EK apologises for sub-par performance on their Threadripper series water blocks

EK is easily one of the most recognisable names in the water cooling market, offering a range of liquid cooling products that cover a wide range of CPUs, graphics cards, motherboards and more. This brand recognition has come after years of high-performance water block designs which are merged with a premium aesthetic, facilitating the creation of beautiful, cool running, high-performance PCs.  

In recent months this reputation has started to slip, with their CEO, CTO and other staff leaving the company, with some of them later finding a new home at Corsair. Reviews for the company’s new Supremacy EVO Threadripper water blocks have also been unkind, revealing sub-par performance when compared to their competition. 

EK has seen these criticisms of their Supremacy EVO Threadripper Edition water block and has apologised for the sub-par performance of their water block, stating that it is “not up to EK standards” and that “action has to be taken”. This action has resulted in the delay of future X399 monoblock design and a significant reduction in price for existing Threadripper water blocks, with standard blocks now selling for as little as €36.84 on the company’s web store. 

Those who already own the Supremacy EVO Threadripper water block are entitled to a $/€25 coupon code if they purchased their block before November 27th, with those who have proof of purchase before the same date being able to get a partial refund of $/€25. Owners of the ASUS ROG ZE RGB Monoblock will be able to apply for a free upgrade kit which will allow owners to replace the block’s CPU thermal transfer plate with a newly designed coldplate solution, which is specific to Threadripper and should offer more cooling potential. 

 

 

EK’s performance woes stem from the fact that their Supremacy EVO Threadripper Edition block is a redesigned version of their existing Supremacy Evo, which utilises an extended fin area that covers the CPU dies under Threadripper’s IHS. The problem is that this design does not cool the remainder of the Threadripper IHS, unlike many competing models, leaving EK at a disadvantage. 

To solve this problem, EK has designed a new water block design that is tailor-made for Threadripper (shown below), offering a larger finned area for increased thermal transfer potential and covers most of Threadripper’s IHS. With this design, EK says that they can now compete with the best performing Ryzen Threadripper water blocks available.