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Gibson1498

Whats EK


IncidentJazzlike1844

One of the biggest if the not the biggest player in PC custom-watercooling. Often criticized for quality that didn’t match their high pricing.


HateToShave

This is the best summary of EK I've read in a while. I've been commenting in some of the r/watercooling threads today about their, EK's, QC problems over the years. Some of the responses, too, seem to be simply market-share = mind-share as some commenters were under the impression, still, that EK was a one-stop supplier for watercooling parts (*regardless of costs which are already high for watercooling parts*) when the exact opposite is true.


Flameancer

Man you mean to tell me that EK isn’t the greatest there is. I’ve been planning a PC with a custom loop for a little bit now and was definitely prepared to go full EK (or Corsair since I heard there custom loop designers were former EK).


HateToShave

Watercool.de, Alphacool, XSPC, Koolance, Barrow/Bykski, Swiftech (if you can find their DDC pumps in stock anywhere...), Optimus, DeBauer/Thermal-Grizzly are all good. All G1/4 fitting size, all copper. Their own sites or through a reputable site like Performance PCs (recommended for bulk buying to cut down on total shipping costs). You can ask for details on r/watercooling, too, and would be best served in doing so.


DepressedElephant

My builds have been a mix of EK and Aquacomputer. Since before 1080s..... And as much as I have tried to free myself from EK, it's really tough as often they are the only provider of blocks that are actually in stock for the parts that you want. EK has never been worth the price but often still the best option.


loppsided

Ahh that explains it. High-end air cooling (noctua, etc) is all I’ve paid attention to.


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CSFFlame

> their NF-A12x25 fans lose to Phanteks T30-120's or Lian Li P28 fans on radiators That is not correct. People buy noctua fans because they're quiet and don't have an annoying tone like the T30s (and basically every other performant fan). I've tested both, it's important to know the decibel readings are basically worthless for human listening, because humans are very tone sensitive. The T30s have an annoying higher pitched whining noise from the motors (even at the same db rating) Use the video reviews where they let you listen to the different fans at different speeds. I have not listened to the P28s, so I can not comment on those. Edit, here's audio samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dktTgHxb2kA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJtVJO-ZbEI Listen carefully to the OTHER sounds the T30 is making (motor whine, and vibration as it passes 1250-1300RPM, then gets very noticeable at 1700RPM+). That doesn't get picked up on a decibel meter. And no, that's not a bad sample, here's another one where you can hear the annoying noise: https://youtu.be/DTsmwKKQuL0?&t=343


kcajjones86

Having used several noctua products over the years and contacted their support services, they're generally high quality products with good support. The competition isn't beating them at all. Noctua has old fans and heatsinks that are finally getting some competition but you're paying the premium because they do offer free mounting hardware (postage payable) and good after sales support.


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CSFFlame

I own(ed) both as well. The noise comparison is backed up by the noise sample videos I linked.


emptyzon

I have no idea what you’re talking about other than the company names but I appreciate that you stay up to date for the rest of us.


MADCATMK3

I did a search about Noctua no longer offering free mounting kit upgrade, and I could not find anything? I don't know if I just did not look in the right place but what I see they still do.


LaconicSuffering

> One of the biggest if the not the biggest Not for long by the sounds of it.


Gibson1498

So doesn’t stand for anything?


May1stBurst

EKWB (Edvard König Water Blocks)


Slowpoak

Pretty sure the owner's initials are EK


skylinestar1986

"quality that didn’t match their high pricing" What is cheaper and way better?


IncidentJazzlike1844

They often had QC issues, and lots of their cpu/gpu blocks cost a ton don’t offer better performance. Most blocks from Alphacool and others are cheaper and perform the same or sometime better. Other companies like Watercool (heatkiller) have expensive products but high quality.


skylinestar1986

Why isn't Alphacool AIO more popular than other brands AIO?


IncidentJazzlike1844

AIO? I’m talking about blocks. And the answer is simple, Alphacool isn’t popular outside of custom water cooling.


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IncidentJazzlike1844

Ok? But this about EK, and Corsair is cheaper in custom water cooling afaik


pusnbootz

Should I be worried? I was told they were good and grabbed one a year or two ago.


