The Slovenian EK watercooling company has established itself, during the years, amongst other big companies alike Swiftech, Koolance and Alphacool. Combining cooling performance with stunning aesthetic designed blocks, EK has found it's way to many cooling fascionata's hearts.

Today we review one of the three brand new L complete watercooling solutions. The latest L series are available in three logic flavours: The L 120 model sporting a 120 radiator, the medium sized L 240 with a dual fan radiator and the triple fan behemoth, the L 360. Today we test the massive 360 version inside our Lian Li full tower enclosure.

All the kits comprise the same components, only the radiator size and amount of fans differ from kit to kit.

The universal CPU waterblock is the EK Supreme LTX UNI CSQ version with the new PreciseMount mounting mechanism. While not being the ultimate CPU cooling block in EK's line up, this LighXTreme is a well balanced performance/price CPU cooling block.

 

 

 

This block is the successor of the renown EK-Supreme LT block, providing a 10% higher flow rate and better cooling performance. The base plate is made of electrolytic copper. A total of 46 channels provide the cooling surface on the inside. The top is made of a satin finished acrylic material. I always favoured the black acetal block versions, just for their more professional look, but it's all a matter of personal taste. Two holes are pre drilled to insert LEDs to add some extra bling bling.

 

 

 

 

The LTX block is compatible with all Intel sockets:

• Intel LGA-775
• Intel LGA-1366
• Intel LGA-1155/1156
• Intel LGA 2011

For the AMD users EK includes the AMD top bracket in the L 360 kit. Compatibility is assured for:

• AMD socket 939,754, 940
• AMD socket AM2, AM2+,AM3, AM3+, FM1 and FM2

The new LT 360 included mounting mechanism differs from the standalone LTX waterblock kits. The improved PreciseMount mechanism allows for a perfect mounting time after time. This in typical EK style, sporting a very successful pro finish.

 

 

Installing a custom watercooling usually requires a lot of measuring and in worst case scenario modifying your case to neatly install the radiator, pump and reservoir.

Most modern mainstream enclosures are ready for most 240 rads. If you want to install a 360 radiator, you have two options: either install the radiator on the outside of the case (optional) or opt straight for a full tower casing.

In the L 360 package we find the EK-CoolStream RAD XT 360, optimised for maximum heat dissipation even when running low Fan speeds.

• Material: Copper fins and Brass chambers
• Dimensions: (LxWxH): 398x123x47mm
• Threads: G1/4"
• Weight: 1350g
• Liquid capacity: approx. 310 ml

 

 

 

 

Where to install the pump unit and the reservoir is another thing. Depending on the case size it can well be that a hard drive cage has to be sacrificed for optimal placement. Now this is where these L kits excel: the pump unit and reservoir are a combined unit. While previous versions were labelled as noisy, this new EK-DCP 2.2 X-RES incl. pump remains pretty acceptable in the noise department. Due to it's tiny dimensions it can even be installed in cramped environments.

• Combined pump + reservoir
• 400L / hour
• Acetal and POM Acetal for the reservoir
• Dimensions (LxHxD): 60x105x60mm
• Threads: G1/4"
• Anti-vibration mounting

 

 

 

 

The three included Fans are EK's Silent 120-1600 RPM versions. Where most All In One cooling solutions (AIO) fail was the emitted noise when maximum cooling was required. Full blown watercooling kit's combine the best out of both worlds: excellent cooling, yet the entire setup has to remain whisper silent, no matter the strain on the hardware parts.

Precisely balanced Fan blades and long life Hydro Dynamic bearing warrant ultra low noise, yet adequate airflow.

• High Airflow and High Static Pressure
• Air Flow: 58.8 CFM
• Static Pressure 1.7mm H20
• Fan Speed: 1600 RPM
• Noise Level: 25.8 dbA
• Voltage 12V
• Long Lifetime: 50.000h MTBF at 40°C
• Dimensions: 120x120x25 mm
• Made by GELID solutions

 

 

The included ZMT (Zero MainTenance) tubing is designed, just as norprene, to withstand harsh operating conditions. Therefore offering good life expectancy. The warranted hassle-free operation of this matte black tubing might make up for it's dull looks, compared to more expensive tubing.

