Custom PC - UK (2020-06)

REVIEWS / COOLING

W

e’revery familiar with NZXT’s Asetek-based AIO

liquidcoolers these days, as there have been

severalgenerations of successful products,

whichhaveoftenpicked up CPC awards in spite of stiff

competitionfromthe likes of ARCTIC and Corsair. The

company’sKraken coolers haven’t received an update for a

numberofyears,but it’s now released several new coolers,

includingtheX53we’re looking at here.

TheKrakenX53 is the successor to the X52, and it uses

a 240mmhalf-height radiator, so it sits at the bottom of

thenewstack,with 280mm and 360mm models above it.

NZXThasapparently introduced its 7th-generation pump

withit, althoughit has very similar credentials to the one

usedontheoldercooler, with a speed of up to 2,800rpm.

However,theKraken X53’s pump can apparently spin

downto800rpm,which is half the speed of the old cooler

Thetwounitsuse identical NZXT Aer P120 fans, which

spinbetween500rpm and 2,000rpm, dishing out a

claimednoiseof21-36dBA. However, the X53 lacks

softwarefancontrol. As such, while the pump hooks upto

yourPCusinga USB cable via a spare USB 2 header, and

canbecontrolledusing NZXT’s CAM software, the fansw

needtobehooked up to your motherboard.

Wewerea littledisappointed not to see a fan splitter cable

to make cable tidying easier as well.

That’s a shame, as it was previously

possible to have the fans respond to the

coolant temperature, rather than the

CPU temperature, which can result in a

far quieter, but no less effective cooling

system. It’s still useful to be able to contro

the pump, though, as it becomes audible

at full speed, and dropping this speed

didn’t have much impact on temperature

Other new bits include a 10 per cent bigger RGB LED

ring on the waterblock unit, which still includes the Kraken

X52’s holographic infinity ring design. This still looks great,

but it ultimately isn’t much of an improvement compared

with its predecessor, with precious few new features. The

same can be said for a lot of new coolers from various

manufacturers though.

However, the whole top can now also rotate, so you don’t

need to worry about trying to orientate the NZXT logo when

you install it, as you can now do that afterwards. The tubing

and barbs are identical too, with the latter still freely rotating,

so you can orientate the tubing to suit your radiator position.

The radiator itself has the usual half-height design, and it

measures 30mm thick and 275mm long, so it should fit into

anyareathatclaimstoofferspacefora 240mmradiator.The

400mmtubelengthshouldalsoallowforinstallationofthe

SUPPLIER scan.co.uk

NZXT KRAKENX53/£120incVAT

ALLINONE LIQUID CPU COOLER

SPEC

Compatibility Intel: LGA2011/v3,

LGA2066, LGA115x; AMD: Socket AM4,

TR4/X, AM3/+, AM2/+, FM2/+, FM

Radiator size with fans (mm) 123 x 275

x 55 (W x D x H)

Fa ns 2 x 120mm

Stated noise 21-36dBA

GIANT SQUID

• 
  

  Good cooling

  
  


• 
  

  Easy installation

  
  


• 
  

  Software
  pump control

  
  

PRAWN

• No fan speed
  software control


• Some cheaper
  coolers perform
  better


• Barely improves
  over predecessor

.

o

ill

ol

e

es.

400mmtubelengthshouldalsoallowforinstallationofthe

radiatorintherooforfrontofyourcaseinallbutthebiggest

chassis. Installation willfeelveryfamiliar toanyone that’s