INTRODUCTION

   Even though heatsink based (air) and AIO (liquid) CPU coolers have come a long way and now offer impressive cooling results enthusiasts and very demanding users in general are always looking to equip their systems with complete water cooling loops. Water cooling kits may not be at the top when it comes to cooling efficiency (extreme solutions like phase change are also available) but they do extremely well and offer a rather tempting price/performance ratio (always compared to more expensive solutions) for consumers and professionals alike who are looking for something slightly better than AIO models. EK Waterblocks has been among the leading manufacturers in the water cooling industry for many years now and today with us we have one of the latest kits to hit the market, the EK-KIT Classic RGB S240.

   EK® Water Blocks, the premium liquid cooling manufacturer, bears the name of its founder Edvard König. It all started with the enthusiasm of one man and his ventures with liquid cooling back in 1999. From its humble beginnings more than ten years ago, the company steadily grew to become the most renowned supplier of high-end premium quality liquid cooling products. Over the years, the company expanded its product portfolio to become a full liquid cooling solution provider know as EK®. Today, the products of EK® are available in more than 30 countries worldwide and the company holds several partnerships with some of the most recognized brands.

   The EK-KIT Classic RGB S240 is a complete/full water cooling solution aimed towards demanding users looking for a dual 120mm fan solution. To be more precise the Classic RGB S240 kit consists by the EK-CoolStream Classic SE 240 radiator (273mm long, 120mm wide and 28mm thick - steel housing with copper fins and brass chambers), EK Supremacy Classic RGB waterblock (top made out of CNC machined high-grade acrylic glass), EK-XRES 140 SPC PWM Classic RGB pump-reservoir (DC pump with 2.2m head pressure with 250L/h maximum flow), two EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB 120mm fans (2200RPM/77CFM/3.16mmH2O/33.5dBA), six EK-STC Classic 10/13 compression fittings (G1/4 nickel), bottle of EK-CryoFuel Clear Rev.2 (concentrated 100ml for up to 1 litre of coolant - use high purity distilled water to dilute it) and 2 meters of their EK-DuraClear PVC Tubing. Finally, as the name of the kit clearly states the main parts (minus the radiator) are compatible with all the leading mainboard RGB sync technologies (ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light and ASRock RGB LED).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

EK Waterblocks ships the EK-KIT Classic RGB S240 inside a white box the front of which is taken by a large product picture.

The package contents are printed on a sticker located on the right side.

The main product features are showcased via 5 pictures placed at the rear of the box.

Packaging is good, perhaps not excellent but good.

Inside the box you will find the EK-CoolStream Classic SE 240 radiator, EK-CryoFuel Clear rev.2 coolant, installation instructions, two EK-Vardar F4-120ER RGB fans, EK-DuraClear tubing, six EK-STC Classic 10/13 fittings, EK-XRES 140 SPC PWM Classic RGB reservoir/pump combo, EK-Supremacy Classic RGB waterblock (compatible with Intel LGA 1150/1151/1155/1156/2011/2011-3/2066 mainboards), thermal paste tube, EK-UNI Pump Bracket (for installing the pump onto an 120mm mount), EK-Cable Y-Splitter, AM4 mounting bracket, RGB 4-Way Splitter Cable, EK-Cable Pump testing adapter, ATX Bridging Plug and an 8mm Allen key.

THE EK-KIT CLASSIC RGB S240

The EK-CoolStream Classic SE 240 radiator is a dual 120mm fan solution that measures 273mm in length.

According to our measurements the radiator is 27.38mm thick (much like most 240mm radiators we've seen to date).

EK Waterblocks has engraved their logo on both sides.

The radiator has just two G1/4 threaded ports on one side and an FPI (fins per inch) count of 18 (even though EKWB states 16).

EK Water Blocks has bundled two EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB 120mm fans (9 LEDs each) with the Classic RGB S240 which can spin up to 2200RPM (500RPM minimum) to produce 77CFM of airflow with 3.16mmH2O of air pressure and 33.5dBA of noise.

Although somewhat compact (168.70mm in height, 64mm in width and 68mm in depth) the EK-XRES 140 SPC PWM Classic RGB reservoir/pump combo has room for 205mL of coolant and its pump can produce pressure of up to 2.2 meters with a maximum liquid flow of 250l/h.

