Ekwb Ek-kit Rgb 360 Water / Liquid Cooling Kit 360mm Review

Manufacturer: EKWB

UK cost (equally reviewed): £309.98 (inc. VAT)

U.s.a. price (equally reviewed): $319.99 (exc. revenue enhancement)

Building on our previous review of Thermaltake'south Pacific C360 DDC Hard Tube kit, we're once again looking at a custom loop kit, this time from the Slovenian gurus at EKWB. Jumping into custom-loop cooling can exist quite a daunting chore thanks to both the relative complication of planning out a loop as well as the expense involved and potential risks. To counter the recent rise in budget water-cooling offerings coming from communist china, EK substantially went with the approach of 'If y'all can't beat them, bring together them.' That is to say it has released a split up line of water-cooling components that still offer full compatibility with other components on the marketplace (unlike its aluminium Fluid Gaming lineup) but are produced in Cathay instead of Slovenia. I of the interesting things we take seen of late is that China is more than capable of making some pretty exceptional stuff, so that in itself shouldn't be treated as a sign of lower quality.

EKWB's Archetype line is designed to offer a clean aesthetic at a more than affordable starting price, the idea being that if you want the fancier options, y'all can step upwardly to the parts produced in Slovenia. Speaking of, last yr we had the chance to visit EKWB HQ and tour the warehouse and manufacturing facilities, and then if you're interested in seeing where and how those more premium parts are made, we suggest watching those videos!

In terms of the product stack, the P360 is at the top of the Classic kit range and sports a thicker radiator than the S360. We've mentioned before that 360mm is probably the sweet spot for entering the custom loop scene; lower than that and you're unlikely to be seeing significant improvements over AIOs or large air coolers despite a hefty price hike. Much like with the Thermaltake kit, EKWB's one is focused around lighting, with the fans, CPU block, and pump unit of measurement all sporting RGB LEDs. This particular kit is a soft tubing ane rather than rigid, so it'southward fairly beginner-friendly; we'll examine that closer upon installation.

Opening up the kit box, yous're greeted with quite the plethora of items. You have the CPU cake, radiator, pump/reservoir combo, coolant concentrate, fittings, tubing, and fans. Additionally, in that location are several extras thrown in, including a number of cable splitters (handy given the number of RGB devices), a fan mount subclass for the pump/res unit of measurement, and a bridging plug. There'southward too a hefty transmission with clear images and instructions, which is nice given the target audition. This also provides a reference for checking whether you've missed a detail adaptor in the box or like.

In that location isn't a whole lot to say nearly the EK-Supremacy Archetype RGB CPU block in isolation other than information technology looks pretty proficient. The Classic range sports a simpler aesthetic than the regular parts, which may well entreatment to a off-white few folks out there. I practise like EK's thumbscrews for the block mounting; they're e'er visible, if nowadays, so having them look consistent with the block is sensible, and not everybody does that for some reason.

The cake has an RGB pigtail that you attach to a header on your motherboard, but it's worth noting though that this is 12V regular RGB and not 5V addressable. This is actually an interesting bespeak, equally the Thermaltake kit features addressable lighting and a manual controller too as the usual motherboard software control option. With EK, you aren't able to control individual LEDs and furnishings on these parts, and you have to rely on your motherboard delivering the goods. EK's main lineup is going total ARGB, and it too has a new controller, so perhaps this will change in an upcoming revision?

The pump/res is a very important function; you really desire to have a proper, powerful, reliable unit. This is where I accept a scrap of a sticking indicate with this kit, as it doesn't use a full-on DDC pump. Instead, it uses a PWM-controlled SPC pump, which is a considerable step downwards. Now, that'south non to say it won't function, simply I'thou ever wary of lower-ability pumps, and there's also the risk that this pump could limit expansion options in the future. I would accept preferred a cheaper DDC over the SPC, which I understand can be tricky at this price point, simply the Thermaltake kit does have one, and then it tin can exist done. The pump/res unit here is again illuminated by 12V RGB LEDs.

The EK-Uni pump bracket lets yous use 120mm fan mounts to mount the pump/res. This is a dainty touch, as installing the unit of measurement can be catchy if you lot're non up for modding your chassis. It would have been extra special, though, had EK also included a 50mm reservoir clip and so that the tube can exist mounted on a bracket such as the kind included in NZXT'south cases.

The fittings really are a spartan thing, every bit you get just six compressions and that's information technology. Sadly, no angled adaptors are included. Naturally, there's no bleed system either, but that's more of a luxury feature and doesn't thing all that much for soft tubing. Information technology would take been nice to encounter just two ninety° adaptors thrown in here, as even with soft tubing they can be particularly handy.

The fans are EK'south RGB Vardars, which are static pressure radiator fans. Again, these ones are the standard 12V RGB variety, so behave that in heed. Being static pressure oriented, in theory this means that they should perform well in higher-brake environments and on thicker radiators. Thankfully, nosotros can test that fairly well with the door closed on our easy bake oven test system.

Coolant comes as a concentrate in this kit, then make certain you accept some distilled water to paw when you go to install the system! Information technology would accept been prissy to have a fill up bottle included, but perhaps that'south being nitpicky, as information technology's easy plenty to practise with a jug and some tubing. Alternatively, just pick ane up locally.

Specifications

• Compatibility Intel: LGA 20xx, LGA 115x, LGA 1366, LGA 775; AMD: Socket AM4, Sockets AM3(+)/AM2(+)/FM2(+)/FM1
• Radiator EK-CoolStream Classic PE 360
• Fan(s) 3x EK-Vardar F4-120ER RGB (500-2200rpm)
• Fan size (mm) 25 x 25 x 120
• CPU Cake EK-Supremacy Classic RGB - Nickel + Plexi
• Pump/Reservoir EK-XRES 140 SPC PWM Archetype RGB - Plexi (incl. pump)
• Fittings 6x EK-STC Classic 10/thirteen (3/8'' - 1/2'') - G1/4 Nickel
• Coolant EK-CryoFuel Clear rev.2 (100mL; for 1L of coolant)
• Extras EK-UNI Pump Bracket (120mm FAN), EK-Cablevision Y-Splitter 2-Way Fan PWM (10cm), EK PWM Cable Extender 500mm, EK-Cable Pump testing adapter, ATX Bridging Plug, 2x RGB four-Way Splitter Cable, Allen Fundamental 8mm

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Source: https://bit-tech.net/reviews/tech/cooling/ekwb-classic-rgb-p360-water-cooling-kit-review/1/

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