NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB (2024) review

There are certain brands out there that we just associate with certain products, right? You know the ones I mean. Noctua for fans, Corsair for memory, EKWB for custom loops (before it got all weird), Asus for expensive motherboards. You get the gist. Arguably, in the hard-fought world of AIO liquid coolers, NZXT is definitely up there as a contender for top dog, certainly with its Kraken line.

As a brand, it has consistently and comfortably improved and iterated on this lineup time and time again, and although its fans haven't always been the best, it's almost always delivered some solid cooler options, albeit for a price.

From stock standard plastic blocks to infinity mirrors to full-on displays, and well, now this, over the years it's consistency with iterative upgrades has led to some serious gains. There's always been one problem, though. One itch that NZXT's engineering team has always been desperate to scratch. And namely, that's Asetek's pump patents.

You know it, you probably hate it: It's why most modern coolers have looked and mounted the same way for decades now and why we've consistently seen lawsuits and counter lawsuits as companies butt heads over it. Yet, today, somehow, NZXT has managed to sidestep Asetek's solicitors and, coincidentally, reinvented the wheel with the introduction of its own pump. Yep, you heard that right; it now has its own "Turbine" pump design, which has been remarkably successful and arguably probably a lot cheaper for the Californian company to manufacture if recent reports are anything to go by.

That's a big reason as to why the Kraken Elite 360 RGB has effectively had this massive redesign. It's finally given NZXT the flexibility it needed to really go to town on the thing. You still get the wide array of sizing options, of course, the 420 mm-long tubing, and a full-fat aluminum radiator, with a six-year warranty piled on top. Plus huge compatibility with every mainstream socket that's debuted in the last decade or so. But, most pivotally, the fans, the screen, and the pump have diametrically changed from what they were.

With Asetek no longer in the picture (somehow), it's given NZXT the legs to be able to really make something special here, something a little more unique. Is this arguably one of the best coolers out there today? Well, from an aesthetics perspective, it's hard to argue against it, that's for damn sure.

Let's talk the screen first, because this U block is an absolute beast. It comes in at a whopping 2.72 inches on the diagonal. It's an IPS display. It has a 640 x 640 resolution plus a 60 Hz refresh rate on top of that as well, and it's, of course, all controllable via NZXT's Cam software. That sits on top of NZXT's Turbine pump, which runs around 1,200 to 2,800 rpm, respectively. NZXT's also included a lovely diffused LED ARGB ring array around the main bulk of the thing too, to really give it some added pop.

What's impressive about it, though, particularly for a system builder like myself, is the absolute lack of cables anywhere near that block.

NZXT's done away with the traditional breakout cables you'd usually find here and, instead, routed all of it internally, up inside the tubing sleeving. It's then placed a controller module on the radiator itself, which in turn has a breakout cable here instead. That then allows you to cable manage and discreetly hide it in the back of your chassis. This isn't the first time we've seen it; EKWB did have something similar many, many, many years ago, but it's incredibly effective and really cleans up the overall look of the build.

That control box and breakout cable strapped to the rad does mean you have a bit more depth in your radiator to consider, which can be particularly troublesome if you have recessed rad mounting in your case, but the trade-off is well worth it, as you'll no longer have wanton USB and fan cables trailing over the VRM on your motherboard.

As for the fans, NZXT launched the new Kraken side-by-side with its F Core RGB series. These are effectively daisy-chained fans, lined up together in a singular frame, and each Kraken comes with its corresponding-sized frame. Each frame comes with a single breakout cable, fitted with a proprietary connector on the other end, and that then connects to the cable coming off the radiator as well, all controlled via NZXT Cam. You also get a splitter cable as well, so if you don't intend to plug it into the AIO's breakout cable, you can instead go traditional with a dRGB and PWM header on the motherboard instead.

They look great and minimize cable management, but there's a problem. Performance. They're not the quickest or pushiest fans out there, that's for sure. In my testing, although the Kraken Elite 360 did manage to maintain its averages fairly consistently across the board with its competitors, the time taken to return to idle was significantly slower than the likes of, say, Tryx's Panorama 360. That's likely as these fans actually spin quite slowly by comparison, a boon for noise levels (with the F360 RGB Core only landing 45.2 dB on the decibel meter), but less helpful when you're looking to bring that U temp back down to idle levels.

That said, the Kraken Elite does hold and maintain average temperatures nicely compared to other 360 mm AIOs of a similar caliber. There is one issue, though, and that's the price. It isn't cheap; at $320, you're starting to encroach on low-end graphics card money, and to be honest, that's a hard pill to swallow.

Yes, it looks great, it's easy to build with, and it performs well, but really what you're paying for here is a screen and a bit of convenience, and that's kinda it.