EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD
NZXT Kraken X60 RRP: $137.99 | Website: www.nzxt.com
Test Machine • INTEL Core i7 3770K • GIGABYTE Z77X-UD4H (F2i) • CORSAIR Dominator Platinum 2x4GB DDR 2666MHZ CL10 • INTEL 335 240GB SSD • Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W • Windows 7 64-bit SP1
I
t may come as a surprise to you, that this is only the 2nd time in the history of this magazine that we’ve looked at a product from NZXT. All the way back in the February of 2011, when the TheOverclocker 2.0 was still in its infancy we looked at the NZXT Phantom. At the time it blew us away with its beautiful design, keen pricing and features. Since then, a lot has happened in the DIY market but this time we are not looking at a case but the now ubiquitous all in one liquid cooling kit. 14 The OverClocker Issue 24 | 2013
Thus far, we’ve been impressed by less than a handful of such kits and this is not because the vast majority do not perform well. To the contrary, they are by and large very good at keeping high temperatures at bay. It’s mostly in the build quality and elaborate setup procedure where they fall short. For us who change and test hardware on a regular basis, this just won’t do. For most overclockers who are binning CPUs on air quickly before trying LN2, this is equally annoying. Moreover we have found many kits to have back plates that have mounting holes that simply give out due to too much pressure from repeated installation and removal. A line of products that have been an exception to this have been from CORSAIR. The Hydro series has proved to have the most robust and easiest installation mechanism we know off. Thus, ever since the H100
and subsequently the H100i, we’ve been impressed in all respects with everything the range offered. The NZXT X60 then, was a product we had heard great things about but remained unconvinced until we took it for a spin ourselves. We found that it’s nothing short of a splendid water cooler in almost all regards. However, before we get into what it does right, let us highlight where there could be improvements. First and foremost, the fans on the Kraken are loud. You can use the software to turn down the fan speed or even better buy some aftermarket 140mm fans, but for almost $140 you’d have expected them to be a little quieter. They move air very well; it’s just in the acoustics department where they fall short. Secondly, the back plate issue is present with the Kraken. As experienced when we looked at the Thermaltake Water 2.0 PRO. It’s easy to