- Feb 20, 2013
- 855
- 2
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Hi all,
This is just a quick review of my experience with the Kraken X-41 Liquid Cooler combined with the Kraken G10 GPU Cooler Mounting Plate allowing it to operate as a GPU Cooler.
I just finished mounting the X-41 and G10 on my Gigabyte GeForce 780 GTX which previously had Gigabyte's trademark Windforce three-fan cooler attached.
Installation:
Installation of the Kraken X-41 is relatively straightforward and similar to all closed-loop CPU coolers (Such as the Corsair H-series). However, binding the X-41 to the G10 proved slightly tricky as the X-41's Cooling head does not bind to the G10's baseplate, but is rather held there by pressure after installation. This means during Installation you almost need three hands or the cooling head can slip off the GPU smearing thermal compound around the PCB.
It's also worth bearing in mind that the G10 configuration does not include VRAM heatsinks and doesn't directly cool the GPU's VRAM, necessitating the purchase of separate VRAM heatsinks.
Lastly, the Kraken X-41 requires a USB Motherboard Connector to itself to control fan-speeds via the required CAM software.
Included Software:
The X-41 (as well as the other X-series coolers from NZXT) is designed to function with NZXT's CAM Software. This software lets you make variable fan-speed profiles (whereby fan-speed can be set to change as GPU temperature rises or falls) as well as monitor GPU and CPU temperatures. You can also fiddle with the included LED on the Cooling Head, although that's trivial and not visible as it hangs underneath the Graphics Card's PCB.
Compared with more elegant, low-profile programs such as GPU-Z CAM takes up a lot of screen space and doesn't report more technical information such as GPU-Load, GPU-Speed or Memory-Used. However, it's a requirement to manipulate the fan-speeds of the Kraken X-41 and to create custom Fan-Speed Profiles. It's also essential for the monitoring of Coolant Temperatures, if this interests you.
Test:
Star Citizen at 1920x1080 and Very High setting.
While using Gigabyte's Windforce three-fan GPU cooler + heatsink I was seeing temperatures between 75°c - 80°c.
With the G10 + X-41 I'm seeing temperatures between 38°c - 44°c. That's at 60% fan-speed. Coolant temperature maxed out at 40°c
Conclusions:
Overall, the improvement in temperatures is drastic and unquestionable. At 60% Fan-Speed the Kraken makes a similar amount of noise to the Windforce Cooler included as standard by Gigabyte. The Coolant pump appears to work in bursts as temperatures rise and fall by 3°c-4°c every so often.
I'm quite satisfied with these results and will continue to test with different games over the coming week. I'll post updates here.
Kraken X-41 Reviews:
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/nzxt_kraken_x41_review/1
(This is mounted as a CPU Cooler without the G10)
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/nzxt_kraken_g10_gpu_heatsink_review/1
(This is a Review of the G10 GPU-mounting Baseplate)
This is just a quick review of my experience with the Kraken X-41 Liquid Cooler combined with the Kraken G10 GPU Cooler Mounting Plate allowing it to operate as a GPU Cooler.
I just finished mounting the X-41 and G10 on my Gigabyte GeForce 780 GTX which previously had Gigabyte's trademark Windforce three-fan cooler attached.
Installation:
Installation of the Kraken X-41 is relatively straightforward and similar to all closed-loop CPU coolers (Such as the Corsair H-series). However, binding the X-41 to the G10 proved slightly tricky as the X-41's Cooling head does not bind to the G10's baseplate, but is rather held there by pressure after installation. This means during Installation you almost need three hands or the cooling head can slip off the GPU smearing thermal compound around the PCB.
It's also worth bearing in mind that the G10 configuration does not include VRAM heatsinks and doesn't directly cool the GPU's VRAM, necessitating the purchase of separate VRAM heatsinks.
Lastly, the Kraken X-41 requires a USB Motherboard Connector to itself to control fan-speeds via the required CAM software.
Included Software:
The X-41 (as well as the other X-series coolers from NZXT) is designed to function with NZXT's CAM Software. This software lets you make variable fan-speed profiles (whereby fan-speed can be set to change as GPU temperature rises or falls) as well as monitor GPU and CPU temperatures. You can also fiddle with the included LED on the Cooling Head, although that's trivial and not visible as it hangs underneath the Graphics Card's PCB.
Compared with more elegant, low-profile programs such as GPU-Z CAM takes up a lot of screen space and doesn't report more technical information such as GPU-Load, GPU-Speed or Memory-Used. However, it's a requirement to manipulate the fan-speeds of the Kraken X-41 and to create custom Fan-Speed Profiles. It's also essential for the monitoring of Coolant Temperatures, if this interests you.
Test:
Star Citizen at 1920x1080 and Very High setting.
While using Gigabyte's Windforce three-fan GPU cooler + heatsink I was seeing temperatures between 75°c - 80°c.
With the G10 + X-41 I'm seeing temperatures between 38°c - 44°c. That's at 60% fan-speed. Coolant temperature maxed out at 40°c
Conclusions:
Overall, the improvement in temperatures is drastic and unquestionable. At 60% Fan-Speed the Kraken makes a similar amount of noise to the Windforce Cooler included as standard by Gigabyte. The Coolant pump appears to work in bursts as temperatures rise and fall by 3°c-4°c every so often.
I'm quite satisfied with these results and will continue to test with different games over the coming week. I'll post updates here.
Kraken X-41 Reviews:
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/nzxt_kraken_x41_review/1
(This is mounted as a CPU Cooler without the G10)
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/nzxt_kraken_g10_gpu_heatsink_review/1
(This is a Review of the G10 GPU-mounting Baseplate)
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