NZXT Kraken Elite 360 review: Beefy cooling for a flagship AMD or Intel CPU

NZXT has been in the business of making CPU coolers for a few years now, so whenever the company announces some new NZXT Kraken AIO CPU coolers, we get a little excited with some high expectations. Using the excellent seventh-generation Asetek pump technology, the new NZXT Kraken Elite 360 promises high thermal capacity with the performance to tame even a flagship AMD or Intel processor.

Whether you’re using an Intel Core i5-13600K or an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, you will have no trouble keeping the processor cool with the NZXT Kraken Elite 360. This particular model has no RGB lighting, though you’ll still need to use the NZXT CAM software suite to manage everything displayed on the CPU block LCD. It’s one of the best liquid coolers at this price point.

Pricing and availability

The NZXT Kraken Elite 360 is available for $280 from NZXT directly, as well as participating retailers. That’s a fair chunk of change for what is a CPU cooler. THat price would get you a decent processor, extensive flash storage, or even a 1080p graphics card. Still, when you’re seeking one of the best AIO coolers, you can expect to pay a small fortune for the luxury, plus NZXT throws in some premium features such as the LCD panel on the CPU block.

Design and features

The NZXT Kraken Elite 360 looks a lot like the previous-generation of Kraken coolers. It’s only available as all-black, whereas the RGB version is available as a white version, too. The radiator is aluminum and measures 360mm long. It’s 27mm thick and should fit in just about any PC case that supports the installation of a 360mm radiator. The water block has a copper plate that makes contact with the processor IHS. This is the norm for such AIO CPU coolers.

The black is matte, and that goes for every part of the NZXT Kraken Elite 360, including the fans. The display is a 2.36-inch TFT-LCD with a resolution of 640 x 640. For processor support, you’ll be able to use this cooler with LGA 1700, LGA 1200, LGA 115x, as well as AM5, AM4, sTRX4, and TR4 sockets. That’s just about every modern processor covered. The three fans are NZXT’s own F120P blowers with fluid dynamic bearings, and NZXT expects this kit to last for many years with its warranty backing.

NZXT includes everything you’d need for installing the AIO inside your favorite PC case, including screws, brackets, nuts, and the thermal paste is already applied. Should you need to remove the cooler for whatever reason, it’s important to clean both the copper base and the CPU IHS to apply new thermal paste. It’s a stealthy-looking AIO that will look great in most system builds.

Thermal performance

We used the latest hardware from AMD to really put the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 to the test. Our test rig comprised the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X processor, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and an M.2 NVMe SSD. The AMD Ryzen 7000 range of CPUs are designed by AMD to run at TjMax temperatures, which is about 95 degrees Celsius. That’s when thermal throttling kicks in to keep clock speeds as high as the cooling solution will allow. Unsurprisingly, the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 is among the best CPU coolers NZXT has made so far.

The NZXT Kraken Elite 360 is among the best CPU coolers NZXT has made so far.

The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X ran hot, but that’s not to say the Kraken Elite 360 isn’t capable cooler, it’s the chip running as intended. We saw the chip hit 95 degrees in stress tests and running Cinebench, as expected. Gaming and other lighter tasks are a different story where the Kraken Elite 360 is able to keep the processor cool, as not all cores are running at full speed. It’s only when you’re really hitting the CPU hard with synthetic testing will you see worryingly hot readings.

We frequently saw the CPU settle at around 70 degrees when in hefty games such as X4: Foundations or running some other software. All test readings were taken with the fans set to 50% and pump set to 100%. Noise was measured at 39dB and that’s about standard with a three-fan AIO with an Asetek pump. These pumps are extremely quiet, even at full speed.

Should you buy the NZXT Kraken Elite 360?

You should buy the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 if:

• You plan on using an Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 processor.
• You want to do some CPU overclocking.
• Your PC case supports a 360mm radiator.

You shouldn’t buy the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 if:

• You won’t be fully utilizing the AIO for powerful processors.
• Your case does not support a 360mm radiator.
• You don’t want to use NZXT’s CAM software.

Choosing the best all-in-one liquid cooler for the CPU depends largely on how much you’re willing to spend and what type of processor you intend on cooling. The flagship processors from AMD and Intel will require such a cooler, fully utilizing the 360mm radiator to transfer heat away from the powerful chip. The Intel Core i9 and AMD Ryzen 9 families produce a lot of waste heat and using the Asetek Gen 7 pump, the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 has absolutely no issue keeping temperatures in check.

The NZXT Kraken Elite 360 has absolutely no issue keeping temperatures in check.

This thermal capacity doesn’t come cheap, however, and the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 will set you back $280. That’s almost the price of a decent mid-tier processor itself. NZXT does sell smaller versions of the Kraken Elite, and the $240 Kraken Elite 240 may be a better option for those with less-powerful processors. Once everything is up and running with NZXT CAM, it’s possible to configure just about everything with the Kraken Elite 360, including the impressive LCD panel on the CPU block.

It’s fast, reliable, and backed by a full six-year warranty, providing peace of mind. NZXT continues to refine its Kraken series of CPU coolers, and we still rate them among the best in the business.