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Arguably, you don't need a screen inside of your PC—that's especially true for me as I store my gaming rig on the floor like a grownup. Teasing aside, I also don't need all the funky RGB I have in my PC, or the Miku Hatsune figurines that keep me company in my dimly lit gamer den, but those things bring me no small amount of joy. So, throw in a chunky discount, and I can definitely see the argument for a CPU cooler with a screen.
Let's say you store your gaming rig on top of your desk—because it's a work of art that should be seen. A CPU cooler with a screen offers more than just temps at a glance. Depending on what stylings your rig is rocking, another screen inside your desktop tower could be leveraged to essentially extend your canvas—even if your magnum opus amounts to little more than a shrine to Miku Hatsune.
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The 2024 version of the NZXT Kraken Elite RGB wowed us, earning it a place among the best liquid coolers for CPUs thanks to its stunning screen. The main point against it at the time was the price point, which threatened to clear out a chunk of whatever you'd budgeted for the CPU itself. The 2025 version of the NZXT Kraken Plus 360 RGB lowered the MSRP, and is now even cheaper with a 23% discount.
The main reason the Kraken Elite still reigns supreme as the best liquid cooler with a screen is in part because of the IPS screen's 2.72-inch size. It also enjoys a 640 x 640 resolution at 60 Hz. The screen on the Kraken Plus is smaller, at 1.54-inches, and offers a lower 240 x 240 resolution with a 30 Hz refresh rate—though it is a vibrant TFT LCD.
If you're really only looking for a cooler with a sizeable screen, you can pick up the 2024 version of the NZXT Kraken Elite RGB for $230. In terms of key components, the Elite and Plus are very similar coolers, both featuring three 120mm F360 RGB Core fans, a 360 mm aluminium radiator, and the NZXT Turbine pump. However, as Zak says in his reviews, they do diverge in some pretty baffling other ways.
In many ways, the NZXT Kraken Plus 360 RGB liquid CPU cooler is the better deal—but installation is arguably not one of them. "From a first glance straight out of the box, all looks in order. And then we get to the cable," Zak writes in his review, "This thing is unbelievably frustrating. [...] They're cumbersome and awkward to route. Whereas in competing coolers you can simply slip most AIO cables down the side of the DRAM and the upper most heatsink, working it into the rear of the chassis for cable management, with the Kraken Plus, you can't. I tried with the thick flat ribbon cable, and it's so unwieldy and large that it just juts out over the DDR and the heatsink, and the USB cable."
A saving of about $50 is nothing to sneeze at—but is that worth the inconvenience? The thick cable doesn't affect the cooler's performance, it's more a result of various compromises NZXT has had to make on this more affordable model. Girthy cable aside, this cooler is otherwise fairly easy to install, and offers build quality that feels far from cheap. Here's hoping Miku Hatsune, or your idol of choice, appreciates your sacrifice.
1. Best AIO:
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro
2. Best budget AIO:
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II
3. Best high-end AIO:
Be Quiet! Light Loop
4. Best screen:
NZXT Kraken Elite RGB (2024)
5. Best stealth:
Corsair Nautilus RS