Even though the top can be removed there's also a fill port here.

Two G1/4 ports are located on one side of the reservoir/pump combo.

The top of the EK Supremacy Classic RGB waterblock is made from CNC machined high-grade acrylic glass and has two G1/4 ports.

Taken a look at the base of the waterblock we find a precisely machined copper base treated with nickel electroplating (mirror like finish).

INSTALLATION - FINISHED LOOKS

First step to mounting any water cooling kit is to mount the compression fittings on all three parts of the kit (do this with your hands only if possible, any stress by machinery could result in one of more leaks).

After that we mount the fans and since our Obsidian 900D case has a total of 7 Noctua Redux intake fans we decided to mount the fans facing upwards (no performance change with this kit when mounted facing downwards in our case, however if your case doesn't have very good airflow you should invert the fans).

With both fans mounted the main body of the EK-KIT Classic RGB S240 now measures 53.15mm in thickness.

Of course, the EK-CoolStream Classic SE 240 radiator is dwarfed inside a huge case like the Obsidian 900D.

Mounting the waterblock is very easy on LGA2011/LGA2011-3/2066 mainboards, just install the 4 thumb screws, place the 4 springs and then secure the thumb nuts over them (just don't forget to apply a drop of thermal conductive material).

Last part is to mount the reservoir/pump combo which in our case was done on the lower right side of the case (some people ask why i don't like taking pictures of our X79 test rig when doing CPU cooler reviews and the answer is simple, not the best looking interior ever).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Testing complete water cooling kits or individual radiators is no different than testing CPU Coolers and since we want all of you to be able to compare similar products we created new and separate charts (you can still cross-compare results however since we are using the same test rig). So once again single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of our test rig while dual/triple/quad (240/260/280/360/420/480/560mm) solutions with the radiator mounted at the top. For the dBA tests complete water cooling kits or radiators with bundled fans are measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting (PWM fans do that on their own without our intervention). Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside the room. When testing complete water cooling kits we use the Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste. Finally much like when testing CPU Coolers it's very important to point out that just because a water cooling kit outperforms another when tested with our test rig (when we test complete water cooling kits) that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).

     To successfully record the load temperatures, we use the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded, we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests (when fans exist in the bundle) are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the radiator. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   As you can easily tell from our charts the EK-KIT Classic RGB S240 is the highest performance water cooling kit we’ve tested to date but its excellent cooling efficiency comes with a somewhat important drawback, noise levels. You see the EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB 120mm fans may be inaudible in some systems at idle but when temperatures start to increase so do their RPM and with a maximum rotational speed of 2200RPM these fans can be very loud (this makes the Classic RGB S240 kit the 2^nd loudest model in our charts). That being said if you don’t care about the maximum possible cooling performance you can set them at the desired percentage/speed via your mainboards BIOS or Windows software but we always test kits at their maximum performance settings. With that out of the way what surprised us all is that regardless of noise this is still a dual 120mm radiator solution so it can fit in pretty much every case out there, including some micro-ATX and mini-ITX ones (high compatibility is always a good thing). Unfortunately, since our X79 test rig is not RGB compatible we couldn’t test that feature so you may want to check online for pictures and videos showcasing it.

   Noise is not the only drawback of the EK-KIT Classic RGB S240 since with a current price set at USD285.15 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 290Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) it’s also far from affordable. Yes, high-end water cooling kits usually cost way over USD250/250Euros but we hardly see any dual 120mm kits in that price range which is also why we think there’s room for improvement here (still only EK Water Blocks knows for certain). Bottom line if you’re looking for one of the best dual 120mm water cooling kits money can buy and you don’t care much about the noise (or you plan to reduce the speed of the fans to suit your needs) you really can’t go wrong with the EK-KIT Classic RGB S240 by EK Water Blocks and that’s also why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Excellent Cooling Efficiency (Top Of The Charts)
- High Static Pressure 120mm Vardar RGB Fans (3.16mmH2O)
- Size (Slim Dual 120mm Radiator / Compact Pump Reservoir Combo)
- RGB Lighting (Compatible With ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light and ASRock RGB LED)
- Bundle

CONS

- Noise Levels
- Price (For Some)