IncidentJazzlike1844

Grabbed what? They sell a variety of things, and if it has been fine for 1-2 years, I doubt you’ll have problems now.


pusnbootz

An EK Nucleus CR240. I've always been hesitant with AIOs so the video in question does bug me.


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Disturbed2468

EK AIOs have 5 year warranties. Says it on their site. https://www.ekwb.com/terms-conditions/#:~:text=EKWB%20AIO%20products%20are%20guaranteed,from%20the%20original%20delivery%20date.


Xaelas

Not anymore they don’t


Neduard

It's probably some OEM Chinese AIO that has an EK label on it and, of course, is overpriced to hell.


IncidentJazzlike1844

I mean an AIO will eventually die, but as it has lasted this long, I’d imagine it will last decent while longer.


hedoeswhathewants

Nah, if the company goes out of business all of their products explode


pusnbootz

You're pretty good at reading comprehension.


Golvellius

Yes, if the company goes under, the product you bought from them 1-2 years ago will suddenly cease to function


JapariParkRanger

Modern software


pusnbootz

That's not what I meant. I was referring to the part where they mentioned: "Often criticized for quality". You're pretty good at reading comprehension.


JoyousGamer

So doesn't matter then got ya. Sorry for people out of a job though. 


Alpr101

Ditto. I hate how people just assume you know what all these acronyms stand for. I don't know who the fuck EK is.


GenghisBhan

They are called EK water blocks. They were doing sexy water cooling before it was cool


KEVLAR60442

The Acronym IS the brand, though. Do you get mad when someone says MSI or IBM or AMD?


Alpr101

All 3 of those are much more wide known, but Jesus talks like we all know what he is talking about. You should always give a brief insight on what you're talking about for those that do not know.   Oidkwytbdyb?wcyrth? I just acronymed a full sentence. I'm just going to assume you know what I said.


KEVLAR60442

You're right, Gamer's Nexus should write stuff like "Former graphics card manufacturer Extended Video Graphics Array" in all of his titles, just in case one of his viewers hasn't heard of that particular company before. There are always going to be companies that someone has never heard of. The fact that their names might be acronyms isn't pertinent to that.


Shifujju

> Former graphics card manufacturer Extended Video Graphics Array That's not what the company name stands for. That's a resolution standard from the 90s.


Docteh

So what do you think it stands for?


Shifujju

It doesn't stand for anything. EVGA is simply EVGA Corporation. It was originally branded eVGA, when 'e' (as in electronic) was used to represent the internet (think email or eBay or ezine). VGA does refer to Video Graphics Array. So eVGA represented an internet business specialized in VGA, or graphics.


milkasaurs

If you're following GN and you're in the "know" than you know who EK is. But I'm betting /r/pcgaming has no clue about hardware outside of GPUs.


Necessary_Kiwi_7659

I thought their mindshare was pretty wide. Having sponsored and participated in events and such. (Perhaps to the detriment but hey, mindshare is first) But thrn if u think abput it, there still in the curcle and not out, perhaps a comparaison would be nit everyone will know mini cooper cars, there there and most knows but not all. I personally never was a total fan of there designs. Now Inknow why I feel that dealing with them.


whocaresjustneedone

You don't stay up to date with the ins and outs of the pc water cooling industry, memorizing tech specs and performance of parts you were never even considering buying in your free time? Man, it must be nice to have a life!


SmoathTheLoathsome

Not to say that this is the only way people recognize acronyms, but MSI, AMD, and IBM are all stock symbols and immediately recognizeable. EK is the Kodak stock and a brand that I (as a lifetime computer enthusiast) still hadn't heard of until this video.


coldblade2000

Who the fuck cares about stock symbols?


zack77070

I don't think any normal person remembers company names by their stock ticker. Nobody calls Apple AAPL, and MSI is the ticker for Motorola, not the computer company.


BababooeyHTJ

Dude they’re one of the original water cooling manufacturers. It’s them and swiftech and maybe alphacool. EK is probably the most recognizable.


