EKWB Predator 240 AIO CPU Liquid Cooler Review

Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

EKWB is a company that immediately comes to mind if someone brings up high-end water cooling products, and they have to be one of the largest donors to the mod community. It seems like every time we turn around they are up to something new, and today is one of those days. They have been developing blocks, as well as many other components, but at the same time as they are releasing their lineup of MonoBlocks, they have also decided to enter the AIO game.

This isn't a typical design that we see across the board from Asetek; this is more along the lines of what Swiftech has been offering since the onset of water cooling becoming mainstream. This loop from EKWB is not a sealed loop system; it is expandable easily since it offers compression fittings, and due to patent limitations, the pump is mounted to the radiator in this design. This means that buyers inside of the USA can have access to this cooler with no fear of it being pulled from shelves due to potential legal battles.

EKWB sent over the Predator 240, the smaller of the Predator coolers, as they also offer a 360mm radiator based version of this kit as well. With the bar set so high from Corsair with their H110i GTX, EKWB has quite the hill to climb in performance, and with a few custom kits in our charts, both pre-assembled, and DIY kit style offerings, it will be easy to see just where EKWB sits in the masses of liquid cooling options. So late to the game, though, this kit has to be impressive, or it would make little sense for EK to release this cooler. Let's dive right into it and see just what EKWB and their Predator series of pre-assembled custom loops are all about.

EKWB provided a chart that covers a lot of what the Predator 240 has to offer. At the top, we are shown dimensional renderings. The left one offers us the 133mm width of this design, it shows us it is 295mm from end to end, and it denotes the use of 120mm fans. The rendering to the right then offers notations to find the pump, radiator, and the water block, but also shows the thickness of the Predator 240 at 68mm including the fans.

The technical section offers the dimensions we covered in the renderings, and also reminds us that this kit is supplied with two of the new EK-Vadar F4-120ER Predator Edition fans. There is 400mm of tubing, some of the longest in the industry, and to connect the tube to other components, we are given EK-ACF fittings sized at 1mm ID and 16mm OD. The coolant that runs through the kit is EK-Ekoolant EVO clear, and the Predator has a Laing DDC3.1 pump to move the coolant that is powered with only six watts. All told, with coolant inside of the radiator, tubing, and the block, there is 290mL capacity as the kit is shipped from EKWB.

We do realize that with custom gear, there is a premium price to be paid for such goodness. The EK Predator is no exception to this rule. We have located it at some major e-tailers as well as finding that you can also buy these kits directly from EK. If you opt for the direct from the manufacturer route of access, be prepared to pay almost $250 to get this kit to your door. Venturing over to PerformancePCs as well as at Amazon, they are competing a bit harder for your money with listings of $199.95, but only Amazon is offering free shipping as well. That is a lot for a 240mm based AIO, and some $75 more than the Corsair H110i GTX that currently leads our charts. Although this is not a sealed loop, and after investing a bit more into it, you are all ready to cooler everything in the loop with this as the base to get that ball rolling. As of this moment, we will reserve our feelings on price until after we see what all can be done with this EK Predator 240 pre-assembled custom water cooling kit.