NZXT Kraken G12 Graphics Card Cooling Bracket Review
Overview
Hardware: CoolingWHAT WE LIKED:
Excellent Cooling performance, Extremely Quiet Operation, Professional Looking DesignWHAT WE DISLIKED:
Although it could be worse, the install process is still a bit of a pain, No option for flashy LED lighting on the side of the bracketDiscuss in the Forum
Conclusion
This review definitely has some conflicting moments for me. Let’s sum up that install process again. Sure, it could be worse, but I associate CLC with a painfully easy setup. While the Kraken G12 certainly isn’t on the level of a custom loop, it also doesn’t strike me as easy either. Maybe I’m being too hard, but I really just want a one piece bracket that attaches to the four mounting holes instead of 2 brackets that attach to the card in order to mount the pump bracket.
That said, I didn’t expect to get the crazy amount of cooling performance we saw today. NZXT claims up to 40% and I believe they say that to give users a reasonable expectation over trying to build product hype. I wouldn’t be surprised to see certain blower style coolers get much more than 40% increases with an X62. I almost want to get two 140mm Krakens, two Kraken G12s, and see how much I can cool down my dual R9 290s in my current system, but my schedule won’t give me an opening to test that out anytime soon. (Unless NZXT REALLY wants me to =D)
I was still having trouble with top awards on this product. The bracket itself is only $30, but NZXT’s latest Kraken Cooler designs are costing upwards of $150. That’s too much money, but that’s also not the end of the story. NZXT claims compatibility with over 30 CLC coolers on the market, including ones from Corsair, Antec, Thermaltake, etc. I did some price checking and realized that 120mm CLCs can run $60-$70 and 120mm ones can cost around $100. I don’t have official results, but based on my previous experience with CLCs, I think performance will really be worth the cost at this point. In the end, I advise to make sure you plan out your radiator placement in your case since reaching to the top can cause problems, but we happily award the NZXT Kraken G12 GPU Mounting Kit the Pureoverclock Editor’s Choice Award!
https://www.nzxt.com/products/kraken-g12-white
About the Author