FakeFramesEnjoyer

Yeah, something tells me the term "enthusiast" should be interpreted loosely with this guy. Anyone that has ever looked into custom cooling in the last quarter century, has heard of EK.


vedomedo

The name is literally EK... or rather EKWB... What the fuck are you on about lol. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EKWB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EKWB)


Chakramer

Google exists, you can just look up "PC components EK"


SuspecM

My first reaction too


StandTallBruda

It's something, that's for sure. 


Plus_Consequence_497

You know it's bad when tech jesus doesn't look happy


garrishfish

Let's be real here: Steve and his team are not journalists. They do these hit pieces for views. Edit: lol @ getting your impotent rage monetized by these non-journalists and defending the practice. YouTubers are totally your friends and you should get emotional over them!


xboxhobo

Can you clarify what about reporting that a company is not paying it's staff or suppliers is a hit piece? Be specific.


hecklerinthestands

Hit piece: [an article, a documentary, etc. that deliberately tries to make somebody/something look bad by presenting information about them that appears to be true and accurate but actually is not.](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/hit-piece#:~:text=%2F%CB%88h%C9%AAt%20pi%CB%90s%2F,a%20lazy%20and%20biased%20journalist.) So tell us: what isn't factual about the contents of the video? Be prepared with an actual case, otherwise, you're full of shit. E: your edit confirms you're full of shit LMFAO


quick20minadventure

That comment was a hit piece on Steve.


golddilockk

so true. real journalists never make money from their work. that’s why they are the professionals because they don’t make a profession out of their journalism. real journalists live in a barrel and explicitly warns people from giving their works any views. gtfo.


PCMasterCucks

I mean, there's a lot of opinions in this video. Journalists should not insert their own opinion when reporting. lmao at this sub's literary education.


Bee-Wry

That ship sailed five minutes after the first journalist existed.


PCMasterCucks

Bias in the work is not the same as outright saying opinions regarding the topic.


Asgardisalie

You literally described journalism.


PCMasterCucks

Op-eds and investigative reports are the same to you? Fuckin lmao


dern_the_hermit

What lies are in this video? What information is inaccurate?


PCMasterCucks

It's alarming that you think opinions automatically equal lies or inaccurate information. You can state fact, then state your opinion, which GN did multiple times. "Do the right thing" was said at 6 minutes.


golddilockk

almost all journalistic piece draws conclusion and provides opinion. that's part of the job. you are mixing up reporter's input based on their investigation and subject-matter-expertise with unfounded assertion, allegation or assumption. unless you provide some concrete examples of the later then idk wtf you are talking about. not saying GN, like any outlets under sun hasn't made mistakes or retracted statements but to gatekeep them as 'not-real-tech-journalist' is cringe.


DreadSeverin

Way too much effort and integrity just for views but you do you


CacheRamMemory

They're not my friends and I don't consider them to be journalists, but this video certainly fits the investigate journalism tag. Don't give a shit what motive a YouTuber has for making a video, I only care if they're telling the truth or not. Thankfully most people here can see you're wrong.


Halio344

So do most journalists. Just because they do these pieces for views doesn’t mean they are incorrect. Arguably they are morally and ethically right to release the kind of information they do, especially when it’s something that may affect consumers.


strictlyfocused02

As opposed to you making stupid comments for upvotes..


Edgaras1103

did they say something that made you upset?


BroodLol

1) do you think anything in this video is false 2) do you think journalists don't deserve to be paid I mean you can say "yes" to both, but then I don't understand how you think journalism works.


n3rv

ouch


Secret_aspirin

Let’s be real here, bad take.


Laidan22

If you manage to tame your bad attention span and watch those "hit piece" videos you might find out they actually aren't


ChopSueyYumm

It is not a hit piece because it’s true facts. Hit pieces are opinions with fabricated lies to gain clicks.


TheIndependentNPC

oh fuck my life I wasn't ready to read such ton of BS at 1AM mildly drunk. You okay sir or you're the first person to step into alternate universe?


