STACKED UP
1 2 3 4 5 6 7BeQuiet! Silent Loop 120BeQuiet! Silent Loop 240Corsair H100i V2Corsair H60i V2Coolermaster MasterLiquid Lite 120Coolermaster MasterLiquid 240NZXT Kraken X52PRICE (£) NOISE LEVEL (DB)
Standard
SilentTEMPERATURE (°C)
Standard
Silent7
80 %
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
277 x 124 x 55120 x 275 x 52120 x 152 x 52153 x 128 x 95275 x 123 x 55157 x 119.6 x 52277 x 119.6 x 52Radiator + fan dimensions (mm)ESSENTIALS
CopperAluminiumAluminiumCopperAluminiumAluminiumAluminiumRadiator material2 x 120mm2 x 120mm1 x 120mm2 x 120mm2 x 120mm1 x 120mm2 x 120mmFans120
41
5531.5
5295
44
6132.5
5670
40.5
6233.5
56105
37.5
5536
5165
40
5732,7
5540
38
6533.5
58135
38
6132.5
55Group test
ALL-IN-ONE CPU COOLERS
76The top of the CPU block uses a piece of mirrored
plastic and clever lighting to create an illusion of
depth as the ring of light around the outside
appears to continue deeper into the block.
Less impressive is the mass of cables that is
needed to get this thing fully hooked up. It requires a
proprietary connection from the block to the USB
header, plus a SATA power connection. But the end
result is a cooler that can be controlled by NZXT’s
excellent software that offers various default fan
presets and the ability to customise the profiles.
The default silent and standard modes had the
fans spinning very slowly, which meant the cooler
didn’t excel when it came to cooling, but also meant
it was among the quietest – although not by much.
As such, in terms of performance it’s basically
on par – spin the fans up more and it would be in
line with the other 240mm coolers on our test.
Instead, the appeal of this cooler comes
down to that snazzy but ultimately
superfluous infinity mirror effect.NZXT KRAKEN X52
http://www.nzxt.com £135
As the most expensive cooler on our test the NZXT
Kraken X52 has a burden of expectation resting heavily
on its shoulders, and thankfully it largely justifies its
asking price.