Gotta love an online retailer who goes the extra mile. Nothing better than picking up a package that clearly states what kind of goodies are enclosed.
Pictured are an EK-Supreme HF (R4) CPU block (copper Acetal), EK-CoolStream RAD XT 240, Limited Edition DazMode - TFC - 3/8" ID - 1/2" OD Muskoka Night (Feser Tube UV Hose), Feser Tube Hose - 3/8" ID - 1/2" OD - CLEAR/UV BLUE, 4 x 3/8"ID - 1/2"OD Straight Compression Fitting - Silver (Fesser), and last but not least, 45 Degree High Flow Rotary Adapter M/F G1/4 (Value Pack of 4) (Fesser).
I had expected the Muskoka Night to be closer to black, but instead it appears to be a very deep blue (I'd say twighlight blue.....
). I'm not completely sure on whether or not I'll use the clear UV tubing... in the past I've always had at least one run of clear(ish) tubing to allow me a quick visual on the movement (or more importantly the lack of......
) of the coolant, but I'm kinda sitting on the fence this time around as I feel it might detract from the look I'm going for.
The EK-CoolStream Rad XT 240 (double) is supposedly geared towards low(er) rpm fans, and looks to have some pretty decent spacing between the fins to allow for low CFM airflow. I'm not going to be cooling anything other than the CPU, so with any luck a fairly deep 240 should be more than enough.
Here's a comparison between the EK, and an old(er) swiftech MCR220-QP-Res I had kicking around the house. The QP is clearly a good 1"+ longer, but is quite a bit thinner. That's not just the surrounding case, the fins themselves are that much deeper on the EK. Hopefully that'll translate into better heat dissipation.
Here's the unboxed EK-Supreme HF with the new mount kit, not pictured are the rear support plate, and the small tube of MX-4 that's included. I went with the copper in spite of not having any issues with my previous Nickel plated one, just wanted to make sure I didn't experience any problems.
The water block ships with the intel mount installed. Switching over to the AMD mount is a simple as removing the 4 hex head screws, removing the top, swapping the AMD mount for the Intel, refitting the top, and then re-installing the hex head screws.
Only thing to keep in mind is that this procedure opens the loop, and thus must be done prior to adding coolant to the loop. (Don't forget to do this prior to testing your loop....
). It's also a good idea to avoid touching the o-rings, they can always be put back in place, but if they get out of the groove they're in, they can be a bit of a pain to re-install.
Lastly, here's the barbs we're going to go with on the WB. The WB is the most likely connection that's going to move around (new Procs, new hardware, re-seat, etc......) so I'm kinda sold on both rotary and compression fittings for the CPU block. I'm a cheap bugger, so I'll still probably stick with non-compression fittings for the less obvious and less likely to move around fittings. While we're on the subject of me being a cheap bugger... you might have noticed that, in spite of stating a preference for less shiny bits, all of the fittings are chrome.... yeah, they were on sale, and readily available.
I'm starting to re-think my aversion to chromed WC fittings... I'm thinking I'll install them as-is, and then keep my eyes open for some HWC'er who's trying to sell off some of those smokey black fittings in 3/8 flavour....