Saturday, May 23rd 2020

EK Releases Limited Edition Memorial Day Star-Spangled Velocity Water Block

Press Release by

May 23rd, 2020 12:32 Discuss (65 Comments)

EK, the premium water cooling gear manufacturer, has decided to do something special for its American fans this Memorial Day Weekend. Apart from being the unofficial beginning of summer, the last Monday of May has a lot of meaning for many Americans. Memorial Day is the reason why EK has created a special red, white, and blue limited edition Velocity CPU water block with a genuinely noble cause.

The brand new limited version of the water block carries the name EK-Quantum Velocity Honor. It is "decorated" with the US flag and will be sold at the price of $249.99. For each water block sold, EK will donate $100 to a charitable organization. "Being a globally successful company also means that we have the ability and responsibility to make a difference and give something back to the community. We have decided to jump on a project that will make our most loyal fans happy, and at the same time, help those who are in need," said Edvard König, founder of EK.

Two hundred limited edition Velocity CPU water blocks were made. One hundred of those are equipped with an Intel mounting frame, while the remaining one hundred are AMD-compatible. EK is hoping that all two hundred EK-Quantum Velocity Honor water blocks will find a home, thereby making a donation of $20,000 in total.

All collected funds will go to Shellback Tech, a rapidly growing Disabled Veteran-founded charitable organization. The mission of this organization is to build at least two custom gaming/streaming PCs a month and donate them to disabled veterans and first responders in need, completely free of charge.

"At EK, we believe there is no better time than now, amidst this global crisis, to do our part and help those in need, providing a little creative outlet for all who are struggling to get through this difficult time," said Kat Silberstein, CEO, EK Americas.

For EK, this is not our first charity-oriented endeavor, and certainly not the last. Still, to keep this a tradition, EK would like to learn of any charitable causes worldwide that are of great significance to people in the PC enthusiasts community. All suggestions are welcome.

To learn more about Shellback Tech and support them directly, head over to this page or this Facebook page.

EK-Quantum Velocity Honor
The star-spangled CPU water block comes in two versions:

EK-Quantum Velocity Honor D-RGB - Black Nickel + Stars & Stripes
EK-Quantum Velocity Honor D-RGB - AMD Black Nickel + Stars & Stripes

The CPU water block is featuring the 5th iteration of the award-winning EK cooling engine, tweaked even further for optimal performance. Built upon more than a decade of liquid cooling experience, EK Velocity series CPU water blocks are the product of countless hours of simulations, research, and market-leading engineering.

The top is CNC-milled out of a solid piece of nickel-plated brass, while the aesthetic cover piece is made of aluminium. The purest copper available is used for the EK-Quantum Velocity Honor cold plate and it's precisely machined to a dense microfin structure. The contact surface is machine-polished for better contact with the CPU IHS.

Compatibility
EK-Quantum Velocity Honor CPU water blocks are compatible with all popular CPU sockets on the market. They feature a universal error-preventing mounting mechanism that offers tool-less installation, supporting Intel 115x and Intel 20xx Sockets or AMD AM4 sockets, respective to the CPU block model.

Supported Intel Sockets:

LGA 1155
LGA 1156
LGA 1150
LGA 1151
LGA 2011
LGA 2011-3
LGA 2066

Supported AMD Sockets:

RGB Support
Products marked with the EK D-RGB logo are compatible with all popular RGB sync technologies from all major motherboard manufacturers. The arrow marking on the 3-pin LED connector is to be aligned with the +5V marking on the addressable D-RGB header.

Availability and Pricing
EK-Quantum Velocity Honor CPU water blocks are made in Slovenia, Europe, and are available for pre-order exclusively through the EK Webshop. This product is expected to start shipping out on May 28, 2020.

EK-Quantum Velocity Honor D-RGB - Black Nickel + Stars & Stripes (product page): USD $249.99
EK-Quantum Velocity Honor D-RGB - AMD Black Nickel + Stars & Stripes (product page): USD $249.99

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65 Comments on EK Releases Limited Edition Memorial Day Star-Spangled Velocity Water Block

#26

CheapMeat

I really want it. But can't afford it currently. Such is life. =(

#27

Steamroller

It's not a sticker. :)

#28

Vayra86

Put flag, add charity, profit.

Man, people are dumb

the54thvoidI'm not impressed - I'll never buy a block from EK again....

...that's because I've left water cooling behind. :laugh:

But, as much as I don't like blind patriotism - a flag isn't a patriot - it's a symbol that doesn't pick sides. Though it does seem a little opportunistic from EK.

That avatar though. :roll::roll::roll::roll:

#29

Haile Selassie

Caring1They're not donating a cent, they are making the paying customers donate, and they are still profiteering.

