Production Aquanaut Basic/Extreme - Ultra Low Profile CPU Block & Pump Mount Combo

[biopunk]

I tested EK Velocity and Aquanaut at the same coolant temperature and pump speed while running AIDA64 stress test to simulate 100% load.

Setup:

• Ryzen 5900X
• Laing DDC-1T Plus PWM
• Aquacomputer Quadro
• Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut thin spread

CPU block	CPU ℃ average	Coolant ℃	Pump speed
EK Velocity AM4	65	40	25%
Aquanaut AM4	73	40	25%

Aquanaut is a truly unique product but there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to thermal performance.

I think these results can at least partially be explained by the smaller fin area and shorter fins on Aquanaut. FWIW according to benchmarks on GN, typically AIOs with the largest fin area, tall and dense fins have the best thermal performance.
Hope this is something that will be improved in future revisions.

 

[thelaughingman]

I tested EK Velocity and Aquanaut at the same coolant temperature and pump speed while running AIDA64 stress test to simulate 100% load.

Setup:

• Ryzen 5900X
• Laing DDC-1T Plus PWM
• Aquacomputer Quadro
• Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut thin spread

CPU block	CPU ℃ average	Coolant ℃	Pump speed
EK Velocity AM4	65	40	25%
Aquanaut AM4	73	40	25%

Aquanaut is a truly unique product but there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to thermal performance.

I think these results can at least partially be explained by the smaller fin area and shorter fins on Aquanaut. FWIW according to benchmarks on GN, typically AIOs with the largest fin area, tall and dense fins have the best thermal performance.
Hope this is something that will be improved in future revisions.

thanks for sharing. at the end of the day I don't think most of us think Aquanaut can match top end CPU blocks. the performance gap might be smaller in a more expansive loop (more rad, more fans, larger cases for more airflow). Could you share you build & WC loop please?

 

[Nouvolo]

I tested EK Velocity and Aquanaut at the same coolant temperature and pump speed while running AIDA64 stress test to simulate 100% load.

Setup:

• Ryzen 5900X
• Laing DDC-1T Plus PWM
• Aquacomputer Quadro
• Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut thin spread

CPU block	CPU ℃ average	Coolant ℃	Pump speed
EK Velocity AM4	65	40	25%
Aquanaut AM4	73	40	25%

Aquanaut is a truly unique product but there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to thermal performance.

I think these results can at least partially be explained by the smaller fin area and shorter fins on Aquanaut. FWIW according to benchmarks on GN, typically AIOs with the largest fin area, tall and dense fins have the best thermal performance.
Hope this is something that will be improved in future revisions.

Thanks for taking the time to test and make the comparisons. I would say a difference of about 7-8°C is a good result. Considering that not many is going to sustain a 100% load for prolong period.

I think implementing for proper jet plate flow will improve 4-5°C. I think that's where the main difference will be.

 

[tonyadamsff]

I tested EK Velocity and Aquanaut at the same coolant temperature and pump speed while running AIDA64 stress test to simulate 100% load.

Setup:

• Ryzen 5900X
• Laing DDC-1T Plus PWM
• Aquacomputer Quadro
• Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut thin spread

CPU block	CPU ℃ average	Coolant ℃	Pump speed
EK Velocity AM4	65	40	25%
Aquanaut AM4	73	40	25%

Aquanaut is a truly unique product but there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to thermal performance.

I think these results can at least partially be explained by the smaller fin area and shorter fins on Aquanaut. FWIW according to benchmarks on GN, typically AIOs with the largest fin area, tall and dense fins have the best thermal performance.
Hope this is something that will be improved in future revisions.

73 degree at 100% seem to be really good actually, and given the coolant temperature is the same, we still have the same capacity to cool GPU at gaming. I wonder do you have to use different fan speed to keep coolant at the same 40 degree?

 

[biopunk]

I took apart EK Velocity for cleaning:


There is indeed a jet plate. The coldplate has a 2-chamber design with 34.5 x 33.3 x 1.7 mm fin area. Can someone provide Aquanaut's measurements to compare?

 

[tonyadamsff]

Thanks for taking the time to test and make the comparisons. I would say a difference of about 7-8°C is a good result. Considering that not many is going to sustain a 100% load for prolong period.

I think implementing for proper jet plate flow will improve 4-5°C. I think that's where the main difference will be.

Assuming a good portion of Aquanaut users are also users of Formd T1 (or other ITX case) with high end CPU/GPUs to use it with 3 slot GPU mode, it might make sense to price aquanaut at a higher tier that comes with high end jet plate, e.g. >$100 since it offers more than just a CPU block. Maybe you can start a poll if you want.

 

[tonyadamsff]

I took apart EK Velocity for cleaning:


There is indeed a jet plate. The fin area is 34.5 x 33.3 x 1.7 mm. Can someone provide Aquanaut's measurements to compare?

My estimation on my half assembled Aquanaut is it's ~23 x ~31 mm. Can't measure the height of fin now but the EK waterblock seem to have much denser fins.

 

[Valantar]

The Aquanaut already comes with a jet plate. The issue is that it has a reversed flow direction compared to most cold plates, sucking water up from the middle of the fin stack rather than pushing it down into it there. This means the effect of the jet plate is likely to be different at best. Most users here have reported no difference in temperatures with or without the jet plate.

