Featured

Sapphire R9 270X Toxic Vs NZXT Kraken Cooling Review

Installation


The card I’m working on today is this glorious looking Sapphire R9 270X Toxic. Here you can see what the GPU looks like with the stock cooler installed.

Here is the back-plate of the GPU.

Uninstalling the stock cooler on the Sapphire card was incredibly easy, just remove the four screws surrounding the GPU and one screw on the back plate and it pulls right off. It was simply a case of putting the back plate from the NZXT bracket under the card and passing the four mounting screws through; so far the whole installation process has taken no more than five minutes.

This next step, which I would have loved to have photographed in great detail, was a absolute nightmare. Putting the bracket over the GPU while holding the water cooling pump in place and trying to screw it to the four mounting screws (which you can see in the picture above) is a job that needs three hands. This is where you suddenly realise this is still a very technical job and personally I feel the risk of damaging the card was pretty high at this point; if you’re not confident with this kind of technology, this is the part that will really have you sweating.

The screws barely had enough thread on them to get the thumb screw caps on, it was incredibly tricky and I think NZXT need to provide longer screws in future to save on some of the headache, as well as retention clips to hold them to the PCB while you’re working with the pump and bracket.

Here you can see I finally got the bracket to hold the cooler in place; it took a lot of effort, but the end result does look very good.

Once installed on the motherboard you can see that the card still only takes up two bays, so CrossFire or SLI configurations are not going to be an issue.

Here you can see the back plate of the NZXT mount.

Page: 1 2 3 4 5

Peter Donnell

As a child still in my 30's (but not for long), I spend my day combining my love of music and movies with a life-long passion for gaming, from arcade classics and retro consoles to the latest high-end PC and console games. So it's no wonder I write about tech and test the latest hardware while I enjoy my hobbies!

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

Hisense 32 inch Full HD QLED Smart TV 32A5NQTUK

Picture Quality: Quantum Dot Technology | HD Ready (1366x768) | Refresh Rate: 60 hertz |…

8 hours ago

10L Dual Air Fryer

🥦 3D HEAT CIRCULATION FOR HEALTHY EFFICIENCY: The 2850W Air Fryer uses 3D rapid hot…

8 hours ago

MSI PRO MP2412 23.8 Inch Monitor

23.8-INCH FHD PANEL - The PRO MP2412 features a 23.8-inch VA panel (178° wide viewing…

8 hours ago

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G

Bright and vibrant: Meet the brilliant 6.6" FHD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with 1,000 nits…

8 hours ago

AOC Gaming C27G2ZE – 27 Inch FHD Curved Monitor

freesync curved frameless design Display size: 27.0 inches Display technology: LED Was £209.99 Now £139.00…

8 hours ago

NVIDIA GeForce NOW Gets Dragon Age: The Veilguard, 17 More Games

Prepare for a November gaming bonanza as NVIDIA GeForce NOW adds a colossal 18 titles…

8 hours ago