Lol exactly. They're overcharging for the same product as before and having PAYING customer donate money. It's not like they're giving away from their end.

Besides it is tacky as hell.

Oh and the biggest irony - east european vendor with half of the parts made in China, flying an American flag? Disgusting and disingenuous!

#30

Turmania

Ohh EK now China will ban you....

#31

TheoneandonlyMrK

I'm not American so please advise.

Doesn't the stark lack of actual star's and stripes bother you, I mean there's more than 9 states still right?.

#32

damric

As an actual disabled vet, I am always offended by these "charities" milking our name for sales. Just give us the standard 10% off like they do at Lowe's hardware and it keeps us happy. A clip of 1 or 2 lucky lottery winning vet just pisses off the remaining 5 million of us in the USA. Putting a flag on a waterblock definitely makes me think of some creepy 1930s era nationalism.

#33

Assimilator

Haile SelassieLol exactly. They're overcharging for the same product as before and having PAYING customer donate money. It's not like they're giving away from their end.

Besides it is tacky as hell.

Oh and the biggest irony - east european vendor with half of the parts made in China, flying an American flag? Disgusting and disingenuous!

Au contraire; nothing is more American than maximum profits. Capitalism, f**k yeah!

#34

Dave65

FreedomEclipseA sticker wouldnt look as good either.

I dunno, i've seen some great looking stickers.

#35

Haile Selassie

damricAs an actual disabled vet, I am always offended by these "charities" milking our name for sales. Just give us the standard 10% off like they do at Lowe's hardware and it keeps us happy. A clip of 1 or 2 lucky lottery winning vet just pisses off the remaining 5 million of us in the USA. Putting a flag on a waterblock definitely makes me think of some creepy 1930s era nationalism.

Agreed. Also, thank you for your service, sir.

#36

MDWiley

EK’s pricing has been extremely obnoxious and consumer-hostile. If this were a magnitude block the $250 might be barely justifiable, but it’s a velocity block with $150 slapped on. It’s like they’re trying to condition customers to think $200+ is acceptable.

#37

Steamroller

damricAs an actual disabled vet, I am always offended by these "charities" milking our name for sales. Just give us the standard 10% off like they do at Lowe's hardware and it keeps us happy. A clip of 1 or 2 lucky lottery winning vet just pisses off the remaining 5 million of us in the USA. Putting a flag on a waterblock definitely makes me think of some creepy 1930s era nationalism.

Its interesting that an actually disabled vet is on board the whole thing and he thinks its a great cause. If all off the blocks sell, his charity organization which donates 2 PC a month to other disabled vets, will get $20k to fund his projects.

#38

Valantar

SteamrollerIts interesting that an actually disabled vet is on board the whole thing and he thinks its a great cause. If all off the blocks sell, his charity organization which donates 2 PC a month to other disabled vets, will get $20k to fund his projects.

So as with pretty much all charity-linked marketing campaigns, this singles out a few lucky winners (who obviously receive something of value, not to be ignored, but it's still a tiny amount) and mostly serves to make the company look good while they're raking in profits. I mean, they already charge a €50 premium for their two-tone "strike" CPU blocks over the single-color ones for what is likely a negligible cost increase if there is any at all. This just takes that price and adds a $100 charitable donation on top. I would also not at all be surprised if this came with some sort of tax rebate to the company, further increasing their profits. Let's be real: if their goal was to actually help people, they would just donate money and leave it at that. This is a pure PR move, costing them absolutely nothing (designing that "not a sticker" sticker likely took a few hours at most and is more than swallowed up by the aforementioned €50 premium built into the price), earning them goodwill from "patriotic" people in the US, and likely increasing their profits even if they make zero additional sales from this.

#39

Steamroller

Actually there is no rebate for increasing profit, I don't know from where are you coming up with this stuff. A sold item is a sold item and 20% of it goes to the government. If you sell more, you will get taxed more. So actually EK is having less profit on the Honor block as it is on the Strike block, by 20%. It's strange how people try so hard to find some negative points when the cause is really nothing but positive. No one is forcing you to buy the block, but if you do, $100 will be donated. It's the same as you bought the Strike, and donated 100$ yourself.
I would just wait for some feedback from the people who bought the block so that they can actually confirm is it a "sticker" or a high-quality print directly on the material.

#40

Valantar

SteamrollerActually there is no rebate for increasing profit, I don't know from where are you coming up with this stuff. A sold item is a sold item and 20% of it goes to the government. If you sell more, you will get taxed more. So actually EK is having less profit on the Honor block as it is on the Strike block, by 20%. It's strange how people try so hard to find some negative points when the cause is really nothing but positive. No one is forcing you to buy the block, but if you do, $100 will be donated. It's the same as you bought the Strike, and donated 100$ yourself.
I would just wait for some feedback from the people who bought the block so that they can actually confirm is it a "sticker" or a high-quality print directly on the material.

