(LTT) Kraken G10 Unboxing and Review

thilanliyan

Lifer
Jun 21, 2005
11,848
2,051
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Looks good, but is it a 3 slot solution?

Also, can the tubes bend enough to be able to mount several on Xfired/SLId cards?
 

Teizo

Golden Member
Oct 28, 2010
1,271
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91
They show it at the end in a case with a dual gpu set up, so yes.
 

moonbogg

Lifer
Jan 8, 2011
10,635
3,095
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Way too complicated. I think the coming non reference cards are a much better option.
 

Face2Face

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2001
4,100
215
106
So no word on the GPU temps or vrm temps on the R9 290 they tested? So did Slick just put nothing on the vrms and go to town on the benhmarks while the vrms where on fire ;) Ugh... I hate to say it, but this was a pretty bad review..
 

skipsneeky2

Diamond Member
May 21, 2011
5,035
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71
Someone needs to bring back phase cooling in a big way, water cooling seems so meh in comparison.:D
 

Gikaseixas

Platinum Member
Jul 1, 2004
2,836
218
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Way too complicated. I think the coming non reference cards are a much better option.

yep, i rather wait a bit more and just get a non reference beast
Now, if you want to show off to friends this looks great in a case
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
So no word on the GPU temps or vrm temps on the R9 290 they tested? So did Slick just put nothing on the vrms and go to town on the benhmarks while the vrms where on fire ;) Ugh... I hate to say it, but this was a pretty bad review..

The sits right on top of the VRMs with the Kraken G10. Wish they'd measured and published their temperatures on the GPU, VRM, and RAM though. The G10 looks like it'd prevent the user from using any ram sinks on the RAM modules between the GPU core and VRMs, and obviously no sinks on the VRMs themselves.
 

Teizo

Golden Member
Oct 28, 2010
1,271
31
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So no word on the GPU temps or vrm temps on the R9 290 they tested? So did Slick just put nothing on the vrms and go to town on the benhmarks while the vrms where on fire ;) Ugh... I hate to say it, but this was a pretty bad review..

Well, the fan is supposed to help with that. I guess this was more of an unboxing and benchmark review rather than an in depth review.
 

Face2Face

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2001
4,100
215
106
The sits right on top of the VRMs with the Kraken G10. Wish they'd measured and published their temperatures on the GPU, VRM, and RAM though. The G10 looks like it'd prevent the user from using any ram sinks on the RAM modules between the GPU core and VRMs, and obviously no sinks on the VRMs themselves.

What sits on top of the vrms? The fan itself is not going to be enough imo to keep the vrms cool for a long period of time. Running the vrms naked on Hawaii card is asking for trouble and you can forget about overclocking. I think this bracket is a great way to keep the gpu cool, but horrible way to cool the vrm and memory without heatsinks. Essentially you are just going from one handicap to another.

Now using this bracket in-combination with some decent memory heatsinks and a beefy VRM heatsink with a screw based installation bracket, this could be a great setup. Or even in combination with a memory/vrm plate like what MSI uses on their twin frozr cards would probably be alright with the 92mm fan right above it.

NZXT knew heatinks would need to be installed for the best all around temps. This is why they left plenty of clearance for them.

NZXt-Kraken-G10-Bracket-_1.jpg



Well, the fan is supposed to help with that. I guess this was more of an unboxing and benchmark review rather than an in depth review.

I am just picky ;) I want a full technical review, not one that just seems Meh...
 
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Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
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What sits on top of the vrms? The fan itself is not going to be enough imo to keep the vrms cool for a long period of time. Running the vrms naked on Hawaii card is asking for trouble and you can forget about overclocking. I think this bracket is a great way to keep the gpu cool, but horrible way to cool the vrm and memory without heatsinks. Essentially you are just going from one handicap to another.

Now using this bracket in-combination with some decent memory heatsinks and a beefy VRM heatsink with a screw based installation bracket, this could be a great setup. Or even in combination with a memory/vrm plate like what MSI uses on their twin frozr cards would probably be alright with the 92mm fan right above it.

NZXT knew heatinks would need to be installed for the best all around temps. This is why they left plenty of clearance for them.

NZXt-Kraken-G10-Bracket-_1.jpg

Shoot, I didn't realize there was that much clearance under the Kraken. Easy to add some sinks under it. It'll be fine, if the user remembers to install them.
 

Jacky60

Golden Member
Jan 3, 2010
1,123
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Without temperature data the review is pretty meaningless, looks interesting but unless you just happen to have a 'spare' watercooling cpu cooler sitting around as well you're looking at $100 increase in price. I too want a proper full technical review although it looks promising.
 

