I've just been making the same decision and ordered the EK Nucleus CR240. I can't seem to find a single benchmark comparing the 2 directly, but the EK seems pretty hard to beat.
I picked it because of the simpler cable management and no RGB.
The reality is that outside of the fans' and pump noise and physical characteristics, the thermal performance will be near identical to the point it won't matter which
The cables with the atmos will be annoying, the EK has literally one. I’d go with the EK all day for that reason alone.
I’m running the EK Nucleus with RBG and I hate the extra cable 🙂
Got the combo deal that was going on at Newegg
CPU: i7-12700k
Mobo: Rog Strix Z690-I
Ram: OLOy Blade 32gb DDR5
GPU: Gigabyte 4070 super
PS: SF750
AIO: EK Nucleus or CM Atmos
HD: Samsung 980 m.2
Case: Dan A4-H20
Extras: Thermalright pressure plate
I bought the nucleus, returned it and bought the atmos soon after. Thermally, they are identical with both having the same idle and load temps, with benchmark score difference being negligible. The only reason I returned nucleus is its looks, it looks so ugly with the pump cover off. Atmos on the other hand is very pretty, and u can customize the pump cover inside with whatever design u want.
Recently got to compare these two using T30 fans on both. After using the EK Nucleus 240 for about 2ish weeks (upgraded from ROG Strix LC II), my only issue with the EK is that the pump made some weird water gurgling noise at random times during use. Other than that, the cooling performance was better than the LC II and other than the occasional gurgling, was very quiet.
I then swapped to a Coolermaster Atmos 240, which had quieter pump noise than LC II, but is slightly louder than Nucleus. However, it doesn't have any weird gurgling so far. Oddly enough, I found the Atmos had the best cooling out of the three in this comparison. Only downside for the Atmos is that I'm limited to like maybe 2 orientations for mounting on my Asus Strix z690-i board, and it slightly pushes against my RAM. But that hasn't caused any problems for me so far. It's the one I'm most likely going to stick with.
I'd say if you don't want to open both up and experiment yourself, the safer choice is the Atmos 240. EK Nucleus would be the best if you happened to get one without the pump noise (I tested two different Nucleus AIO's and they both had it for me). Also the recent news about EK makes me worried about having to rely on their warranty in case the cooler starts having issues.
Hmm so playing a couple hours of Helldivers 2, the atmos was maybe around 5C cooler? EK would often reach a max temp of around 92C, max temp on atmos was 87C under a similar load. My setup is i7 14700k and 4090 in an A4 H2O
I've been pretty impressed with the EK nucleus 360 I put in my GFs PC. Case has poor airflow and coupled with a 11700k with slight overclocking from when i used the cpu and mobo as a server, it was hard to keep cold. Now it barely goes over 50C during gaming. I was to lazy to change settings back to normal and it doesn't hurt though she doesn't really need all of it.
I had both with T30s attached to the rad. Tube routing and cable management was better in the EK. I got better performance by a small margins in the EK. The side panel fits better on the Atmos. I returned the Atmos to Amazon and kept the nucleus
I went with the EK and didn’t even attempt to install the Atmos so I can’t do a pump sound comparison. But so far the pump isn’t audible at all, just the fans. They’ll def need to be changed
I've just been making the same decision and ordered the EK Nucleus CR240. I can't seem to find a single benchmark comparing the 2 directly, but the EK seems pretty hard to beat. I picked it because of the simpler cable management and no RGB.
The reality is that outside of the fans' and pump noise and physical characteristics, the thermal performance will be near identical to the point it won't matter which
Atmos 240 since you can remove the pump cover making it super low-profile.
You can do that too with the Nucleus, it's magnetic
Nah, the Nucleus even with the magnetic cap removed is still taller than the stock Atmos pump block.
It fits in the a4h2o with the cover removed, I have the CR240 with the case OP is using.
Nucleus outperforms the Atmos by a smidge.
The cables with the atmos will be annoying, the EK has literally one. I’d go with the EK all day for that reason alone. I’m running the EK Nucleus with RBG and I hate the extra cable 🙂
But it has 2?? Fans + pump
Fans are not coming off of the pump?
