You have to hand it to EK. The watercooling specialist really knows how to think out of the box. The brand just announced its new EK Lignum lineup of products that are partially manufactured out of walnuts (Juglans Nigra).
The waterblock itself is based on the company’s EK-Quantum Vector RE RTX 3080/3090 design that’s tailored towards Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 30-series (Ampere) graphics cards. The EK-Quantum Vector RTX 3080/3090 Lignum Edition is compatible with the majority of the GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3090 models that feature a reference design, including Zotac’s Trinit GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3090 SKUs. Do note, however, the waterblock isn’t compatible with the Founders Edition.
EK’s decision to use walnut in the waterblock’s construction was due to its properties to shrink and expand. The company handpicks and handcrafts each piece of wood. Its open-pore finish leaves the wood with a silky touch. Each waterblock features a distinctive wood pattern so no two Lignum waterblocks are the same.
The brand assures its customers that Lignum products are designed in such a way that the wood doesn’t come anywhere near the liquid. The wood is attached to an acetal tops that seals the waterblock so the wood only acts as eye candy.
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The EK-Quantum Vector RTX 3080/3090 Lignum Edition features a thicker copper base in comparison to EK’s other waterblocks to provide headroom for tall capacitors on graphics cards with reference designs. The objective is to provide wide compatibility without compromising the flow of the coolant.
The waterblock comes equipped with an integrated solutioon that coolrs the GPU, memory chips and VRM (voltage regulation module) as the coolant flows right over each aforementioned component. The coolant also makes contact with the MOSFETs as well as the chokes so there is a minimum chance of hearing coil whine. The optimized flow paths aim to reduce hydrodynamic instabilities and dead spots.
The EK-Quantum Vector RTX 3080/3090 Lignum Edition commands a price tag of $359.99. EK expects to ship out orders in the middle of September 2021. If you’re looking for a complete wood theme, EK also sells matching EK-CPU Lignum waterblock and EK-HDC Lignum 12mm fittings for $189.99 and $17.99, respectively.