NZXT Kraken X31 Review
Published by Marc Büchel on 23.10.14Page:
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| Overall, the NZXT Kraken X31 is a solid product with decent color scheme. Black and white is basically suitable for almost any build. Cooling performance in combination with the 120mm PWM fan included in deliver is good. The cooler is actually rather small and comes with a tiny pump/base, so it will fit even in small cases or SFF systems. |
- Cooling capacity
- Noise levels - Quality - PWM |
- High frequent pump noise | |
| Installation | + | - | |
| The installation is simple an pretty straightforward. With two included mounting kits, where one is for Intel and another for AMD sockets, it should be quite easy even for less technical users to mount the cooler properly in a heartbeat. The only - very minor - drawback that we could find is that it is unfortunately not compatible with LGA 775 socket. The thermal paste is pre-applied and although we would like to see it included in the box, this makes the installation even easier for an average user. |
- Easy and practical
- Compatible Intel and AMD |
- No compatible Intel LGA 775 | |
| Performance | + | - | |
| The NZXT Kraken X31 offers average cooling performanace in all our tests. With the fan driven at 7V and 12V we find this cooler in the center of our charts and also in PWM mode the cooler ranks in the middle of our charts. Comparing the NZXT Kraken X31 to other 120mm AiO's the performance is basically on the same level. | - Cooling performances | ||
| Noise Levels | + | - | |
| Our tests show that the fan included in the bundle is silent at 7V and audible at 12V. Rotation speeds at 7 and 12V are 1'200 and 1'980 rpm. In PWM mode, the fan speeds are lower, causing the noise level to drop to a more reasonable 34.9 dBA under load conditions. | |||
| Recommendation / Price | + | - | |
| Checking Geizhals.eu we find the Kraken X31 listed for 71 Euro, which is acutally quite a bit more expensive than similar models from other manufacturers. Nevertheless, should you be looking for a compact AiO with black and white color scheme, then you might want to have a look at the NZXT Kraken X31 |
- Gaming PC - SFF Build |
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High-End - Enthusiast |
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| Rating | |||
| We gave the Kraken X31 from NZXT 4 out of 5 stars. | |||
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
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