Fractal Design Kelvin T12, S24 and S36 Cooler Review

[section_title title=”Introduction”]

Introduction

Manufacturer: Fractal Design
Model: Kelvin T12
Price (UK): £66.57 @Amazon.com (at time of review)
Price (US): $165.55 @Amazon.com (at time of review)

Model: Kelvin S24
Price (UK): £74.99 @Amazon.com (at time of review)
Price (US): $179.29 @Amazon.com (at time of review)

Model: Kelvin S36
Price (UK): £109.99 @Amazon.com (at time of review)
Price (US): $258.52 @Amazon.com (at time of review)

All-in-one or AIO coolers are usually fairly simple things… there’s a pump on one end, a radiator on the other and some tubing in the middle, but they don’t often change enough to be exciting. That is not always the case though, and when looking at the Fractal Design Kelvin series you can definitely see that they have taken things to a new level.

It shouldn’t really be a surprise that Fractal Design have innovated in an area that was more or less stagnant. They have a bit of a history when it comes to making things new and exciting and a peek at their website will see that it is filled with products that are not just technically excellent but also really rather stylish. So what have Fractal Design done to the AIO to make it fresh and exciting again? Well, for one thing it’s modular and with standard water cooling fittings you can take it apart, refill the fluids and expand it with extra radiators or a GPU water block, using the original pump, radiator and even the tubing as the basis of your full water loop when you are ready to expand. But, if you are certain that you will never need or want to use the modular features then why would you choose it over say a Corsair equivalent? To answer that we really need to jump in and examine the Kelvin series in a lot more depth, and we’ll start with the features and specifications.

General Specifications:

Fan Specification:

• Fractal Design Dynamic GP-12 PWM fan
• 500 – 2000 RPM
• PWM control
• Max air flow: 87.6 CFM
• Max pressure: 2.30 mm H2O
• Acoustical noise: 32.2 dB(A)
• DC 12V, 0.20A

Pump Specification:

• Ceramic bearing
• 2400 RPM
• Voltage control
• Maximum water flow: 72 l/h
• Maximum pressure: 1.0 m H2O
• Acoustical noise: 25.0 dB(A)
• DC 12V, 0.27A

Fractal Design Kelvin T12

Individual Specifications:

• Block/pump assembly measurements: 69*69*40 mm
• Tubing Measurements: 320mm long, 11mm outer and 8mm inner diameter
• Fitted with anti-kink coils for worry-free installation
• Kelvin T12 Radiator Measurements: 46*132*163 mm
• Thread class for fill port and all tube fittings: G 1/4″
• Supported sockets:  Intel: 775,1150,1155,1156,1366,2011,2011-v3; AMD: AM2,AM2+,AM3,AM3+,FM1,FM2,FM2+
• Fans included: 2 pcs
• Fractal Design Zero™ Thermal Paste ; 1 g syringe, sufficient for multiple mountings
• Colors Available: Black
• Net weight – Base unit only, not including mounting or fans: 1.1 kg
• Net weight – Dynamic GP-12 PWM fan, per fan: 159 g
• Net weight – Total excluding packaging and manual. Includes fans, mounting kit for all platforms, cooling paste (including packaging for the cooling paste) and adapter cable: 1.7 kg
• Package dimensions – W x H x D: 350*250*151 mm
• Package weight: 2.4 kg

 Additional Information:

• Product Number: Kelvin T12 FD-WCU-KELVIN-T12-BK
• EAN code: 7350041082552
• UPC Code: 817301012553

Fractal Design Kelvin S24

Individual Specifications:

• Block/pump assembly measurements: 69*69*40 mm
• Tubing Measurements: 320mm long, 11mm outer and 8mm inner diameter
• Fitted with anti-kink coils for worry-free installation
• Kelvin S24 Radiator Measurements: 30*124*275mm
• Thread class for fill port and all tube fittings: G 1/4″
• Supported sockets:  Intel: 775,1150,1155,1156,1366,2011,2011-v3; AMD: AM2,AM2+,AM3,AM3+,FM1,FM2,FM2+
• Fans included: 2 pcs
• Fractal Design Zero™ Thermal Paste ; 1 g syringe, sufficient for multiple mountings
• Colors Available: Black
• Net weight – Base unit only, not including mounting or fans: 1.2 kg
• Net weight – Dynamic GP-12 PWM fan, per fan: 159 g
• Net weight – Total excluding packaging and manual. Includes fans, mounting kit for all platforms, cooling paste (including packaging for the cooling paste) and adapter cable: 1.8 kg
• Package dimensions – W x H x D: 350*250*151 mm
• Package weight: 2.5 kg

Additional Information:

• Product number:Kelvin S24 FD-WCU-KELVIN-S24-BK
• EAN Code: 7350041082569
• UPC code: 817301012560

Fractal Design Kelvin S36

Individual Specifications:

• Block/pump assembly measurements: 69*69*40 mm
• Tubing Measurements: 320mm long, 11mm outer and 8mm inner diameter
• Fitted with anti-kink coils for worry-free installation
• Kelvin S36 Radiator Measurements: 30*124*397mm
• Thread class for fill port and all tube fittings: G 1/4″
• Supported sockets:  Intel: 775,1150,1155,1156,1366,2011,2011-v3; AMD: AM2,AM2+,AM3,AM3+,FM1,FM2,FM2+
• Fans included: 3 pcs
• Fractal Design Zero™ Thermal Paste ; 1 g syringe, sufficient for multiple mountings
• Colors Available: Black
• Net weight – Base unit only, not including mounting or fans: 1.4 kg
• Net weight – Dynamic GP-12 PWM fan, per fan: 159 g
• Net weight – Total excluding packaging and manual. Includes fans, mounting kit for all platforms, cooling paste (including packaging for the cooling paste) and adapter cable: 2.2 kg
• Package dimensions – W x H x D: 440*253*151 mm
• Package weight: 3.0 kg

Additional information:

• Product Number: FD-WCU-KELVIN-S36-BK
• EAN Code: 7350041082576
• UPC code: 817301012577