NZXT Kraken X63 Review - Introduction

NZXT Kraken X63
NZXT Outs Revision 3 of Kraken, no more fan control?

NZXT updated its Kraken series to revision 3 as in X-3, in this review we test the latest offering, the X63 Series Liquid cooler. An AIO LCS liquid CPU cooler for cases with 280 mm radiator mounts. The new update revision 3 has subtle but not significant changes, for example, the LED ring is a bit bigger and now can be rotated to line up the NZXT LED-lit logo horizontally independent of how you install the block. Also, and this is not perse a positive, the fans are no longer controlled by the LCS unit and CAM infrastructure itself, you need to connect them towards your motherboard or fan controller to regular them. it seems to be an effort from NZXT to have you purchase an extra CAM compatible RGB/FAN HUB, but we'll talk a bit more about that in the review. Other than that the cooling performance remains solid. This new revision CPU cooler pump and LED lighting are compatible with CAM software. 

The software allows you to program, customize and monitor this all-in-one liquid cooling solution for your processor. Armed with two 140 mm PWM fans and a nice 280 mm radiator the performance should be really good, and with the CAM software you can monitor temperatures, adjust pump performance and customize LED lighting directly from your desktop. You know, in the world of CPU coolers nothing ever stops developing. These days you can pick a hundred different heat-pipe based coolers, where many are shaped, formed and priced the same. The better heatpipe based coolers are good though. Next in line are LCS systems (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, Cooler Master and yes NZXT and so on all have interesting kits.

The product we test in specific is the Kraken X63, it has an updated visual design and allows only to control the pump, but not fans. Next to that what's interesting is that this product is based on a 280 mm radiator which gives it quite a bit of cooling surface area. It is a cooler series that is easy on the eyes and comes with relatively tool-free installation. Next to some very good performance, the product is compatible with NZXT CAM software. You hook up the LCS unit towards a USB port and then the software allows you to program, customize and monitor this easy to install liquid cooling solution.