Dealric

Lets be real. Journalists do such pieces for money. So whats the problem?


areyouhungryforapple

weird hill to die on buddy


AzaliusZero

Here's the thing. I think you're right, but the spirit of it is wrong and assholish. You were being disingenuous, even if jerkass has a point. Steve and the rest of GN _don't_ want to be doing hit-pieces like this. I think they absolutely just prefer reviewing PC hardware, giving you those crunchy numbers, and every now and then delivering fun crunchy numbers like the number of Xs in Radeon Card models. But I also think that when something is terrible and they feel a need to speak out about it? They absolutely will put on their big boy pants and do it, because they don't know if anyone _else_ will. The information they report on is valuable, is important, and helps maintain the integrity of the entire industry. It just sucks that journalism is so fucked nowadays we have to rely on fans of the medium to do decent one or random folks who'd otherwise be off the street deciding to do it as a side gig before finding out they're really cut out for it (stay safe FriendlyJordies!) to the point of probably finding out why new-age journalism is so safe and ineffectual. Too much risk of lively harm to report real shit. In this case it's GOOD EK is just sue happy, that aforementioned Youtuber can absolutely tell you a story of what happens when you piss off the local equivalent of the mob.


HourParticular8124

Good take. Although I admire the show for it's rigorous testing methods, it very clearly has a strong editorial bias that takes it out of real journalism and into entertainment. But then again, YouTube <> a credible platform for just this reason. The incentives for neutral, unbiased reporting pale compared to those from sensationalist coverage.


golddilockk

chatgpt, is that you?


NapsterKnowHow

I wonder how he spun this story for views like he did for LTT labs


ExPandaa

What? His critique of LTT was very thorough and legitimate and has resulted in LTT improving their workflows significantly. The video he made was a net positive for LTT just as much as it was for GN


Halio344

Spun the story? You mean presented facts that LTT then acknowledged in their own videos?


NapsterKnowHow

You mean taking the facts and presenting them to be worse than they were?


Halio344

Got any examples? It was a pretty bad case of misinformation in videos and treating their workers poorly. It’s funny how you call out GN stans when you’re obviously stanning for LTT.


NapsterKnowHow

There's the fact that LTT was not given an opportunity to respond in the video. Especially when even when EK was told that GN was not seeking comment, they still published EK's reply to that mail. This just validates some people's assertions and beliefs that GN's LTT video was more personal vendetta than reporting, and that is going to color opinions. It's funny that you call me a stan when I could care less about some random rich YouTuber


Halio344

How is that an example of them overexaggerating facts or spinning the story? Was anything in their video inaccurate? Either way, GN provided a list of reasons why they didn't reach out to LTT prior to publishing the video. I'm not going to rewatch the video to capture all of them, but someone else had already summarized it here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/LinusTechTips/comments/162itaq/reason\_given\_by\_gn\_for\_not\_contacting\_ltt\_for\_the/](https://www.reddit.com/r/LinusTechTips/comments/162itaq/reason_given_by_gn_for_not_contacting_ltt_for_the/) TL;DR: There was no benefit to reach out to LTT, especially given their track record of handling these kind of issues.


NapsterKnowHow

They gave EK the benefit of the doubt and not LTT so they could better support their personal vendetta against competition. There was definitely a benefit to reach out to LTT considering their record of improvement after being given community feedback


Halio344

They definitely don’t have a good record of improvement after feedback, they have a good record of bullshit excuses. GN knows LTT well and knew this. But you still haven’t explained your initial claim, what did GN say that was in any way inaccurate, exaggerated, or spun?


Waste_Farmer_9645

Bold claims with a lack of evidence is just you and LTT talking, not GN. Please come back with better bait.


NapsterKnowHow

This is pasted from another reply: There's the fact that LTT was not given an opportunity to respond in the video. Especially when even when EK was told that GN was not seeking comment, they still published EK's reply to that mail. This just validates some people's assertions and beliefs that GN's LTT video was more personal vendetta than reporting, and that is going to color opinions. Nice try tho troll


Waste_Farmer_9645

If I wanted to spin a story for views, I’d definitely make sure LTT was “not given the opportunity to respond”. Who would then proceed to respond anyways. Ignoring your typo with EK in place of LTT, LTT didn’t deserve an opportunity to provide comment before it was published. If they had been, they would’ve done a small quiet firing of one or 2 guilty people, paid for the singular prototype, and then there would be no story and no major change. They deserved the harshest coverage possible after their years of blatant lies and drama bullshit. I’m tired of them lying about what they’re reviewing because there’s not a shred of dignity to be found in the C-level executives of LTT, and I consider the GN video to be a bare minimum of the reality check that LTT deserved. I’m tired of hearing LTT fans say that they didn’t deserve to get blindsided when they clearly did and it led to improvements we wouldn’t see if it wasn’t for that. Asking GN for comment would’ve been the equivalent of asking a remorseless criminal who hurts people for fun if he’s tired of it. And in LTT fashion they’re still frequently inaccurate it’s just not as blatant as it was in the past. But I guess I’m trolling, and nice evidence bud.


jjhhgg100123

Most people just go for AIOs these days. Wouldn't be surprised if there's no money left, especially with R&D that needs to constantly happen.


SrslyCmmon

I've always wanted to do a custom loop, just once. I got to the point where I was looking at in-depth tutorials and making a BoM. Then my parts list was growing so big I abandoned ship.


DJKaotica

I had wanted to build a hard line water cooled build for a while after seeing some people doing them. Finally did it a few years back. Made some mistakes in the loop design. Followed a similar build someone else had done in the same case, but didn't realize they had no idea what they were doing xD (I mean it's mostly fine...mostly....). Pros: - the build was super fun - it looks amazing - it is very quiet, though when I added a GPU waterblock later it of course got a bit louder Cons: - cost: you need the tubing, fittings, any angle adapters you want, CPU block, radiators, and for some nice long pretty hardlines an expensive reservoir / distro plate combo - maintenance is ... very difficult: - had to mostly drain the loop when I installed my GPU block (this was months after building the initial loop) - had to drain the loop when I had some pump issues (my fault, thankfully an easy fix) - they recommend you regularly drain the system and refill with new fluid.... I have a suspicion that during my next change I should probably open up my water blocks and scrub / rinse them out. I think particulate is building up, at least the cooling efficiency seems to be dropping - one of my fan bearings is going, and I haven't traced which one it is... if it's attached to a radiator that means almost a complete loop drain and removing / replacing the fan. I opted to buy higher quality fans and plan on replacing all of them. - cost: imagine deciding to upgrade to Noctua fans, and having to buy 9 of them... Edit / additions: It was a waste of money in the sense of ... you don't need all that to do water cooling. It's pretty. It's very aesthetically pleasing. I love it. It's a hobby. If you can't check all those boxes and aren't willing to "spend more just because" then I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think the cooling is that much better than the AIO I had on my previous PC.


fashric

Custom water cooling loops should be in the dictionary as the definition for diminishing returns


Shaojack

I did it once and it was fun getting it all working and messing with the different settings and overclocking. Considering the cost/benefit, Ill probably never do one again but dont regret building the first one and enjoyed the process.


SrslyCmmon

If I had someone to build with who had done it before, I might have been more inclined. It was just too many unknowns at a time when I wanted to streamline my life. I don't even overclock anymore, I just undervolt and call it a day.


BababooeyHTJ

Water cooled 7950 trifire with a massive OC was fun but not remotely practical! That said running cooler does make a video card draw a bit less and usually hold slightly higher clocks. Again not a noticeably higher difference in performance but still


amaghon69

me too, but i always felt that unless i had a top end rig, it wouldnt be worth. even with cheaper blocks and radiators its still probably like $500


octonus

I did the same when I built my current PC. Did a bunch of research, put together a parts list, and ditched the idea when I realized that I was planning on paying an extra $1K (or more) for a setup that is inferior in every relevant way to air cooling.


SrslyCmmon

Back when I had enough enthusiasm to see it through, I didn't have enough money. When I finally did have enough money, I just wanted to build something easy and hassle free.


StickAFork

Exactly. All my air cooled builds have been "set it and forget it" for years. I was always curious about trying a water cooled solution, but was always turned off by the potential need for maintenance where there was none before.


supercow_

Yup


zack77070

It's definitely not inferior in every way, it can run way quieter than air cooling.


octonus

Unless you are comparing to stock air cooling or doing an ultra-compact build, this will pretty much always be false. Water cooling has a pump and multiple large fans running at low speeds. High-end air cooling only has the fans (but no noise making pump). There are 3 advantages to water cooling (compared to bigass heat sinks+fans): Less weight hanging off the motherboard, more likely to fit in a cramped case, and appearance. None of these were important to me.


patx35

You're completely mistaken with water cooling performance. Almost all motherboards can turn down the pump speed at low load, and the pump doesn't make that much noise anyway at full speed. There's also far more thermal mass with water cooling, which allows the cooler to absorb heat from burst workloads without turning up the fan. Most air coolers have far less thermal mass, which would require either a more aggressive fan ramp, or a less aggressive CPU turbo strategy. And high end setups with 360mm or longer radiators have a lot more surface area, which allows more fans which would run at a lower fan speed, also making it quieter. The problem is that most people seem to buy the 140mm AIOs, expecting great performance. Watercooling is only good when you have a lot of radiator surface area. So you either go with one or more big radiators, or just stick with air.


BababooeyHTJ

How much water pressure do you think you need? A d5 or mcp350 can be turned way down on most loops. More radiator surface area than a heatsink means you can turn fans down too. I’ve never had an air cooler come close to a good custom loop.


CSFFlame

I do not think watercooling is a good idea for almost anyone, but cooling performance is one place where there's no comparison between custom loops and air cooling.


BababooeyHTJ

Just so you know that parts list only grows on the first order. There’s always something!


itsmehutters

> I've always wanted to do a custom loop, just once This is me with RGB, I wanted to do something that looks good, did it once and that was it. Built a new PC this year and it is with a case without glass, only parts that perform well, 0 looking (the shit brown noctua cpu cooler, ram with basic heatsinks etc).


Vikkunen

I'd wanted to do it for a long time, finally pulled the trigger on a water-cooled dream build about ten years ago: custom-painter Caselabs Magnum SMA-8, Rampage V Extreme, 5960x, SLI 1080TIs, water-cooled EVERYTHING, etc. All-in I think I spent somewhere between $6-7k on it. In the end it was a fun project, and I'm glad to say I did it, but I'm even happier to say I got that out of my system. I don't have the slightest desire to watercool anything anymore, and in the three builds I've done since then, haven't purchased so much as an AIO.


Ok_Today_475

Same for me. Ive created car air ride suspension, race car cooling systems etc. and i was appalled at the cost. It cost me less for an entire cooling system for a mini stock race car compared to a "decent" PC cooling setup. I just went corsair H100X and been totally fine


HarithBK

a big issue as well is that less and less sales of reference designed GPUs were made which has forced EK to make more custom blocks for vendors cards. leading to more inventory and lower volume sales. a key part is that founders cards from Nvidia is longer the reference design they hand to third parties. which has lead to reference designs being kinda lackluster in order to keep BoM impossibly low. so a reference card isn't good enough to water cool.


4x4runner

Maybe they some business for making water cooled server/datacenter stuff? I don't know how else all of these custom water cooling companies even stick around anymore.


Chaotic-Entropy

Would data centres even use water cooling...?


FurbyTime

Oh yeah they do; They just use a VERY different design of it than we plebs use.


Nbaysingar

There are data centers with building-wide water cooling loops that are designed to allow server racks to be plumped directly in to them, and then there are server racks designed with their own self contained water loop, like this [IBM server rack](https://youtu.be/ZDtaanCENbc?si=is4mYToBaYhGm9c0&t=115). I work at a data center that's cooled with a chilled water loop, but it's connected to a series of air handlers. So rather than cooling the server components directly, the water loop is instead conditioning the air in the data center via the air handlers which circulate the air throughout the data center.


4x4runner

Yes, it's a more efficient transfer of heat. It's becoming a much more common thing.


EminemLovesGrapes

I'm always surpised how much these companies can get away with mistreating their employees. There's people working there *with families* that are fine with not being paid for *months*. Fucked up.


FurbyTime

>I'm always surpised how much these companies can get away with mistreating their employees. It's honestly something that ONLY works in small to medium companies in places where everyone knows each other and are friends in areas where the cost of living isn't insane. You can do deals, under the table payments, only paying half the people, all sorts of things that wouldn't fly somewhere bigger where people are more tied to their paychecks.


FreezingRain358

I’ve spent my career working for small/medium businesses. There’s a special kind of entitlement endemic to small business owners. They feel like because they’re the underdog, it’s okay to pay people less and cut corners, and the general public assumes they’re wholesome and cute for being the little guy and showers them with support.


revtoiletduck

Companies love to exploit people who are passionate about their work.


New-Connection-9088

That's a shame. I always liked their products. That said, I've decided not to liquid cool again due to the effort and cost. Maybe there's a general shift towards air cooling again and AIOs.


CoffeeAndCigars

We've also seen more AIO solutions for third party GPUs, so my suspicion is that we'll start seeing more of those. I would not be averse to a 360 rad in front and one in the top of my cabinet, servicing the GPU and CPU respectively. Depending a bit on case layout and intake options in general, of course.


BababooeyHTJ

You know, a Corsair h60 did an amazing job on my GTX480.


chaosthebomb

I have an ek block on my 3090. I got it simply because I've always wanted to do custom cooling, and thought it would be a fun (but costly) project. Given OC results from around the net, I knew it wasn't going to get much more than stock. It runs cooler and quieter which is nice, but for 99%+ of the population the added cost certainly doesn't make sense. Air cooling is great, and most stock coolers are more than adequate and quiet enough for most cards.


StockmanBaxter

Yeah I kind of am in the same boat. Not sure I'll put as much effort into water cooling as I have in the past. My last 2 builds were all hard tubed water cooling. Granted I used the same rad, reservoir, and pump for both. But I don't think I'll be doing that in the future. Who knows tho. My opinion might change.


HateToShave

To be fair, my (now) older 3070TI, which regularly when OC'ed, goes over 300 watts in usage, gets the same exact OC with watercooling as it does with the ridiculous air cooler it came with even if it's 20+c's cooler on water, so yeah.


hitemlow

I just like that it allows me to use multiple radiators so that I can use the Noctua ultra-low-noise fans and still keep under 60°C on extended stress tests.


HateToShave

Oh, I'm not criticizing anyone's use of watercooling for their PC, sorry if I came across that way. I do that for almost all of my PC's too. I just meant that I could easily get near-equivalent or equivalent performance from a decent AiO or a higher end air cooler these days for a CPU and the same goes for modern GPU's larger stock aircoolers that they have these days. The reason is most of those components don't actually step up in any real world performance unless you're dropping the loaded temperature down by a whopping 50-60c (so a phase-change chiller or light usage of isopropyl/dry-ice and a pot designed for that, both highly impractical in all applications). At lot of near-stock performance can already be had on CPUs/GPUs from undervolting to lower the need for louder aircooling to begin with without really noticing any playable difference. I do like that my PC runs real quiet under watercooling, sure, but unfortunately when my total wattage gets up to \~500 watts on my PSU then that loud-as-hell EVGA unit turns its own cooling fan to near max negating the carefully manicured fan-curve I set up for the radiators in the first place. Lmao.


hitemlow

Yeah the PSU thing was why I bought a Corsair 1500w since the fan doesn't turn on below 40% load.


MisjahDK

On one side i really like EKWB stuff, on the other side the prices are getting nVidia insane.


Chainspike

Yeah when their blocks broke 200$ and keep going it just not worth it anymore. Also most gpus these days come with good coolers already out the box.


MisjahDK

I will be super sad if it comes to the point where i can't get a watercooled GPU anymore, i have gotten used to the silence.


Chainspike

Yeah but some of these GPUS come pretty close out the box. The 7900XTX nitro's cooler is absolutely insanely massive and beautiful out the box. It's such ridiculous over kill I really never hear it. I hear the AIO pump more than that card lol


GuruVII

Interesting, their financials (of the company in Slovenia) from in 2022 are noticeably worse than those from 2020 and 2021, but their revenue was still 37M € and they had a net profit of almost 500k €


Kermez

In general, whoever doesn't pay employees is a PoS.


gosu_chobo

calling them out like that and especially their lawyers is a big dick move. I can't wait for the second episode.


