Closer Examination

The minute I saw the EK-Quantum Vector² GPU block for the ASUS RTX 4090 Strix/TUF in person, I was immediately reminded of EK's older GPU blocks before the Classic/Quantum lines were established. Note the standard rectangular cuboid shape to not only the top but also the I/O terminal which is in contrast to the more angular look the first-gen Quantum Vector blocks had. The acetal side cover still has a strong presence here and it has the Vector² branding. This section as well as the terminal will be in black on the other model but the two are otherwise identical elsewhere, including the part where it comes with the backplate pre-installed. There is a cardboard sheet placed between the block and backplate which has the product name at the bottom and also explains why I was initially confused about what that even was. The EK badge sticker on the bottom right corner adds further branding, as does the logo and GeForce RTX printed on the magnetic cover on the top of the terminal which can be rotated depending on how you install the GPU.

The top itself is clear plexi allowing you a good look at the cooling engine and the coolant going through it. As such, you can go with colored coolant or rely on the integrated RGB lighting on the block to try and match this with the rest of your build. The see-through top can also be useful to find any trapped air bubbles in the block when the loop is being filled and bled of air. There are four BSP G1/4" threaded ports in the acetal terminal—two per side with the left set ideally the preferred inlet ports allowing immediate access to the GPU core—and these are well threaded. The provided two stop plugs can be easily installed using the accompanying hex key, although remember that it is a compression seal and you don't need to tighten too much.


Turning the block around, we see the aluminium backplate in more detail. The acetal side cover is more an extension of the block and continues to go around the back with another EK badge and further Vector² branding that mates with the backplate neatly to make the entire assembly feel like a cohesive sandwich. The backplate also wrapping around the top further adds to this aesthetic and I see where EK has taken inspiration from the RTX 3090 FE block design from the last generation. Taking off the backplate also enables access to remove that cardboard place holder and shows the machining of the backplate further. It's not the neatest thing in the world but shouldn't matter functionally and you do see where the thermal pads go on the backplate too. Taking off the backplate also shows the block itself is a full-cover, full-length unit with a short and tall cold plate fixed to the plexi top. We also now get access to the 50 cm long RGB cable connected to the flexible PCB glued to the bottom of the block. It terminates in a standard 3-pin connector that goes to a 5 V DC addressable RGB LED header on your motherboard to power and control the LEDs—no proprietary controller or software needed here.


With the backplate removed, we can see the nickel-plated copper cold plate also has branding etched during the CNC machining itself. As expected, there are raised sections which make contact with the relevant PCB components—the GPU core, VRAM, VRMs. There are threaded standoffs installed around the GPU contact area and four more outside to help install the block, with more in the top where the backplate goes in place. EK doesn't typically give its cold plates a mirror polish and we see this is no different. If you were to think an expensive block necessitates a thorough polish job then perhaps this may not please you as much. But, as with the backplate, what really matters is whether or not the contact surface is flat to the touch and here EK does as good a job as anyone else. As with most other blocks in this round, given the time limitation to get this done, I opted to not disassemble the block since the clear top enables easy examination of the cooling engine as it is. EK continues to go with the split central-inlet flow pathway for the coolant but a change from before is there is no more steel jetplate. Instead, EK has gone for an acrylic insert which the company claims helps distribute an even flow between the first and last copper fins. There is the usual array of microfins and channels too but here too EK says the microfin geometry has been optimized with even coolant flow distribution in mind and to further improve thermal performance even if you go with the right set of ports for inlet.