CES 2019: Leo takes a look at EK Classic, Valkyrie, ROG Dominus and more

We've covered plenty of laptops, monitors, peripherals and cases so far over the course of CES, but we haven't forgotten about the liquid cooling enthusiasts amongst you. Today at CES, Leo visited EKWB to check out the new hardware coming our way in 2019, including new fittings, the latest version of the upcoming Vakyrie AIO and all-new waterblocks, including cheaper options for those on a tighter budget.

Starting off, we have the new EK Classic lineup. This is a new series of pumps, reservoirs, CPU and GPU blocks, all of which have been designed to lower costs. This is achieved via 90 degree angles and reducing the amount of machining that needs to take place, which will make EK Classic gear a bit friendlier for your wallet. New 90 degree and 45 degree ‘T' shaped fittings are also on the way, which will make it easier to put together a hard-tube cooling loop as fewer bends will be required.

For those in the US, soon Microcenter will be stocking a pre-built system using EKWB's liquid cooling hardware. It will feature a Core i7-9700K, a RTX 2080 and a full custom loop inside for what Leo describes as ‘sensible money' in the video. If you are looking to skip the trouble of building yourself, then this may end up being a good option later this year.

The EKWB Valkyrie series of all-in-one liquid coolers are still in development. However, it is now close to being ready for manufacturing. It features a 240mm radiator, nicely sleeved tubing and a semi-clear CPU block so that you can see the coolant running through it. We don't have an exact price or release date just yet but we have been told that it will be competitive with other mainstream AIO coolers, so we'll be looking forward to seeing it in action, hopefully later this year.

ASUS has the ROG Dominus coming up for Intel's currently unreleased 28-core Xeon. EKWB will be releasing dedicated cooling hardware for this board, including a waterblock for the VRMs and a CPU block.

EKWB is going to be releasing ‘Modulus' tube bending jigs this year, which you can screw down and then use to bend hard tubes at various angles. The design we saw isn't finalised just yet, the grooves are going to be a bit deeper in the final product and we are expecting a switch to acetal rather than aluminium.

Finally, EK Connect is a new upcoming feature. It will act as a controller for fans, pumps and other accessories. There is a hardware controller to plug things into and then the software side will allow users to see flow level, control the pump, monitor temperature readings and control RGB lighting. The idea is that EK Connect will be easy to use with a fairly straightforward UI.

KitGuru Says: The EKWB suite was a pleasant surprise this year, with lots of new hardware on show. The new EK Classic lineup has my interest, meanwhile Leo seems particularly fond of the new fittings and black coolant. Are any of you thinking about putting together a custom watercooling loop this year? 

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