The testing method we employed measured idle and load temperatures on a
3770K at 4.6GHz with a 1.3V core voltage, 1.2V VTT and 1.2 V IMC Voltage.
Cooler
4 Core Load
8 thread Idle
8 thread Load
NZXT Kraken X60
(4.6GHz @ 1.3V)
31
64
32
67
CORSAIR H100i
( 4.6Ghz @ 1.3V)
over tighten the screws and
strip the back plate grooves.
This isn’t an issue with the
plate that CORSAIR uses on
the Hydro Series. Such an
implementation along with
quieter fans would simply
make this the best AIO cooler
money can buy right now.
That aside, it’s time to get
down to what really got us
excited about the Kraken.
Despite the back plate, it’s
very simple to install and
setup. You don’t even need
the manual as it’s very selfexplanatory. We had the
unit up and running within
minutes of opening the box.
This is fantastic especially
seeing as some coolers
have the most annoying and
unnecessarily elaborate
setup procedures (such as
the Cooler Master Seidon
240M). We had none of this
with the Kraken and that
alone ticked an important box
for us.
Upon installing the unit,
without letting the thermal
paste settle we already
started to record lower
temperatures than we had
with any other water cooler
before. We did remove the
thermal grease that is on the
base of the block and used
instead, Gelid Extreme as
that’s our paste of choice for
everything.
With water coolers,
you’re never really going to
4 Core Idle
33
67
34
77
see massive difference in
performance especially when
looking at idle speeds or
the lower end CPUs. Pretty
much any cooler will do
the job there. It’s when you
start overclocking where the
difference is very apparent.
In our results you’ll see
that we were comparing
our previous champion the
H100i against the NZXT X60.
We are fully aware that the
X60 uses a larger radiator
and fans, thus a more direct
comparison would be with
the H110. However we’ve not
received that yet and we’ll
be sure to compare the H110
against the Kraken X60 at
that time. Until then, the
X60 is the best performing
AIO cooler we’ve ever come
across. The numbers speak
for themselves, especially
with hyper-threading
enabled, under load. The
difference in temperatures
is a staggering 10’C. This
obviously isn’t enough to
give you extra overclocking
headroom, but it will help
keep a previously borderline
overclock, perfectly stable
or at least enough for you
to finish your benchmarks
and save your results. There
aren’t many CPU coolers that
can hold an FX CPU at 5GHz
comfortably, but with the kind
of performance we saw with
the X60, we’re pretty sure it’ll
do the job. Something worth
considering if indeed the AMD
Centurion does see the light
of day.
Overall, we are very
impressed with the NZXT
Kraken X60. It isn’t perfect
but it does the job so well
that we are willing to
overlook any and all its
infractions. The NZXT Kraken
X60 is a must buy.
[ TheOverclocker ]
Summary
NZXT has made a true
class leading AIO liquid
cooler with the Kraken
X60. It’s not only the
best performing liquid
cooler we’ve tested, it’s
amongst the easiest to
install as well courtesy
of a tried and tested
familiar system. Get it if
you can.
Would you buy it?
Most certainly.
The Score
Issue 24 | 2013 The OverClocker 15