Nzxt Kraken X41 140mm Aio Liquid Cpu Cooler – Main page » Test and review » CPU and VGA cooler » NZXT KRAKEN X41 – Test and review
In this review, I will be testing the CPU cooler provided by NZXT – Kraken X41. It has a built-in pump, a 140mm water-filled radiator and a 140mm fan. Being in the cool performance segment, however, there are features that make it a worthy product. With a 6-year warranty, the Kraken X41 is a cooler worth checking out.
Nzxt Kraken X41 140mm Aio Liquid Cpu Cooler
Before I get into the article, I’ll share some brief information about the other CPU coolers in the NXZT series, all of which offer reliability and excellent design:
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All of the above products come with a 6-year warranty and software downloads from the NZXT website that allow customization options and lifetime maintenance.
The included packaging is a small box for the processor cooler, red/black-white, mostly black-red. There is no damage on it, so it helps to see clearly, keeping in mind fragile things. In my opinion, the box looks very good and is very informative, even for inexperienced users, because it contains a lot of information about the refrigerator.
It’s actually a beautifully designed packaging and I appreciate all the details mentioned on the box.
Features, instructions and specifications are printed on the entire side of the box, as well as socket compatibility, which is actually:
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Okay, enough about the packaging. Open the box and see what the refrigerator looks like in the flesh.
After opening the box, the first thing I saw was a small piece of paper on top of everything with instructions on how to install the cooler. It’s good to see that there is also the Intel recording, as with the AMD installation instructions – there is a link to the NZXT website.
Styrofoam is not for sale, which provides extra protection in most refrigerators, but does not harm the contents. The form has the Kraken X41, wrapped in nylon, a box to protect the heatsinks, and compartments for everything else in the box. Everything is in perfect condition.
It didn’t take more than a minute for me to carefully remove everything from the box and nylons and take a picture of the goodies that came with the cooler.
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The beauty of this cooling system is the design, but it is a good looking 140mm aluminum radiator, filled with factory fluid, the pump is connected to the same radiator by a long rubber tube, which is flexible and very durable. Last but not least, since this is the main part of the cooling water, either a custom or an AIO – fan, it is a 140mm PWM fan provided by NZXT.
In this review, I will explain each one in detail and then perform several tests to verify its effectiveness.
The first thing that caught my attention was the water seal itself. In the case of the Kraken X41, we have a water circuit that we keep inside the pump, in a very nice plastic casing with the NZXT logo. It looks a bit transparent here in the picture, but this logo is a feature of the Kraken software, so you can put any lights on it to match the color of the hardware you already have installed in your system.
As for protecting the bottom copper plate, there is a clear plastic piece that covers the bottom, and it looks to me like the water seal was previously attached to the Intel bracket. The console itself is made of metal, painted black, and has a button where it connects to the water block.
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Design-wise, the pump/copper contact plate is very minimalistic and great. The top cover looks like it’s made of plastic, but that doesn’t mean it’s poorly made, otherwise metal is used throughout. The performance seems very high and there are no problems from the factory, at least from the outside.
The copper plate is again a circle connected to an 8-bolt water seal. There are many other screws in the assembly, but they work differently and do not connect to the copper plate. It looks well polished but I’m really interested to see how it performs with the thermal compound of the product being used for the first time in a perfect circle.
In terms of power supply, the water block has a single 3-pin fan connector with a sleeve cable that is responsible for 12V. What makes the pump special is that it is the world’s first variable speed pump. What does this mean? – The noise is less when the system is less loaded, due to the reduced speed of the pump and less work of the motor, which increases its service life. If necessary, the pump reaches the transition to achieve better performance, resulting in a cooler. The speed is in the range of 2400-3600 ± 150 RPM with a motor current of 325mA. NZXT didn’t say how much the pump uses, but it’s somewhere in the 3.9-watt range when running at max RPM.
The other cables also come out of it and their purpose is to connect the fans or fans and the USB connection to the motherboard to allow management and maintenance of the building. These cables also have a black jacket, where the sleeve is nylon type, not the best, but dense, so no cables can be seen underneath. I would really like the sleeve to be on the rear dot so that the sleeve is a different color to match the color schemes of the different machines.
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Now there are two 4 pin fans connected and one is actually a 3 pin PWM which is done by the water block controller. It is very important to connect the 140mm fan to the connector with all 4 pins, otherwise you will not be able to check the speed – this is also important in the manual. It is very important to connect the USB cable to the USB connector on the motherboard!
The connection between the water block and the generator is made by two pipes made of flexible rubber. The black ones are longer than normal rubber tubes or 400mm long. This allows more pipe movement when the cooler is installed in a limited space. The rubber is very hard to the touch, yet bends easily, so there is no restriction of water flow once the installation is complete.
The pipe is connected to the water seal and the plastic generator, and by mentioning the generator, we can get more detailed information about its construction.
The Kraken X41 is equipped with a 140mm radiator, which is thicker than most radiators, which allows two 140mm fans to be installed in a push/pull configuration. Made of aluminum, the body size is 140 x 172.5 x 36 mm, without fan. It has no nice features, no distinguishing features, just the old matte black, simple but effective radiator filled with liquid. All ribs are in perfect condition, not a single one is bent.
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This 140mm radiator is 24% thicker than standard and is fan-optimized without sacrificing performance. Compared to the 120 mm radiator, it has a 36% larger cooling surface, which results in better heat distribution and overall better performance. I’d say the fins are more on the dense side so plan on making the fan fan-like or risk losing performance.
The package includes a NZXT FX V2 140mm Performance PWM fan with a standard frame size of 140 x 140 x 25mm. The color of the frame is black and the fan is white, which I found a little on the right side, because the black fan would be better. Not only that, but when you want to change the color of the LED to match your color scheme, you’ll find yourself with a multitude of colors – like the red/black elements… and the white fan. Of course, the fan is replaceable, but NZXT should choose a black fan next time.
The fan has 7 wide slots that allow more static air to pass through the fan and balance noise and performance at low RPM. Another good thing is the rubber cushioning of all mounting holes
