EK Reveals Aorus Xtreme/Master RTX 30 Series Waterblock
Peter Donnell / 4 years ago
When it comes to liquid cooling, EK is one of the best in the business. So, it comes as little surprise to hear that this premium cooling brand has prepared a new block for the flagship AORUS graphics cards! Their new premium high-performance GPU water block is for the AORUS Xtreme and Master editions of the GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards; the EK-Quantum Vector Xtreme RTX 3080/3090 D-RGB.
This is a huge and extremely powerful series of GPUs, some of the fastest in the world. However, the block is huge too, so as EK says, make sure you’ve got a big case to accommodate it all.
“The new water block is one of the larger ones in the 3000 series, so make sure your PC case can accommodate it. It’s 150.5 mm wide and 295 mm long, and cools all critical components on the GPU’s printed circuit board. This gives the water block a market advantage of having a clean design, showing off all of the cooling liquid, and cooling each and every necessary component.” – EK
Compatibility
The EK-Quantum Vector Xtreme RTX 3080/3090 water block is compatible with AORUS Xtreme and Master RTX 3080 and 3090 graphics cards. It actively cools the GPU core, top-mounted VRAM, power stages, and chokes in the VRM section. Clean, symmetrically shaped, optimized flow paths reduce hydrodynamic instabilities and vortexing (dead spots) inside of them.
Split-Flow Cooling Design
An Open Split-Flow cooling engine design is implemented, which proved to be a superior solution for GPU water blocks. It is characterized by low hydraulic flow restriction, meaning it can be used with weaker water pumps or pumps running on low-speed settings, and still achieve top performance. The jet plate and fin structure geometry have been optimized to provide even flow distribution with minimal losses and optimal performance when used in any given coolant flow orientation, unlike some currently available products on the market.
Nickel-Plated High-Grade Copper
The base of the water block is CNC-machined out of nickel-plated high-grade copper, while its top is CNC-machined either out of glass-like cast acrylic or durable black POM Acetal. The 2nd generation Vector GPU water blocks also feature acetal terminals. The watertight sealing is ensured by high-quality EPDM O-rings, while brass standoffs are already pre-installed and allow for a safe and easy installation procedure.
We recommend that you refer to the EK Cooling Configurator for a precise compatibility match. We are checking compatible graphics cards and adding them to the database daily.
D-RGB Lighting
The aesthetic end-piece is housing the addressable D-RGB LED strip. These water blocks boast a total of 8 individually addressable RGB LEDs and are compatible with popular RGB sync technologies from all major motherboard manufacturers. The arrow marking on the 3-pin D-RGB LED connector is to be aligned with the +5V marking on the D-RGB (addressable) header.
Backplate
EK recommends the purchase of a retention backplate, which improves the overall aesthetics of your graphics cards and also provides additional passive cooling for the GPU core, rear-mounted VRAM on the 3090 cards, and backside of the printed circuit board VRM section on AORUS Xtreme and Master GPUs.
Price and Availability
The EK-Quantum Vector Xtreme RTX 3080/3090 full-cover water blocks and backplates are made in Slovenia, Europe, and are available for pre-order through the EK Webshop or EK Partner Reseller Network. The products are expected to ship out in late May 2021. In the table below you can see the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP).