Introduction
In this article I am taking a look at EK-Pro CPU WB 1700 – Nickel Inox CPU Water Block. This is an enterprise-grade cooling solution from EKWB that is compatible with Intel LGA1700 socket only and is designed to ensure efficient cooling for the Intel Core i series of desktop CPUs particularly i9 13900.
It is also compatible with Intel’s 14th generation of Core i series CPUs. At the time of its launch, the 14th generation was not available on the market. This block features an industrial look and finish and has two G1/4” threaded ports with the lower port being an inlet. This water block is intended for desktop PCs, workstations, and taller server racks.
This block is listed at $174.99 at the time of this writing on the EKWB Web Shop.
Packaging and Unboxing
The block is shipped inside a brown color cardboard box. There is a blue color sticker over the side that has EK-Pro printed over it.
You will be welcomed by a backplate after opening the box.
The block is placed under the top cover inside a transparent container.
Contents
The following are provided in the box:
- 1x Water Block
- 1x Backplate
- 1x Thermal Paste Tube
- 1x Allen Key
EK Water Block has provided Thermal Grizzly thermal paste with this block showing they want the best performance from this block. There is no other mounting hardware provided. This is because the spring-loaded screws come pre-installed on the housing of this block.
Closer Look
Let’s start taking a closer look at the block. I did not open the block as I am saving it for a project.
The block is placed inside a transparent cover which is sealed indicating a new unit from the manufacturer. You can also spot a yellow color cover over the base for protection.
You can see the top of the block in the picture. This block has a dimension of 86x66x26 (LxWxH) and it is made of brass and acetal POM materials. The overall finish is chrome with an industrial look. The build quality is top-notch. There is an EK branding towards the bottom right. The top and bottom side covers are black. The mounting plate or structure is built right into the main housing hence the unit comes pre-assembled and ready to use out of the box.
There are two G1/4” threaded ports on this block. Since these ports are in an offset mount, the lower port is dedicated as Inlet whereas the top port is outlet. Although it seems like there is less gap between both ports, you can easily use bulky fittings like 19/13mm on this block.
Since the mounting plate is integrated into the main housing, the 4x spring-loaded screws also come pre-installed on the mounting corners of this plate. This is a solid structure with good build quality. These springs are M4x16 mm 8Kg (16×7.8). Internally there are 4x Seegerring 3.2 located on these mounting corners.
Looking at the base, there is a protective cover over it in yellow.
I am showing the base of this block after removing the protective cover. It is also finished in chrome but it is dull not a mirrored glossy finish. It has a size of 60x48mm. You can see terminating tips of 8x screws around the base. These are M3x16 DIN 7984 TX Screws that hold and secure the Top Acetal with EK Mounting Plate via EK Cold Plate.
The top cover is secured with the Acetal part using 4x M3x5 ISO 14581 TX Screws. There is a uniform finish across the entire block with fine machining and milling.
EKWB has provided a plastic backplate in black. There is a self-adhesive tape over it. You need to remove the cover from this tape and place the backplate on the backside of the motherboard where this backplate will attach to the motherboard and will not move. This would make the installation job easier. I am against the idea of pasting anything on the motherboard but it is an operational requirement for this product.
The above picture shows a block diagram of this block. EKWB has used a dense fin stack over the cold plate. The jet plate is placed over the cold plate assembly and it has a gasket running on the border that sits between the jet plate and the assembly of the cold plate. The Acetal top sits over the assembly of cold and jet plates. This entire assembly is secured to the EK Mounting plate using TX Screws. There is a brass external cover over this complete assembly.
Installation
The installation of this unit is a simple and convenient task. Since this block is only compatible with Intel LGA1700 sockets, the main installation mechanism is simplified. All that you is a backplate and Allen key to install this bock.
I have installed this block on the MSI MPG Z790 Carbon Max WiFi motherboard as can be seen in the pictures. I would give 9/10 to the installation. I have deducted one point for the pasting backplate.
Test Loop Setup
We have used the following components to set a custom loop for thermal performance measurement along with coolant flow restriction:
- EK-Pro CPU WB 1700 – Nickel Inox CPU Water Block
- ALPHACOOL NexXxos HPE-30 Full Copper 360 Radiator
- ALPHACOOL CORE 100 AURORA RESERVOIR ACETAL/ACRYL WITH APEX VPP PUMP
- ALPHACOOL tubing AlphaTube HF 16/10 (3/8″ID) – clear 3m (9,8ft) Retailbox
- ALPHACOOL Eiszapfen 16/10mm compression fitting 90° rotatable G1/4 – 4pcs Set Chrome
- ALPHACOOL Eiszapfen 16/10mm compression fitting G1/4 – chrome six pack
- ALPHACOOL 16/10 compression fitting 45° revolvable G1/4 – chrome
- ALPHACOOL Eiszapfen quick release connector kit G1/4 outer thread – Deep Black
- Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Paste
- Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM chromax.black edition 120mm Fans
Thermal Testing
I have used a below-mentioned configuration on the Intel platform for this testing:
- Intel i7 12400KF
- MSI MPG Z790 Carbon Max WiFi
- XPG Lancer RGB 32GB @ 7200MHz CL34
- MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio 24G
- Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVMe SSD
- be quiet! Straight Power 11 1000W Platinum PSU
- Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition converted into an open-frame layout
Here is the settings table for testing:
| P-Cores Clock (MHz) | Auto [5500 All Cores, 5800 All Cores] |
| E-Cores Clock (MHz) | Auto [4300, 4400 All Cores] |
| Voltage (V) | Auto, 1.400 |
| Power Limits | Removed |
| C-States | Disabled |
| Speed Step | Disabled |
| Thermal Paste | NT-H1 |
| Thermal Paste Application | Even Spread |
| Test Run Time | 30 minutes |
| Idle Time | 10 minutes |
| Fan Speed | 100% PWM Duty Cycle |
| Pump Speed | Full speed |
| Header | CPU_Fan Header |
| Stress Software | CINEBENCH R23.2 |
| Monitoring Software | HWInfo64 |
The ambient temperature was 22°C. Since the ambient temperature was maintained at 22ᵒC, I am reporting absolute temperatures in the graph. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.
I have compared the performance of this block against a 360mm AIO which is Thermalright Frozen Magic 360 Scenic V2. Let’s take a look at the results.
Result
There is a whopping difference of 9ᵒC between the AIO cooler and the custom loop configuration. This difference would allow the user to overclock better their CPU and/or enjoy low thermals during gaming load. This is shown by our overclocking results where I pushed the CPU to 5.8GHz on P-Cores and 4.4GHz on E-Cores with offset manual voltage. The power draw was approximately 303W on this overclock and it peaked to 92ᵒC
Conclusion
I have taken a look at the EK Water Blocks EK-Pro CPU WB 1700 – Nickel Inox CPU Water Block. This is an enterprise-grade cooling solution that can be deployed on regular desktop PCs, Workstations, and Tall Server Rack configurations. This water block is specially designed for the Intel LGA1700 socket where the focus of the EK design team is to provide efficient cooling for SKUs like Core i9 13900k [the 14th generation was not launched at that time].
This block hails from the family of EK-Quantum Velocity² Cooling Engine. Here the focus is on optimized mounting pressure and cold plate geometry along with low hydraulic flow restriction making this cooling engine one of the best on the market for high-power, high-thermal SKUs.
This water block has an industrial finish with top-notch build quality. The machining and milling work is speaking for itself. This block has two G1/4” threaded ports that are located towards the upper side of the top cover. Since this is an offset design, the lower port is dedicated as Intel to spray coolant directly over the jet plate.
Speaking of jet plate, there is an Acetal top combined with a custom-designed cold plate assembly with a jet plate sitting over the top of the cold plate. This complete assembly is then secured to the EK Mounting Plate that is also integrated in this housing. This design has allowed EKWB to provide a convenient installation for which you will need a backplate and an Allen key. That is all!
EKWB has used a dense microfin stack of the cold plate providing maximum surface area for heat transfer. There is a thick copper base measuring 60x48mm that is nickel-plated with a matte finish. The focus here is to align the main cooling engine with the CPU die to ensure optimal heat transfer.
The top is CNC machined using POM Acetal material and the main securing bracket is made of laser-cut stainless steel. EKWB covered every corner in the design department of this block. This complete assembly can be disassembled for which Allen keys are supplied with the block.
4x spring-loaded screws come pre-installed on the mounting plate. These provide optimal mounting pressure removing the guesswork. Stop screwing them when you start feeling the resistance to further thread screwing and you are good.
What I did not see coming was Thermal Grizzly thermal paste inside the packing box. EKWB means business with this industrial-grade CPU Water Block. They have also provided a backplate. This backplate needs to be pasted over the backside of the motherboard. I am against pasting anything over the motherboard but given the sheer weight of this block and its operational requirement, this design will work.
This block is listed at $174.99 at the time of this writing on the EKWB Web Shop. This is quite some price but it is worth it in my opinion. I have done simple testing in which the block was installed to cool Intel Core i7 14700KF at stock/auto settings and with heavy overclocking (5.8GHz on P-Cores and 4.4GHz on E-Cores) and compared it with one of the best 360mm AIO liquid cooler available on the market which is Thermalright Frozen Magic 360 Scenic V2.
The results don’t need any interpretation. I know I should have put another water block to test but the Alphacool Core 1 block was already in use and taking it off would mean disassembling a custom loop setup. This block was also installed on my friend’s PC as I wanted to see the results from Core i9 14900K. He is a gaming streamer and his CPU was rocking at 63ᵒC under the load using this water block. I am confident that EK-Pro CPU WB 1700 – Nickel Inox can handle i7s and i9s over LGA1700 socket with ease and comes recommended by us.
Thanks to EK Water Block for the provision of the test unit. This does not influence our verdict as we have a responsibility of remaining transparent towards our audience.
