EK CES 2024 Booth Tour

EK had a lot to show us at CES 2024

EK was the last company that we visited at CES 2024. At their booth we saw custom liquid cooled PCs, new liquid cooling products, and even a liquid cooled PlayStation 5 console. Today we will talk about the new products that we saw at the EK booth. Let’s just say that we look forward to reviewing some of them.

The people behind CES – Meet Dave

Dave Alcock is a legend. Is there much more that needs to be said here? If you have been part of the PC modding scene, you will know of Dave’s work. He once modded under the “Davido Labido” name, worked for Bit-Tech as a modder, and later moved into the world of Public Relations (PR). Dave now works for EK Water Blocks (EKWB), and he is a great man to work with.

Dave is a true PC enthusiast and an excellent modder. Tom forgot to get a good picture of himself with Dave at CES, so I’ve used this image from a prior event.

EK has built an Nucleus AIO that’s just for Direct Die CPU cooling, an Industry First

Direct-Die cooling has huge benefits. It may be a risky process, but if you want the lowest CPU thermals possible, you’ll need to take off your CPU’s IHS (Integrated Heatspreader) and mount your cooling solution directly onto your processor’s silicon.

EK has created the world’s first direct-die all-in-on CPU liquid cooler. This cooling solution was created in collaboration with De8auer, a world-renowned overclocker and expert CPU delidder. Using direct-die liquid cooling with this new Nucleus CR360 AIO can deliver users 20-degree drops in CPU thermals under load. That is an insane drop in temperatures. The only problem is that this CPU cooler is only designed for Intel LGA1700 CPUs, and it won’t work optimally with non-delidded processors.

This direct Die All-in-One liquid cooling solution will deliver users thermals that are lower than a custom liquid cooling loop. Well… unless you are using a direct-die cooling with a custom liquid cooling loop.

EK reveals new fans at CES 2024

EK have revealed new “Phase” series fans at CES 2024, and the company has confirmed that they will be launching in both Black and White and with RGB and non-RGB options. The corners of each of these fans are rubberised and are replicable with coloured mounts.

EK has worked hard to ensure that their coloured fan mount replacements are colour matched to MDPC-X’s cable sleeves. This allows modders to create systems where their fan mounts match their custom cables perfectly. EK are working to create other colour matches products to cater to modders, which is a great thing to hear.

This isn’t s 360mm radiator, it’s a radiator, pump, and reservoir

It is a radiator? It is a pump? A reservoir? Yes, it is! EK have produced a 360mm-sized combo solution that includes a 240mm radiator, a small 120mm-sized distro plate, and a built-in pump. This cooling solution will be transformative for compact PC builds, and users can even mount fans in top of this unit’s pump/distro plate if they want to conceal them. This is a clever product, and I can’t wait to see how people use this.

EK reveals the NoCase at CES 2024

Meet the EK NoCase. Why is it called the NoCase? It’s called the NoCase because when you build a PC inside of it it almost looks like your PC is floating in midair. This lightweight PC frame acts as an aluminium skeleton for your custom liquid cooled PC build. It ships with a custom dual distro plate, which can be used to create separate CPU and GPU liquid cooling loops.

The EK NoCase supports up to three 420mm liquid cooling radiators, with one at the top of the case, one at the bottom, and another at the side of the case. Below you can see a full PC built on EK’s NoCase frame, where the NoCase frame itself is practically invisible.

EK monoblocks at CES 2024

EK’s Monoblock products have transformed the PC liquid cooling market. With these products, EK offer their customers liquid cooling for both a user’s processor and their motherboard’s VRM heatsink solution. Below is the Monoblock upgrade for ASUS’ ROG Z790 Formula motherboard, which is designed to take advantage of this motherboard’s built-in VRM hybrid water block.

A liquid cooled PlayStation 5

Last year, EK launched a dedicated water block for Sony’s PlayStation 5 console, and at CES we finally got to see one of these crazy liquid cooled consoles in person. Not only can you liquid cool a PlayStation 5 with EK’s QuantumX CoolingStation water block, but you can fit it neatly inside Rajintek’s PAN Slim PC case. Now that’s a nice setup. It almost makes me want to get a PlayStation 5.

A new, better, DDC pump top and new Velocity water blocks

In Vegas, EK has also launched a new version of their DDC pump top. This new model features RGB lighting and a removable plate. This is great news for DDC Vario pump users, as EK’s previous pump top made the Vario’s pump speed dial inaccessible. Now that the top is removable, you can access this dial without draining your liquid cooling loop.

Below we can also see EK’s new Velocity² Edge D-RGB water blocks. These Special Edition water blocks for AM5 and LGA1700 sockets. It will be available in black and silver and feature an aesthetic that’s similar to EK’s older Supremacy EVO CPU blocks. We quite like its low polygon aesthetic.

Closing Thoughts

EK are not resting on their laurels. EK has a lot of products to show us, including new cases, fans, water blocks, radiators, and more. With their radiator/reservoir/pump combo unit, EK has shown us that there is plenty of space to innovate within the water cooling space. Beyond that, with their NoCase, they have shown us an entirely new way to build a liquid cooled system.

You can join the discussion on EK’s CES 2024 booth on the OC3D Forums.