With any kit, the very first thing I do in the conclusion is to add up the cost of its individual products to then gauge the discount due to the kit, if any. This is for obvious reasons impossible in this particular case, but EKWB does sell very similar kits with copper metal components and adding on a copper GPU waterblock gives us a total of $330.48, which is almost $100 (or 42%) more. Do the same for the other kits and expandable AIOs and the closest is still $40 more, and it ended up trading places with the Fluid Gaming A240G in terms of CPU and GPU cooling. There is no question that these aluminum-based EKWB Fluid Gaming kits offer the best value for the money as far as full watercooling kits go.

This is really the bottom line here - why go after the tenth of a °C with the aim to earn a top spot in a reviewer's thermal performance charts when the metric that ends up being the decision maker is cost? By going with aluminum and lowering the entry barrier to expandable watercooling drastically, EKWB wants to get a large portion of the custom PC builders market to watercool their computers as well. The reduction in mass is another side effect that will help lower shipping costs as well, and it will make life easier for OEMs and system integrators.

Despite this review being for the Fluid Gaming A240G kit, a large portion is valid for the Fluid Gaming A240 kit as well, which I certainly feel is well worth the $10 increase over the smaller 120 mm version. This is also the only real option for AMD GPU owners who are surely feeling left out here. EKWB does a good job of coming out with full-cover waterblocks for new GPUs, so hopefully, there is a kit with AMD Vega support coming out soon.

GPU compatibility aside, there are a couple things you need to know - never mix metals here, and this means sticking with EKWB's Fluid Gaming lineup for everything. As such, the custom in custom watercooling is no longer an option here. If you go with one of these kits and happen upon something from a competitor that catches your eye - too bad. Sure, you can incorporate it into the loop, but you will void the warranty from both manufacturers immediately, and the coolant can only do its job as an anti-corrosive agent for so long. Then there is the part where you are giving up 5%-15% potential performance owing to the change in metal. If you are interested in watercooling to eek out the best-possible ambient temperature cooling, this is not for you.

For most others, however, the actual differences as tested will not be big enough, especially considering the lower noise levels compared to some aluminum CLCs and some copper AIOs. If anything, I am still surprised at how well this kit managed to keep up with some of the high-end AIOs and full watercooling kits, to the point where I am convinced some of the design updates to the GPU block would be worth exploring for copper counterparts, and that the aluminum SE radiator is indeed potentially a better performer than their copper CoolStream SE radiator. EKWB has taken a big gamble here in an attempt to disrupt the market entirely, and I for one am glad they did.