Methodology
An AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has to be cooled in various levels of power consumption, joined by 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport (2x8GB) DDR4 memory on an MSI B550 Tomahawk (BIOS 7C91vAB). The Asus ROG Strix GTX 1060 6GB runs in zero-fan mode for the CPU stress tests only and a Fractal Design Ion Gold 750W serves as the power source. The whole thing is housed in the Thermaltake Core P3 as an open benchtable.
The test system runs on Windows 10 Pro 22H2 (build 19045.2251). All data sets are recorded with HWInfo64 v7.34-4930 – 5000ms logging, the specified temperature results from the sensor CPU Die (Average). Since I don’t have air conditioning, the values in the graphs are the delta between room temperature and CPU temperature. This allows all cooling systems to be compared fairly, even if the ambient temperature is different. The thermal paste included with the cooler or pre-applied is used in each case.
I determine the sound level with a Voltcraft SL-200 meter at a distance of 40cm, which operates in 125ms cycles in Lo mode. The room was measured at 33.2 dB(A), an external sample table helps for the breakdown.
Benchmarks
In the first test run, a loudness of 40 dB(A) was set at 40cm from the center of the pump and fans on the radiator; in my setup, that’s 50% PWM on the radiator fans and 100% PWM on the pump:
And after that, this compact water cooler is allowed to show what it can achieve in terms of cooling performance at maximum speed, regardless of the noise level. A maximum of 52.9 dB(A) was achieved at 100% PWM and 40cm distance.
A full comparison to other coolers can be understood here:
Roundup und erneute Messung aller getesteten CPU Luft- und AiO-Wasserkühler
Summary and conclusion
Since we are again looking at an Asetek design with a Gen 7 pump, the overall rating is unsurprisingly quite good, but not outstanding. However, it is sufficient for the upper third.
But the cooling capacity is no longer the only decisive factor for many. After all, why would you buy an AiO water cooler with a screen if not for the looks? We’re entering subjective territory there, of course, but the success of the last iteration of Kraken coolers and response from other manufacturers speaks volumes on the popularity. Corsair, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, Thermaltake, and probably others have corresponding models in their lineup by now.
With an MSRP of 150€ for the 240mm version of the also new Kraken non-Elite without RGB up to 310€ of the Kraken Elite RGB with 360mm radiator and large display, they cover a wide range, so they can offer a suitable model for almost every customer. And there still seem to be enough buyers for even the most expensive models. The 6-year warranty from the manufacturer is then still a statement about longevity.
The review sample was provided by NZXT without obligation. There was and is no influence on the tests and results. There was also no compensation for expenses and no obligation to publish.
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