Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
Taking a look at the CRYORIG R1 Universal from the top really shows how large the heatsink is. It has certainly taken design ideals from other large or mega sized coolers such as the Noctua NH-D15S. As one poster on our forum stated, it looks eerily similar to the aforementioned Noctua design. There are some major differences though, and we will highlight them as we move through the next few sections. The design is slick and quite pleasing to the eye, due to the white plastic covers located above parts of the fins used to separate the fans. It might not have that same notion of simplicity seen in designs by other companies, but it certainly does have a type of appeal found in seeing more than just metal.
When it comes to design and engineering, we can have up to three fans installed on this large heatsink. Two fans are included with the CRYORIG R1 Universal, and come pre-mounted during shipping. These two fans are both held by two wire clips, which hook onto two separate latches in the plastic cover, as shown in our photo above. A third fan can also be purchased and installed using the two additional wire clips included with the cooler. On top of having them installed using just the clips, there are also vibration dampeners installed in each of the four corners to make sure the contact between the fan and the fins create minimal mechanical noise emissions.
CRYORIG takes a unique approach with fin design on the R1 Universal. Instead of having just two stacks of fins, they actually use four. Underneath the white plastic covers are stacks of aluminum fins, while the black aluminum fins are separate, and has both a different number of fins and distance between them. The black aluminum section has a stack of 53 fins with a gap size of 1.8mm, while the silver aluminum section has a stack of 42 fins with a gap size of 2.4mm. Using this Jet Fin Acceleration System, the CRYORIG R1 Universal is said to increase airflow. Looking closer at the black aluminum fin layout, we can see a W-shaped design on both sides before coming towards the center.
We can, once again, see the CRYORIG logo on the top sections of the white plastic covers. Although I cannot say I am a fan of plastic on heatsinks, it does add to the overall design statement, and can actually be replaced by a kit also sold by CRYORIG. These kits are called CUSTOMOD, and replace the white plastic covers with ABS covers in an assortment of colors. The R1 Universal weighs in at just under a kilogram at 970g. It is good to see we are still under the kilogram mark, as overweight heatsinks can cause problems with stress on the motherboard. There was actually a small concern with heatsinks being too heavy, which put a lot of pressure on the new Intel Skylake CPUs. As with most large CPU coolers, the weight is close to what we expect in this size range, as the Noctua NH-D15S was just slightly heavier at 980g. With the two included fans installed, the whole package weighs in at 1215g.
From the side, we get a better look at the fan retention clips on the CRYORIG R1 Universal. As you can see above, the clips are held in place at two locations on side of the white plastic enclosures. These wire clips do not look as stable as they actually are, but the fans can be easily removed, installed again, and fit snugly in place. The center fan does not actually have to be removed during installation, since there is a pattern in the heatpipes that allows the included Phillips head screwdriver to reach the mounting screws. However, for easier installation, it is always better to remove the fan in the middle. As I have stated earlier, the fans are easy to install and remove, so you can have peace of mind when you remove them. Of course, with this design, a third fan can be installed, and all the clips and vibration dampeners are included, if you so fancy.
As aforementioned, the R1 Universal comes with two fans pre-installed out of the box. The larger one placed in the center is the XF140, which is a 140mm fan with a thickness of 25.4mm. Seen at the top is the XT140, which is also a 140mm fan, but it only has a thickness of 13mm. This second fan is one of the factors which differentiates the R1 Universal from the R1 Ultimate. With the CRYORIG R1 Ultimate, there are two XF140 fans installed, which gives less space for RAM clearance, while the R1 Universal we are looking at today has a thinner fan. Using the XT140 removes the height restriction on RAM, since the slots will not even be reached using this cooler. One of the downsides of having the thinner fan is the lower amount of airflow, but having a 140mm fan is still a huge boon for heatsinks, and should prove interesting in our tests.
The CRYORIG R1 Universal is a large heatsink. The overall size is 128.5 mm long, 140 mm wide, and 168.3 mm tall. When looking at most large sized heatsinks, one needs to be careful about the clearances all around. As I have stated above, the R1 Universal helps alleviate part of the problem by having a thinner fan, which allows for our RAM to be as tall as the user wants them to be. There is about a 30 to 35mm clearance from the heatsink contact base to the fan, which is carried over in the R1 Ultimate as well. Taking these factors into account, it should be quite easy to select the right model for each individual build. With both of these fans installed on this CPU cooler, we are only looking at 128.5mm, compared to the 142.4mm in the R1 Ultimate. Adding an additional fan is possible, and would further increase its length by another 25.4mm when using the XF140, or another 13mm when using the XT140. For this reason, it is important to do some research into other components, and make sure they all fit together. One of the more interesting things CRYORIG has done is they have also created an origami tester, which you can use to size out the cooler. (I am not joking, this actually exists.)
Moving to the base of the R1 Universal, we are greeted with the overall orientation of the heatpipes in relation to the rest of the cooler. One can see from this angle is how offset the base is in relation to the overall structure. This is done to give more room on either side of the cooler, so you can install the additional fan and also have room for your RAM. As I have previously stated, the design is structured such that there is going to be enough clearance for even taller sticks of RAM due to the thinner fan. It is important to point out your DIMM slots are located underneath the fan instead of the fins found in some other designs. The R1 Universal is offset by 35.5mm, while the R1 Ultimate is offset by 40mm.
Similar to other high-end heatsinks of this size and caliber, the R1 Universal is a hybrid copper and aluminum built CPU cooler. In addition to the copper pipes and copper contact base, it is also electroplated with nickel. Aluminum fins are used, as they are lightweight in comparison to other metals, and still retains a fairly high thermal conductivity at 237 W/mK. When it comes to copper, it is the go-to material for performance heatsinks, as it has the highest thermal conductivity of metals normally used for CPU coolers at 401 W/mK. The electroplated nickel only has a thermal conductivity of 90.9 W/mK. It may seem weird at first to use such low thermal conductivity material in a cooler, but the fact is electroplating leaves only a very thin layer of metal. This thin layer should make little difference in the real world performance when it comes to heat transfer. Companies use nickel to electroplate high end coolers, because they have a highly desirable property in the ability to withstand corrosive environments and high temperatures. While other materials such as copper may have corrosion built up over time, nickel will not, since it basically does not change until it reaches its melting point at 1455c. Overall, the contact base has a flat and clean finish to obtain optimal performance.
All of the individual parts are cleanly put together, and the heatpipes are soldered using their DirectCompress Soldering technique to the heatsink. Using solder may not necessarily improve performance all of the time, but we do know soldering does two things. First off, it ensures performance in the long-term, as it will make sure the heatpipes do not lose contact over time due to repeated thermal expansion and contraction cycles. Secondly, in some cases, it increases the overall contact surface between the heatpipes and the fins, which may help transfer heat better. It should be fairly obvious, since more surface area means faster and more reliable heat conduction. To help out with heat conduction, there are seven heatpipes, which are aligned in a convex position to provide better heat distribution.
Installation is generally simple. Install the backplate, then install the cooler on top. Making some comparisons to Noctua, the CRYORIG kit is very thorough in explaining how to install the R1 Universal, as well as visually displaying all the different accessories included. The mounting kit actually contains two backplates instead of a single universal one. