EKWB is one of the most common names in the custom water cooling market. It is one of the first brands to try to incorporate Peltier (TEC) cooling technology in water cooling components. Their first TEC product was designed in association with Intel, but since then EK has made a lot of internal improvements and today we have their second generation of TEC products.
What is TEC?
TEC or thermo-electric coolers are sophisticated pieces of equipment based on the Peltier Effect, which states that electricity flowing through the junction of two materials will cause absorption or emission of heat, depending on the direction of flow of electric current, per unit time. This effect takes place to maintain the chemical properties of the two materials. This heat absorption can be so strong, based on the amount of electrical current flowing, that it can cool the absorption side below ambient temperatures, thus achieving sub-ambient cooling.
How significant is the use of this technology in cooling computer hardware?
The Quantum Delta² uses the TEC cooling plate based on the Peltier effect, to achieve sub-ambient cooling without the use of exotic solutions like LN2, Dry Ice, or Liquid Helium. This means the accessibility of phenomenal cooling without the mess. This will ensure your system is always at its peak performance and you can achieve awesome overclocking results.
The EK-Quantum Delta2 TEC considerably improves upon the previous EK-Quantum Delta TEC design. The number of TEC plates has increased from one in the previous generation to four in the current version. Soldering to the base of the CPU’s water block, which cools the block and consequently the CPU, improves these. A further improvement is the substitution of aluminum nitride for aluminum oxide in the manufacture of TEC plates (AlN). Modern aluminum nitride (AlN) thermoelectric ceramic plates significantly improve power efficiency, especially at higher power levels.
The controller has been separated from the water block as opposed to the combined design in the first generation. This can now be mounted to a nearby 120mm fan slot. This delivers a clean look to the water block itself, which is a beauty based on the signature quantum design also seen on the velocity lineup.
Ek has further improved the insulation system, which fights the condensation problems, which are a part and parcel of sub-ambient cooling but excessively dangerous for the components of the system. Condensation was a concern with prior attempts at sub-ambient cooling, but the EK-Quantum Delta2 TEC solves it with a revolutionary two-pronged approach. The cooler has a small integrated insulation rubber shroud that protects all exposed cold surfaces from the environmental conditions inside the PC while Intel Cryo Cooling Technology continuously monitors the TEC and ambient temperature to adapt to those conditions and avoid condensation caused by the cooling process. A second sensor is positioned within the control unit to keep track of the humidity levels there and prevent the dew point.
The Water block comes with an MSRP of 529.90€.