NZXT Kraken X62 Liquid CPU Cooler Review

Testing
The test rig consists of the following parts:

Processor: Intel Core i7 3770K
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77X-UD4H
Video Card: Zotac 560 Ti
Memory: Samsung Green MV-3V4G3D/US – 16GB
Power Supply: Enermax Maxrevo 1350W
Storage: Mushkin ECO2 240GB Running Windows 7 64bit
Cooling: NZXT Kraken X62
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe

As always testing was done using Intel Burn Test (IBT) with the AVX instruction set. The reason to use this instead of Prime95 with this setup is that it pushes our i7 3770K a whole lot harder than other CPU tests. This gives us a better sense of extreme load temps. Most of the testing was done at the maximum memory setting for a single pass. While admittedly this in no way would qualify the chip as stable while overclocked, it gives us a realistic idea of what temperatures the CPU will be hitting. Additionally we are going to run 3DMARK Fire Strike Extreme to give you a realistic idea of performance while gaming.

Our baseline was established using a bequiet! Dark Rock Pro 2 with the 3770K on stock settings:

Ambient temps: 22.22°C/72°F
Idle temps: 38.75°C/101.75°F core average
IBT temps one pass max memory: 63.5°C/146.3°F core average

As we said when we tested the X52, whenever a product comes with companion software we like to use it as it represents the experience that the manufacturer wants you to have. In this case that means using CAM. CAM is NZXT’s catch all hardware monitoring and tweaking software. We’ve used it in the past and have been super impressed as it melds tons of information into a pleasant looking UI that is also very user friendly. To start we left everything at it’s stock setting and got to work.

The first test we did was to test the cooler with stock motherboard/CPU settings:

Ambient temps: 22.22°C/72°F
Idle temps: 31.25°C/88.25°F core average
IBT temps one pass max memory: 62.25°C/144.05°F core average

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So far the X62 is doing a superb job of keeping our stock clocked CPU nice and cool. It smashes our baseline cooler’s idle performance by 7.5°C and continues to dish out blows by beating it out by 1.25°C when running Intel Burn Test. On to the next test with this guy!

As opposed to going for a max overclock, we are simply going to shoot to hit 4.5ghz pass or fail. If the cooler will allow our 3770K to hit 4.5 ghz we note the temperatures and move on to test it using 3DMARK Firestrike. If not then back down to a more acceptable and stable overclock. Not as extreme as our previous testing, but slightly more consistent and far more analogous to normal use such as gaming.

In consideration of the fact that we are running a hefty overclock we are going to set up CAM to really ramp up our fan and pump speeds as the CPU temperature increases. We pop over to the tuning tab and switch the fan and pump control modes over to Performance. Additionally we switch the Temperature control selection from “Liquid” over to “CPU”. Adjusting fan speed based on the temperature of the CPU gives us a more immediate response to the our stress testing.

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Here are our results for our i7 3770K @ 4.5ghz with 1.248V vCore:

Ambient temps: 22.22°C/72°F
IBT temps: 74.75°C/166.55°F with one core hitting 79°C

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Surprisingly, the X62 doesn’t really beat out it’s little brother in this test. While it had better idle and load temps at stock, the X52 actually beats it out by .25°C. It’s a small enough margin to be negligible but interesting nonetheless. It is worth noting however that the single hottest core in this test was a solid 2°C colder than the X52 which when overclocking for a max overclock is much more relevant than the overall chip temps.

While the performance of the X62 isn’t exactly what we expected, it’s still great and completely stable for some in game testing. Let’s go ahead and take a run at 3DMARK Firestrike and see what happens.

Ambient temps: 22.22°C/72°F
3DMARK: 59.25°C/138.65°F with one core hitting 61°C

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Once again we have totally acceptable temps and some serious head room to continue overclocking.

Aside from cooling your processor, the X62 also gives you tons of options aesthetically. Within CAM there are a ton of features and settings that will let you tweak and dial in your lighting to RGB perfection. Check out our video below from our X52 review.

As far as noise is concerned the X62 doesn’t make noise any more noticeably than the X52. At idle you don’t hear the fans running while at full speed they are of course noisy. Pretty much they seem like a typical modern AiO fan, plenty of sound dampening rubber, matted to an optimised blade design.