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EKWB is best known for its extravagant custom water-cooling products, but the company also likes to dip its toes into the mainstream cooling market from time to time. EK has recently added to its closed-loop AIO CPU cooler line with the Nucleus AIO series, and today we have the Nucleus AIO CR360 Lux D-RGB version for review. So let’s see how this new AIO from EK stacks up against the competition when we put it through its paces on our test bench.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:41 The basics – what is it?
02:02 Unboxing and packaging
03:55 The hardware itself
04:53 Radiator + pump unit
06:29 RGB lighting
07:03 The fans
07:55 Test setup + installation
10:57 More RGB effects
12:29 Thermal performance
14:14 Closing thoughts
It's not often that I pay much attention to the packaging of CPU coolers, but it is worth a quick mention in this case as EK has gone the extra mile in this area. Instead of the usual cardboard carton and plastic bags in which we often see AIO coolers arrive, EK has very neatly packaged the Nucleus AIO in dense foam. Accessories are perfectly arranged in a separate box, it all looks very nice when you open the boxes.
EK's latest Surface radiators for custom cooling use copper cores of various thicknesses. With the EK-Nucleus AIO the company has chosen an aluminium radiator design which is common with AIO CPU coolers as it keeps cost down. The radiator is a standard 27mm thick unit with an overall length of 400mm and width of 127mm coated in a satin black finish. EK has added some brushed aluminium trim panels to either side of the radiator to enhance aesthetics.
Tubing is manufactured from ultra-low evaporation rubber with Nylon braided sleeving. At the radiator end the tube fittings are contained in a plastic cover and fixed in position, but at the pump side, the tubing is attached to 90-degree rotary fittings to allow for some flexibility while installing and adjustment of the final tubing position.
The pump is mounted in an ABS moulded plastic housing with an RGB-illuminated removable and rotatable top cover which is held in place magnetically. The pump is PWM controlled with a duty cycle range of between 20%-100%, at maximum speed the pump runs at 3100 RPM. Wiring connections to the pump include a 4-pin PWM cable and a 3-pin 5v D-RGB connection.
At the CPU/block base is a copper cold plate which comes with a pre-applied thermal compound coating and screw holes for fixing the upper mounting brackets. The cold plate is designed to cover all current desktop CPUs but not larger high-end desktop CPUs such as AMD Threadripper. It is compatible with all current Intel and AMD desktop platforms including Intel LGA1700 and AMD AM5 sockets.
Previous generation EK AIO coolers came with Vardar fans, however, the Nucleus comes with Vardar’s successor the EK FPT fan. EK FPT fans look similar to Vardar RGB fans with a black frame and opaque fan blade design but they have short cables with proprietary connections so that they can be daisy chained to reduce cable clutter. A cable extension then converts the connection back to standard 4-pin PWM and 5v D-RGB connections.
EK FPT are high static pressure fans with a full frame design for better radiator contact to reduce air escaping around the side of the frame. They are equipped with anti-vibration rubber mountings, fluid dynamic bearings and a seven-blade impeller with nine hub-mounted D-RGB LED’s. They have a PWM speed range of 550 – 2300 RPM, maximum static pressure of 77,000CFM, a static pressure of 2.7mm H2O and a maximum noise level of 36dBA.
EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 D-RGB Specifications:
- CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel Sockets LGA1700, 1200, 115X, 2011, 2011-3, 2066, AMD Socket AM4, AM5
- Radiator Dimensions: 400 x 124 x 27 mm
- Radiator Material: Aluminum
- Fan Compatibility: 120 mm
- Pump Unit Dimensions: 82.3 x 69.2 x 61.6 mm
- Pump Unit Material: ABS housing, ABS top ring
- Pump Speed Range: 3100 RPM ± 10%
- Pump PWM Range: 20 – 100%
- Pump Unit RGB Type: 5V Digital (Addressable)
- Pinout: 5V, D, Empty, Ground Pump RGB Cable Length: 500 mm
- Tubing Material: Ultra-Low Evaporation Rubber with Nylon Braided Sleeve
- Tubing Length: 400 mm
- Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25mm
- Fan Speed Range: 550 – 2300 ± 10%
- Fan Noise Level: 36 dB (at maximum speed)
- Fan Air Flow: 72 CFM = 122,33 m³/h (at maximum speed)
- Fan RGB Type: 5V Digital (Addressable) Pinout: 5V, D, Empty, Ground
