NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

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suchageek
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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Mon May 18, 2015 3:52 pm

Here's the thing. I would wager since this is SPCR after all there are a lot of Fractal R3, R4 and R5 owners. Reviewing a 280 radiator while nice wouldn't it make sense to review a 240? Then give us the noise rankings along with overall performance. They could even fudge and qualify it by saying it doesn't meet SPCR silence standards by any stretch but would be a solution for quiet or even moderately quiet. That would be, IMHO, a great help. Other sites are so subjective. It makes it tough.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by darqsyde » Mon May 18, 2015 10:33 pm

There is at least one 240mm rad review, and I recall there being at least one other. Poke around the Cooling reviews section, and you can probably find them

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Tue May 19, 2015 2:30 am

Thanks for the heads up. I will do a search.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue May 19, 2015 3:53 am

darqsyde wrote:and I recall there being at least one other.

The CM Seidon's one, two years ago, but within an Antec P280.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by MikeC » Tue May 19, 2015 7:59 am

Hi suchageek,

Your email landed last night, and I've been aware of your posts here... just been too busy on the long weekend. (Victoria Day yesterday -- another commonwealth empire thing but I don't care, any excuse for a holiday & weather has been gloriously summery here).

So you want to fit a 240mm radiator instead of a 280 (or 140, I presume) but one that has the Kraken efficiency.

What makes the Kraken so good?

1. basic pump noise is low
2. fans are good
3. radiator is good enough
4. mating between cooler base and CPU top is excellent.

I venture to say the first 3 criteria are not that hard to come by. The fourth has been rare, but I've mentioned in at least one of these reviews that a DIY cure for a lot of mediocre AIO could be a simple mod: LAPPING.

What I suggest is find an AIO WC with good characteristics for 1-3, and at least a solid mounting mechanism, even if not great mating to CPU. That's a likely target for LAPPING.

If you find performance still wanting after the lapping, lap the CPU as well. ;)

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue May 19, 2015 8:37 am

MikeC wrote:What I suggest is find an AIO WC with good characteristics for 1-3, and at least a solid mounting mechanism, even if not great mating to CPU. That's a likely target for LAPPING.

If you find performance still wanting after the lapping, lap the CPU as well. ;)
By the way, if meanwhile SPCR (Lawrence and you) may give a try to some interesting dual 120 AIOs (for instance the already mentioned Fractal, the Swiftech 220, the Silverstone TD02, the Corsair H100i, and so on), probably it would be an appreciated effort by those readers drooling for freed up keep out zones and overcrowded case panels. :wink:

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Tue May 19, 2015 9:14 am

On my phone, so will edit this later. Only problem with lapping is I would have to delid it first as it is a Haswell-E.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by MikeC » Tue May 19, 2015 9:27 am

suchageek wrote:On my phone, so will edit this later. Only problem with lapping is I would have to delid it first as it is a Haswell-E.
That's a last-ditch move -- lap the cooler first!

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue May 19, 2015 9:31 am

suchageek wrote:I would have to delid it first as it is a Haswell-E.
Those use solder: not sure it's an easy move.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Tue May 19, 2015 1:52 pm

My bad. As soon as I hit send I realized Mike was referring to the block and not the chip.

I read a few more reviews and my head hurts. I was hoping to make a decision by the end of the week. Right now I need to eat and watch the ball game.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue May 19, 2015 8:47 pm

suchageek wrote:I read a few more reviews and my head hurts. I was hoping to make a decision by the end of the week.

What about a custom loop (mid january SPCR article)? Too many money?

suchageek wrote:Right now I need to eat and watch the ball game.

Enjoy: who did you root for, either Oakland or Houston?

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Wed May 20, 2015 2:14 am

Custom loop too big of a jump from air and too much of a learning curve right now.

St. Louis Cardinals.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed May 20, 2015 2:44 am

suchageek wrote:St. Louis Cardinals.

Doh, the cricket derivative: they use rounded stones, not balls. :wink:

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Wed May 20, 2015 3:19 pm

I need to read more reviews. But for the moment the Cooler Master Nepton 240M may be quiet enough. 5 year warranty. In this You Tube video it's compared to the Kraken X61 temp wise. Not sure what his methodology is though. He spends a lot of time with talking about other stuff so move to where he actually installs it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U72E2HBaLM But wait! Another site said– No fan speed controller. But I have an Asus so no real problem.


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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed May 20, 2015 11:58 pm

suchageek wrote:Or, someone in Europe offer to ship the Kelvin.

If you may be interested, Amazon Germany do that: http://www.amazon.de/gp/offer-listing/B ... dition=new
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Thu May 21, 2015 2:36 am

I think this thread needs to be moved to the WC section.

