Here we have a CPU cooler from REEVEN – a company that’s based in Taiwan that is focused on PC cooling solutions. They have a bunch of PC cases, coolers, fans, and even accessories like fan controllers in their catalog. The REEVEN Ouranos is one of the coolers that REEVEN currently has in the market, and we’ll be taking a look at it today.
Unboxing
The REEVEN Ouranos comes in a pretty compact packaging for a tower cooler, actually. The cooler itself occupies about ~85% of the entire volume of the box itself.
In terms of packaging design, the box looks rather… busy with that background. An image of the REEVEN Ouranos itself is slapped on the box together with yellow texts and a gold REEVEN logo at the top right corner. Around the sides are where REEVEN highlights the features of the Ouranos, together with a compatibility list.
Opening up the box reveals an accessory box at the top. In the accessory box there is a bunch of mounting hardware, few installation guides depending on what socket you’re using, and two sets of fan mounting clips.
The one piece of accessory that ticked me off is the thermal paste. Seriously, in a plastic packet like this? Can’t it be included in a small tube instead?
Then, we finally reach the REEVEN Ouranos together with the ColdWing 14 fan, both protected by a few pieces of cardboard. And there’s a small adapter called the SAA – which stands for Speed Switch Adapter. Essentially, it does the same thing as the Low Noise Adapter from Noctua.
One thing that’s missing is a PWM splitter cable, which would be a big help for who are seeking to do push-pull configuration.
Bonus – AM4 mounting kit
Since we’re using AM4 as our testing platform, we requested for the AM4 mounting bracket too. And REEVEN was kind enough to provide us without a hitch.
The packaging of the AM4 mounting kit is rather plain, just the REEVEN logo printed on a cardboard box. Opening it up reveals another installation guide together with a few pieces of mounting brackets. It will still require the screws and spacers from the original mounting kit included with the REEVEN Ouranos to complete the installation, though.
Design
Upon first look, the REEVEN Ouranos looks futuristic with its geometrical cutouts when looked from above. The top plate is thicker than the fin stacks, and has a brushed aluminium finish with end caps on all 4 corners.
The fin stacks are actually quite thick compared to other air coolers, and they’re not easily bent. There is a slot around the center of the stack to accommodate for the screw to secure the cooler onto the mounting kit. Though, you’ll need a long necked screwdriver to do it. More on this later.
Those 6 heatpipes come in contact with an aluminium base at an offset to accommodate for RAM clearance – much like what Noctua did with the NH-U9S. It’s a smart design, actually.
Clipping on the included ColdWing 14 fan is fairly simple, and it covers most of the fin stacks’ area, and some extra space at the top too. Though, the color scheme might be offputting to some potential customers. As the ColdWing 14 is indeed a 140mm fan with 120mm fan mounts, you can pretty much swap the fan for any other 120mm fans if you wish to do so.
As REEVEN provided us another ColdWing 14 fan, we installed both of them to get an idea of how it looks and performs.
Specification
| Model Number | RC-1401 |
| Socket | INTEL: LGA 1150 / 1151 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / 2011-V3
AMD: AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / AM3+ / FM1 / FM2 / FM2+ / AM4 (Upgrade Kit required!) |
| Overall Dimension | (W)143 x (H)161 x (D)95mm |
| Heatpipe | Ø6mmx4 + Ø8mmx2 |
| Fan Speed | 300~1700(*300~1300)RPM |
| Air Flow | 16.3~92.4(*16.3~69.9)CFM |
| Static Pressure | 0.002~0.091(*0.002~0.048)inchH2O |
| Noise Level | 5.8~36.4(*5.8~24.7)dBA |
| Weight (with Fan) | 1030g |
*With SSA (Speed Switch Adapter)
Installation
When it comes to installation, we’re using the Ryzen 3 1200 that we’ve reviewed here as our testing configuration. We only have the Noctua NH-U12S as the closest competitor to the REEVEN Ouranos, so we’ll use that in this comparison test.
|
Test hardware configuration |
|
| CPU Cooler |
|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 3 1200 |
| GPU | ASUS GeForce GTX 750 |
| Motherboard | MSI B350 Tomahawk |
| Memory | GeIL EVO X DDR4 16GB 3200MHz |
| Primary Hard Drive | PenDrive M.2 SATA III SSD |
| Power Supply | AcBel iPower 90m 600W |
| Fans |
|
The installation is quite tedious but straightforward as the user manual is able to provide enough information for the process. It’s rather simple, though it could definitely be improved further.
Getting the long screws in line from behind the motherboard is quite a pain as they can fall off pretty easily. Once the plate is in place, a bolt is required to hold the mounting plate in place. After that, the included wrench will have to be used to secure the plate.
Once that’s once thermal paste can be applied and the mounting plate can be placed on the Ouranos, and can be lowered in place. After that, take 2 more screws to bolt the Ouranos down onto the mounting plate. Ironically, I used the Noctua’s included screwdriver to secure it in place instead as my usual screwdriver wouldn’t fit.
Pretty tedious compared to Noctua, but still simpler than be quiet!‘s mounting mechanism.
With our setup, the Ouranos did not interfere with the RAM slot or had any issues mounting the cooler, though the second fan might have to be lifted a little, which in turn might cause interference with slimmer PC cases.
Performance
Let’s try and compare the REEVEN Ouranos in both push-only configuration and push-pull configuration with the Noctua NH-U12S, as it’s the most similar that we have.
The ColdWing 14 fan is silent under idle, but it does make a noticeable hum when working under load.
The REEVEN Ouranos performs as expected, since it is larger than the Noctua NH-U12S after all. Though, the performance difference is not that huge when it comes to push-only and push-pull configuration. With another fan installed but only a mere ~1.5℃ drop makes it a difficult recommendation to have push-pull.
Wrapping up the REEVEN Ouranos review
I have to admit, at first glance, the REEVEN Ouranos looks sleek and has a consistent silver color throughout the entire body. That top plate with the REEVEN logo cut out and those 4 end caps look great. However, I’m not sure how customers will feel about the ColdWing 14’s yellow blades and I predict it’ll be the same feedback as Noctua’s brown colors too.
As of now, the REEVEN Ouranos is not available in Malaysia yet – but the price on Amazon is at USD $54.99. Pretty good price, though considering the size of the cooler is a beyond 161mm in height and will have compatibility issues with many cases out there in the market.
- Pros
- Sleek look
- Thick aluminium fins
- Cons
- Tall tower cooler will have issues fitting into many cases
- No PWM splitter cable included
- Thermal paste is presented in a piping bag
- Mounting mechanism can be improved further
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