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The R1 Ultimate from Cryorig provides the most powerful cooling of any heatsink and fan combo we’ve tested, but at the cost of increased noise. It’s got our seal of approval for users who really need that last bit of cooling performance to reach their overclocking goals.
Reasons to buy
+
Top cooling performance
+
Easy Installation
+
Offset sinks with adjustable fan height for extra DIMM clearance
Reasons to avoid
-
Somewhat noisy
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Heavy coolers require extra care when moving PCs
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Introducing The R1 Ultimate
Specifications
The best way to reach out to our readers and into their wallets is with a value message that focuses on quality. Cryorig has been doing that for a couple years, yet the first cooler it sent to this lab is not one of its cheaper models. Instead we find a dual-tower cooler competing in the $90 to $100 price segment.
R1 Ultimate buyers get a big cooler with two heatsinks connected via seven U-shaped heat pipes, Intel and AMD mounting brackets, a fan power splitter, extra fan clips, a tube of CP7 thermal compound, an extra-long #2 Phillips screwdriver, all the hardware needed to install the mounting brackets, and an alcohol pad to clean the CPU and cooler base.
The cooler body is offset towards the rear, but measures dead center with its fan installed. Since the fan clips allow the fan to slide up and down, you can get up to 1.6” of clearance for your DIMMs, or as little as 6.6” of installed height to clear their case’s side panel. Make sure to add the 140mm fan size to your DIMM height when determining installed height, since sliding the fan up to clear 1.5” DIMMs would result in a mounting height of just over 7”.
The R1 Ultimate base is finely machined but not polished, which isn’t a problem for me since I prefer a very light texture to help keep my paste in place. I’ve found that some older thermal compounds would shrink away from gaps when used on polished cooler bases.
The R1 Ultimate includes two sets of standoffs. Users of non-2011 motherboards need to hold their support plate to the back of the motherboard while screwing the standoffs onto the support plate’s studs. LGA-2011(x) users can simply screw the other set of standoffs onto their motherboard’s integrated CPU cooler bracket. Two bars are placed across the studs and secured with included cap nuts.
Unlike similar designs, Cryorig does not require removing its center fan to access the spring-loaded screws of its CPU cooler retention mechanism. The company instead adds stylized fins to the back of its heat sinks, with grooves that align very nicely (though not perfectly) to those retention screws.
Once again we remind you that total installation height will be at least 140mm greater than DIMM height, since the fan can only be pushed down until it contacts the DIMM. The fan’s mounting holes are spaced for 120mm fans, however, and user with tall DIMMs are welcome to seek additional clearance by swapping out its front 140mm fan for a 120mm model. Doing so should allow most users to fit modules up to 2” tall, or fit a 1.8” module set within the cooler’s 6.6” minimum height.
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I've had this cooler for over a year in a much less ventilated case in the review and it's so quiet I've had to double-check to see if my computer's running. the fans on my 390X are louder in comparison, and for looks and quality it's second-to-none. I am so impressed by it overall that I may personally buy a new set of fans and use it on a future build, and I never typically reuse fans/cooling components!
I agree , I own 5 of their coolers , great quality easy to install.
Which others do you own?
I will occasionally be traveling with my pc to a friends house for some gaming, so I didn't want a huge cooler. I have concerns about the weight of the larger coolers. Heck, the H7 feels a little heavy, but it's not too bad. I almost went with the M9i before FINALLY settling on the H7. Very happy with my decision.
Cryorig is supposed to release the H7 Quad Lumi at anytime. An upgraded H7. I don't particularly care for the LED lighting it will have, but there will be an additional heat pipe and supposedly better mounting system.
