NZXT Kraken X60 review - Introduction

Meet the NZXT Kraken X60 all-in-one 280mm liquid cooler

Today we test the Kraken X60, see NZXT recently unleashed the Kraken X60 liquid cooler and we just had to review this mythological beast.

Now then, first a history lesson. I'm sure you've all seen Pirates of the Caribbean, HAR! The name Kraken derives from the Norse from Draken, sea-dragons. The Kraken is a mythical sea monster that attacked ships out in its territory. Different myths have different Kraken theory but all are similar. Some believe Kraken was the world's largest squid, others said he was brother of the Loch Ness, Kraken has also been known to be a whale, a monster with horns (in Rampart) and even a dinosaur-type lizard. The Kraken was supposed to have very large tentacles, which could seize even the largest ships. Like the Midgard serpent in the Norse myths, the Kraken was supposed to rise to the surface at the end of the world.

With that explaination and liquid cooling in mind, please have a peek at the photo at the lower part of this page :)

So then, the NZXT Kraken X60 is a 280mm radiator based LCS unit that offers solid performance numbers as you are about to find out. Combined with a cooling infrastructure provided by Asetek this all-in-one and easy to install kit can even be connected towards your PC over the USB port, now you can monitor and regulate the LCS unit and apply presets to make the LCS unit either silent, or high performance.

Why go for LCS (Liquid Cooling System)? Well, in the world of CPU coolers, nothing ever stops developing. These days you can pick a hundred different heatpipe based coolers, many are shaped, formed and priced the same. The better heatpipe based coolers are good though. Next in line are LCS kits (liquid cooling), the entry level products are affordable, easy to install pre-fab liquid cooling kits. We've seen and tested many of them as Corsair, Asetek, Thermaltake, CoolIT and so on all have interesting kits.

The bigger problem is cooling performance. The gear behind these kits are good yet the performance is often battling a small included 120mm radiator with thin tubing and lacking coolant levels due to missing reservoirs. To compensate, FAN RPM goes up making a good looking product noisy again. With that issue in mind NZXT started to develop the Kraken coolers.

The product in specific is the Kraken X60, based on an Asetek cooling block with internally regulated control for pump and fans. Next to that what's interesting is that this product is based on a dual fan 280mm radiator. 

A cooler series that is easy on the eyes and has a relatively tool free installation, the Kraken X60 can be controlled with software. You hook up the LCS unit towards a USB port and then software allows you to program, customize and monitor this Liquid Cooling Solution. 

So without further ado, let's have a peek at the Kraken X60 and then head onwards into the review.