EKWB's first full cover block for X570, which also cools the chipset
EKWB has released a striking block for those who like small but powerful and quiet computers. The Momentum² is designed for the ROG Strix X570-I Gaming, a Mini-ITX board from Asus. It is a monolithic design, which is supposed to be characterized by low restrictiveness (thus it is also suitable for slower pumps), but mainly by a wide reach – in addition to the CPU, it covers both the VRM and the AMD X570 chipset.
EKWB already has a few water blocks for Ryzen 5000, but they are all for ATX motherboards. For smaller Mini-ITX boards, the Momentum² is coming. Besides the fact that the company finally has a solution for such small motherboards, it also has the advantage of cooling the AMD X570 chipset as well. The ones on larger boards, even if you have a water block, still use factory cooling. This usually has a built-in fan that spins up in critical cases, and its sound can spoil the impression of an otherwise silent cooling system of the rest of the computer.
On the Momentum2 this will not be the case, because the coldplate design also counts on chipset cooling. In height, the block is 40.5 mm and its area dimensions are 137.5 × 148 mm. This is more than 70% of the PCB area of the Mini-ITX motherboard (170 × 170 mm). But the total area will be a bit smaller, as the substrate is not a regular rectangular shape and there are various cutouts around its perimeter to accommodate the needs of the motherboard’s connectors. Only the Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming is compatible.
The block is monolithic, i.e. made of one piece of metal, nickel-plated copper. The internal design of the microchannel paths is according to the EK-Velocity² model. The passage should be characterized by low restrictiveness, which means that this block will not significantly reduce the flow for other components (other blocks in the water loop, typically for the graphics card). The EKWB also talks about the desirability of using slower pumps, or with more powerful pumps there is room to reduce the speed to achieve the lowest possible noise. This should not have a dramatic impact on cooling performance. EKWB’s EK- Momentum² block belongs to the “Quantum” product line, and the EK-Matrix7 concept, which we wrote about earlier in this report from Computex 21, is also officially supported.
For lighting, 19 “addressable” RGB LEDs are used with digital connection, i.e. via a 3-pin 5 V connector. The Asus Aura Sync app is supported to control the lighting and synchronize it with the rest of the components.
In addition to the small fixtures, the package also includes a set of thermally conductive pads, a backplate and EK-TIM Ectotherm thermal paste with a claimed thermal conductivity of 8.5 W/mk.
The EK- Momentum2 block can be pre-ordered in the EKWB e-shop for 202 euros, the first deliveries are to be made in the first half of February 2022.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš