[Quick Review] Fractal Design Kelvin S36

[FilipSebik]

Hi people. Merry Christmas and i got and Fractal Design Kelvin S36 and i am going to review it asap. And  iam comparing it to Noctua NH-D15

Lets get to it

 

PACKAGE AND PRICE

1. Its 170 euros which is awesome for 360mm expandable AIO cooler

2. It arrives in big package and the main unit is covered in plastic cover and its "secured" to don't jump like demon in this package.

The package contains main unit, 3 120mm HP fans, 1x 3 pin resistor to pump, 1x PWM to 3 PWM cable splitter to included fans, mounting tools for newest Intel and AMD sockets, fractal design zero thermal paste with diamond particles (i read that in manual) and for last manual

 

PERFORMANCE (included vs NH-D15)

Intel Core i5 4690K 4.5GHz 1.25V

30`C idle temperature

1. AIDA 64 Stress test:

  Max 54`C on package and lowest 47 on core

  NH-D15 - Max 67`C package and 65 lowest core

2. Nothing here but used resistor to make the pump run at 2000RPM, fans at idle 465RPM and same on load

 

PROS

360mm rad in 1 AIO unit

EXPANDABLE LOOP

320mm long tubing

anti kink coils

all G 1/4 fittings

fill port

 

CONS

You can hear a little bit pump on 12V but using included 3pin resistor will make the magic

Loud fans when on 12V - Speed fan or BIOS settings solve this problem

FU*KING HARD INSTALLING - YOU NEED 2 PEOPLE FOR THIS

Manual doesnt show how much you need thighten mounting threads on cpu block

 

[Godlygamer23]

Moved to Members Reviews. Tech News and Reviews is really meant for reviews by external websites like Anandtech and HardOCP.

[daniellearmouth]

Moved to Members Reviews. Tech News and Reviews is really meant for reviews by external websites like Anandtech and HardOCP.

 

Oh. Just as I replied as well.

[FilipSebik]

Moved to Members Reviews. Tech News and Reviews is really meant for reviews by external websites like Anandtech and HardOCP.

I didnt saw that there was member reviews

[Serin]

It came with a resistor for the pump? Huh... I'm going to have to dig my box out... That damned pump noise is amazingly annoying late at night.

[Godlygamer23]

It came with a resistor for the pump? Huh... I'm going to have to dig my box out... That damned pump noise is amazingly annoying late at night.

Just be careful what you connect that to - if you're connecting it to a different pump, and it's not a variable speed pump, you'll destroy it.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Just be careful what you connect that to - if you're connecting it to a different pump, and it's not a variable speed pump, you'll destroy it.

Strange any pumps come with a resistor. Dropping the voltage from 12 down to like 9 is over 3 watts to disipate as heat (at least with my pump), you would need a good sized resistor to do that...

[thekeemo]

Strange any pumps come with a resistor. Dropping the voltage from 12 down to like 9 is over 3 watts to disipate as heat (at least with my pump), you would need a good sized resistor to do that...

I believe that is it in the top left

[FilipSebik]

I believe that is it in the top left

Yes its the one

 

Just be careful what you connect that to - if you're connecting it to a different pump, and it's not a variable speed pump, you'll destroy it.

My nightmare

 

Strange any pumps come with a resistor. Dropping the voltage from 12 down to like 9 is over 3 watts to disipate as heat (at least with my pump), you would need a good sized resistor to do that...

Its very fat resistor

It came with a resistor for the pump? Huh... I'm going to have to dig my box out... That damned pump noise is amazingly annoying late at night.

Yes