Antec heard you like screens so it stuck a 5-inch screen on a water cooler just where you didn’t need one

Chalk this up as a likely micro-trend at the upcoming Computex show. Screens with everything. Or should that be on everything? Anyway, Antec has stuck a 5-inch screen on top of the water block of its latest AIO CPU cooler.

Oh, it’s not just a screen, there’s also configurable ambient lighting behind the screen to light up the water block and socket. And it will rotate by fully 360 degrees. Natch.

This, according to Antec CEO, Frank Lee, is “a natural evolution of what performance cooling should be.” We give you the Vortex View cooler. It’s compatible with both Intel and AMD sockets, though it’s not yet clear exactly how far back support goes

The Vortex View’s screen can be used to display real-time performance metrics, videos, images, and more. Plus, it’s the first Antec’s product to support the company’s new revamped iUnity software.

This app now features enhanced fan and pump curve control, as well as support for syncing multiple devices, plus personalized dashboards. It also provides the interface for controlling the display and lighting and will include a range of future Antec products, creating an ecosystem of cross-compatible features and devices.

Specs wise, few details have been released, though Antec says the Vortex View comes equipped with, “a high-efficiency PWM pump, premium braided tubing, and ARGB fans optimized for airflow and silence.”

The cooling hardware looks like fairly conventional AIO fare, with a water block and three fans on the rectangular radiator, so system compatibility should be fairly broad.

In purely functional terms, the display probably won’t add a great deal. But if you have a little spare budget, the cool factor could be substantial. Speaking of the sordid matter of money, there’s no indication of what the Vortex View will go for. But as AIO coolers go, it presumably won’t be cheap.

Antec hasn’t provided a release date. But we’ll update as and when we have any information. In the meantime, we expect this won’t be the last AIO we see with a screen bolted on, as it’s also not the first. We’ve used the Tryx Panorama 360, Corsair iCUE Link Titan 360 RX LCD, and Hyte Thicc Q60. Indeed, odds on we’ll see more screens stuck slightly incongruously and unexpectedly to devices and products at Computex. It’ll probably get a lot weirder than this.

Likewise, if you like screens stuck to things, check out this mini PC, the Ayaneo Retro Mini PC AM01S, a teensy 1L gem of a machine with a flip-up 4-inch touchscreen. It’s very, very cute.