Custom PC - UK (2020-06)

usedanAsetek-madecoolerfromthelikesofCorsairor
NZXTbefore,withtheincludedplatessecuringtothepump
sectiontoallowmountingtoIntelLGA2066andLGA115x
sockets,aswellasAMD’sSocketAM4.
However,you’llneedtofisharoundinyourThreadripper
CPU’sboxfortheadaptorAMDincludesforSocketTR4and
TRX4motherboards.Allthemounts,exceptSocketAM4,
use four-pointmountingmechanismsandthumbscrews,
whiletheAM4mountreliesontwoclipsinconjunctionwith
the stockmountingmechanismonAM4motherboards.
Thermalpasteis,asusual,pre-applied,sobeextracareful
not todislodgeit, asthere’snosparepasteinthebox.Of
course,thisalsomeansyou’llneedtoinvestinsomepaste
if youupgradeyourCPU.
Meanwhile,theaccessoryboxincludesenoughfan
screwstoinstalla secondrowoffans,enablingyoutoboost
coolingina futureupgrade.Therearealsosmallerscrews
to mounttheradiatordirectlytoyourcase,whichyou’lllikely
wanttodoif youmountit intheroof.
Finally,wecometothecables.Thepumpis poweredby
a SATA cable, which also doubles as an RGB cable, allowing
you to connect other NZXT HUE RGB products. Meanwhile,
a micro-USB cable connects the pump to a USB 2 header on
your motherboard.

Performance

Weonlyhavea slimnumberofcoolingresultssincewe

updatedourtestsystems,butoverall,theKrakenX

performedslightlybelowtheARCTICLiquidFreezerII 240,

sittinga degreeortwobehindit in allthreeofoursystems.The

biggestgapwasinourLGA1151system,with3°Cseparating

thetwo.Intwotests,eventhecheaperCorsairA500aircooler

managedtopiptheX53tothepost,albeitwithfarhigher

noiselevels.TheARCTICLiquidFreezerII 240wasa little

louderatfullspeedtoo,andalsoincludesa smallVRMcooling

fan,butin general,theKrakenX53’sperformancesitsroughly

wherewe’dexpect,giventhefanspeedandradiatorsize.

Conclusion

TheKrakenX53isa fineCPUcooler,butnothingreally

leapsouttomakeyouwanttobuyit overthecompetition.

Theremovalofsoftwarefancontroldefinitelylosesit

browniepointstoo.If you’reforcedtousesoftwarerather

thanyourmotherboard’sEFItocontrolthepump,thenwhy

nottieinfancontrolheretoo?It seemscounterproductive

tousetwodifferentpiecesofsoftwaretocontroldifferent

partsofthesamecooler,although

admittedlyyou’llprobablyonlyneed

tosetit uponce.

Witha pricetagofwellover£120,

you’dexpectfancontrolaspartofthe

package,especiallywhentheARCTIC

LiquidFreezerII 240outstripsit in terms

ofperformance,if notin aesthetics.

However,wecan’targuewiththesolid

performance,snazzy,expandableRGB

lightingandeaseofinstallation.The

abilitytofine-tunethepumpspeedfrom

thecomfortofWindowsis a boontoo.

It’sjusta shameNZXTdidn’tlinkmore

controlfeaturestoitssoftware.

ANTONYLEATHER

VERDICT

A decent cooler, but not much of an

upgrade over the X52, and it misses

out on software fan control.

OVERALLSCORE

80 %

COOLING

32 / 40

FEATURES

16 / 20

DESIGN

17 / 20

VALUE

15 / 20

FITTING

Easy

LGA115x

OVERALLSCORE

81 %

COOLING

33 / 40

FEATURES

16 / 20

DESIGN

17 / 20

VALUE

15 / 20

FITTING

Easy

LGA 2 0 6 6

OVERALLSCORE

81 %

COOLING

33 / 40

FEATURES

16 / 20

DESIGN

17 / 20

VALUE

15 / 20

FITTING

Easy

AM

AMDSOCKETAM4DELTAT

NZXTKrakenX53 58°C

ARCTIC LiquidFreezerII 240 56°C

CorsairA500 57°C

0255075100

Loweris better

NZXTKrakenX53 56°C

ARCTICLiquidFreezerII 240 53°C

CorsairA500 56°C

0255075100

Loweris better

INTEL LGA1151 DELTA T

NZXTKrakenX53 58°C

ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 56°C

Corsair A500 57°C

0255075100

Lower is better

INTEL LGA2066 DELTA T

TEMPERATURE RESULTS