NZXT - Kraken 120mm Radiator CPU Liquid Cooler (1 x 120mm Aer P Fan) with RGB Display - Black

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The NZXT single-fan cooler? Let me just say, it kept my CPU chill as a cucumber on an Alaskan cruise—until my rig caught wind of its stylish Corsair triple-fan cousin. Yep, that’s right: I returned my sleek black single-fan beauty for a Corsair white triple cooler because, well, cables. I wanted my PC to look like a sci-fi spaceship, not an artist’s rendition of a spaghetti explosion! The NZXT kept things frosty and my games running smooth, but when I imagined my setup with that extra cooling power and simplified cabling? Shoutout to Best Buy for making my cooler swap dreams a reality. If you need a cooler that just works and don’t mind a few extra cable puzzles, this one’s got your back.

Directions were pretty straightforward. It could have provided more information on the lighting aspect of it. Overall it does a pretty good job at keeping the CPU cool.

Overall, I would say that this component has worked well for me thus far. I have noticed a decrease in the temperatures that my CPU runs at as a result of using this liquid CPU cooler instead of the heatsink. I appreciate this very much as upgrading software and using an attached capture card was taxing the CPU on my new PC causing it to run hot. In the past, I have had some problems with traditional heatsinks: my old PC lasted for thirteen years and I am pretty sure the heatsink failing was what led to it’s demise. I guess time will tell whether or not the NZXT – Kraken 120 will allow my newer PC to achieve greater longevity. Prior to purchasing this component, I really had to educate myself on it as I was fairly naïve to how it worked. I had to learn the difference between it, air cooling, and open (or custom) loops in order to fully appreciate how this component would function in my rig. Luckily there are plenty of videos and websites out there that can be used as credible educational material. I would strongly advise anyone considering an upgrade such as this to do similar research unless they are already confident that they know what they are getting into. Something that I had to come to understand was that this is an “all-in-one” (AIO) cooler versus an open (or custom) cooling loop. That is, this AIO comes with a pump, radiator, and water block that are preassembled together prior to being installed. This is nice as, by contrast to an open cooling loop, this AIO is zero maintenance after installation and does not require coolant (or water) filling/topping off. However, given these features this AIO can’t be used to cool down other components of the PC (e.g, the graphics card) which is a feature that an open system supposedly is capable of. I will also admit that given the nature of the coolant I am concerned about it being a viable, long-term alternative to air cooling. This, again, will only be something that can be determined through the test of time, though (thanks to Intel, Corsair, and Asetek Inc. for some information here as all these thoughts are not original on my behalf). I should also indicate that I had this component professionally installed by Geek Squad. I highly recommend making use of s service such as that (or a sound alternative). It takes a lot of stress away from the situation by having it installed by courteous, knowledgeable professionals who can back-up their work in case anything goes wrong. My biggest complaint with this component thus far is that it requires an RGB controller that is sold separately to control the RGB lights. I was a little disappointed when I found this out as being able to monitor the temperature of my computer’s components has become a priority for me given some of the tasks that I am striving to have it be able to achieve efficiently. That being said, this was a very modestly priced AIO and when the cost of a separate RGB controller is factored in on top of it the total expense probably turns out to be competitive with the cost for a cooler that comes with an RGB controller included.