On the other end of the spectrum is Bykski, which has until recently been either an unknown brand in the Western half of the globe or, worse, considered as one of many that end up mimicking existing products from other brands, including EKWB itself. There is no denying that there have been some.. strong inspirations.. taken before from many brands, but as Bykski prepares to make its entry into North America, things have changed. With their FOUR series of blocks and matching fittings, pump tops, and reservoirs, Bykski is priding itself on providing high-end cooling solutions with thick anodized aluminum shrouds in different color options and an aggressive angled design otherwise different from any other block design today. Indeed, with Bykski USA now being an actual distributor with a retail location to serve North America, they are also no longer a brand to be associated with Chinese online retailers and mail-forwarding agencies.

It was then that I was perplexed to see a massive price difference for this block from Bykski USA relative to their Chinese resellers, and I contacted the former about it. Prompt customer service greeted me here, which was nice and will go a long way in helping the brand here no doubt, and I was informed that this is a result of importing fees and shipping costs, but that they are working on unifying price points sooner rather than later. Indeed, they also mentioned that they are getting the non-FOUR series version which they expect to sell at a much lower cost, so if you don't mind the aluminum shrouds, you have a local option now as well.

As it is, be it manufacturing tolerance or otherwise, I did not have the best contact with the Bykski block and the GPU PCB here, and to where it performed slightly worse despite the higher number of microfins that in turn also increased relative liquid flow restriction. Not including thermal paste does prevent a full function out of the box, and also note that I was not able to demonstrate the RGB lighting and controller given my sample shipped before these were made part of the box. There is also no backplate option here, optional or otherwise, so unless you get a backplate from the ASUS Poseidon or mod one from a competitor, you would go without one here.

Time will tell how the brand fares in the west, and cultural challenges certainly abound, but as the product is today, it does not do enough to merit a recommendation, and I would say go with the EKWB offering instead. If the non-FOUR series indeed comes in at a much lower price as promised, however, things would look better for Bykski as well.