Introduction

From the EKWB website:

EK Water Blocks bears the name of its founder Edvard König, who started experimenting with liquid cooling in 1999. From humble beginnings in the early years of the previous decade, the company grew steadily to become a global premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer.

Today, EKWB offers a complete range of products for liquid cooling, from the renowned Supremacy line of CPU water blocks to a wide range of CoolStream radiators; from in-house developed Vardar high pressure fans to the market-proven DDC series of liquid cooling pumps, and thus provides overclocking enthusiasts and dedicated gamers with the best of what the market can offer. With continuous research and design, we'll always strive to bring extreme liquid cooling performance to our customers all around the world.

EKWB may be a watercooling juggernaut today, but its origin was just one man's idea. Fast forward to today and they are a top dog when it comes to liquid-cooling PC components. For the last decade, they have clawed their way to the top, earning a large following along the way. Considering the quality, attention to detail, and general high performance of their products, it's no wonder they have experienced a great deal of success. Fast forward to the successful launch of the Predator series of AIO liquid coolers EKWB has expanded into new market segments and we arrive at today's review.

Enter the EKWB Predator 280. Similar to the standard Predator 240 I reviewed previously, the Predator 280 features quick disconnect fittings (QDC) to make expanding its all-in-one loop quite painless. Add in the larger surface area of its 280mm radiator along with their Vardar fans and you have a compelling kit all around. So let's take a closer look to see what the Predator 280 has to offer!

Packaging

The packaging for the EKWB Predator 280 features a modern design that makes use of black, white, and bronze colors. On its front is a prominent image of the Predator 280. There are also a few badges for the kit's expandable nature and low noise output, among other features. Moving to the right side, you will find a few benefits liquid-cooling can have for your hardware as pointed out by EKWB. Meanwhile, the back details the cooler's features, such as its all-copper design and plug and play ease of use. The box itself measures in at roughly 40.6cm in length, 17.1cm in width, and 28.6cm in height.


The top of the box just has the product name and a small bit of info, while the bottom lists the cooler's specifications and requirements and the contents inside the box.

Contents

The Predator 280 comes in a large box with two plastic trays that leave a great deal of space for any potential damage from drops to be dispersed. This results in a solid bit of protection for this piece of high-end hardware. While I prefer foam, this plastic tray is quite stiff, and should, as such, do a bang up job.


The Predator 280 QDC comes nearly 100% fully assembled - it really is plug and play ready. The fans are pre-mounted, and all wiring is carefully run. Extras consist of just the power cords, a tube of thermal paste, and a few screws. Everything needed for modern Intel 115x and 2011 sockets is here. However, narrow ILM 2011 is not supported unless you purchase a separate kit. AMD users will also need to purchase a separate mounting kit for their systems.

Common parts supplied for mounting include:

• 8x Fan screws
• 8x Hex key rad screws
• 4x Thumbscrews
• 4x Screw pillars
• 4x Plastic washers
• 2x Vardar F2-140 fans
• 1x All-in-one liquid cooler
• 1x Intel backplate
• 1x Power cable
• 1x Installation guide