Cooler Master Seidon 120V/M vs NZXT Kraken X31

[flibberdipper]

Out of these three, which should I save up an get later on when I get my rig up and going? The 120V is the cheapest of the bunch, while the Kraken is the most expensive. Personally, I'm leaning towards NZXT's option, since I'll be able to use just the CAM software for it and the GRID+ that I plan on getting right out of the gate for my fans. But if one of the Cooler Master options perform considerably better or are considerably quieter, then I'll consider that one.

[Aniallation]

Crackin all the way. Worth the extra money over the CMs for both performance increase and unity with CAM/GRID+

[flibberdipper]

Crackin all the way. Worth the extra money over the CMs for both performance increase and unity with CAM/GRID+

How much of a performance increase? If Linus made a video with comparisons and that kind of thing, I'll watch it.

[Darkman]

Just go get that X31.

[Hendrics]

I am running a Seidon 120m and it is defiantly a good price for what you get. Good mounting system, easy to understand, mounts great to the top or back of any case, and certain smaller cases can fit it up in the front, pretty stiff tubing but it has movable fittings on the block

I was running it on my AMD FX 6300 oc'ed to 4.4 Ghz for a long time, and it kept it very cool, 40c under load.

Now im running it on my Intel i5 4690k, also overclocked to 4.4 Ghz, and keeps it pretty cool as well. Running currently at 32c idle and maxes out at 60c under full load

[Faceman]

Out of these three, which should I save up an get later on when I get my rig up and going? The 120V is the cheapest of the bunch, while the Kraken is the most expensive. Personally, I'm leaning towards NZXT's option, since I'll be able to use just the CAM software for it and the GRID+ that I plan on getting right out of the gate for my fans. But if one of the Cooler Master options perform considerably better or are considerably quieter, then I'll consider that one.

Heres the thing... while the X31 *should* perform the best of them all based on specs, it is a mess.  I own one for my GPU, and the thing is quite honestly, terrible.  The CAM software is a joke, you will not be able to control the X31 through CAM.  Variable speed pump is a gimmick, it doesn't do anything, its not real.  Even HardCOP did a review on the X31 and said the same thing.  Controlling the fans through CAM is also a joke, from the time you make a change in CAM, it takes 30seconds or more for the change in speed to occur, and sometimes doesn't at all.  After a day with CAM, I uninstalled it.  Not only does it not work, its also a massive resource hog, chewing up 20% CPU usage.  From a simple monitoring program, that is unacceptable.

 

     The thing is noisy.  The pump is makes a lot of rattling noises, I had to mess with it so much just to get it to stop.  Changing the voltage, switching from PWM to DC, hooking it up directly to my fan controller.  Finally, the only thing that got it to stop was if I unplugged the USB header, and set it to PWM @ 1500rpm using my motherboard.  Any more, it starts to rattle.  Any less, it starts to rattle.  Not only that, but it makes a whoosh of water more frequently than I would like.  I know AIOs making a whoosh of water sound is normal, and it has to happen from time to time, but this is like twice an hour.  Maybe its because the tubing is so long?   Bottom line, it performs really well though.  My GPU is the EVGA GTX 780 SC, and I have never seen it exceed 49C during extended gaming periods.  I am generally in the 40-47C range depending on the game.

      Oh, I forgot to mention that the instructions are terrible.  TERRIBLE.  If it wasn't for the instructions that game with the G10 bracket, that thankfully uses an X41 as an example, I wouldn't have been able to set it up.  It is a single quarter page document, and it uses just pictures, and the pictures are terrible and doesn't explain anything.  I'm pretty tech savvy, but I like to have instructions to confirm what it is I'm doing and to guide me if I get stuck, not going to happen with the X31.

 

I also own a Cooler Master Seidon 240M and this thing is incredible.  If you live in the U.S. and have a case that is big enough for a 240mm radiator, you should get this.  Its only $60 after $25 MIR and 10% Visa Checkout.  Performs insanely well, super quiet.  This thing makes no pump noise except if your head is all the way close to it.  The fans do get loud if at high RPM(1600rpm+), but you never need to set it higher than 1400rpm, and I typically have it at 1250rpm(50%) and its super quiet while performing well. The instructions are great, the included fans are also great, very high SP rating(4.19mm/H20), and all around amazing performance.  If the 120M/V is anything like the 240M, I would definitely get it, especially if it is less expensive.  Just pop a 2nd fan on there and go push/pull.

 

Here are my temps during a 5 hour long Battlefield 4 session.  Settings for BF4 are 1920x1080, Ultra everything, 4x MSAA, 140% Resolution Scale, 80% FoV, with V-Sync On. Using an i5-4670k OC'd to 4.5Ghz @ 1.160v cooled by the Seidon 240M at 1350rpm(90%) Pump speed and 1250rpm(50%) Fan speed(2 fans in push).  My EVGA GTX 780 SC is cooled by NZXT Kraken G10 and X31 AIO(Not recommended) with 2 Fans in Push/Pull.  The X31's pump speed is at 1500rpm(90%), and Fans at 1500rpm(65%).  My case is the Phanteks Enthoo Pro.  Ambient temperature is 23.8C/75F.  It does help that my case is underneath the A/C Vent, so keep that in mind too.

 

[KillEmAllUSA]

http://us.hardware.info/productgroup/19/cpu-coolers#filter:q1Yqzi8qUbJSKsgvKM1JLMosqVTSUSpOTSxKzijPL0opBkoBBQoS01OBLEMQsygzGcS2sLIwACktSE1WsqpWMjI0NAOrqK0FAA

 

the site is great! helps you decide what cooler is best for you based on your budget, cpu and brand preference

[spwath]

-snip-

Lol, doesn't matter CPU vs GPU. With g10 it can go on GPU.