The water solution manufacturer EK as recently announced a production flaw on their LGA2011 mounting screw for the EK Supreme HF water block resulting in less than optimal mounting pressure.
The current mounting mechanism still achieves the minimum retention force as per Intel mechanical specification guide for the socket LGA2011, although it is less than what EK designed it for. According to their internal testing, such difference between mounting pressure could create an increase in temperature of up to 1.5°C, therefore limiting the cooling capabilities of the water block.
While this issues is only affecting the EK Supreme HF series, there is a quick fix for this issue. All there is to do is use the 2.5mm POM standoff underneath each spring. Four of these 2.5mm POM standoff can be found in the EK-Backplate Universal ziptie bag (as seen on the photograph below).
Shown below is how the EK Supreme HF series water block should be installed. In this way, the water block will be able to fully use its cooling capabilities for socket LGA2011.
Below is the proper installation procedure which will now be seen on all future installations manuals for the water block.
The new and improved screws will be clearly marked and recognizable with the new screw featuring two horizontal grooves marked in red.
This quick fix has two major advantages:
- it increases the mounting pressure in order to achieve the best possible temperatures
- it prevents springs from damaging and/or chipping the paint on the water block’s mounting plate
EK did apologize and announced that they will start shipping the new problem-free LGA2011 screws as soon as possible.
Source: Press Release