• Material: EPDM
• Outer Diameter: 16mm ( 5/8")
• Inner Diameter: 10mm ( 3/8")
• Operating temperature range: -30°C to 110°C
• 2 meters included

 

 

 

A total of 6 stunning looking EK-CSQ 16/10mm G1/4 Nickel fittings are included in the L 360 kit, assuring a bullet proof mount of the tubing on the block, radiator or pump/reservoir unit. The bundled cooling paste from Gelid solutions clearly indicates EK means business.

 

To reduce shipping costs EK only bundles the L kits with a DIY UV reactive blue coolant. About 1000ml of distilled water is needed to be mixed with the full content of the coolant. Quite plenty, as we only needed just above 500ml to fill up the loop. Main characteristics of the included fluid are:

• Low electrical conductivity
• Includes additives against algae and corrosion
• Not aggressive towards acrylic, acetal, rubber or other gasket materials
• Ecologically friendly (85% degradable in 30 days)

 

 

Even a foam insert to speed up the air bleeding is included. Another class accessory is the rapid start connector to fire up the pump/reservoir unit, without having to start up the entire PC.

 

Now what are we missing ? It would have been nice to have some Fan splitters and/or 4 pin molex to 3 pin converters.

 

Time to build this puppy inside our Lian Li Full tower case.

The Madshrimps testbed comprises of the following parts:

• ASUS Sabertooth X79 motherboard
• Intel i7-3960X stock and OC'ed at 4500MHz 1.35 Vcore
• G.Skill 16GB 2133MHz C9 rams
• Western Digital 1TB Green Caviar HDD
• ASUS Geforce GTX480 video card
• Corsair HX1000W Power supply
• Corsair C70 Vengeance case with Air Series Fans installed.
• Ambient air temperature is 20°C

Prime95 is our CPU torture test of preference. By selecting the Custom test and setting 12-12K, we force the CPU to go straight flat out. After 60 minutes we verify in RealTemp the maximum load temperature results across the 6 cores. For the idle temperatures we just allow the system to warm up during a period of 15 minutes. Just basic idling at either stock for the air cooled setups and/or 4500MHz for the AIO units, doing nothing more then just monitoring the temperatures.

The monitoring software we use is RealTemp version 3. And the output results are the average out of three runs.

We compare the EK L 360 kit versus any cooler, being it air or AIO, that we have ever tested on this setup. Only thing we changed was the approach to obtain the average out of three runs. Since most AIO's have preapplied thermal paste we left the mounting as it was and just re-ran the prime test. With the EK L 360 kit we remount the CPU block and likewise reapply the thermal paste before each run.

Alike with the other coolers tested, the setup is tested at full blast ( 12V or 1600rpm Fan speed ) and once with the fans running at 9V.

 

 

Last but not least we swapped the included Supreme LTX for it's high end cousin the Supremacy Full Copper block. Being less restrictive and at double the cost price we look if we can nibble off a few more precious degrees C.

 

 

 

Noise measurement for the fans is done via Corsairs Air Fan Reviewers' Guide. Thus measuring the generated FAN noise at 1 meter from the Fan's front. Fans were hooked up straight to a PSU via a molex adapter. Noise tests are only conducted at 12V.

Expectations were high, since I have been a watercooling enthusiast for years. Time to put the record straight and to show all of them all in one maintenance free solutions, who's the performance king in town.

Take note when analysing the results, that we have a triple 120 radiator as cooling surface.

The idle results already start to tell the tale:

 

Idling at 4500MHz the EK beats the 280 rad sized H110 from CORSAIR with 2°C. While the CORSAIR's 120mm versions stay within reach, these are already far more noticeable in the background. Noise wise the EK L 360 and the H110 are battling it out, this when the CPU idles.

Once we crank up the heat and launch the Prime95 Custom ( 12-12K) on the 12 cores the differences become even more apparent.

