INTRODUCTION

   Much like regular hard disk drives and solid state drives CPU Air Coolers may never get completely replaced by liquid coolers or at least not anytime soon so it's quite normal to see more and more models get introduced all the time. Now I’ve said it before and i will say it again, you don't have to be a nuclear scientist in order to make a CPU Air Cooler but you do need to have a grasp of the key ingredients of success along with passion for perfection (love for what you do is also important). Unfortunately the vast number of manufacturers out there only copy what they see and although that's always a good way to compete against the ones that do in the end their products are simply not on par. CRYORIG is a brand new CPU Air Manufacturer but the people working there share the traits i mentioned above and on top of that have already worked for the leading manufacturers in the field like Thermalright and Prolimatech so we couldn't wait to test their R1 Ultimate which arrived on our doorstep just a couple of weeks ago.

   CRYORIG was officially founded in 2013, but took several years in the making. We began our journey right at the start of the first decade of the 2000’s. During what was the most prosperous age of PC DIY and Overclocking. Members of our team have either worked directly or indirectly with brands such as Thermalright, Prolimatech, Phanteks and many more. We ourselves are overclockers and PC modding enthusiasts, with a passion and drive to strive for improvement. With direct knowledge of manufacturing and design as well as holding multiple patents under our collective belt, we decided to make a name for ourselves, and that name is CRYORIG. So what is CRYORIG exactly? CRYORIG is about making the coolest rig possible. Unsatisfied with what was available on the market at the time, we decided to start a something new something bigger. At CRYORIG, we don’t make products that are just good enough to fulfill a purpose, we go all out. We start on a journey to design the best performing, highest quality and coolest looking product that we can. Something that we ourselves want, and something that we are confident in delivering to our supporters. When buying a CRYORIG product feel assured that you are getting the best of all worlds.

   Working with and for some of the best CPU Air Cooler manufacturers in the market seems to have paid off since the CRYORIG team has designed, manufactured and released perhaps the most impressive CPU Air Cooler we've ever seen (to date anyways). Of course the basic concept behind the R1 Ultimate is not really new so once again we have a sandwich type body that consists by two large heatsinks connected to a copper base via 7 nickel plated all-copper 6mm heatpipes along with two 140mm fans placed in push and pull configuration. CRYORIG however didn't stop there so to further increase the cooling efficiency of the R1 Ultimate they optimized several aspects from the design of the fins and the positioning of the heatpipes up to the two 140mm fans and the addition of two shrouds. With so many sandwich type CPU Air Coolers in the market however (and with quite a few in our database) the R1 Ultimate seems to have its job cut out for it so the real question that needs answering is just how good the crew of CRYORIG really something which we will be answering shortly.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

We received the R1 Ultimate inside a large box with the front occupied by a large product image and their logo.

A wireframe-like drawing of the R1 Ultimate is placed on the left side.

The main unit features are listed on the right side along with part of the front picture.

At the rear we see the complete specifications list for both the main body and the XF140 fans (for some reason the specifications for the XT140 models are also here).

Once you open the top of the box you will find a text asking you to register your R1 Ultimate online to get 3 more years warranty.

Everything is nicely and securely packed in pieces of cardboard.

The bundle includes the R1 Ultimate with its two 140mm XF140 fans, CP9 thermal paste tube, 4 fan mount clips (2 for thin fans and two for regular ones), 4 acoustic vibration absorbers, 4pin to dual 4pin fan adapter, screwdriver, alcohol pad (to clean the CPU), registration card and all the necessary mounting hardware for Intel LGA 775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2 compatible mainboards.

THE R1 ULTIMATE

Just like every other sandwich type CPU Cooler out there the R1 Ultimate is quite massive measuring 130mm in length, 140mm in width and 168.3mm in height with a weight of 1282g.

The front heatsink of the R1 Ultimate has a total of 42 aluminum fins spaced 2.4mm from each other while the rear heatsink has 53 aluminum fins spaced 1.8mm from each other (all fins are 0.4mm thick).

