Wednesday, February 15th 2023
PSA: Corrosion Happening on ASUS ROG Z690 Formula VRM Block, Company Remains Silent
I've been using the ASUS ROG Z690 Formula motherboard in all my recent CPU water block reviews, and also detailed it here for a specific EK VRM bridge block article. While the board has reached end-of-life status at ASUS internally, the company's customers are only just starting to face problems. The board's unique selling point is that it comes with an optional CrossChill EK III hybrid VRM thermal solution, which is effectively a waterblock for your VRMs to keep them cool at all times. Based on ASUS's official advertisement of "nickel-plated" and EK's involvement, everybody assumed that the material used is nickel-plated copper, but it turns out it's something different, most probably nickel-plated aluminium.
This is not the first time that ASUS has failed the material mix in their watercooling products. The first generation ROG Formula motherboard VRM blocks used plated-aluminium that introduced corrosion when added to a watercooling loop that has copper/brass/steel components elsewhere. Mixing metals in a watercooling loop is a bad idea and will result in galvanic corrosion from the different electrochemical potential of the metals. This can result in the block etching off and flakes/chunks getting in the loop to create an increasingly worse reaction with the coolant used. This can lead to blocked channels and even pump failure due to the corroded materials jamming the impeller.
Multiple reports on watercooling communities have come out over the past couple of months about the VRM block in the ASUS Z690 Formula displaying clear signs of corrosion. Months went by without any official statement from either ASUS or EK and it took until ~10 days ago that a more popular such post finally got enough traction to make progress with the issue. Earlier today, EK sent out an email to those customers who purchased the VRM Bridge for the motherboard, to finally acknowledge the use of mixed metals in the VRM block. This revelation makes the block incompatible with any copper-based CPU block and even the very VRM bridge linking the two. EK has not yet mentioned how this could have slipped past the brand's attention until this point, given the company's logo is on the VRM block, but frankly ASUS merits more focus for not bothering to tell any of the undoubtedly thousands of customers who purchased the Z690 Formula motherboard, in addition to all the media partners who have been using it too. As it stands, EK suggests reaching out to your local ASUS support team for a working replacement, but so far it sure feels like this issue is being handled quietly to not get the word out as much as possible. If you are using this motherboard with the VRM waterblock, then my recommendation is to flush and clean the entire loop, replace the coolant, and remove the VRM block from your loop for the time being as the VRMs can still be air-cooled.
Here's the full contents of the EK email, provided to us by an affected TPU reader.
TPU Forum member Trev shared the following photos of his watercooling setup after running just 10 weeks with the VRM block in the loop.
Sources:
Report 1, Report 2, EK Email
This is not the first time that ASUS has failed the material mix in their watercooling products. The first generation ROG Formula motherboard VRM blocks used plated-aluminium that introduced corrosion when added to a watercooling loop that has copper/brass/steel components elsewhere. Mixing metals in a watercooling loop is a bad idea and will result in galvanic corrosion from the different electrochemical potential of the metals. This can result in the block etching off and flakes/chunks getting in the loop to create an increasingly worse reaction with the coolant used. This can lead to blocked channels and even pump failure due to the corroded materials jamming the impeller.
Here's the full contents of the EK email, provided to us by an affected TPU reader.
EK-Quantum Momentum² VRM Bridge ROG Incompatibility AnnouncementUpdate Feb 15th 08:16 UTC:
Dear and valued EK Customer,
We regret to inform you that the ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 FORMULA motherboard is incompatible with our EK-Quantum Momentum² VRM Bridge ROG Maximus Z690 Formula solution, as well as other copper-based EK products.
We have developed the liquid distribution VRM Bridge solution to help our users get the full benefits from motherboards that feature CrossChill EK III hybrid VRM thermal solution by connecting any EK-Quantum Velocity² CPU water block directly to the VRM thermal water ports.
Unfortunately, EK and ASUS have discovered the issue of the VRM block corrosion. We are already working closely to address this issue and offer support to all affected customers.
ASUS is readying an adequate replacement hybrid VRM thermal solution for everyone affected by this issue. Feel free to reach out to your local ASUS support team for any additional information.
In the meantime, EK and ASUS are improving collaborative processes and development guardrails to ensure all future products exceed our customers' expectations.
We are genuinely sorry for any inconvenience this might be causing you.
We appreciate your understanding,
Team EK
TPU Forum member Trev shared the following photos of his watercooling setup after running just 10 weeks with the VRM block in the loop.
151 Comments on PSA: Corrosion Happening on ASUS ROG Z690 Formula VRM Block, Company Remains Silent
I take it you no longer buy anything with an EK logo on it?
It's amazing how coolant can last longer than a week before going to clag, vs the EK stuff that despite being different colours and types kept dying so insanely fast for no obvious reason
Their website is pretty rubbish but the official AC reps on their forums were helpful, which is honestly far more important than a glossy website.
Color or fancy coolants have fall out pretty much why if you want color just add die drops or better get color tubing and use clear fluids ;)
DON'T
EFFING
MIX
(dissimilar)
METALS
Seriously its not a hard concept its metalurgy 101 ... no scratch that its metalurgy 99....
Any water loop should have a zinc sink in it somewhere to soak up the free electrons
All I wanted was a replacement VRM block which addresses the issues, and if that's not possible then swap the board for something equivalent that isn't all disfigured from their ridiculous engineering choices.
The case was escalated after I threatened to sue them. They then sent a succession of damaged boards I refused to accept (my UPS driver let me open the packages and waited after I explained what was going on) and finally contacted the office of Consumer Protection in the state I live in and filed a claim. I also had an attorney friend write them a letter stating a lawsuit for fraud was going to be filed against them unless they fulfilled their legal warranty obligations. They finally caved and sent me a NIB board.
In 2011 I had to RMA another board and made sure to take plenty of closeup pictures before packaging it up. They denied the warranty claim again claiming the board arrived damaged. This time one of their pictures showed a serial number and it wasn't even the the same mobo I'd sent them. This was while I was at the radio station and the board was one of 50 we'd purchased. I let our legal department handle it and they got stonewalled too. Finally one of the company attorneys called the Asus USA headquarters and we were sent a new board with free overnight shipping. There was a letter enclosed apologizing profusely for "the misunderstanding". Yes, Asus products are great when they work but when they don't their RMA process is the worst in the business.
Not that OP needs or needed anything like that. His was clearly jacked.
Wo should do statistics under that thread. With historical remarks how the RMA service turned out. To gather data. GN yellow press material for sure... but for the sake of brighter future and open eyes to people, especially in their own HQ, that your brand Sucks and make people unhappy.
Algae is alive. It lives, dies, and it excretes waste. Plenty of ways it can interact with metals and it's well documented that it corrodes steel, at the very least.
The tone is also incredibly wrong for these forums.
My response to you was pointing out that in 25 years of wcing, I have never had, nor seen proof of algae corroding a block in a custom loop, ever. The steel part was a joke...
No deviation from my first response intended.
Sorry if there seems to have been any confusion.