With the Kraken X31, NZXT has an all-in-one watercooler in its portfolio, that comes with the a rather slim radiator and one 120 millimeter fan in the delivery. At a first look the design is looking good while you get a black radiator and a fan with white rotor. Overall we're now rather curious to find out what this cooler can do in terms of cooling and noise levels.


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Today we have the pleasure to check out NZXT's Kraken X31 compact liquid cooling system, which, according to NZXT, should be compatible even with small cases and tighter spaces thanks to its 150mm tall and 30mm thick 120mm radiator. This particular 120mm radiator is slightly thicker than other 120mm models, since they usually measure 27mm. This should make for slightly increased performance. Apart from that there while kink-resistant tube, which allow for routing even in very small cases. Overall this cooler is well made and with its black and white color scheme it's easy to integrate into the design scheme of lots of builds. The bundle includes one 120mm PWM fan with white wings and black frame. The mounting system supports most, if not all, recent Intel and AMD socket CPUs.

If you wonder which company is actually the OEM behind this cooler, then we can tell you that this is a typical closed-loop cooler from Asetek.




As you can see from the picture manufacturing quality of the Kraken X31 is on the level it should be. It's not exceptional but still on decent level for a 70 Euro all-in-one cooler. The radiator itself has been made from aluminium and there are the usual flat pipes, which increase surface area. The cooling block features a copper base-plate with pre-applied thermal compound. To be a bit more precise the dimensions of the Kraken X31 are 120mm x 30mm x 155mm (WxHxD). According to the specifications NZXT equipped the Kraken X31 with one high RPM fan, that should rotate with up to 3600 RPM. In the case of the sample we received we measured a maximum fan speed of almost 2000 RPM, which is quite a bit less. But honestly, we're not unhappy to find a slower rotating fan in the delivery, since otherwise this cooler would be very noisy.

Specifications
Model	Kraken X31
Type	AIO WaterCooler
Dimensions	155 x 120 x 30 mm (LxBxW)
Weight	n/a
Provided Fan(s)	1 x 120x25mm PWM (2400-3600 ± 150 RPM)
Supported Fan(s)	2 x 120mm
Base Material	Copper
Radiator Material	Aluminium
Tube	Rubber Tubing
Socket Support	Intel LGA 1150, 1155, 1156, LGA 1366, 2011 AMD AM2(+), AM3(+), FM1, FM2, FM2+
Thermal compound	Pre-applied
Warranty	6 Years
Product Page	Kraken X31

The packaging is quite standard for an all-in-one water cooling system. Alongside the AIO unit you receive one fan, a manual and mounting kits. NZXT bundles the Kraken X31 with two mounting kits, one for AMD and one for Intel-based systems, as well as a backplate is used for Intel sockets. NZXT Kraken X31 is not compatible only with the old Intel socket LGA775. If anything should break down with the Kraken X31 AIO water cooler you get a warranty that covers such event for a whopping six years.

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Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications

Page 2 - Photo Gallery

Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup

Page 4 - Absolute Performance

Page 5 - PWM Performance

Page 6 - Conclusion