INTRODUCTION

   CPU air coolers may not have evolved much during the last few years and there's indeed not much room for improvement (some manufacturers have tried with not much success) but some models can actually offer enough cooling efficiency to rival and in some cases even surpass many AIO (All In One) liquid CPU coolers. What really stands out in the CPU cooling industry however is the continuously growing number of new manufacturers who offer competitive products at very appealing prices something which benefits consumers quite a bit since in a way that "forces" all the old manufacturers to lower their prices and further improve their products. REEVEN is a very new player in the market and today we're taking a look at one of their top CPU coolers the Ouranos RC-1401.

   REEVEN is a newly established international manufacturer of PC related products. REEVEN’s product lines include the best quality of advanced CPU coolers, Cooling Fans, PC Cases and many other items. The target of our products will be a wide range of audience under our philosophy “Professional Quality Gears”, for products that will withstand the highest demand.

   The REEVEN Ouranos RC-1401 is yet another tower (U-Type) heatsink based CPU air cooler combined with an 140mm PWM fan so at first glance there's nothing really special about it (aside the yellow/orange fan blades). REEVEN however took a somewhat unusual approach so instead of using 6 identical heatpipes with the Ouranos they decided to place two 8mm heatpipes at the center of the heatsink (where it should receive the most heat from the cores of the CPU) and four 6mm heatpipes on the outside. We have seen many heatsinks with 8mm heatpipes but i can't recall of a model that had 6mm and 8mm heatpipes. In any case whether or not that's enough to improve the cooling efficiency of the Ouranos to a point where it will impress us well that remains to be seen.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large product picture is placed at the front of the box right above the Intel CPU compatibility list and beneath the company logo.

Another picture is placed on the right along with the complete CPU compatibility list and the 3 main product features.

The product size is showcased on the left side of the box.

At the rear we find the specifications table in 7 languages.

Packaging is good although we've seen better ones in the past.

Along with the heatsink and 140mm PWM fan the box also contains a small pouch with thermal conductive material, 4 fan mount clips, Allen key, 4pin to 4pin fan cable extension, installation manual and all the necessary mounting hardware needed for mounting on Intel LGA 1150/1155/1156/1366/2011 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2/FM2+ compatible mainboards.

THE OURANOS RC-1401

The heatsink of the Ouranos CPU cooler is actually quite large and measures 161mm in height, 143mm in width and 70mm in length.

REEVEN has engraved their name into a thick 1mm brushed aluminum fin placed at the top of the heatsink.

The heatsink is made by a grand total of 55 aluminum heatpipes (each 0.4mm thick).

Both the two 8mm heatpipes and the four 6mm heatpipes are nickel plated copper ones.

The two piece copper base is polished just enough to partially produce a mirror-like finish.

Yellow/orange fan blades may not be for everyone but the performance of the 140mm PWM fan is quite good since it can spin up to 1700RPM to deliver up to 92.4CFM of airflow with just 36.4dBA of noise.

With the fan attached the Ouranos increases 25mm in length (95mm total) and weighs 1030g.

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

   Since REEVEN is a brand new company we haven't had the chance to test any of their CPU coolers to date but after having done so with the Ouranos RC-1401 we all expect much from them in the future. Now i can't say that we were blown away with the performance of the Ouranos RC-1401 but as you can all see in our charts it actually did quite well and even managed to get very close to the very good TRUE Spirit 140 BW Rev.A model by Thermalright. Normally this wouldn't impress us much but exactly because REEVEN is such a new manufacturer it's nice to see that their mid-end CPU cooler can go up against a mid-end model by one of the well-established manufacturers around. The build quality of the heatsink is also very good and that is perhaps what surprised us most since again we're talking about a very new manufacturer. On the other hand however noise levels although not bad at all could be lower something which can easily change in future models if REEVEN decides to use a different fan model.

   The only drawback we can think about the Ouranos RC-1401 is that you can't find it on the stores of the usual stores (online or not) and that may discourage potential buyers. Now we were able to locate it inside the EU for a price of around 45Euros and we know that the recommended price tag inside the USA is set at around USD55 but unless REEVEN takes steps to increase product availability consumers will probably turn to other easier to get solutions. Overall however the Ouranos RC-1401 delivers on everything REEVEN promises. Sure it may not be the best CPU cooler in the market currently but it's a balanced model worthy of our Golden Award.

PROS

- Solid Build Quality
- Very Good Cooling Performance
- Size (No Clearance Issues)
- 140mm PWM Bundled Fan

CONS

- Current Availability