Meet the Kraken Core 360 and 420: Built Simple. Built Right.

A cooler with nothing extra in the box.

The Kraken Core is a considered, minimal build: an Asetek pump on a copper cold plate, an aluminum radiator on nylon-braided tubing, and a single fan on a single cable. No hub, no controller, nothing to sync. It comes in a 360 mm and a 420 mm size.

Here is what went into it.

An Asetek pump on copper

NZXT Kraken Core, pump turned over to show its copper cold plate

Asetek’s new Gen 9V pump is built to run quiet, with a pump design that keeps vibration from reaching the case. The cold plate is copper, 60 x 60 mm, with thermal paste already applied, so the cooler goes on the CPU without a separate step and without guessing at the spread.

Rings under the cap

The pump cap is semi-transparent, and what shows through it is a set of concentric rings layered inside. It is a quieter idea than a screen — something to look at that does not need configuring.

One fan, one cable

NZXT Kraken Core 360 in black, fan side of the radiator and the pump

The fan run connects on one cable to one header. There is no hub to find space for and no controller to route, which is most of what makes an install take longer than it should.

An aluminum radiator on braided tubing

NZXT Kraken Core 420 in black, radiator standing upright on its braided tubing

The radiator is aluminum and the tubing runs in a nylon-braided sleeve, which keeps the lines tidy where they cross the build and lets them bend to a tight route without kinking.

Straight into a current build

NZXT Kraken Core 360 in black, installed in a build

Thermal paste comes pre-applied, the fan connects straight to the motherboard, and the mounting covers current Intel and AMD sockets. It is the same on both sizes, and both carry a six-year warranty.

What changed from the Kraken Core 360 RGB (2025)

Pump — a platform holding one fixed 3,100 RPM becomes an Asetek Gen 9V running 1,200 – 3,000 RPM on a 60 x 60 mm copper cold plate
Sizes — the Kraken Core 360 replaces the Kraken Core 360 RGB (2025), and the entry size moves up from 240 mm to 360 mm. The Kraken Core 420 is a new size with no predecessor
Cap — an RGB pump cap with 19 LEDs becomes a semi-transparent cap revealing the concentric rings inside, with a magnetic NZXT logo face piece that offers 4-way orientation. No lighting anywhere.
Fan — the F360 RGB Core single-frame fan becomes a static pressure single-frame fan with no lighting — F360P on the 360, F420P on the 420, on one 4-pin PWM cable
CPU support — Intel LGA 1954 is added and LGA 1200/115X is dropped; LGA 1851 and 1700 carry over, as do AMD AM5 and AM4
Warranty — 5 years becomes 6

Which one

Fitting a 360 mm radiator in the top or side of a mid-tower? Take the Kraken Core 360. Have the clearance for a 420 mm run and want the extra surface area? Take the Kraken Core 420.

Availability

The Kraken Core 360 and 420 come in Black and are rolling out to authorized retailers worldwide over the coming months. Availability varies by region and store.