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We have seen examples of PCs from the EK Fluid Gaming range at shows such as CES, however this is the first time we have been sent one of their PCs for review. The EK-Fluid Gaming Digital Reef PC has a slightly peculiar name and a specification that promises a huge amount, combining an Intel Core i9-14900K with RTX 4090 graphics that is cooled, naturally, by a full system of EK Quantum custom loop hardware.
Time Stamps
00:00 Start
01:32 The PC and accessories
03:34 Putting coolant in the PC
05:48 The BIOS
06:12 A look at the cabling
07:04 Benchmarking the system
07:58 Game Performance
08:32 Leo’s Thoughts on the system
Specification:
- CPU Intel Core i9 14900K
- GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
- Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero
- RAM 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 6000MHz RGB (G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB in our sample)
- SSD Primary 1TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 Seagate FireCuda 530
- SSD Secondary 2TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 Seagate FireCuda 530
EK Quantum Custom Loop Liquid Cooling:
- Monoblock EK Quantum Momentum2 D-RGB Plexi
- GPU block EK Quantum Vector2
- Pump/reservoir EK Quantum Reflection Uni 140 DDC
- Radiator EK Quantum Surface X420M
- Fans 6x EK Loop Fan FPT 140mm D-RGB
- Case Fractal Design Torrent
- Power supply Seasonic Vertex GX 1200W Gold
- OS Windows 11 Home
- Warranty 3-Year on Support, Parts, Labour
- Support Support Tickets, Email, Social Media
Performance and Testing
In our video we show some benchmark runs of Cinebench R23 and 3D Mark Fire Strike, along with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Far Cry 6 at 4K on Ultra settings. On this occasion we haven't bombarded you with graphs as we know full well that an Intel Core i9-14900K combined with RTX 4090 graphics makes for the basis of a superb gaming PC.
What we were doing in those test runs was confirming that the EK custom loop cooling works well (it does), that the Core i9 runs reasonably cool and the graphics card is fabulously cool. This illustrates the difficulty of keeping the Core i9-14900K under control however, as James will demonstrate in a review that is coming very soon, the best approach is to delid the CPU and then use direct die cooling. In other words, while the cooling in the Digital Reef is good, it is not quite the ultimate.
Closing Thoughts
The concept of the EK-Fluid Gaming Digital Reef is quite straightforward. EK has taken the champion gaming CPU, matched it with the king of gaming graphics cards and then wrapped the hardware in a top notch cooling system. The result is maximum performance with the minimum of noise, along with a hefty dose of RGB lighting that sets of the violet coolant to perfection.
When we cost the components in a pre-built PC we usually find they come to the same total as the selling price of the PC itself. This means the customer effectively gets their PC built free of charge and also gets a warranty which is a nice touch.
In the case of the EK-Fluid Gaming Digital Reef it is clear there has been a considerable amount of development work and that the build would take many hours of skilled labour. On the one hand we are looking at a very expensive PC but on the other hand it represents surprisingly good value for money.
You can buy the EK-Fluid Gaming Digital Reef PC HERE.
Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.
Pros:
- Superb performance and cooling.
- Noise levels are very low.
- These components cost £5,000 so the fabulous EK build is effectively free of charge.
Cons:
- Currently there are no options to change components or to specify overclocking.
- The ticket price is high.
- It would help if EK told us the radiator holds xxx ml of coolant.
- The included Asus Hyper M.2 card cannot be used as the vertical GPU blocks the PCIe slots.
KitGuru says: The EK-Fluid Gaming Digital Reef PC delivers loads of stomp and looks great.
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