Thanks to our FUNKYKIT team, we’ll be taking a look at the EK Thermosphere GPU Waterblock. It’s an universal GPU waterblock that is compatible for most modern graphic cards including Nvidia GeForce GTX series and AMD Radeons.
Ever since I started playing around with watercooling 10 years ago, I’ve always shy away from adding the graphics card to the water loop. One of the reasons is the cost involved. Not to mention the limited range of full-cover GPU waterblocks available. Most are designed specifically for that card only… which are normally high-end expensive graphics card. And the other real concern for me, is that once it’s done, the graphics card is literally fixed to that system. Which means you can’t just switch or upgrade your graphics that easily.
So here’s my case. I have a HIS Radeon RX 480 – 8GB GDDR5 Roaring Edition, which I might add is NOT based on AMD’s reference design. I want to add it to our Project Ice Stream 2 PC build, which a fully watercooled system. I search the internet for a suitable full-cover GPU waterblock. The result – Nothing available! The only ones available are for your standard AMD Radeon RX 480 reference design, and unfortunately this is not compatible with my HIS Radeon RX 480 – 8GB GDDR5 Roaring Edition (gutted!)
After some hard searching … I found EKWB. A company based in Slovenia, EU selling all sorts of watercooling gear. And to my surprise, they actually sell a universal GPU waterblock (along with the correct mounting plate) that is compatible with my HIS Radeon RX 480 – 8GB GDDR5 Roaring Edition.
About EKWB
EK Water Blocks bears the name of its founder Edvard König, who started experimenting with liquid cooling in 1999. From the humble beginnings in the early years of the previous decade, the company grew steadily to become a global premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer.
Today, EKWB offers a complete range of products for liquid cooling, from a renowned Supremacy line of CPU water blocks, wide range of in-house developed CoolStream radiators and Vardar High pressure fans to Predator all-in-one (AIO) eXpandable Liquid Cooling (XLC) solution, providing overclocking enthusiasts and PC builders with the best of what the market can offer.
With continuous research and design, we will always strive to bring best possible liquid cooling performance and experience to our customers all around the world.
Introducing the EK Thermosphere GPU Waterblock. However, there’s a slight problem. The EK Thermosphere only covers the GPU and leaves the ram and VRMs untouched, which is not a good idea. EK did say you’ll need additional heatsinks for you ram and VRMs.
Well, I had no choice … I had to get EK Thermosphere GPU Waterblock along with the G92 mounting plate to complete the Project Ice Stream 2 PC build. Additionally, I had to buy some ram sinks too… Once the shopping list was done, it’s time to get EK Thermosphere mounted on my HIS Radeon RX 480 – 8GB GDDR5 Roaring Edition.
I’m hoping we can get some good temperatures on our graphics card. As I won’t be overclocking the card, passive cooling on the ram and VRMs should be enough.
Let’s begin with the specifications and features of the EK Thermosphere GPU Waterblock.