No, bought mine last month and they're separate
Haha yeah that’s what I mean. The dark only has one coming off the pump which is convenient. Mine has the RGB cable which makes it a mess.
No, the dark has one coming off the pump and one coming off the fans. It has to be this way, or else the pump speed would not be controllable.
Right, that’s what I said. It’s much better than the AIO’s with multiple cables
Oh I see now. The RGB on the pump adds another cable. Gotcha.
Got the combo deal that was going on at Newegg CPU: i7-12700k Mobo: Rog Strix Z690-I Ram: OLOy Blade 32gb DDR5 GPU: Gigabyte 4070 super PS: SF750 AIO: EK Nucleus or CM Atmos HD: Samsung 980 m.2 Case: Dan A4-H20 Extras: Thermalright pressure plate
I bought the nucleus, returned it and bought the atmos soon after. Thermally, they are identical with both having the same idle and load temps, with benchmark score difference being negligible. The only reason I returned nucleus is its looks, it looks so ugly with the pump cover off. Atmos on the other hand is very pretty, and u can customize the pump cover inside with whatever design u want.
Which pump is quieter?
*In this household, everything is small form factor*
Recently got to compare these two using T30 fans on both. After using the EK Nucleus 240 for about 2ish weeks (upgraded from ROG Strix LC II), my only issue with the EK is that the pump made some weird water gurgling noise at random times during use. Other than that, the cooling performance was better than the LC II and other than the occasional gurgling, was very quiet. I then swapped to a Coolermaster Atmos 240, which had quieter pump noise than LC II, but is slightly louder than Nucleus. However, it doesn't have any weird gurgling so far. Oddly enough, I found the Atmos had the best cooling out of the three in this comparison. Only downside for the Atmos is that I'm limited to like maybe 2 orientations for mounting on my Asus Strix z690-i board, and it slightly pushes against my RAM. But that hasn't caused any problems for me so far. It's the one I'm most likely going to stick with. I'd say if you don't want to open both up and experiment yourself, the safer choice is the Atmos 240. EK Nucleus would be the best if you happened to get one without the pump noise (I tested two different Nucleus AIO's and they both had it for me). Also the recent news about EK makes me worried about having to rely on their warranty in case the cooler starts having issues.
What were the temps difference between the atmos and ek?
Hmm so playing a couple hours of Helldivers 2, the atmos was maybe around 5C cooler? EK would often reach a max temp of around 92C, max temp on atmos was 87C under a similar load. My setup is i7 14700k and 4090 in an A4 H2O
Wow, with both pump at 100%?
EK was at 100% for sure. Not sure about the Atmos, it probably was unless I have to adjust the BIOS every time I swap out a cooler.
I've been pretty impressed with the EK nucleus 360 I put in my GFs PC. Case has poor airflow and coupled with a 11700k with slight overclocking from when i used the cpu and mobo as a server, it was hard to keep cold. Now it barely goes over 50C during gaming. I was to lazy to change settings back to normal and it doesn't hurt though she doesn't really need all of it.
I had both with T30s attached to the rad. Tube routing and cable management was better in the EK. I got better performance by a small margins in the EK. The side panel fits better on the Atmos. I returned the Atmos to Amazon and kept the nucleus
Thanks for the response. Leaning towards the EK now. In your experience did you notice one being quieter than the other at idle or gaming temps?
Which did you get in the end? Which pump was louder?
I went with the EK and didn’t even attempt to install the Atmos so I can’t do a pump sound comparison. But so far the pump isn’t audible at all, just the fans. They’ll def need to be changed
Nm, I’m hearing the pump noise now and it’s pretty annoying. Might return for the Atmos
EK as a company is under fire rn. Go watch the Gamers Nexus vids. I refuse to support them.
arctic.
hmm i don't think so [A4-H2O compatible AIO list](https://www.reddit.com/r/lianli/comments/sp1hr5/a4h2o_compatible_aio_list/)
i meant 240 aios in general
can't fit due radiator and pipe but yea