The Amazon link is great. I know outlet power is 240v there for a PSU, but does that translate elsewhere? From the PSU, would SATA power be the same? Motherboard CPU fan ports power the same? I would think it would be, but not sure and haven't even Googled it since I thought it was out of reach.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu May 21, 2015 3:09 am

suchageek wrote:I would think it would be, but not sure and haven't even Googled it since I thought it was out of reach.

What is DC powered, it's DC powered, no matter the power grid.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Fri May 22, 2015 1:08 pm

Moving this to WC section under "Kraken X41 Is It Enough?"

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri May 22, 2015 1:59 pm

suchageek wrote:Moving this to WC section under "Kraken X41 Is It Enough?"

Are you worried about OT?

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Fri May 22, 2015 2:02 pm

quest_for_silence wrote:
suchageek wrote:Moving this to WC section under "Kraken X41 Is It Enough?"

Are you worried about OT?
You mean OC? Yes. Post is now up.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri May 22, 2015 2:05 pm

suchageek wrote:
quest_for_silence wrote:
suchageek wrote:Moving this to WC section under "Kraken X41 Is It Enough?"

Are you worried about OT?
You mean OC? Yes. Post is now up.

No, I mean "Off Topic": I didn't understand your concern about moving this talking, already expressed twice.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Fri May 22, 2015 2:15 pm

Yes, it's misleading due to the number of posts and really off topic as I am on a quest and can't fit the X61.
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=68487&p=594156#p594156

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Sat May 30, 2015 5:47 pm

Okay, I'm back over in this thread! :lol: Why? Because I picked up the X61 and a Fractal R5 tonight. The X41 wasn't going to cut it with a modest OC. It was very quiet and I hope there are no issues with this one as Micro Center has only one left in stock. It would probably be fine as a CPU cooler on something like a Sandy Bridge that isn't so hot or stock speeds.

I just ordered two more Noctua fans. I'm excited about the new case and X61. I am going to build it little by little as I have to strip the R4 too.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Sun May 31, 2015 5:56 pm

I forgot how much more work there is doing a transplant than building from scratch. (Cleaning TIM off chip, etc).

Pros: It's as quiet as the X41 was. No rattling or weird noises It barely fit in the front of the new R5 with the optical drive left in place. In the second 5.25 bay I mounted a 2.5" drive. The white stealth trays didn't fit any of my 3 drives all made by different vendors. So I mounted them on the white stealth trays and had just enough clearance to button it up.

The NZXT fans aren't as bad as I thought they would be. I went ahead and ordered 2 more Noctua fans and they will be here tomorrow. So will have 4 Noctuas in a push-pull configuration. Probably will change them out next weekend. I can live with the stock fans easily for now knowing they will be changed out. I don't think I could do it long term. Others may not have an issue with them.

CAM software still working fine. Still reporting 10C higher than RealTemp.

Cons: X61 radiator had a few dents. Nothing major, but the X41 was perfect. The SATA connector that is used to power 4 fans is sleeved as are the others, but it's frayed right where it connects to the plastic part of the SATA cable.

Wish the SATA connector, 4 fan connectors, USB connector and power connector could all be on one side of the block. It's pretty small so not really a con, more of a wish list. It's a PITA to try to hide them. Will work on that when I change the fans. The X61 was the last part of the build and I just gave up on better routing for now.

I used the stock thermal paste since it was already applied. I don't think it has a cure time like Arctic Silver ;). Still, I don't think it's settled down yet. I ran it in Performance mode for about 10 minutes to get the liquid flowing and check for leaks.

With both case sides on, front door open I am getting around 28-29-27-27 in Silent mode. Load is a measly 2.9% Ambient is 29C. With the door closed it moves up a tiny bit to 29-30-28-27. I am hoping I see a wee bit of a drop by a degree or two when the fans are paired. I don't know if that's even realistic. Right now the Noctua fans are in the front and the stock fans on the other side inside the case. Will be much easier to access the stock fans to change those out.

So those are my first impressions. I can't wait to do a manual curve in CAM and or in my UEFI BIOS and then see how it performs under load and then a modest OC.

Thanks to Luca for his help and encouragement. Big thanks to SPCR and Lawrence for reviewing the X61. :D

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by quest_for_silence » Mon Jun 01, 2015 1:15 am

suchageek wrote:I don't think it has a cure time like Arctic Silver ;).

IME neither AS5 really needs a long cure time, it's rather sort of a myth (almost always I recorded the most part of the expected improvement, if any, after about the first 5-10 hours of use).

suchageek wrote:Thanks to Luca for his help and encouragement. Big thanks to SPCR and Lawrence for reviewing the X61. :D

St. Louis Cardinals fans are always welcome, particularly when they actually help the community with their detailled reports: have a nice time, and enjoy your build (though it's no more really "silent" :twisted: )! :wink:

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:11 pm

So silly me. Part of RealTemp is RealTemp GT which monitors all 6 cores. Interestingly enough, it and CAM are reporting temps that match. Instead of the 10 degree difference.

