NZXT Kraken X60 gets reviewed and tested

Hilbert Hagedoorn

NZXT recently unleashed the Kraken X60 liquid cooler, we test and review it. The Kraken X60 is a 280mm radiator based LCS unit that offers pretty solid performance numbers as you are about to find out...

NZXT Kraken X60 gets reviewed and tested

SLI-756 · 01-25-2013, 07:41 | posts: 3,142 | Location: Sunny Scotland

This looks immense, currently £120 in uk, i so need one of these for my 4.8Ghz
Thanks for review!

Gembel · 01-25-2013, 08:14 | posts: 736 | Location: Indonesia

Nice review Hilbert

But check page 6...You wrote this "Once powered on you'll notice that the Corsair logo lights up with a white LED."
This is NZXT review bro

wenimin · *Last edited by wenimin; 01-25-2013 at 08:49.*

THank you,i was waiting for this review,very good
in the Concusion (in the "Stress" part)you wrote:

"but really there are only very few in our tests that kept the temperature acceptable, and that was the 70 EUR Noctua NH-D12."

Maybe you mean the NH-D14?
Anyways,i'm asking myself if i buy the Kraken, or the NH-D14,or i must pay for a real watercooling installation,right now my NH-U12P-SE2 show me all his limits on the 3770k.
i have one question,in my country(France)when i look at the differents (online) shops for the NH-D14 i see the socket is for "1156/1366/775 & AMD AM3/AM2+/AM2",but i don't see 1155,can someone tell me more please,
Thank you.

Hilbert Hagedoorn · 01-25-2013, 08:55 | posts: 16,986 | Location: Guru3D testlab

Ah I must have been asleep. Fixed both the Corsair and D12 typo, the D12 should indeed be the D14 (that big-azz dual fan cooler).

Wenimin - 1155/1156 is the same socket wise, so you should not worry about that.

wenimin · 01-25-2013, 09:06 | posts: 22 | Location: France

Thank you Hilbert.

BLEH! · **Memory**: 24GB @ 1600 @ 9-10-9-27

Why do they release these things when I've just bought a H100i *dispair*

Koniakki · *Last edited by Koniakki; 01-25-2013 at 14:55.*

WOW! I hope I'm not the only one that is amazed by the performance of this.

Beating the H100i's Max perf. mode(45dba) by 2c on both 1.2/1.3v tests in "silent" mode(40Dba) and by 4.5c avg on Extreme preset?

And if someone wants to go by Dba performance, the "silent" mode(40Dba) of NZXT beats the Corsair's balance(41Dba) mode my 5c in both tests.

Although its obvious that the "silent" mode is more like balance/performance mode, still, that's exceptional performance. Well done NZXT.

The only thing NOT amazing is the price. No way for 140+euros. I would still take the H100i or similar performance/price AIO coolers over it.

hallryu · 01-25-2013, 15:13 | posts: 10,847 | Location: England

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLEH!

Why do they release these things when I've just bought a H100i *dispair*

If you have 4 Noctua NF-F12's on it like I do then you're golden. Quiet extreme cooling.

BLEH! · **Memory**: 24GB @ 1600 @ 9-10-9-27

Quote:

Originally Posted by hallryu

If you have 4 Noctua NF-F12's on it like I do then you're golden. Quiet extreme cooling.

I do. A platform upgrade is warranted if I want to hit 5GHz though, the voltages on this thing to get 4.65 stable are mental. 1.45+

TheSarge · 01-28-2013, 02:00 | posts: 609 | Location: The Frozen North.

This looks virtually identical to the Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme

http://www.thermaltake.com/products-...?id=C_00001876

Only difference is the NZXT logo lights up, and the control software has a different skin. NZXT must be licensing the design from Thermaltake.

vidra · 01-28-2013, 10:23 | posts: 2,394 | Location: Novi Sad, Serbia

This is all very well but Noctua stops it dead in its tracks.
1. Cheaper
2. Less hassle
3. No risk of spillage
4. Less noise
5. Same performance

Nuff said! I seriously see no reason at all to buy this over a Noctua unless it's impressing people with your snazzy liquid-cooling system.

orac2 · *Last edited by orac2; 01-28-2013 at 16:01.*

nice concise review Hilbert.
these kits are beginning to look a wee bit more enticing as they improve performance
'been using my Noctua NH-D14 for quite a few years now with AMD processors.
it's been a great cooling investment,running almost silent
with the new crop of cooling kits i will be watching very closely

Koniakki · *Last edited by Koniakki; 01-28-2013 at 16:19.*

TBH I would personally take the D14 anytime over the aforementioned AIO closed loops considering noise and price vs performance.

But I would happily pay a bit premium for a good performing AIO water cooling with good/same or better performance/noise ratio just for the clean looks alone.

ESlik · 01-28-2013, 17:12 | posts: 1,602 | Location: Sault Ste. Marie Ont. CA

Liquid coolers are getting better and better,as well as a lot more quiet. We should be seeing quite a few new designs from various builders in the next couple of months. This Kraken X60 is a good example of the quality we can expect. Any reviews coming regarding the new Zalman Cube fanless cooler Hilbert? Thanks for this review. I'm ALWAYS looking for a new and "better" liquid cooler than my Antec 920.

Koniakki · 01-28-2013, 18:14 | posts: 692 | Location: Inside My Thoughts..

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESlik

Liquid coolers are getting better and better,as well as a lot more quiet. We should be seeing quite a few new designs from various builders in the next couple of months. This Kraken X60 is a good example of the quality we can expect. Any reviews coming regarding the new Zalman Cube fanless cooler Hilbert? Thanks for this review. I'm ALWAYS looking for a new and "better" liquid cooler than my Antec 920.

+1 Love my Antec 920. Been running strong for a year now.