it is worth noting that, how
EKWB presents its products
is something which other
AIO vendors could learn
from. Clear and well written
instructions, packaging
that is simple but robust
and a pre-assembled unit
that needs minimal work to
install. Three fans are already
attached to the radiator and
the wiring work is nothing
short of spectacular. From
presentation right through to
installation and performance,
the entire experience is
exceptional. A rare encounter
in this market cluttered with
so many near identical and
in comparison sub-standard
offerings. All components
were packed neatly in place
and the wiring was in a
22 The OverClocker Issue 38 | 2016
word "perfect". Even without a
manual, installing the unit for
cooling your INTEL CPU is easy
enough if you’ve ever used an
EKWB loop in recent times.
If installed on the LGA 2011
systems, installation is even
easier and takes mere minutes
to complete, just like some of
the best AIO kits available
today. If you’re wondering why
special mention is made to
INTEL CPUs, that's because
EKWB states that the Predator
is designed exclusively for
INTEL CPUs and of course
features only mounting kits for
LGA 2011/v3 and LGA 115X
CPUs. For those on the AMD
platform, fear not however as
you simply need to buy the
correct fittings for
the EK-Supremacy-MX AMD
and use that CPU block instead
of the one that ships with the
unit. Since the Predator can
be refilled with ease, having
to purge the system of the
coolant is not an issue, while
you change to the appropriate
CPU block for your system.
We finally get to the
performance of the Predator.
Using only the shipped fans,
the CPU temperatures were by
and large similar to what we
had recorded with the high end
X360. Of course
under load the Predator
didn’t perform as well, but
remember that this was with
a high end GPU in the loop as
well. What is of the utmost
importance is realizing that
for CPUs such as the 5960X,