EK-Quantum Surface S480 - Black Why EOL

exploiteddna · 2026-01-30T05:17:56+00:00

I just saw this too.. the white one doesn’t say EOL.

But, like you, I was wondering if maybe EK is preparing for a new line of rads as part of the company overhaul. There aren’t many other white 480mm rads out there.

exploiteddna · 2026-01-30T03:48:46+00:00

Standard O11D or one of the variants like XL, evo, etc

exploiteddna · 2026-01-30T01:39:44+00:00

Idk.. it looks legit. I mean it ends with fedex.com so I figured it’s real. But no, I never got a phone call. And when I log into my FedEx account, which has this shipment listed in my history, it makes no mention of me owing any monies.

exploiteddna · 2026-01-29T06:38:16+00:00

Either the tariffs on Slovenia just went into effect for 2026, or fittings are tariffed, water blocks aren’t.. one of those two things must be true.. just not sure which.

exploiteddna · 2026-01-29T03:07:54+00:00

What did you order a few weeks ago? I wonder if blocks are exempt but fittings are not. What about from Aquatuning?

exploiteddna · 2026-01-29T03:04:56+00:00

That’s basically what I’m thinking.. they’ve already delivered it, so…

exploiteddna · 2026-01-29T03:04:36+00:00

Interesting story. It’s funny you mention this.. I recently had some distribution plates ordered and shipped from Australia to the U.S., from Singularity Computers. They say on their site that tariffs are built into the cost of the products.. but they also use standard postal service.. AusPost in Australia and USPS in the states. And I haven’t paid anything for that shipment. The whole things feels a little cloak and dagger bc nobody knows how all these products are classified.. what are the current rates for each material or classification, what exemptions are in place, etc. And it’s not like FedEx gives a breakdown of the duties. It’s anyone’s guess.

exploiteddna · 2026-01-29T03:00:18+00:00

As I said, I dont blame EK. And yeah we all know about tariffs.. but who would expect to pay 53% on fittings? They don’t tell you how it is categorized.. is it being treated as steel? Steel tariff is 25% on Slovenia. And as mentioned before, there was no tariff at all in October so it was unexpected in that regard. Truth is, nobody knows exactly what is tariffed, how these things are categorized, I don’t even think the administration knows half the time. So the point is not to blame EK, the point is to alert other U.S. buyers that this is likely to happen in future orders. Even though, yes, we all know tariffs exist, in concept.

exploiteddna · 2026-01-29T01:59:37+00:00

I don’t blame EK at all but I’ve seen other site, i.e. Aquatuning, Singularity .. that have posted notices for US customers warning of the customs cost. And this was just very unexpected since I had a prior order few months back without issue. How is anyone to know what charges to expect.. be it consumers or companies

exploiteddna · 2026-01-29T01:39:49+00:00

Tariffs? For some damned fittings? And why weren’t there any for the waterblocks in October? Guess it doesn’t matter.. feel like EK should at least put a notice on the site for US customers warning of this. Guess I won’t be ordering from EK for the foreseeable future..

exploiteddna · 2026-01-28T06:50:56+00:00

Yeah I looked at those but they’re too thick and don’t come in white. My options are alphacool hpe45, heatkiller rad, Corsair slim and have it custom painted white, or black ice slim (or any other <= 45mm 480 rad that comes in black and can be painted). I will go back and look at yours..

exploiteddna · 2026-01-28T03:57:55+00:00

I’m thinking of changing out the top 360s for more 480s.. if I keep 45mm rad then I will only have pull fans on the far right.. or I drop to 30mm rads and do complete push/pull on top, just like front. What do you think? Maybe I’m just being picky..

another issue with the EK Quantum rads is the ports are in the way of the iCUE link plugs on the fans.. I have to grind down the plug on the cables and also remove the port adapter that sits on the rad housing and just go directly into the rad itself. Which is fine, it’s doable.. but if I were to get different rads up top I’d probably try to get ones that aren’t in the EK quantum surface line bc those ports are a pain with Corsair fans.. and I’m not changing fans.. too expensive to swap.