You need to work on your reading comprehension. I said that this - as in running a PR campaign donating up to US$20k to charity - might lead to a tax rebate, not that an increase in revenue would. Charitable donations are very often tax deductible, after all. As for what you're saying, there's no VAT on sales in the US (though some states have sales tax). And while it's of course possible that these blocks sell outside of the US, it's likely that the majority will sell to the US. It might very well be that business revenue is taxed 20% in Slovenia (or the US if sales are handled through a US subsidiary), but any increase in taxable revenue (which is of course subject to all kinds of other deductions as well) is likely more than offset by the donation when you're talking such a small quantity.

As for trying hard to find something negative: this is an extremely well established PR tactic, there is really no need to look for anything - it's blindingly obvious. This costs EK nothing, yet they (rather than their customers, who are the ones paying for this) get a reputation boost. Is that a sleazy tactic? Obviously! If I convinced you to give $100 to whatever charity I wanted, then I took the credit for that and announced how awesome a person I was for "donating" that money, wouldn't I be an asshole? Yes I would. If they actually wanted to do something charitable, they could for example: a) make a donation from their own money, b) run a donation-matching campaign where customers can opt to add a donation to their purchase and EK then matches this (up to a limit), c) donate a portion of proceeds from a given product line or all sales without increasing prices, or any other solution where customers don't end up being the ones making the entirety of the donation. Yet they chose to go for the solution where they don't contribute anything themselves. This is pure PR, masquerading as charity.

Edit: Oh, as for whether this is a sticker or a "high quality print" - does it matter? Printing onto metal is cheap and trivial. Go to any run-of-the-mill print shop you like and you can have any image you want printed onto large aluminium plates. While printing onto a small 3D metal shape is of course more complex than printing onto large sheet metal, the principle is the same, and the methods are likely near identical.

#41

Valantar

... So you didn't read my post at all then? You know, the one where I explicitly covered how where the sale happens and which tax jurisdiction it falls under is irrelevant? In bout six sentences covering both the US and Slovenia? Who says there are no tax deductions for charity in Slovenia? Also, reported for your inability to keep a basic civil tone.

#42

Steamroller

Who says? The person living in Slovenia. There is only a number of registered Slovenian charity organizations that are free of tax. Everything else, business is usual. Full tax.

#43

Valantar

SteamrollerWho says? The person living in Slovenia. There is only a number of registered Slovenian charity organizations that are free of tax. Everything else, business is usual. Full tax.

You still don't understand this, it seems. I am not talking about tax exemptions for charitable organizations. I am talking about tax deductions for charitable donations. I.e. when you (or in this case EK) report on your tax statement that you have given X sum to charity Y and thus receive a cut in the tax you have to pay. Pretty much every country in the world has some sort of deduction for charity, in part because it's an easy way for the superrich to avoid taxes. Unless Slovenia has the simplest tax code in the universe (i.e. an entirely flat tax rate without deductions and the like) what you are presenting here seems oversimplified to the extreme.

#44

Steamroller

In Slovenia, tax exemptions are just for a few listed and registered charity organizations. EK could either donate locally or, pay tax like for every other product sold, and then donate money, as a simple donation.

Still, what difference does it make? You think EK will make millions? On the other hand, if all blocks will sell, Shellback Tech, which is already donating PCs, will get funding.
I still find it amazing why someone is looking for a needle in a haystack. 200 blocks is nothing for EK.

#45

ThrashZone

Hi,
Wow got to give it to ek never miss a opportunity :respect:

#46

Valantar

SteamrollerIn Slovenia, tax exemptions are just for a few listed and registered charity organizations. EK could either donate locally or, pay tax like for every other product sold, and then donate money, as a simple donation.

Still, what difference does it make? You think EK will make millions? On the other hand, if all blocks will sell, Shellback Tech, which is already donating PCs, will get funding.
I still find it amazing why someone is looking for a needle in a haystack. 200 blocks is nothing for EK.

The difference it makes, as I've gone into earlier, is that stuff like this is a sleazy marketing tactic that gives them far more credit than what they are due. Sure, they did come up with this initiative. But in reality they aren't donating anything at all - their customers are. EK isn't paying anything. And they might even stand to gain financially, which is the point you went bonkers over, though at the very minimum this still isn't costing them anything at all. So why do they deserve any credit? There is nothing charitable about what they are doing; they are asking other people to donate money instead of doing so themselves. I have given several examples of how this could have been handled in a way where EK themselves actually contributed in a meaningful way, which also shows how their choice of this approach demonstrates how this is a pure PR move with nothing charitable in it from their side. If 200 blocks is nothing to them, why bother with doing a special run at all, why not just give away some money? Your view of this is hopelessly naive.

