Installation and Lighting

Installation of the EK-Momentum MSI Z390 MEG Ace monoblock is involved because it requires the removal of the stock VRM heatsinks specific to the MSI MEG Z390 Ace motherboard first, and there are seven screws on the back that need to be removed as outlined in the manual (four for the metal VRM heatsink and three for the plastic cover that can be installed again for aesthetics). Removing the plastic cover is tricky because small plastic nibs go through the motherboard, as well as cutouts for the I/O on the motherboard via the integrated I/O shield on top of a small cable for the LEDs in here. The VRM heatsink consists of two pieces of finned metal with a heatpipe going through as seen above, and removing it exposes the two VRM sets and capacitors that are cooled by the monoblock in addition to the CPU.


Use the provided thermal pads on the two sets, which will require cutting them to length and removing both plastic covers on either side of the pads. With that done, apply some thermal paste to the CPU IHS, as well as the sticky plastic washers to the underside of the bare standoffs on the monoblock. These will help guide the monoblock into place and provide enough of a sticky surface to keep it in place as you screw the monoblock in through the underside with the provided screws and plastic washers. EK provides enough thermal paste to try again if you mess up, and you may want to use a raised working surface with the I/O ports hanging off the side for a level contact angle during installation.


Route the LED cable via the plastic I/O cover—the cover can now be screwed back into place—and out the back through the bottom for good cable management, which allows for a snug fit of the 3-pin, 5 V dRGB header on the motherboard. Be sure to have the arrow where the header pinout begins with "+5 V" to prevent electrical shorting. Once done, the finished look is quite nice, if I say so myself, a good example of why monoblocks make for a statement piece in a custom-cooled PC build.


Here is a look at some of the various lighting options, be it static or dynamic. As mentioned before, I appreciate EKWB going with a more standard solution with onboard control for various mainstream motherboard makers rather than a proprietary solution. With LEDs only at the bottom and shining upward, lighting is not as uniform or diffused as I would have preferred, but there is no perfect solution here as it would not involve more acetal housing and a larger footprint/smaller top. Having coolant flow through does help diffuse lighting more than air, so keep that in mind when using the media above as a general representation of the lighting in the block by itself.