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Dylan A.

Dylan A.

Joined on 07/02/10

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

Great product, easy to use.

NZXT Kraken X61 RL-KRX61-01 280mm All-In-One Water / Liquid CPU Cooling Solution
NZXT Kraken X61 RL-KRX61-01 280mm All-In-One Water / Liquid CPU Cooling Solution

Pros: Works as intended. Comes with nice software for controlling color and fan speed. Easy to install.

Cons: I put this in my NZXT 340 case. When installing this in the NZXT 340 you must ensure that the fans are against the case otherwise you will be smashing your front panel ports and power button. It is priced competitively so I can't justify saying I would like to see this unit ~$15 less... This is a large unit, I can't say that is an issue just make sure it fits in your case before ordering.

Overall Review: I am happy with this product. I would recommend it to everyone in the market for a closed loop cooler. This was my first experience with an AIO so I can't compare it to other AIOs.

Most Critical Review

Use for SLI when cards have no breathing room: 3 Eggs but fixed my issue

ARCTIC COOLING ACACC00025A Fluid Dynamic VGA Cooler, A Multi-compatible Air/Liquid Cooler for Graphic Card -GTX 780
ARCTIC COOLING ACACC00025A Fluid Dynamic VGA Cooler, A Multi-compatible Air/Liquid Cooler for Graphic Card -GTX 780

Pros: I purchased this due to really high idle (54C) and load temps (+90C) on the 1st Pci slotted GTX 780. I was commonly getting temps over 90C while playing anything for over 5 min. After installing this cooler I now get temps of 15C idle and 35C+/- under load.

Cons: The instructions are terrible. Use common sense and take your time. I should have made an installation video but seeing how this install will go differently depending on your GPU I don't think that will be as useful as it should be. This cooler will make your GPU 3 slots if you use the included 80mm fan. This should be fixed in an update for the product as I believe that this product shines best when used to solve SLI releated heat issues due to GPUs sitting so close together they cannot breath. I would like to see a version 4 of this product that rectifies a few of the oversights this product still has. As Linis stated this unit could look better. Use common sense with the orientation of the "water block/ pump". The directions have a picture that did not work for my install. The tubes for the liquid would have been smashed into the VRM cooler which is really sharp metal had I not changed the direction that the tubes came off the GPU.

Overall Review: I build computers a lot, 4 this month however I will not claim to be a "professional" just that I have more knowledge of building PCs vs the AVG "I built my computer" consumer. This cooler installation should not be completed by a novice. It requires two people to make it a less stressful install. I handle my computer parts very delicately and this installation will have you playing soccor with the PCB of your GPU be prepared and understand that this will void your warranty and break your GPU if not installed with caution. I removed the 80mm fan to make clearance for the 2nd GPU. This comes with a passive cooler (aluminum heat sink for your VRM) I plan on creating a shroud that will mount to the front of the cards to hold two 80mm fans that blow across the GPU. I would only recommend this if you are confident, ok with possibly breaking your GPU, running SLI and need to cool the top card more efficiently. I did not have room in my NZXT 340 to install the radiator in the back exhaust fan area due to my ram slots on the 2011-3 build. I will be ordering a slim 15mm 120mm fan to replace the fan that this cooler came with to fully finish the install.

Sleek little design

NZXT S340 Glossy Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case
NZXT S340 Glossy Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case

Pros: Nice design and look. Quality is acceptable.

Cons: Directions for installing the kraken x61: ensure that the fans are against the case otherwise you will smash your front panel USB,power switch, ect. I would like a little more clearance for mounting a 120mm Rad in the back of the case. Using a slim 120mm fan will fix this however.

Overall Review: I would give this a 4.5 and I am not one for giving products 5 out of 5 so take that with a grain of salt. You will be happy with this purchase as long as you ensure you have the space you need.

Nice mobo

MSI MSI Gaming X99A GAMING 7 LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
MSI MSI Gaming X99A GAMING 7 LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Looks good. Included software is nice. Everything works as desired.

Cons: The population of the PCie slots with GPUs. You must run slot 1 and 2. This will place your 2 slot GPUs on top of each other and create possible heating issues for the top card. I believe this to be very common lay out for mobos that are "SLI" capable. I would like to have seen the same layout for the PCie slots that the Krait edition has.

Overall Review: I removed an Egg for the layout of the PCi slots. This is my oversight when purchasing this board knowing that I was going to SLI two GTX780s. I was able to fix this issue by using: ARCTIC COOLING ACACC00025A Fluid Dynamic VGA Cooler, A Multi-compatible Air/Liquid Cooler for Graphic Card -GTX 780. If you do not intend on using cross fire or SLI then this board is almost perfect. I would like to have seen a nice built in wifi option also but for the price this mobo is great. I would recommend this to anyone running one GPU.

RMA?

ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: This mobo looks very pretty. Has lots of space for GPUs. 3x 16xPCIe.

Cons: I dont like the bios update software or the boot skin software that came with this board. Terrible drivers. This costs to much for what you really get. A ROG Asus high end board should be bug free and more stable. Ok so this is my main problem with this board right now: I get a strange hiss that comes out of my speakers most times i restart or shutdown my computer. It lasts about 2-4 seconds. I know its not the cables or the speakers I have used them on other systems and they work fine. I dont want to RMA for this because obviously i would have to take apart the whole system + the cooler master v10. Id be out a pc for weeks probably not to mention rebuilding the whole system. Maybe if i used the optical output the hiss would go away i dont know and i dont have a way of testing that right now. Long story short this board should be perfect for the price and the name tag, it looks like i am the only person with this problem.

Overall Review: I wouldn't buy this again its not really worth the price and until there is better drivers I wouldn't recommend it. I would love to get a sound card installed and possibly a wifi card. I only comes with one pci slot that i use for a m-audio delta 92, yeah thats a sound card but not for gaming i use if for monitoring when i record. this board is huge it would be nice if i could use more than just a ton of GPUs.