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by MG0518 » Sun Jun 28, 2015 6:39 am

Greetings,

I've ordered the X61 and a Define S on Friday, should get them next week.

I'm also thinking of replacing the stock fans from NZXT by Noctua NF-A14 PWM based on the fact they're far more quiet while providing close performance:
NZXT FX V2 140mm Performance PWM => 106.1CFM / 1.97mmH2O / 37dBA (@2000rpm)
Noctua NF-A14 PWM => 82.5CFM / 2.08mmH2O / 24.6dBA (@1500rpm) | 67.9CFM / 1.51mmH2O / 19.2dBA (@1200rpm)
CFM is lower but static pressure is better, which in my understanding is what makes the most sense.
Is my approach correct please?

@suchageek: have you ordered those ones or other ones from Noctua please?

Thanks and kind regards.
suchageek wrote:I forgot how much more work there is doing a transplant than building from scratch. (Cleaning TIM off chip, etc).

Pros: It's as quiet as the X41 was. No rattling or weird noises It barely fit in the front of the new R5 with the optical drive left in place. In the second 5.25 bay I mounted a 2.5" drive. The white stealth trays didn't fit any of my 3 drives all made by different vendors. So I mounted them on the white stealth trays and had just enough clearance to button it up.

The NZXT fans aren't as bad as I thought they would be. I went ahead and ordered 2 more Noctua fans and they will be here tomorrow. So will have 4 Noctuas in a push-pull configuration. Probably will change them out next weekend. I can live with the stock fans easily for now knowing they will be changed out. I don't think I could do it long term. Others may not have an issue with them.

CAM software still working fine. Still reporting 10C higher than RealTemp.

Cons: X61 radiator had a few dents. Nothing major, but the X41 was perfect. The SATA connector that is used to power 4 fans is sleeved as are the others, but it's frayed right where it connects to the plastic part of the SATA cable.

Wish the SATA connector, 4 fan connectors, USB connector and power connector could all be on one side of the block. It's pretty small so not really a con, more of a wish list. It's a PITA to try to hide them. Will work on that when I change the fans. The X61 was the last part of the build and I just gave up on better routing for now.

I used the stock thermal paste since it was already applied. I don't think it has a cure time like Arctic Silver ;). Still, I don't think it's settled down yet. I ran it in Performance mode for about 10 minutes to get the liquid flowing and check for leaks.

With both case sides on, front door open I am getting around 28-29-27-27 in Silent mode. Load is a measly 2.9% Ambient is 29C. With the door closed it moves up a tiny bit to 29-30-28-27. I am hoping I see a wee bit of a drop by a degree or two when the fans are paired. I don't know if that's even realistic. Right now the Noctua fans are in the front and the stock fans on the other side inside the case. Will be much easier to access the stock fans to change those out.

So those are my first impressions. I can't wait to do a manual curve in CAM and or in my UEFI BIOS and then see how it performs under load and then a modest OC.

Thanks to Luca for his help and encouragement. Big thanks to SPCR and Lawrence for reviewing the X61. :D

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Re: NZXT Kraken X61 28cm Liquid Cooler

Post by suchageek » Tue Jun 30, 2015 2:15 pm

So what are you trying to cool? Two fans or four? There are 4 fan connectors on the X61. If you just use two fans, make sure the PWM 4 pin connector is attached to a fan. I have a total of four Noctua SSO Bearing Fan Retail Cooling NF-P14s Redux-1500 PWM. I have the X61 mounted in the bottom front. If you have a short PSU you can re-position the bottom drive cage so it's away from the fans. There are screw holes for doing that in the R5. You remove the bottom cage by turning it upside down and removing the screws. I have both drive cages out. I have 2 SSD drives mounted ON the trays in the back and slid another 2.5 drive into the open 5.25" slot below my DVD. You can get more in there.

Not knowing what you are trying to cool, what position you want the radiator in and how many fans makes it a little tough to suggest more.
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=prod ... =86&lng=en

The ones you are looking at have anti-vibration pads and depending on where they are installed, they may be too much. The screws are only so long.

Also, I use the CAM software for controlling the fans. I have an Asus X99-a and while it has great fan controls, I use the CAM instead. Right now with CAM on Silent mode, the door closed, ambient 27C, RealTemp GT reports 26-26-24-25-24-24 just idling. Fan RPM 600-660. I have not figured out where on the fan curve I want it to be yet as I just updated the BIOS and need to add a few more tweaks. For now, Silent mode is fine. Make sure you get another temperature utility like RealTemp as the CAM software reports 10 degrees higher.

Not sure who Larry is, but read the thread here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=68438

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