Teizo

Golden Member
Oct 28, 2010
1,271
31
91
Looks like the gpu temp on the R 290 was 40C, which is very impressive. No custom AIB air cooling cards will be able to touch this. With proper memory/vrm cooling, this could the setup to have for Hawaii without going full water.

https://plus.google.com/wm/4/116794162513253958618/posts/LDNDH3uLArs

Yeah, that is really good. Not to be unexpected though. It is compatible with the Kraken X60 and Corsair H100....so cooling the GPU will not be an issue. The only thing will be the memory or vrm cooling...

...but, the fan is just screwed in so you can put a Noctua fan on there for better static pressure. It will be facing down, so the ugly brown won't show.

This would definitely make the 290 a very attractive buy because even with the extra money spent on this type of set up you will get better than 780 performance but with better cooling as well for virtually the same price.
 
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moonbogg

Lifer
Jan 8, 2011
10,635
3,095
136
What about that fancy arctic hybrid cooler? isn't that a complete package and does the same thing? I don't see a benefit of 40c over 60c for a video card personally. But hell, go ahead and buy the thing.
 

Face2Face

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2001
4,100
215
106
Yeah, that is really good. Not to be unexpected though. It is compatible with the Kraken X60 and Corsair H100....so cooling the GPU will not be an issue. The only thing will be the memory or vrm cooling...

...but, the fan is just screwed in so you can put a Noctua fan on there for better static pressure. It will be facing down, so the ugly brown won't show.

This would definitely make the 290 a very attractive buy because even with the extra money spent on this type of set up you will get better than 780 performance but with better cooling as well for virtually the same price.

Not the CoolIT products, only the Asetek will work, so a no go on the H100 :(

NZXT : Kraken X60, Kraken X40
Corsair : H110, H90 , H55 , H50
Antec : KUHLER H2O 920V4, KUHLER H2O 620V4, KUHLER H2O 920, KUHLER H2O 620
Thermaltake : Wate 3.0 Extreme, Water 3.0 Pro, Water 3.0 Performer Water 2.0 Extreme, Water 2.0 Pro, Water 3.0 Performer
Zalman : LQ-320, LQ-315, LQ-310

Using a Noctua fan would be a better option :thumbsup: I may need to look and see what type of vrm heatsinks would be available. The glue on or tape on ones are not gonna fit the bill when overclocking.

What about that fancy arctic hybrid cooler? isn't that a complete package and does the same thing? I don't see a benefit of 40c over 60c for a video card personally. But hell, go ahead and buy the thing.

It's the same concept, except with this one you can BYO-AIO, BYO-FAN and try like heck to find some suitable vrm and memory sinks. Also the vrms heatsinks with that setup are major suckage. It's all about OC headroom, so with it hitting 40c @ stock, you have plenty of room to give it more voltage and core clock and still have acceptable temperatures and most important, stability.
 
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Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
12,240
2
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Using a Noctua fan would be a better option :thumbsup: I may need to look and see what type of vrm heatsinks would be available. The glue on or tape on ones are not gonna fit the bill when overclocking.

I have a 5870 with an accelero extreme and tape on fins that begs to differ, running at 900mhz and mining btc for 2+ years straight, with some occasional BF3 in there
 
Feb 19, 2009
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From a lot of reading around, since I have a few AIO coolers ready to go on my R290s, the VRM2 (3 small ones near the front, for memory) are obscenely hard to cool without a plate like the reference design or waterblock. Small VRMs don't cut the beef there, since there's no screw holes to apply pressure they don't transfer heat well.

VRM1, the banks at the rear of the card is very easy to cool, but again, only if you use screwholes (or zip ties) to apply downward pressure like the original AMD plate with its screws. Once there's some pressure down, it cools very well with even small heatsinks and case airflow. I saw some guy using zip ties on top of the heatsink and through the screw holes, out the back of the case, tying it up really tight, works a charm.

Luckily, VRM2 doesn't seem to impact OC potential of the GPU, since it supplies the vram.
 

Face2Face

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2001
4,100
215
106
I have a 5870 with an accelero extreme and tape on fins that begs to differ, running at 900mhz and mining btc for 2+ years straight, with some occasional BF3 in there

Nice :thumbsup:. However, Hawaii and even Tahiti are a different story, once aggressively overclocked than can draw some serious power. And vrm temperatures become the limiting factor, even with high-end air coolers like the accelero. Without pressure being applied to vrm and a good thermal pad, temps can get very high when adding additional voltage for a good core OC. You should know, don't you own a high ASIC 7950 on a 7970 reference board :)


I saw some guy using zip ties on top of the heatsink and through the screw holes, out the back of the case, tying it up really tight, works a charm.

Not a bad idea :awe:

This thread is making me miss all the time I spent trying to cool the vrm on my golden 7950 ..... I may just have pick this bracket up with AIO and a R 290 and do some in depth testing.
 
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