CRYORIG has placed their logo ontop of both shrouds covering the two heatsinks (these also help keep air from leaking to the sides thus increasing airflow).

The two XF140 140mm fans spin up to 1300RPM to produce airflow levels up to 76CFM with 23dBA of noise.

You can add a third fan at the rear of the second heatsink to further increase cooling efficiency.

Thanks to special positioning the R1 Ultimate features a total of seven 6mm nickel plated all-copper heatpipes.

The copper base doesn't have a mirror like finish but it’s surprisingly clean without any visible machine marks whatsoever.

We decided to use a third XF140 fan with the R1 Ultimate to test and see how much of a difference it would do (you will need to use the large clips to mount it).

With the third XF140 fan installed the length of the R1 Ultimate increases to 155.5mm and its weight to 1445g.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   We always take things quite seriously when it comes to work so just like with the previous LGA1366 database we will not be testing each CPU Cooler on its own and with different ambient temperature levels and thus we can actually have yet another valid CPU Cooler database. Testing a CPU Cooler automatically means that you need to know where it stands against the immediate competition and to accomplish that we have spent both money and time through the years, something that we plan to continue to do so in order to get the most accurate results for the end consumers who read these lines. Every CPU cooler in this database is tested with the bundled 140mm/120mm/92mm/80mm fans while working at both idle speed and 100% of their speeds for all the temperature tests. CPU Coolers that do not come bundled with a fan/s are measured using a Noctua fan (size dependent on the model) to test for the temperature tests but due to the lack of a stock fan dBA level tests are obviously skipped. Single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of our test rig while dual/triple/quad (240/260/280/360/420/480/560mm) solutions with the radiator mounted at the top. For the dBA tests every cooler in the database was measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting (PWM fans do that on their own without our intervention). Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside the room. The Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste is used with every CPU Cooler in our latest LGA2011 database (although initially this was not the plan we had to change things to get the most accurate results). Finally it's very important to point out that just because a CPU Cooler is better than another when tested with our test rig that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).

     To successfully record the load temperatures we use the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Having worked with a good number of companies from the moment they were founded i know very well that quality, innovation and performance are not things we can expect only from older and larger companies. Granted that's how it goes most of the time but in the case of CRYORIG the results really speak for themselves. So not only did the R1 Ultimate surpass the NH-D14 SE2011 (now i can't wait to see what Noctua will release as a response) but it also came really close to the Silver Arrow Extreme which is the best CPU Air Cooler we've ever had the chance to test with our LGA2011 system. However although both units go head to head in terms of performance when it comes to noise levels the Silver Arrow Extreme is roughly 47% louder than the R1 Ultimate at load (although the NH-D14 SE2011 is just as quiet). However all sandwich type CPU Air Coolers have a design flaw in the form of clearance issues with memory modules so potential buyers should be aware that the R1 Ultimate will not fit if they have tall modules in their systems (not with the fans placed correctly anyways).

   We were somewhat surprised to see that although the CRYORIG R1 Ultimate is not yet available inside the USA (happens with most brand new products) it is available inside the EU for a price of 73.70Euros (Amazon.de). This price tag puts the R1 Ultimate right next to the NH-D14 SE2011 and the Silver Arrow SB-E two solutions very close in terms of performance so the final decision may not be the easiest thing for some people (the Silver Arrow Extreme costs quite a bit more) especially if their decision is largely based on the brand name. As for us well the R1 Ultimate is one of the two top CPU Air Coolers of our database and a lot quieter than the Silver Arrow Extreme so we have no problem awarding it with our Platinum Award and to wish CRYORIG success, they have certainly earned that much right from the get go.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Superior Cooling Efficiency
- Dual 140mm 1300RPM Fans
- Ability to Add An 3rd Fan
- Noise Levels
- 6 Years Warranty

CONS

- Size (Clearance Issues)
- Price (For Some)