#47

Steamroller

I'm sorry but I fail to understand again your point of view. Is EK begging for any credit? They made a block, pumped the price, part of the money will be donated to a charity organization.
The customer will get a rare CPU block, everyone is happy. No one is forcing you to buy anything. If you don't like the product, skip it.
Scroll through social media a bit. People are happy and are reporting that they bought the block. Because EK made a CPU block, some fella who has his life all figured out and has the cash to buy
the block will be happy. Some fella who needs some help will get a gaming PC donated because a charity organization will receive extra cash.
The only pool of negativity that I see is here.

#48

Valantar

SteamrollerI'm sorry but I fail to understand again your point of view. Is EK begging for any credit? They made a block, pumped the price, part of the money will be donated to a charity organization.
The customer will get a rare CPU block, everyone is happy. No one is forcing you to buy anything. If you don't like the product, skip it.
Scroll through social media a bit. People are happy and are reporting that they bought the block. Because EK made a CPU block, some fella who has his life all figured out and has the cash to buy
the block will be happy. Some fella who needs some help will get a gaming PC donated because a charity organization will receive extra cash.
The only pool of negativity that I see is here.

You can't possibly be serious now. "Is EK begging for any credit?" YES! That is literally what they are doing. They put out a gosh-darn press release bragging about how good a thing they are doing. Did you read the news post? Here are some key quotes:

EKMemorial Day is the reason why EK has created a special red, white, and blue limited edition Velocity CPU water block with a genuinely noble cause.
(...)
For each water block sold, EK will donate $100 to a charitable organization. "Being a globally successful company also means that we have the ability and responsibility to make a difference and give something back to the community. We have decided to jump on a project that will make our most loyal fans happy, and at the same time, help those who are in need," said Edvard König, founder of EK.
(...)
"At EK, we believe there is no better time than now, amidst this global crisis, to do our part and help those in need, providing a little creative outlet for all who are struggling to get through this difficult time," said Kat Silberstein, CEO, EK Americas.

What more do you need? The press release is crystal clear in framing this as "we at EK are doing a great thing" while simultaneously showing anyone actually willing to do a basic google search of prices for those blocks that they aren't donating a cent themselves, with the donation entirely financed by the price increase on these limited edition blocks. Is there any explicit mention anywhere that the donations will be financed purely by a price increase? No. So EK is saying "look at this great, charitable thing we are doing" while not actually doing anything charitable at all, but rather putting 100% of the cost of that charity onto their customers on top of standard pricing.

And again: your view of this is really naive. "some fella who has his life all figured out and has the cash to buy the block will be happy. Some fella who needs some help will get a gaming PC donated because a charity organization will receive extra cash." That is an incredibly optimistic take on this. How many people will this help? Let's say this organization has zero overhead costs and builds cost-effective ~$1000 PCs for people - that's 20 people at most, and likely significantly less (most charities have significant overhead costs, especially smaller ones). As I've said before, it's great that this helps some people - it's just an incredibly inefficient way of doing so, and one that ultimately helps EK far more than it helps people in need. And again: EK isn't doing anything here beyond putting a sticker on a product and charging a $100 markup that they then hand over to someone else. Their effort in this is entirely negligible. A handful of people at best will be impacted by this, while EK gets a significant reputation boost within certain demographics (especially in the US) with near zero cost and effort on their part. If they were genuinely interested in doing some good for the sake of other people rather than framing themselves as charitable and good, they would give some of their own money or do something similar. This, however, is a cynical PR move through and through. Me seeing that isn't due to me looking too hard for faults in this; you failing to see this is pure naivete on your part.

I don't have anything whatsoever against EK - the majority of parts in my water loop are EK parts (pump, CPU+GPU blocks, one of two radiators, tubing, some fittings), and I'm very happy with them - but this kind of cynical abuse of charity really rubs me the wrong way.

#49

Shellback_Tech

Thank you for putting up the story. As the founder of Shellback Tech, the charity they chose to donate to, and a Disabled Iraq Veteran myself, it truly meant a lot to the charity and to our recipients.

#50

ThrashZone

Hi,
Glad someone is getting something out of this
Velocity is overpriced at 100.us so additional costs of this item for paint or sticker well Like I said ek is the master of overpricing :)

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EK Releases Limited Edition Memorial Day Star-Spangled Velocity Water Block

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