EK Water Blocks presents water blocks for the Geforce RTX 3000 series

In line with rumors and Nvidia’s countdown, this week’s big event was the launch event around the Geforce RTX 3000 family. The cards have the architecture “Ampere” under the hood and the specifications promise significantly increased performance over the RTX 2000 series, where a substantial increase in the number of CUDA cores has caused many to raise their eyebrows.

► Nvidia Ampere – a technical deep dive

The cards’ TDP values ​​also step up compared to the previous generation, which is accompanied by new Founder’s Edition coolers which for the top model Geforce RTX 3090 occupy three expansion slots. Among enthusiasts, tailor-made water cooling may become more relevant than ever and now EK Water Blocks presents water blocks for the upcoming cards.

At the time of writing, the Slovenian manufacturer is lifting the lid for four different configurations of the water block that take place in the EK-Quantum Vector series. This has the outer dimensions 230 × 124 × 16.5 mm and is designed according to the reference specifications for the Geforce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090, which Asus, Palit and Gainward have so far promised to follow. In the usual order, these are CNC-milled contact blocks of copper, which are delivered in copper or with a nickel-plated surface and in the company of a top in acetal or plexiglass.

However, the water blocks will not be compatible with Nvidia’s Founder’s Edition, whose coolers require compact V-shaped circuit boards to allow airflow for the rear fan. EK Water Blocks also makes no promises about which graphics cards the now uncovered water blocks will be compatible with in practice, which is why the products cannot be pre-purchased before the company has put its hands on cards to test with.

It remains to be seen if the manufacturer opens up for sale before the graphics cards reach the market, which for the Geforce RTX 3080 from both Nvidia and partner manufacturers will debut on 17 September. Big brother RTX 3090 follows on September 24. Unveiled RTX 3070 will not be released until October, but will most likely also receive associated water blocks in the future. On Facebook, the company confirms that the Founder’s Edition variants will also receive the same treatment in due course.

For those who are hungry for water cooling, the prices for the EK-Quantum Vector water blocks are 136.45 or 157.46 euros, corresponding to around 1,400 to 1,600 kronor. The cheapest ones come without nickel plating and RGB lighting, but the cover plate for the back is a voluntary option for both price levels for around 40 euros.

Are you water cooling your hardware today, or maybe you are planning to water cool your next graphics card? Tell us about your home-made radiator solution, or the lack of one, in the comment thread!