). This mounting set has all the necessary parts to mount an EK-Quantum Velocity on all currently supported mainstream Intel, AMD, and Intel HEDT sockets. It offers fast and easy installation with the perfect amount of pressure, resulting in outstanding performance.

PreciseMount comes with every EK-Quantum Velocity CPU water block but is now separately available for purchase in case you've misplaced some of your mounting parts. It comes in two finishes - nickel and black - to better match your build.

TEAMGROUP releases T-FORCE Coolant Kit CK5 and T-FORCE ARGB LED Uniform Strip which are specially designed for CARDEA LIQUID Water Cooling SSD and building an eye-catching PC of your own. T-FORCE Coolant Kit CK5 has five colors available at once upon release, so users can change the theme and style of the PC freely. T-FORCE ARGB LED Uniform Strip uses 2020 LED bead which is more refined than 5050 ones on the market. With addressable ARGB LED, the creativity can be limitless.

Following the success of their Touchaqua-branded Summit MS OLED CPU block earlier this year, which was for Intel platforms only at that time, Bitspower have decided to add the OLED display to their main brand in the form of the new Summit M CPU water block. The design is a departure from the squared-off Summit MS, with a smaller form factor that also increases CPU socket compatibility to the red camp out of the box. The OLED display is housed on a metal top plate, with an acrylic body enabling side views of the coolant, a temperature sensor enabling readout on the display, as well as the integrated dRGB LEDs for lighting options compatible with ASUS AURA Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome.

The cooling engine uses a nickel-plated copper base plate, with 0.3 mm CNC-machined fins and microchannels that are part of a split central-inlet flow promising high coolant flow directly over the fins to remove as much heat from the CPU as possible. This is similar to the vast majority of CPU block designs in practice, but manufacturers tend to experiment with the flow schematic to see if they can do better, so time will tell how the Summit M fares on the TechPowerUp test bench. In the meantime, it is available for direct purchase from the Bitspower store for 4500 NTD (~$150 USD) before any applicable taxes and shipping costs.

Bitspower informed us earlier today that they have a new mono block out for the ASUS Crosshair VIII Hero motherboard based on AMD's X570 chipset. Titled the BP-MBASX570CVIIIH, it features an acrylic top to allow the end user to see through into the cooling engine and the coolant flow in use and a nickel-plated copper coldplate. The latter, as with any mono block, is massive relative to just a CPU water block since it covers the CPU in addition to the critical power delivery section of the motherboard to ensure no thermal throttling, be it direct or indirect.

The direct injection of the coolant over the microfins via the split central-inlet flow design allows for the CPU to be cooled first, before a parallel split through the VRM section and also a flow indicator wheel as seen in the images below. The mono block also has integrated lighting support via Bitspower's digital RGB LEDs, which in turn are compatible with ASUS Aura Sync and onboard LED headers in addition to Bitspower's TouchAqua dRGB controller. Bitspower also teased more mono blocks on the way, with owners of the ASRock X570 Taichi and Gigabyte X570 Auros Master going to see support coming up shortly.

Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear and Enthusiast Memory solutions, announces that the premium water cooling kit - Pacific CL360 Max D5 Hard Tube Water Cooling Kit is now available on the market. The Pacific CL360 Max D5 Hard Tube Water Cooling Kit features a premium-quality combo kit which is ready to be controlled by the TT RGB PLUS software; it also supports the Razer Chroma and Amazon Alexa Voice Service.

The Pacific CL360 Max D5 Hard Tube Water Cooling Kit includes the Riing Duo 12 RGB Radiator Fans, a Pacific W5 RGB CPU Water Block, Pacific PR22-D5 Plus Pump/Reservoir Combo, Pacific CL360 Plus RGB Radiator, a bottle of T1000 Coolant Pure Clear, eight C-Pro G14 PETG 16 mm OD Compressions, eight V-Tubler PETG Tubes and other accessories. Every component in the Pacific CL360 Max D5 Water Cooling Kit is carefully selected by the Thermaltake PC DIY experts. The kit takes away the hassle of researching and selecting the many complex cooling components, and provides an easy cooling solution for beginners stepping into the PC DIY liquid cooling field. The Pacific CL360 Max D5 Water Cooling Kit is the one stop for enthusiast's looking to build a powerful and high-tech liquid cooling system.

EK-KIT Classic products are value-oriented, RGB liquid cooling kits with low noise emissions that offer efficient cooling of any mainstream Intel or AMD CPU on the market. Ready to be expanded with a GPU water block, some of the new kit models also open up the door for overclocking. Designed with case compatibility in mind, these kits are a great way to enter the world of custom liquid cooling with easy installation.

They contain everything you need to assemble your first custom liquid cooling loop. You don't have to worry about compatibility issues, missing something, being nervous about the right amount of fittings or tube length. The newly released Classic kits are available in four different setups - S240, S360, P240, P360. They vary by radiator size and thickness, as well as number of fans. The rest of the components are shared across all of the kits.

The most exciting item on display during our visit with Raijintek was something we were unable to get much info on and that was the AURAS Workstation. This monster cooling solution consists of a massive reservoir/distribution block connected to a pump which feeds coolant to four graphics cards and two processors at up to 3000L/H. Heat dissipation was handled by 1x 520mm and 2x 420mm radiators equipped with 10x 140mm RGB fans. Regardless of any specifics in terms of this water cooling loops actual performance, the system on display was certainly a sight to behold, which was made all the more noticeable by a massive show of ARGB lighting.

Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear and Enthusiast Memory solutions, announced the premium water cooling kit - Pacific CL360 Max D5 Hard Tube Water Cooling Kit at COMPUTEX 2019 from May 28th to June 1st. The Pacific CL360 Max D5 Hard Tube Water Cooling Kit features a premium-quality combo kit which is ready to be controlled by the TT RGB PLUS software; it also supports the Razer Chroma and Amazon Alexa Voice Service.

The Pacific CL360 Max D5 Hard Tube Water Cooling Kit includes the Riing Duo 12 RGB Radiator Fans, a Pacific W5 RGB CPU Water Block, Pacific PR22-D5 Plus Pump/Reservoir Combo, Pacific CL360 Plus RGB Radiator, a bottle of T1000 Coolant Pure Clear, eight C-Pro G14 PETG 16mm OD Compressions, eight V-Tubler PETG Tubes and other accessories. Every component in the Pacific CL360 Max D5 Water Cooling Kit is particularly selected by Thermaltake PC DIY experts.

As the worldwide leading gaming brand, MSI has launched its first gaming chassis - the MPG GUNGNIR 100 Series and received an enthusiast response from customers. At this point, MSI has now wielded years of experiences in gaming to dedicate to developing brand new gaming chassis. Now we are proud to introduce our line up - MPG SEKIRA 500, with innovation, advanced technology and highly customizable remarkable design to bring gamers more than what they imagine.

MSI MPG SEKIRA 500 series gaming chassis is inspired by the legendary axe in the hands of Perun, the God of Thunder in Slavic mythology. Its sharp and neat design combines with an inclined line on the front panel as if an axe is killing the devil spirit, which reflects the supreme power of the axe of Perun.

EK Water Blocks, the leading premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, announces the expansion and global availability of newly released Classic Product Lineup. The Classic Lineup is directly addressing price-conscious users while reusing some of the key technological solutions that set the EK as the market leader in the PC liquid cooling industry. The packaging, just as the products themselves are streamlined and simplified, making Classic Line Products the pure essence of liquid cooling. And now, it's available for everyone.

The portfolio is now bearing all the relevant parts that a user needs to complete his liquid cooling loop. The existing combo unit, CPU block and GPU block are now joined with Classic Line radiators, fittings and even a GPU block for the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card. The Classic Lineup is implementing EK's market-proven technologies that ensure high-quality and high-performance liquid cooling products at a more accessible price. Available at about 3/4 of the price of leading EK Quantum series products, our products can now reach more liquid cooling enthusiasts that desire efficient cooling with EK's guaranteed quality and excellent customer support.

Bitspower, a leading supplier of water-cooling equipment for performance computers, has announced the release of their latest Intel CPU block, the Bitspower Touchaqua CPU Block Summit MS OLED for Intel Platform. This product combines the best of both performance and aesthetics to give you an ideal cooling solution for LGA 115x and LGA 2066 socket CPUs. In addition to a CNC-machined block top made of hardwearing acrylic and base made of high-quality copper, the block features a digital thermal sensor and a bright OLED display so you can monitor your water-cooling loop temperature in real time, as well as dazzling DRGB lighting.

The block incorporates a single piece of wiring that runs power to both the DRGB lighting, as well as the temperature gauge - ensuring that you can keep the design of your build as clean as possible. Furthermore, the water block's RGB LED Strip has been certified by ASUS AURA Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, ASRock Polychrome and Razer Chroma-so it's highly compatible with a range of setups. Bitspower Touchaqua range offers the same quality as Bitspower's regular product lines, but features a range of unique functions and designs.

Update April 4th: This post has been corrected based on new information provided by ASUS, EKWB, as well as other parties. The original story mentioned a silent change to the glue used on the PCB which, as we now believe, is no longer the case in that ASUS is not to blame.

Update April 5th: ASUS has confirmed to us that there has been no PCB change (in terms of components and their heights), it's only a problem of tolerances due to the glue being liquid during production.

ASUS has glued the GPU die to the PCB for many generations, which helps ensure contact and avoids microfractures in the solder balls from physical force or thermal expansion. The nature of this glue, typically an epoxy resin, means that aftermarket cooling solutions, such as full cover or die-only water blocks, have to accommodate for this around the holes around the die. Previous graphics cards had no issue here, because the mounting holes were far away from the GPU die. With RTX 2080 Ti and its super large GPU chip this has changed, and there's only a few millimeters of space left. If a waterblock uses wider standoffs than the design merits, or if the glue spreads out farther than intended, it can result in poor/inconsistent contact between waterblock and the GPU, which in turn can lead to worse thermal performance than ideal.

This time, EK Waterblocks alerted us that the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti had poor contact and fitting issues with their GPU water block for the same, as seen in images below provided by their customer T. Hilal, which interferes with the four standoffs surrounding the package. EK recommends removing these standoffs to ensure a good fit and thermal paste spread, and this does not affect water block performance much in their internal testing. In previous such occasions, EK and others have had to come up with a second version of the block for added compatibility, however it remains to be seen if the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti will merit a similar treatment this time round. As an external reference, Phanteks has separately confirmed to us that their water block remains compatible.

EK Water Blocks, the leading premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is releasing the EK-Velocity WS, a robust premium grade water block for narrow ILM LGA 3647 (Socket P) Intel processors, and the EK-VRM ASUS ROG Dominus Extreme, a VRM water block tailor-made for the ROG Dominus Extreme motherboard. Both are all metal water blocks with nickel plated copper cold plates and nickel plated brass tops. No compromise on quality, durability, and performance!