CONCLUSION

   I’d like to point out that when EK Water Blocks asked us if we wanted to test the P280 I really wanted one of the 360mm kits since I always encourage competition but as you can clearly see from our charts it was able to compete with every single water cooling kit we’ve tested to date. Of course we can’t skip mentioning that the two 140mm Vardar fans of the P280 where mounted in such a way that they could suck cold air from the outside. However between the temperature of our room set at 23 degrees Celsius, the fans placed beneath the radiator (and not above) and our Obsidian 900D being outfitted with a total of 7 case fans this shouldn’t really affect the cooling efficiency of the kit, at least not by much. With that out of the way thanks to the Xylem D5 pump used and the high-static pressure fans the P280 is aimed towars people who plan on expanding it either by adding a second (and even a third) reservoir or a GPU water block (or both). Unfortunately the Vardar fans are not the lowest Where the P280 shines however is its build quality since it’s easily one of the best we’ve ever used and I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that I hope EKWB makes a 480mm in their Performance or Extreme lines which we can also use to cool our upcoming 6850k build.

   Our very good friends over at EK Water Blocks offer some of the best water cooling kits in the market today and much like most things in this industry that comes at a price premium and so the P280 currently retails for USD367.99 inside the USA (Performance-PCs) and for 339.95Euros inside the EU (EKWB webshop). Unfortunately this is the only “drawback” of the P280 especially since you can find even 480mm kits for as much or even less (performance difference may not be what I’d call significant but it’s there). With that out of the way however the Performance 280 Starter Liquid Cooling Kit by EK Water Blocks offers excellent cooling efficiency for its size, it’s easily expandable thanks to the Xylem D5 pump, the EK Supremacy EVO waterblock looks great and ontop of that you are getting two 140mm Vardar fans featuring extremely high static pressure levels. With all that in mind the somewhat “hefty” price tag is simply not enough for us to deny the P280 our Golden Award.

PROS

- Premium Build Quality
- Excellent Top Of The Line Cooling Efficiency
- Universal CPU Compatibility
- Powerful Xylem D5 PWM Pump (4800RPM - 1500l/h)
- Two High Static Pressure 140mm Vardar Fans (1.90 H2O)

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Current Availability