O-Sense
INTRODUCTION
Even though for the largest majority of people AIO (all-in-one) 240/280mm liquid CPU coolers offer exceptional cooling efficiency without breaking the bank there are always those who are looking for something even better, such as 360/420mm AIO models. Still there are always some people who are looking to take things a step further when it comes to cooling efficiency and for those people a factory-ready (or custom for that matter) water cooling kit (loop) is usually the go to choice/solution. Water cooling kits (and water cooling parts in general) have always been treated as a niche product aimed almost exclusively towards enthusiasts and professionals but thanks to manufacturers like EK Water Blocks this has changed over the recent years and after popular demand today I’ll be testing their Classic RGB P360 Complete RGB Liquid Cooling Kit.
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 P360 is a complete tr-fan water cooling kit/loop designed to cover the needs of even the most demanding users by combining their medium thickness EK-CoolStream Classic PE 360 radiator (393mm long, 120mm wide and 45mm thick - features a steel housing with copper fins and brass chambers) with the EK Supremacy Classic RGB waterblock (top made out of CNC machined high-grade acrylic glass), an EK-XRES 140 SPC PWM Classic RGB pump-reservoir (DC pump with 2.2m head pressure with 250L/h maximum flow) and three EK-Vardar F4-120ER RGB 120mm fans (2200RPM/77CFM/3.16mmH2O/33.5dBA). This choice of components for the Classic RGB P360 all but ensures that you're getting one of the best factory ready kits currently available in the market today. Of course the bundle also contains six EK-STC Classic 10/13 compression fittings (G1/4 nickel), EK-UNI pump bracket, 4-way RGB splitter cable, 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, just like with the Classic RGB S240 kit (review here) the RGB illuminated parts of the Classic RGB P360 kit are fully compatible with all the leading mainboard RGB sync technologies like the ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light and the ASRock RGB LED.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
EK Water Blocks ships the EK-KIT Classic RGB P360 inside a large white box the front of which is mostly taken by a picture of the complete kit.
The package contents are printed on a sticker located on the right side of the box.
Turning the box around we see the main product features showcased with the help of 5 pictures.
Packaging is good, certainly not excellent since there aren't any pieces of foam to keep the boxes from moving around but good.
Inside the box you will find the EK-CoolStream Classic PE 360 radiator, 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), EK-CryoFuel Clear rev.2 coolant, three EK-Vardar F4-120ER RGB fans, EK-DuraClear tubing, six EK-STC Classic 10/13 fittings, 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 (our sample had two of these inside), EK-Cable Pump testing adapter, ATX Bridging Plug, 8mm Allen key and the installation instructions.
THE EK-KIT CLASSIC RGB P360
The EK-CoolStream Classic PE 360 steel/copper/brass radiator used with this kit is a tri 120mm fan solution that measures 393mm in length.
Unlike some other radiators this has just two G1/4 threaded ports on one side.
With a thickness of 45mm the Classic PE 360 radiator is a high-performance model.
This time over we measured an FPI (fins per inch) count of 13.
Typically, EK Water Blocks has engraved their logo on both sides.
EK Water Blocks has bundled three of their EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB 120mm fans (9 LEDs each) which can reach speeds of up to 2200RPM (500RPM minimum) to produce 77CFM of airflow with 3.16mmH2O of air pressure and 33.5dBA of noise.
The top of the EK Supremacy Classic RGB waterblock is made from CNC machined high-grade acrylic glass and has two G1/4 ports.
The copper base of the waterblock is treated with nickel electroplating (mirror like finish).
Even though compact (168.70mm in height, 64mm in width and 68mm in depth) the EK-XRES 140 SPC PWM Classic RGB reservoir/pump combo can be filled with up to 205mL of coolant and its pump can produce pressure of up to 2.2 meters with a maximum liquid flow of 250l/h.
The top can be easily removed and as you can all see it has a fill-port at the top.
Two G1/4 ports are located on one side of the reservoir/pump combo.
INSTALLATION - FINISHED LOOKS
This time over i decided to start by mounting the EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB fans onto the Classic PE 360 radiator.
With the fans attached the radiator becomes almost 72mm thick.
Next step is to mount the compression fittings on all parts of the kit (do this with your hands only if possible, any stress by machinery could result in one of more leaks).
With enough room for up to 480mm long radiators the Classic RGB PE 360 is no match for the Obsidian 900D.
One of the things I’ve always liked about the LGA2011 socket is the quick mounting of any waterblock.
Today most towers have horizontal fan mounting areas but if you have one that doesn't (or is not easy to access like in our case) you can always use cable ties to secure the reservoir/pump (doesn't look great but as long as you do it properly it gets the job done).
With the components connected via the bundled EK-DuraClear PVC Tubing all that's left is to use the K-CryoFuel Clear Rev.2 coolant.
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
Even though the Classic RGB P360 is being marketed by EK Water Blocks as a value-oriented water cooling kit as you can tell from out charts it performs extremely well and as a matter of fact it’s the highest performance kit to reach our lab, at least to date. On top of that noise levels at load are almost identical with those recorded while testing the Classic RGB S240 kit so that too matters (still these two are the 2nd and 3rd most noisy kits in our charts). Unfortunately our test rig doesn’t support RGB technologies (the intro/outro pictures do offer a glimpse on that) but since I’m currently working on an RGB fan comparison I can say that the EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB fans look nice, perhaps not quite as nice as some models with RGB illuminated rings but nice (the Vardar models however do feature higher airflow and air-pressure levels so you lose some and win some). Using a thick radiator is also a double-edged sword since on one hand you get better cooling efficiency but on the other you make your kit far less compatible with cases as for example the radiator used in the S240 kit so do keep that in mind. As for people who may want even more from a water cooling kit EK Water Blocks also has the Performance and Extreme series available (I’ll try to get one of the Extreme models to see just how better it is) so be sure to also check those out if you happen to belong in that segment of the market.
The EK-KIT Classic RGB P360 Complete RGB Liquid Cooling Kit by EK Water Blocks currently retails for USD358.87 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 358.93Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which doesn’t really remind us of “value”. Still regardless of how EK Water Blocks decides to market their kits one thing’s for certain and that’s that the Classic RGB P360 is not really that expensive for what it offers in return (performance/quality/bundle) and that’s 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)
- RGB Lighting (Compatible With ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light and ASRock RGB LED)
- Bundle
CONS
- Noise Levels
- Thick Radiator (Compatibility)
- Price (For Some)
