NZXT Kraken Z53 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler Review

Unlimited meme potential, superb cooling prowess. That's what the NZXT Kraken Z53 is all about.

We love things subtle, understated. A little hint of RGB there, and a little bit of flair there. But sometimes, there’s this thing that just oozes of style and despite all of our principles on subtleties in such a novel way, we just have to have it. Imagine an AIO liquid cooler with an LCD panel that you can customize and not just rotate. Think of the potential there. On top of its main purpose of cooling, of course. Because that’s what the NZXT Kraken Z53 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler is all about. 

Product Specifications

Waterblock	Dimensions: Diameter: 79mm; H: 52.4mm Material: Block: copper; Housing: plastic
Pump	Motor Speed: 800 – 2,800 + 300 RPM Power: 12VDC, 0.3A
Radiator	Dimensions: 123 x 275 x 30mm Material: Aluminum
Tube	Length: 400mm Material: Ultra-low evaporation rubber with nylon braided sleeve
Cap	Material: Aluminum and plastic Display  Orientation: Software adjustable Default and -90° orientation  Display Panel Active Area: 2.36” (60mm) diameter  Display Color: 24-bit true color LCD Display  Resolution: 320 x 320 px  Display Brightness: 650 cd/m²  NZXT RGB Channel Output Voltage: 5V DC  NZXT RGB Channel Output LED Qty.: Up to four LED strips - 10  LEDs per strip, Up to five AER RGB fans, Up to six NZXT RGB accessories
Fans	Model: Aer P 120mm Quantity: 2 Dimension: 120 x 120 x 26mm Speed: 500-2,000 + 300 RPM Air Flow: 18.28 - 73.11 CFM Air Pressure: 0.18 - 2.93mm-H2O Noise: 21-36dBA Bearing: Fluid Dynamic Bearing Power Consumption: 12V DC, 0.32A, 3.84W Connector: 4-pin PWM Life: 60,000 hours / 6 Years
Limited Warranty	6 Years
OS	Intel Socket LGA 1200, 1151, 1150, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011, 2011-3, 2066 Intel Core i9 / Core i7 / Core i5 / Core i3 / Pentium / Celeron AMD Socket AM4, sTRX4*, TR4* (*Threadripper bracket not included) AMD Ryzen 9 / Ryzen 7 / Ryzen 5 / Ryzen 3 / Threadripper
Price	$229/Php13,500.00

Release the Kraken

The Kraken Z53 arrives in that signature purple and white NZXT packaging you’d recognize the box from  afar. Basically, once you prop it up, the Kraken Z53 comes with all that tools you need to get it all set up.

There’s the radiator and the pump combo, with the former having a pre-applied thermal paste, two Aer P 120mm fans, a set of cables, screws and washers, AMD retention bracket, Intel backplate (regarding these two, the Intel retention bracket is already pre-installed, and you’ll be using the AM4 backplate for installing the respective socket).  There’s also a product manual. Use it. It’s very handy. And yes, installation is a breeze but it’s best to check the manual still if you’re not sure what you’re doing.

 

Installation’s a breeze.

Whelp, this is the first time I haven’t used a screwdriver to install a CPU cooler on the socket. Not that it’s hard to use a screwdriver, it’s just that installation is so easy that I don’t have to do some hand gymnastics or force some screws with pressure just to properly align them.

Going into more detail, with our X570 and Ryzen 5 3600X AM4 setup here, removing the pre-installed Intel retention bracket took very little effort and replacing that with the one for AMD even less so. Installing the fans on the 240mm radiator is just straightforward, and mounting the radiator on your case (if you have the space) is basically the same. We had it set up on our open-air test bench. And just to note, the radiator alone is 30mm and the fan is about 25mm. So, check your case if it has ample clearance if you’re planning to install the radiator at the top or at the front.

Afterwards, connecting all the cables to their respective sockets should be clear enough. There’s enough cable length for everything for proper management, and that’s nice to have as well.

 

That 2.36" LCD is your oyster

First thing’s first. If I’m on the market for an AIO liquid cooler, I want it to perform well. But if there’s a chance it comes with some pizzaz that will be of my own choosing, at the same level of performance, I’d take that in a heartbeat. Well, anyway, let’s discuss the software first.  

The Kraken Z53 is controlled by NZXT’s centralized CAM software that gives you the lowdown on everything for monitoring, and lets you control things such as lighting, fan profiles, and whatnot. There’s even a feature for overclocking GPU but that’s a discussion for another time.

Almost forgot to mention, since the Kraken Z53 features an LCD panel that displays a lot of stuff from the temperature of CPU, GPU, Liquid and so forth, it even lets you upload GIF files up to 20MB in size. I cannot stress that enough. You can watch some fancy animated GIF and use that as a conversation starter or cycle memes and what them on it. Unlimited meme potential, I tell yah.

 

“Kraken” Open a Cold One

I could make a hundred puns about the Kraken all day, but now let’s get down to business. It’s a warm season we’re experiencing right now and our ambient temp isn’t feeling so good right now at about 33 degrees Celsius. Our test entails 15 minutes of idle after Windows finishes start up and an hour of Realbench 2.56 for an hour on Performance profiles for both the fan and pump. 

TEST SYSTEM SETUP

Motherboard	GIGABYTE X570 AORUS ELITE
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
GPU	AMD Sapphire Radeon 5600 XT
RAM	ZADAK 16GB 3600MHz
Cooler	NZXT Kraken Z53 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler
Storage	Plextor M9Pe(G) 512GB + WD Green HDD 2TB
PSU	CORSAIR RM750
OS	Windows 10
Display	ViewSonic VX2758 1080p 144Hz Monitor

It's a shut-up-and-take-my-money thing.

The NZXT Kraken Z53 can certainly deliver exceptional performance, and do it with much style at the same time. Installation is also so simple and straightforward so that's a plus. However, at the current price ($229/Php13,500) it's offered, it could do well with some incentives. For one, the fans, while great, isn't exactly NZXT's stylish Aer RGB 2 offering. But then again, at the end of the day, aesthetics cost. And while the Kraken Z53 makes a statement on it, it's not just all style. There's plenty of monitoring features that would come in handy on that LCD panel. Unlimited meme potential, superb cooling prowess. ‘nuff said. This perfectly sums up our experience with the NZXT Kraken Z53. 

Style and spending ain't your thing? There's the NZXT Kraken X53 RGB for that.