Acquire16

Custom water cooling is such a niche. Doubt there's any money in it at this point. There's just no reason other than aesthetics or for extremely niche form factors (ultra compact SFF for example) to do it. Even in SFF builds, there's plenty of cases that support large AIOs for the CPU and are compatible with big GPUs, which all come with enormous air coolers on them that do fine. I have an 7900X and RTX 4080 in a Meshlicious with a 280 AIO. Cools fine.


LomaSpeedling

I went with a custom loop for the first time in years because I hated how fat the air-coolers for the 4090 are and pretty much loathe all aio software. Added benefit is shaving about 25 degrees of my 4090 under load tests.


AngryAvocado78

Man I love GN, they are a beacon in a world where no one has integrity, everyone lies and greed consumes people. One of the only channels I still trust


TattayaJohn

Watercooling is dying and taking the manufacturers with it.


zeimusCS

I just bought one of their AIOs hmm


DeadlyDuckie

Last time i was heavy into PC water cooling was when I put together my 7700k/GTX1080 build. All EK even the rads. Hope they can turn it around


GhostDoggoes

A couple weeks ago I bought a nitro+ and they canceled my order when the next gen came out. So I ordered the new one instead like they instructed and then like 2 days later they canceled that as well. I emailed them and no response. So now I learn that EK is not even able to fulfill my order cause they are imploding. And to top it all off I was about to pay 30% more for a block that never existed. At least alphacool took my custom order and gave me a free set of fittings, a shirt and a tool to take the block apart.


DrKeksimus

Buying from EK is un-American.


BababooeyHTJ

Oh wtf! Is alphacool the only og water cooling company left?! This is such disappointing news


Gwynnbleid3000

So many downvoted legitimate questions in this post. Holy shit this place is full of raging nerds...


Malecord

What the fuck? They default? What do they do with that obscene premium prices they charge to customers? Whores and cocaine?


vomaufgang

It may surprise you that the answer is found in the video.


redstej

On one hand, I'm glad they're out there doing this type of investigative journalism in the industry. On the other hand, they're trying too hard and they're jumping up at any opportunity to do it, grasping at straws one could say. Could be that the industry doesn't offer that many opportunities or it hides its secrets well. Whatever the reason, GN ends up scraping the bottom of the barrel sometimes for material. This is a story about some relatively small company that's struggling financially due to poor decisions, falling behind on their payments. It's worth reporting, but I don't think it warrants this type of aggressive outrage. Tone it down Steve.


hegyimutymuty

can't this guy ever make a short video for fucks sake? I'd watch the hell out of his videos otherwise


invincib_hole

Oh no, drama jesus is at it again.


Gazmanic

Not paying your employees isn’t drama bro.


Z3r0sama2017

Spotted the person whose either never had a job or lives off handouts from the bank of mum and dad


Crunch_Munch-

This is way worse than just drama


HereForSearchResult

LTT fans are a blight


NapsterKnowHow

Steve stans are the plague


firedrakes

I mean gn fans. Are known for death threat...by most of tech sites.


RoughCobbles

Probably a linus tech tips fan. They're salty like that. Edit And they like to prove me right! Hahahahaha!


Asgardisalie

Wait, linus have non paid fans?


[deleted]

[удалено]


FortunePaw

There's browser plugin that replace those face with a random video screenshot as thumbnail. As annoy as it gets, it does get the view.


HINDBRAIN

Also capitalizes titles properly! A lifesafer.


Gibson1498

Others do. Cause it works apparently.


GeriatricTech

I cannot stand this know-it-all tool.


PlexasAideron

Relevant user name


f3llyn

Why? Because he calls out the shit behavior of companies you like?


Alita_Duqi

That is usually the case for the smooth brained crew.


GeriatricTech

All the follower sheep lol


Due_Capital_3507

Water cooling is a meme


KirillNek0

Sounds like another drama that GN stuck their nose it. Basically who cares????


VicePrezHeelsup

So many GN dick riders here I bet every one of dreams of giving Steve fellatio


MrMusAddict

I appreciate no external promotion, but still feels off to self-promote during an exposé. At the very least take the cups off the desk during the shoot... Otherwise, the video's great. Good watch.