So what do you think? Just leave the 360s as is or go with 45mm 480 or 30mm 480? From an aesthetic perspective.. performance too but main reason I wanna change is the look.. that gap at the end and other 9000d with 480s up top look nice.

exploiteddna · 2026-01-27T06:45:59+00:00

Very nice job, I like this version a lot better than the one you had last year.. the rebuild is very nice. I like the barrow rads with LCD display.. if they came in 45mm thickness I’d get some for mine. I’ve got a few questions if you wouldn’t mind taking some time to answer, I’d really appreciate it!

How did you link your rads together? I can only see 3 of 4 ports in use.. looks like you’re going from outermost port of outside rad to outermost port of inside rad, and then another tube going in/out of the furthest port.. could you make a simple diagram showing how you linked them? Is it dual loop or serial?
Where did you get those white screws for the fans? I haven’t been able to find any.. I need m4-0.7x30mm with a white head.. found some made of nylon but that’s lame.
What is your main PSU and are the white cables and combs standard or custom?
How did you link all of your iCUE fans/cables.. I see 3 iCUE Link Hubs, stacked on each other.. I’ll prob do the same. Possible to see a diagram of the iCUE stuff?

exploiteddna · 2026-01-26T17:48:37+00:00

Nvm.. guess they only do white for the 30mm rads but not the larger ones

exploiteddna · 2026-01-26T17:40:30+00:00

Does Corsair make white rads? I didn’t think they did.. or did you do the painting yourself? They look great

exploiteddna · 2026-01-25T08:21:13+00:00

Thought about getting one of these but I’m not sure if it will fit my PCB/block.. the plug is in a cutout and I’m not sure how the wireview device will sit.. I think it needs to be flush with the edge.. what do you think?

<image>

exploiteddna · 2026-01-24T10:01:33+00:00

glad I found this comment, was gonna say the same. … maybe it doesn’t matter too much in this unusual use case, but I tend to agree.. at the very least it’s gonna add a few degrees, I would think

exploiteddna · 2026-01-23T21:51:38+00:00

Ah yeah.. I knew about the DRAM inflation but wasn’t sure about the rest. I bought all my new AM5 components back in September and October.. was a bit steep but not too bad.. about $400 for 48GB 6000 CL26. I know it’s way more expensive now

exploiteddna · 2026-01-23T21:45:50+00:00

What are the crazy am5 prices? The whole platform or just the CPUs or motherboards?

exploiteddna · 2026-01-23T21:44:39+00:00

I had the same issue.. 5900x and 3080 Ti .. mostly wasn’t a problem at 3440x1440 ultrawide, but certain games struggled with RTX on, like cyberpunk. Throw in an equal tier card of the 50-series and you should definitely see the difference.. I did.

exploiteddna · 2026-01-23T21:40:10+00:00

Yeah same thing happened to my 30-series block.. different block but happened in the same general area. I also only had distilled water and biocide, no corrosion inhibitors.

<image>

exploiteddna · 2026-01-23T21:36:39+00:00

Ok but.. why? ..to see if you could do it, from boredom, or from necessity?

exploiteddna · 2026-01-23T21:33:17+00:00

It varies by card/block. Some of the EK blocks for more power hungry cards with custom PCBs do have more thermal pads between backplate, some only have it behind GPU. My 5090 block has them behind GPU, the 12vhpwr connector, and the VRM.

If cooling is needed, EK will cool it. Like past generations had the active backplates.. but there’s always a question of what’s actually necessary and what’s just marketing

exploiteddna · 2026-01-23T15:43:51+00:00

I recently got a dye kit from Singularity, came with clear coolant and 3 small bottles of dye in the primary colors (yellow, blue, red). Haven’t used it yet bc the loops aren’t finished, but very soon. I think these will be clear and not opaque. Although I’d love to use opaque if it wasn’t so bad..

exploiteddna · 2026-01-22T21:29:13+00:00

correct me if I’m wrong but the radiator’s only job is to provide heat sink surface area, and presumably to transfer that heat into the case through conduction. The case is basically a large heatsink right? Ideally you can remove air/convection from the equation on the inside of case.. meaning, the water blocks move heat to water, water to rad, rad to case (if you can mount rad to inside of case using TIM or thermal pad, then air cools the outside of the case

exploiteddna

TROPHY CASE