EKWB Confirms Launch of AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Water Blocks

Mike Sanders / 1 year ago

On the 3rd of November, AMD officially announced the launch of its initial Radeon RX 7000-series GPUs. With that clearly offering a very impressive look into what the series has to offer, we have even more good news. EK Water Blocks (EKWB) is ready with EK-Quantum Vector² water blocks for the reference models of the new AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX.

The new Radeon graphics cards come with a special memory cache die (MCD) next to the main chip – Graphics Compute Die (GCD). The cooling engine has been modified to cool the MCDs as well, aside from the usual GPU components that are also being cooled, like the VRM, VRAM, Voltage Controllers, and the chip die.

The new Radeon RX 7900 XTX GPUs have GCD that is manufactured in a cutting edge 5 nm process, allowing 54% improvement of performance per watt. While the GPU is efficient, it does still use more power than the previous generation. At 355 W total board power is packed in a smaller package than ever, with 300 mm² GCD that contains 165% more transistors per mm² than the previous generation. Overall these GPUs feature 58 billion transistors for 61 TFLOPs of performance.

EKWB AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Water Blocks

The EK-Quantum Vector² RX 7900 XTX D-RGB is the first Vector² water block for Radeon GPUs, featuring full EK-Matrix7 compatibility. They are engineered exclusively for the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX GPUs. This liquid cooling solution encompasses a Vector² series water block and a black-anodized aluminium backplate in the same package. Like the rest of the Vector² series water blocks, the look is dominated by minimalist straight lines and the backplate coming around the side of the GPU to cover the PCB in its entirety.

What differs from all other Vector² water blocks is that the cooling engine for this water block has been rotated 90°, so the fins are perpendicular to the die. For optimal delta, the coolant flows over the graphics core die first, and the memory cache dies after. Consequently, all MCDs get the same temperature coolant thanks to the high-precision 3D-machined acrylic jet insert. Fin density has been increased from 0,6/0,4 to 0,4/0,26mm to account for the increased power dissipation requirement from the new Graphics Core Die and six MCDs.

Available finishes:

Nickel + Plexi
Nickel + Acetal

The Vector² cooling engine combines the jet plate with a 3D-machined Plexi insert to improve flow distribution and thermal performance. This cooling engine is based on an Open Split-Flow cooling engine design, which proved to be a superior solution for GPU water blocks. It is characterized by low hydraulic flow restriction, meaning it can be used with weaker water pumps or pumps running on low-speed settings and still achieve top performance.

All Vector² GPU water blocks use an 11-mm thick copper cold plate with a directly attached acetal terminal and a robust single O-ring top design for fewer possible points of failure. This simple construction provides confidence during customization and maintenance. Two distinctive and unique D-RGB lighting options are now available to complement the material choice of the product: Nickel + Plexi and Nickel + Acetal. Both versions include a black-anodized aluminium backplate and a base that is CNC-machined out of nickel-plated electrolytic copper. The backplate also provides additional passive cooling to the back side of the PCB, further improving the cooling capacity of the water block.

On the Plexi version, the D-RGB LED lighting is deployed on the longest edge of the water block for improved uniformity and brightness. The PCB and diodes are concealed inside a clean aluminium extrusion.

On the Acetal version, a unique design with a dense D-RGB LED strip illuminates the parting line of the stand-out element on both sides of the block. This subtle effect allows vivid displays of colour while the block remains entirely black.

Tactile magnetic covers conceal the terminal screws, allowing the branding to rotate when the GPU is inverted inside the case.

The GPU water blocks have a specific cutout that enables you to utilize the included multi-use tool to decouple the PCIe safety on the motherboard and easily unplug the GPU. Using the same tool, you can also detach the power cable and tighten the standoffs more easily.

EK-Quantum Vector² Backplate
Each Vector² water block comes with a CNC-machined black-anodized backplate. The backplates also include captive nickel-plated mounting screws to replace the original black ones. The backplate has a new L-shaped profile that comes in contact with the water block’s base and encloses the entire GPU, thus increasing the cooling surface and providing even better performance. This connection with the water block, which is far more efficient at heat transfer, enables a further increase in performance.

Captive backplate screws simplify installation, ensuring the correct length is always used where necessary to avoid any user error or second-guessing.

EK-Matrix7 Standard
EK-Matrix7 standardizes the dimensions of the products, including the port position and spacing, making liquid cooling loop assembly easier and more intuitive. All Vector² products feature full EK-Matrix7 compliance in every axis, ensuring easy integration and alignment with all other EK-Matrix7 products. This brings perfect alignment of ports in both horizontal and vertical positions, meaning less time is spent planning the loop and bending tubes, with the end result being an epic build.

Where Can I Learn More?

EKWB has confirmed that its upcoming AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX reference water block cooling solutions will be ready to purchase just slightly ahead of the graphics card’s official release on December 13th for the following prices: