Question Does the NZXT Kraken AIO support 4 fans ?

[Dmytro_Ostapenko]

Hello! I need to connect 4 fans to my nzxt kraken elite 280, two lian li uni fan v2 140mm and two kit fans. I can connect the fans without any problem, but the AIO is designed for 3 fans. Is it safe to connect 4 fans?

Link to the photo of how I connected it

https://imgur.com/a/w51jLCD

View: https://imgur.com/a/w51jLCD


I will be using 2 NZXT F140P (140mm) fans, each consuming 0.28A, and 2 Lian Li UNI Fan SL V2 (140mm) fans, each consuming 0.11A.

• 2 NZXT F140P: 0.56A
• 2 Lian Li UNI Fan SL V2: 0.22A
• Kraken Elite 280 pump: 0.3A
• Kraken Elite 280 screen: 0.1A

Total power consumption:
1.18A or 14.16W.

SATA power can support up to 18W, which is more than enough for my setup.

Am I thinking correctly?


✅ Update: I contacted NZXT support, and they confirmed that this setup is safe as long as you use a proper fan splitter and don’t exceed power limits. Since my Lian Li fans use a daisy-chain system and only one cable goes to the AIO, it’s basically the same as using a splitter — so everything should work fine.

📌 I'm leaving this post here for future reference, in case someone else has the same question about connecting 4 fans (Push + Pull) to the NZXT Kraken Elite 280.

Hope this helps someone! 🙌

 

[LordVile]

How is a 280mm rad designed for 3 fans?

 

[Dmytro_Ostapenko]

How is a 280mm rad designed for 3 fans?

They all have one 240/280/360 pump and a connector for 3 fans.

 

[dwd999]

How is a 280mm rad designed for 3 fans?

Perhaps he means in a 2 on each side in a push-pull configuration. Perhaps something's getting lost in translation.

 

[Dmytro_Ostapenko]

Perhaps he means in a 2 on each side in a push-pull configuration. Perhaps something's getting lost in translation.

Yes, you heard me right, I want to do push-pull. I saw how to do it in the Lian Li o11 mini pc build, but they don't show how to connect these 4 fans. I'm afraid something will happen to the AIO.

There is a youtube channel "The Provoked Prawn" and he connects 4 fans to nzxt kraken elite but says he doesn't know how safe it is. But it should work.

 

[LordVile]

Yes, you heard me right, I want to do push-pull. I saw how to do it in the Lian Li o11 mini pc build, but they don't show how to connect these 4 fans. I'm afraid something will happen to the AIO.

There is a youtube channel "The Provoked Prawn" and he connects 4 fans to nzxt kraken elite but says he doesn't know how safe it is. But it should work.

Worst case you’ll just get less power at the other fans though you’re not really getting benefits from 2 fans vs 4. You’re talking maybe one degree with the CPU at full bore.

 

[dwd999]

Since all of your power comes from the 1 sata cable you should be alright as long a you are sure that your power supply is providing 18 watts to that cable.

 

[Paperdoc]

On that system all power for pump and fans comes from the PSU via a cable to a SATA power output, so power is not the issue. I ASSUME (NOT for sure!) the system CAN supply more than 1.2 A to rad fans. But the REAL problem is how to connect the two added Lian Li fans? The AIO system has a non-standard 8-pin cable and connector to its rad fans with lines for fan motor and lights. How can you connect two added standard 4-pin PWM fans to that?

 

[Dmytro_Ostapenko]

On that system all power for pump and fans comes from the PSU via a cable to a SATA power output, so power is not the issue. I ASSUME (NOT for sure!) the system CAN supply more than 1.2 A to rad fans. But the REAL problem is how to connect the two added Lian Li fans? The AIO system has a non-standard 8-pin cable and connector to its rad fans with lines for fan motor and lights. How can you connect two added standard 4-pin PWM fans to that?

Yes, you’re right — on my Kraken Elite there are three cables for fans: one with a 4-pin PWM connector, and two others with 3-pin connectors.
From what I understand, the 4-pin cable is the main one — it handles both PWM control and RPM feedback. The other two are just receiving power and the same PWM signal, but don’t send back RPM data.

So the Kraken controls all fans based on the RPM it reads from the 4-pin fan. That’s why I connected my NZXT and Lian Li fans to these three outputs — and all of them spin and follow the same speed curve.

You can actually see how I connected everything in the photo I shared — all the fans are wired directly to the AIO’s fan cables.

 

[Paperdoc]

So, the system you have does NOT have the 8-pin non-standard cables to rad fans shown in the system's web pages. That explains a lot. HOWEVER, exactly WHERE is the PUMP of that system plugged in? As I indicated above, it really ought to be connected to the CPU_FAN header.

Then that ALSO raises the question of where the four fans you have are connected to a mobo header. I was advising based on the web page info that shows all power to the system provided from a PSU SATA output. But IF all the fans AND the pump are connected to mobo fan headers, the advice needs a significant change.

 

[Dmytro_Ostapenko]

So, the system you have does NOT have the 8-pin non-standard cables to rad fans shown in the system's web pages. That explains a lot. HOWEVER, exactly WHERE is the PUMP of that system plugged in? As I indicated above, it really ought to be connected to the CPU_FAN header.

Then that ALSO raises the question of where the four fans you have are connected to a mobo header. I was advising based on the web page info that shows all power to the system provided from a PSU SATA output. But IF all the fans AND the pump are connected to mobo fan headers, the advice needs a significant change.

Thanks a lot for your detailed reply, I really appreciate the help!

You're right — my system doesn't use the 8-pin non-standard fan connectors shown on NZXT’s product page. Instead, my Lian Li fans are daisy-chained, and only one cable goes into the AIO, which is similar to using a splitter. I confirmed this setup with NZXT support, and they said it’s safe as long as the power draw is within limits (which it is in my case).

As for the pump, it's connected to the CPU_FAN header, just like you suggested.

Thanks again for pointing all of this out — it really helped me understand how things are wired and where I could’ve gone wrong.

 

[Paperdoc]

OK, so I expect fully that your connections have NO problem. The AIO system gets all its power from the PSU directly via a SATA power output to the Breakout Cable Set. The sole connection to a mobo header is the cable from that set to the CPU_FAN header, and that likely is ONLY to convey the pump speed signal to that header. It does not draw power from that header. The four rad fans are connected to the Breakout Cable's three outputs. Those fans and the pump motor combined are rated for max 1.08 A current, and I are sure the wiring of the AIO system is capable of doing that. (The power for the lights in the pump are from a separate set of 5 VDC supply lines from the SATA connector, so they do not impact limits from the 12 VDC supply lines.) The rad fan motors (and their speeds) are powered and controlled by components inside the pump unit in response to instructions sent there by the NZXT CAM software tool via the USB2 cable connection.