NZXT Kraken Elite 420 RGB CPU Cooler Review
Meet the NZXT Kraken Elite 420 RGB
NZXT’s taking its Kraken series to the next level with its Elite 420 RGB
NZXT is going large with its newest Kraken series CPU cooler. Until now, the company’s largest radiator size was 360mm. Now, NZXT has a 420mm liquid cooler, the KRAKEN ELITE 420 RGB.
With this enlarged liquid cooler comes the promise of lower thermals. This is thanks to this cooler’s larger surface area and larger 140mm fans. Like other KRAKEN ELITE series coolers, this new heatsink comes with NZXT’s “Core” series fans, which integrate several fans into a single frame to deliver better system aesthetics. This cooler also comes with a customisable LCD screen.
A Kraken Elite V2, but bigger!
The KRAKEN ELITE 420 RGB is an enlarged version of NZXT’s 2024 series of KRAKEN ELITE V2 series coolers. These coolers feature a custom “NZXT Turbine” pump, and a larger LCD than NZXT’s older (pre-2024) KRAKEN series CPU coolers.
NZXT’s new 420mm model is simply an enlarged version of NZXT’s 2024 KRAKEN ELITE series, which is a good thing. The 2024 KRAKEN ELITE series is solid, and adding a 420mm option is great news for users of large PC cases.
Kraken Elite 420 RGB Pricing
At launch, NZXT’s new ELITE 420 RGB CPU liquid cooler will be available for $334.99 in the US. Sadly, UK pricing is not yet available to us, but that will be revealed soon. This makes the 420mm version of this cooler $15 more expensive than its 360mm counterpart. That’s a small increase in price given the 420mm version’s increase in size.
Update – NZXT’s Kraken 420 Elite liquid cooler costs £299.99 in the UK. It is currently available at that price from Scan Computers (at the time of writing).
Key Features
- Performance: High static pressure fans provide strong airflow with Zero RPM Mode for silence at low loads in the Kraken Elite. Kraken Elite RGB with F Series RGB Core single-frame fan provides optimal airflow and vibrant lighting with streamlined connectivity. Custom-designed NZXT Turbine pump delivers high flow rate and head pressure for powerful yet quiet CPU cooling.
- Personalization: Showcase your favourite GIF or image, track real-time system performance, and integrate with Spotify, YouTube, and more. Enjoy vivid visuals on the all-new 2.72-inch round IPS LCD with sharp 640×640 resolution, up to 60 Hz refresh rate, and wide viewing angles. Customize the RGB ring with dynamic lighting effects or synchronize with on-screen content and other RGB devices.
- Installation: Install easily with pre-applied thermal paste, a single breakout cable, and tool-free mounting brackets for the latest Intel and AMD CPU sockets. Extended rubber tubing with braided sleeving ensures worry-free handling and long-term leak protection.
Minimal Cables
Note that this unit only has two cables. One cable comes out of this AIO’s radiator, and another comes out of its single-frame fan. There are no cables to hide away near the CPU water block; its power and control signals come through a hidden wire in its housing. This makes this AIO look incredibly clean when installed inside a system. All cables can be hidden from view. That’s great news for anyone making a PC with a “cable-free” aesthetic with ASUS, BTF, MSI Project Zero (PZ) or similar back-connect motherboards.
NZXT Kraken Elite 420 RGB and F420 RGB Core Fan Set
NZXT’s F420 RGB Core fan sets are effectively three 140mm fans within a single, unified frame. This fan set costs $89.99, pricing it similarly to a set of three premium RGB fans. NZXT’s Kraken Elite 420 ships with one of these fan sets in the box.
The benefits of NZXT’s RGB Core fan sets are obvious. Their unified frames are aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, they simply cable management by using a single connector to power and illuminate three fans. Each corner of the fan set is rubberised to minimise noise, and each fan features an optimised blade design to deliver strong cooling characteristics at low noise levels.
OC3D CPU Cooler Test Rig Specifications
This review is the fourth to use our new CPU cooler test rig. This new PC has a newer, hotter-running CPU, a more power-hungry graphics card, and a cooling layout that is common for today’s gaming PCs. Simply put, we have moved to more modern hardware so that we can better test modern CPU cooling solutions. See the full specifications of this system below.
CPU: Intel i5-14600K @1.27V (Fixed)
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WIFI
Case: Custom Lian Li O11 EVO XL
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 32GB (2x16GB)
GPU: Sapphire RX 7900 GRE Nitro+
PSU: be quiet Dark Power 1,000W
Fans: 4x be quiet Silent Wings 4 fans
