Kraken Elite 280 (2023)

I replaced my Kraken with this Elite RGB AIO. I can tell you that it works better than the prior version and has more consistent temperatures. I have used others in the past but they did not work as well as this one. Thanks, NZXT, for making a great product.

Very very good Display!

Build Quality is rly good too!

The RGB Ring is rly bad imo. It took months for NZXT to fix the Problem with the RGB Ring when using a big GIF. Rly Hard to set up white lightning.

The worst is the Pump. Its super loud. I have a Noctua Fan Set Up, that makes the Pump Jump out Even more! Cooling isnt better then other AIO. I gonna buy another AIO but Not a Kraken anymore.

Die NZXT Kraken elite v2 ist eine super Wasserkühlung, mit sehr überzeugender Kühlleistung. Sie ist eine der sehr leisen Vertretern. Die Leute, die sagen, dass die Pumpe zu laut ist, haben einfach keine Ahnung von Wasserkühlungen. Natürlich hat man eine weitere Stöhrquelle durch die Pumpe, diese ist aber auf 40% im geschlossenem Nzxt h5 flow Gehäuse nicht wahrnembar. Der Einbau wurde sehr vereinfacht. Am besten man guckt sich vorher ein youtube Video dazu an, wenn man das noch nie gemacht hat.

I've had a lot of NZXT AIO's - originally an Z63, a Kraken Elite RGB (pre 2024 model) and two Kraken Elite 280 RGB (post 2024) models. The reason I've had 2 2024 models is because the first one I received made a constant grinding noise at lower RPM. This was exchanged for another one - which did exactly the same. Checking online and this appears to be a common issue/defect with them and I was never convinced they would rectify the clear design flaw - so have kept it and ran it at higher RPM.

Hardware issues aside - where the overall solution is so drastically let down is in their software (CAM). It's riddled with bugs and imagine my surprise to find out that when I upgraded my GPU to an AMD RX 9070 XT that CAM did not support reading it's temperature. Upon further investigate this is due to NZXT allegedly sacking or letting go of their entire development team. This is primarily why the last release for this software was in January 2024 (almost 9 months ago now) - it clearly isn't in active development any longer and this is further evidenced by the fact that they have closed down their official NZXT CAM ideas forum.

If you're lookinf for an AIO - I'd strongly advise you look elsewhere - this is overpriced junk supported by outdated and bug riddled software. I've personally opted for a Lian Li HydroShift II and once that arrives - this will end up in the bin!

I had the previous model of the nzxt kraken aio pump and it was most likely faulty from the day I built my pc but it didn't start showing prominent issues until recently. Nzxt had me send it in under warranty but since that model was discontinued, they sent me out this one. The latest, upgraded model and it is 100% better than the last model. The installation was more simple and quick, the set up was easy to figure out and the screen displays so much more clearer photos and gifs. I absolutely love this aio pump and I appreciate nzxt customer support. They were very kind, patient and quick to respond to help me resolve my warranty replacement.