During Computex 2025, NZXT has launched new products for PC builders. The one that dictates the most change in performance is the latest Kraken Plus AIO cooler series. This series is designed to replace the 2023 series, but not the Kraken Elite series that was introduced last year. There are a few different radiator sizes for the Kraken Plus for 2025 and support for the latest Intel and AMD processors. The review unit that has been provided from NZXT is theKraken Plus 360 RGB, which NZXT claims has a 4% performance over the previous version. This isn’t worth upgrading over the previous version, but what if you are coming from the Kraken Z73 that was released five years ago?
What Does the NZXT Kraken Plus do Different?
If you’re looking for a major overhaul in an upgrade, or a cooler that’s beefier, then the Kraken Elite may be better fitting.With the 2025NZXT Kraken Plus, and specifically the Kraken Plus 360 RGB, the biggest update is the singular core fan.Rather than having three separate fans to daisy chain or even magnetically attach, the F360 RGB Core that’s included is a great addition. These fans can be used in the case elsewhere, as NZXT has also introduced the F420 Core RGB at Computex 2025.
There are a few different radiator sizes for the Kraken Plus for 2025 and support for the latest Intel and AMD processors.
The fan offers semi-transparent plastic down the side allowing for light to come through, while light illuminates through the three fans. These fans are quiet, but also not as bright as some of the fans in the past. The RGB cables loop back into the AIO pump allowing for lighting to be configured in the NZXT CAM software. There’s no need for an RGB hub with this nor to use the standard on the motherboard.
The tubes move to a Nylon braid as opposed to the PET braided on the Kraken Elite.The breakout cable comes off of the pump rather than the radiator hub, albeit this is a personal preference to have it on the radiator hub.When setting up the previous Kraken Elite with the cables coming from the radiator, it made setup so much easier. This does allow for better cable management, but at least the cables running to the pump are singular unlike the older Kraken Z73 AIO cooler. That cooler was no slouch, though.
The display almost feels like it has regressed, even from 2020. It’s a 1.54" screen with a TFT display with 262K colors and a resolution of 240x240. The display is cleaner than the Z73 display, and the pump is still able to display GIFs and other infographics, albeit small for this day and age.The experience feels more limited, however, as background colors can’t be configured nor is there an RGB ring on the cooler.The RGB options on the fans now allow to configure temperature colors, which is neat. The GIFs are on a small screen that can’t even be made out. The display hasn’t made many improvements over the course of five years.
NZXT Launches Four New PC Components
Two new cases, a new AIO cooler and a large internal fan offer some starting points for new PC builds.
Stress Test and Real World Performance
A five-year-oldNZXT Kraken Z73 AIOcooler with a re-paste has maintained solid performance for some time. It wasn’t until breaking out Cinebench and throwing a multi-core test on there did it show issues. The testing bench included an i7-12700K, so it wasn’t the latest Intel that had become famous for cooking eggs. The full bench setup is listed below.Other software was attempted to test including a stress test in CPU-Z for a long period of time and some 3DMark tests, but nothing came close to pushing the CPU like the latest Cinebench.
Testing Bench for NZXT Kraken Plus 360 RGB AIO Cooler
At least for the case, temperatures were fine on all components. Using the older Z73 cooler and the Cinebench multi-core test, the temperature peaked at 90 degrees Celsius, which is about the most you would want. Again, this is one stress test and that cooler did fine during gaming sessions and video editing. Those fans may have been aging with all the cables, but the performance was solid for a five-year-old unit, scoring an 1181 on the benchmark.
The Kraken Plus 360 RGB blew that test out of the water as it topped out at 77 degrees, a thirteen-degree difference. The Kraken Plus 360 RGB, and this entire series, does have the same NZXT Turbine Pump from the Kraken Elite and an optimized copper plate to more efficiently cool the hottest areas of the CPU. After this, the CPU voltage was upped in ASUS AI Suite which then saw the temperature go up to 88 degrees. Albeit a lower temperature, the Cinebench score was less at 1082.
NZXT Announces New Kraken Coolers, H Series Cases
Who is the NZXT Kraken Plus Geared Towards?
NZXT states that this series is designed to sit above entry-level AIO coolers and premium-level AIO coolers. Now, the Z73 back in 2020 wasNZXT’s top version, and most of what is in that has been applied to the Kraken Plus series in 2025. If you are trying to upgrade a pump from just a few years ago, spending money on this can’t be recommended as there isn’t really any performance difference. Sound improvements are a positive, but that doesn’t justify this price as tested at $219.99.
● Kraken Plus 240 – $139.99
● Kraken Plus 280 – $159.99
● Kraken Plus 360 – $179.99
● Kraken Plus 240 RGB – $179.99
● Kraken Plus 360 RGB – $219.99
● Kraken Elite 420 RGB – $334.99
NZXThas released six Kraken Plus AIO coolers with both non-RGB and RGB options. A 240mm, 280mm and 360mm non-RGB versions are available now and a 240mm, 360mm and even a 420mm (Elite) are available now in RGB. What NZXT is defining as premium level, however, blurs the lines with these RGB versions due to price. The tax on having lighting is real. The Kraken Plus RGB 360 is available in both black and white.
What NZXT is defining as premium level, however, blurs the lines with these RGB versions due to price.
If you’re doing a new build, what’s being offered with the Kraken Plus 360 RGB is a questionable choice at the price point. TheKrakenElite may be worth the extra money for what it offers. The smaller radiators seem more approachable in terms of price, but there’s similar performance from other providers for less price. If you’re keeping everything in a build to one manufacturer, then this route would work too.
Closing Comments:
TheNZXT KrakenPlus series for 2025, specifically the reviewed Kraken Plus 360 RGB, is a solid AIO cooler that adds more premium pricing the higher it goes. The Kraken Plus 240 at $139.99 is at least more understandable, but the Plus 360 RGB at $219.99 sits at a premium end. Sure it truly does sit between an $80 entry-level AIO and something from ASUS at $400-$500, but even the new Kraken Elite 420 RGB comes in at $334.99.There’s slightly better performance than previous year models and the singular F360 Core RGB fan is a big help with setting up.The lighting isn’t as bright, and the screen on the pump seems to feature less customization options than in the past. The cooler is quiet and you’re able to put a GIF or run YouTube on the screen, but this was something available in the past and it’s hard to justify those things on this screen. Does it compliment the latest H9 Flow RGB series case? It does and the main recommendation for this AIO cooler would be to include it with a fresh NZXT complete build.