 

[Nouvolo]

@biopunk

BTW, I think using the same pump speed to compare temps may not be reflect the true potential for Aquanaut. Since we are trying to pack everything in such a small space, there is inevitably a bit more flow restriction in the water block. It may be more fair to actually measure and compare temperature performance under the same flow rate.

Yes, for Aquanaut, that means you may need high pump power for same flow rate. But pumps are run way below 50% for most setups, and this should not have much problem in real life situation.

Anyway, appreciate your effort in helping the community.

 

[Nouvolo]

The Aquanaut already comes with a jet plate. The issue is that it has a reversed flow direction compared to most cold plates, sucking water up from the middle of the fin stack rather than pushing it down into it there. This means the effect of the jet plate is likely to be different at best. Most users here have reported no difference in temperatures with or without the jet plate.

Jet plates have been removed after the 1st batch. We need forward flow to make the jet flow works properly.

 

[oOflyeyesOo]

Jet plates have been removed after the 1st batch. We need forward flow to make the jet flow works properly.

Are you looking at making a new key plate? Could the original buyers buy one later if so?

 

[Valantar]

A question about jet plate design: given that this is ... well, the opposite of a jet plate - given that water is being sucked through rather than pushed through, it can't reasonably be said to create a flow restriction and thus a jet of water - would it make sense to change the shape of the slot in the plate? If the point is to ensure water is sucked from the entire microfin array rather than just the middle section, and given that the placement and intake positioning of the pump, would something like a "figure 8-ish" shape rather than a slot make more sense? I.e. a slot that is wider/more open at the ends and less open in the middle? I guess a proper answer would require someone willing and able to do some fluid dynamics modelling to investigate this, but at least to me it sounds reasonable that focused central suction would require a more restrictive slot exactly where the suction is strongest, and conversely a wider slot out towards the ends if evenly distributed flow is the goal.

 

[fabio]

I took apart EK Velocity for cleaning:


There is indeed a jet plate. The coldplate has a 2-chamber design with 34.5 x 33.3 x 1.7 mm fin area. Can someone provide Aquanaut's measurements to compare?

Great job man!
Can you try to mount the Velocity coldplate on the aquanaut (Keeping all the rest, gasket, etc) and retest it?
It fits and works, but I never had the chance to test it!

PS: it makes the full block a bit taller though.

 

[tonyadamsff]

Great job man!
Can you try to mount the Velocity coldplate on the aquanaut (Keeping all the rest, gasket, etc) and retest it?
It fits and works, but I never had the chance to test it!

PS: it makes the full block a bit taller though.

Genius idea! I actually have an unused EK Supermacy Evo block that I want to test it out now. However I'm still waiting for my replaced thumbscrews to arrive!

 

[althazor]

Ordered Nov 11, finally arrived yesterday (was using a freight forwardar company, Nouvolo can't ship directly to my country :c). Can confirm that the included thumbscrews worked correctly with a b450i rog strix motherboard backplate. Waiting for my other watercooling parts to assemble it.

 

[biopunk]

@biopunk

BTW, I think using the same pump speed to compare temps may not be reflect the true potential for Aquanaut. Since we are trying to pack everything in such a small space, there is inevitably a bit more flow restriction in the water block. It may be more fair to actually measure and compare temperature performance under the same flow rate.

Yes, for Aquanaut, that means you may need high pump power for same flow rate. But pumps are run way below 50% for most setups, and this should not have much problem in real life situation.

Anyway, appreciate your effort in helping the community.

A higher flow rate has a side effect of increasing the coolant temperature, meaning that fans have to work harder and the whole system becomes louder. Also above ~25% DDC-1T Plus becomes audible so most people tend keep it at 20-25%.

 

[tonyadamsff]

Genius idea! I actually have an unused EK Supermacy Evo block that I want to test it out now. However I'm still waiting for my replaced thumbscrews to arrive!

So I haven't received my thumbscrew replacement yet, would you be able to track where it is?

 

[cennis]

I am looking to purchase a aquanaut, for my current intel socket. I know I will upgrade to AM4 when DDR5 comes around. Nouvolo FB page says that they do not offer the mounting kit separately and there was no way for me to purchase the AMD mounting kit together with the intel version. Anyone have any ideas? does the EK mounting kits work with these?

 

[thelaughingman]

I am looking to purchase a aquanaut, for my current intel socket. I know I will upgrade to AM4 when DDR5 comes around. Nouvolo FB page says that they do not offer the mounting kit separately and there was no way for me to purchase the AMD mounting kit together with the intel version. Anyone have any ideas? does the EK mounting kits work with these?

first off, if you're going AM4, just buy the AM4 version. there's currently no plan AFAIK for separate mounting kits. second, I'm not so sure DDR5 would come to AM4, it is a very big 'if'. My own thinking is that DDR5 earliest arrival is 2022 with AM5 socket instead of AM4. If that was to be the case, and you stick with Intel for 2 years, buy the Intel version instead

 

[srekal34]

But I can agree its kind of unfortunate that you cant pay additionally for another mounting mechanism, whats the problem with that really? That was one of the reasons I got rid of mine, fortunately without any loss.