Final Words & Conclusion
Final Words & Conclusion
NZXT has hit the jackpot with the Kraken X series LCS coolers. The look brilliant, offer close to regular liquid cooling performance and to top it off, they are just soo silent, unbelievable. That said, you do need to take the wiring for granted, and there's another factor to consider, this is a 199 USD/EUR product.
Performance
First off, the cooling is perfectly fine, good even with a default clocked CPU. What impressed me the most is that once you start to overclock our processor the stress temperatures remains really okay. I mean the truth as you all know is that our Core i7 4790K is simply put a nasty processor to cool. In a default setup (clocks) the performance is good. However you are at Guru3D.com and we know you will tweak your PC 5 minutes after you assembled it - so we added 1.30 Volts the temps remained to hover at 70 Degrees C., In fact, up-to 1.40 Volts we remain below 80 degrees C (!). Only once we fired off 1.45 Volts at this processor we passed 80 Degrees C, and even then it will take a while for the processor to get there. For short bursts of stress, I could be fine with 1.45 Volts. That voltage level is absurd of course, typically only needed with 5+ GHz tweaks. So from the cooling perspective, we have been pleasantly surprised by NZXT Kraken X72 - the cooling performance with the processor in a tweaked state is really nice and on par with high-end cooling, it shines with actual stress and increased voltage cooling capacity. That's the good stuff when overclocking. I do need to note that the X62 (280mm model) offers very similar and close results.
Acoustics
Noise is something else we have mention, as there hardly is any, at defaults. On previous older model NZXT LCS reviews, we often complained about the fairly high noise levels, this has changed with the Kraken X series. Even with three 120mm fans NZXT is able to make this product so silent. The fans don't resonate either as they are housed in rubberized inserts, even mounting the screws is done in a rubber socket. The fans offer high airflow at low rotation, with the CAM software at performance mode, you will not pass 50% of the theoretical maximum RPM level. In return you get a solution that is close to inaudible, I mean even at perf mode under full overclocked CPU stress we only reach 32 maybe 33 DBa. That is a noise level where you need to place your ear closer than 30 cm away from the product to be able to hear it. So advancing on that, the solution setup in silent (with CAM software configurable) simply is silent (with any 95 Watt TDP processor like the 4790K).
Aesthetics
Tasteful right? Yes, that is the word I am looking for, the overall looks are very tasteful as far as I am concerned, an all-black design with the subtle shades of grey make it an appealing product to the eyes. Even the fans have been logo marked (dark) tastefully. It is an easy to install and mounting system, and factory filled with coolant in a closed loop. The black design will make this kit look great in any PC. It simply is a good alternative to heat-pipe coolers with the added benefits of being fairly quiet whilst offering very nice looks. No skills are required other than the need for ten minutes to install the kit. The bling is all about the RGB LED system embedded on top of the water-block, and yes. I made this remark before, but if you guys have seen the classic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, you will remember HAL 9000 the talking computer (hello Dave) which was nothing more then a glass and red LED. The Kraken X series LED system somehow resembles HAL 9000, yet far more sophisticated as the mirror effect makes it feel like you look into the PC. Then the wide combination of RGB functionality, animations or color-coded LEDs based on coolant temperature or even your audio is what makes this thing shine. It looks great, and if you dislike it, you can separately disable the NZXT LED logo from the LED rings as well.
Conclusion
At a price of 199 USD the Kraken X72 manages to impress, granted though, that is a lot of money. The cooling system, however, is good, maybe even exceptional for an LCS kit. The lighting system still manages to impress me and combined with extremely low acoustics this Kraken X72 offers, we have to admit it, it's a thing of beauty. With the 280 and 360mm models you increase cooling capacity, overclocking capacity as such increases and here again, the kit remains to be nearly inaudible. The hypnotizing LED system is brilliant, if you dislike it, turn off that NZXT logo, and let the LED RGB LED rings do the magic. Subtle changes have been made on the CAM (software) side of things. It remains to be software with quirks. I do not appreciate the mandatory Google/Facebook account login, but it can be bypassed when you log in as a guest into the software, at the cost of some functionality. Once done you can configure the pump/fans and LED system, exit the software and leave things be. Even with three fans, the Kraken X72 is silent and at the default settings, it just offers really good cooling performance. put it at silent mode on the pump and fans and you simply will not be able to hear it whatsoever, at the cost of maybe 2-3 degrees C max. That again is impressive. Installation wise, the kit is easy to install. All popular AMD and Intel mounting sockets are supported and that includes support for AMD Ryzen Threadripper. The Kraken X72 is truly excellent, but so is the X62 at a lower price. It is a good performing product with some very nice looks, thick sleeved tubing and the comfort of RGB color selection. One last remark I have to make is that there is a fair amount of wires leading out and into the cooling block. So design wise there is more cable spaghetti clutter to deal with. Without any hesitation, we can recommend the new X72. But keep in mind, the performance is roughly equal to the 280mm X62 model, and that option is 40 bucks cheaper. The cooling performance is good for a product of this class, combined with the aesthetics, ease of installation and the RGB coloring with CAM functionality we can wholeheartedly recommend this LCS for sure.
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