 

The L 360 enlarges the gap between all the AIO's in the test field. Best off al is not alone the cooling performance, but also that the noise level remains the same versus the Idle results. With all the AIOs listed, once the heat builds up, the noise level goes up exponentially. Only the 140mm versions ( H90 and H110 ) remain acceptable (35dBA). The 120mm variants, depending on the selected cooling profile, easily go over 40-45dBA.

 

We measured all Fans according the CORSAIR guide. This is at 1m from the intake. No surprise the EK Silent 120mm fan is the most silent of them all, this even when running at full blast !

 

The L 360 performs quite well, but what happens if we slow down the included Silent Fans, to achieve a slightly, near to inaudible, humming PC ?

Running at 12V the Fans got measured at 25dBa, when reducing the Fan voltage to 9V we barely measured 21dBA. The setup gets even more quiet, but what's the impact on the cooling performance ?

At Idle we get close to no negative effect, the outputs remained within the margin of error.

 

 

 

When priming hard, the load temperatures only went up 1.3°C which is negligible. Meaning that the EK 360 Radiator still is able to dissipate the heat easily, even with the reduced airflow. Secondly take note that our test setup deviates from the EK recommended installation method. We adhere to the airflow in the case and use the radiator fans to expel the heat by pushing it through the radiator. Not cooling down the radiator with ambient air from the outside and dumping hot air inside the case.

 

Even tough the L 360 is a well balanced kit, looking for more performance is a must at Madshrimps. To keep the noise level down we did not install a push and pull configuration, neither did we replace the fans for more airflow. The included Supreme LTX waterblock was swapped for EK's own flagship: the Supremacy full copper CPU block.

 

 

 

At idle, the output was close to identical of the far cheaper Supreme LTX CPU block. Only advantage of the Supremacy Full Copper block is the look.

 

 

Under load configuration, with the average out of three runs, we only observed a mere and maybe for some disappointing 1°C max temp difference across the cores. The Supremacy is less restrictive in flow. This could easily be observed when looking at the reservoir/pump unit, where the liquid seemed far more active then with the boxed Supreme LTX installed. Take note that there was no jet wash plate swapping. We used the Supremacy block straight out of the box.

The assembly of this EK L 360 is pure child's play. All the required tools/accessories are included in the box. Since all parts are 200% compatible with one another, there are no nasty unexpected surprises during the build.

The mounting of the CPU block is pretty straightforward. No more need to fine tune the spring tension, just screw them down firmly. The EK engineers did all the required calculations to achieve time after time the right amount of pressure. The only thing you possibly could mess up is the appliance of too much/little thermal paste or if you misread the manual and wrongly attached the tubings. A few colored pictures and a more clear fluid flow chart in the EK manual would certainly avoid the latter mentioned installation problem.

 

The performance of this premium watercooling kit is awesome. Easily outperforming any competitor's AIO offering. During the extra testing, it was clear that this 360 kit still has got some more more headroom. The cooling performance remained stable, even when lowering the rotating speed of the triple Fan configuration. Once we get the Nvidia Titan graphics card in, we will be testing the full cover block from EK in the same loop.

 

 

Typical for these watercooling setups is that the cooling performance is present, but all this at a minimalistic noise level. If the excellent heat dissipation wasn't enough for you, the silent operation will. It's a world of difference between even the most silent AIO, the CORSAIR H110, which we have tested before.

The only thing that will be a set back for most, is the cost of this premium watercooling kit. Retailing at 220 euros, it might scare some. However by all means it is a fair price for the included hardware and especially for the performance it delivers. The assembly is straightforward, only thing is to check your case's dimensions, to see if it all will blend in.

 

 

EK waterblocks has put together a great bundle: the cooling parts are top notch, the compact pump/reservoir unit  make it a joy to work with and really makes installing this kit just a matter of a few hours. If cooling performance is high on your priority list, but the setup has to remain silent, then go check out this EK L 360 kit !

 

PROS:

• Great performance
• Low noise
  
• Compact pump/reservoir
  
• Upgradability
• Quality components throughout

 

CONS:

• No fan splitters

 

I wish to thank Niko from EK Waterblocks for providing us with the L 360 sample

 

Sven from ASUS for the Sabertooth X79 board

 

Tones webshop for the years of support to the Madshrimps Crew