With the launch of the XC7 RGB ELITE we have completely changed the design of the CPU Block and improved performance considerably. Visually-speaking, the biggest change is the inlet and outlet ports which have been moved to the right-hand side of the block to give a larger "window" to look into the cooling chamber.
The keen eyed among you will also notice that the mounting screws now have a Phillips head so that they can be easily tightened on motherboards with large VRM and M.2 coolers—something we are seeing more often on the newest generation of motherboards.
The original XC7
The latest addition, the XC7 RGB Elite
With the new version, the XC7 RGB ELITE also now boasts an aluminum top (don't worry, this top does not come into contact with the coolant, so you do not have to fear galvanic corrosion), and our improved hexa-flow cooling chamber.
You can read more about the XC7 RGB Elite in detail in this article
While the original XC7 CPU Water Block have largely had the same design since it's introduction, there have been small changes from the original XC7 to it's "PRO" version. These include:
The XC7 RGB ELITE performs better than previous generations of blocks, but for the average user, this performance difference will likely not be noticeable. The XC7 PRO was already an incredibly high performing CPU block, and it is hard to continue making leaps in performance with something as relatively "basic" as a copper plate with water flowing over it.
Where the XC7 RGB Elite really shines is with the inclusion in the iCUE LINK ecosystem and the added features this provides. The CPU block is now a smart unit which makes setting it up in software (and run wires to it) even easier. The addition of the thermal sensor in the cold plate also gives you more data points if you want to geek around with your system stats.
