So while we waited for a new 290 to come in to finish up testing on 290 blocks it seemed like a good time to take some numbers on 4770K blocks which we did a few weeks back. Once there was a basic reference point it was then easy to compare to the full cover Impact block by EK. For those of you who haven’t seen it – the Impact block is a new type of CPU block that integrates the CPU block with a full cover motherboard block. I’ve wondered for a while why no one made these and so it was a pleasure to see this and get to review it.
Let’s start with the block itself, EK packaging is nothing but consistently nice:
Accessories are included in the top part:
Underneath is the block itself and some good TIM:
The accessories include thermal pads (two thicknesses, not precut to size), a replacement backplate for the motherboard and a tool with which to remove it. Also screws to fix the new block down and the aforementioned TIM paste.
The block itself is as usual sealed in a plastic bag:
While the surface of the block that touches the CPU is protected with a sticker:
The small sticker on the right side (close to the south bridge cold plate) is the “warranty void if removed” sticker, though in all fairness I’ve rma’d blocks before after taking the block apart. EK is pretty lenient these days it seems on warranties compared to other manufacturers.
The long metal section on the far side of the south bridge is for the VRM cooling. This is the orientation it would mount to in a normal tower case:
VRM cooling at the top, then cpu cooling, then south bridge cooling at the bottom. Of course this is not how the coolant flows. Instead it flows to cool the CPU first, then splits into two parallel paths – one for VRM and one for the south bridge.
This is perhaps easier to see once we add dye:
The cooling engine for the CPU itself is based on the Supremacy although EK says it is larger in size and should give better cooling. It does use the same jetplate design injecting the coolant to parallel cuts in the base that has been used by EK and others for quite a while now.
The addition of the Asus Impact logo is a nice touch. The cutout in the plexi above the south bridge is to allow the optional daughter sound card to run over the top of the block.
Taking a look at the side of the block we see that this will attach much like GPU full cover block. I.E. There is no attachment hardware or springs to even out block pressure on the front of the board. This in turn allows for coolant to use more of the area normally reserved for mounting plates and mounting hardware. It also looks cleaner as a result.
So let’s look at how to fit the block to the board:
I would love a Maximus Gene VI version of this. The southbridge might be cooled without the inlets and outlets blocking the second PCIE 3.0 slot. But mostly it would just look bad ass.
[…] you’re focussed on every last degree you might want to wait for EK’s monoblock. In our Impact testing we saw that the monoblock performed better thermally as well as being lower restriction than a […]
[…] we’ve had a new CPU block up for test. The last mini cpu block testing we did was on the Impact Monoblock. For this review we will still be testing on the 4770K/Max VI Impact combo, but at a different […]
Most consumers will be considering Monoblock (based on the previous Supremacy) vs the Supremacy EVO, comparison of Delta T vs Supremacy EVO would make an interesting comparison also. It would also be interested to know the pressure drop of this monoblock compared to CPU only solutions.
I think these would be relevant given that Z97 chipset and Power MOSFET passive temperatures don’t seem excessive.
Anyways, thank you. Appreciate the review.
Comments are closed.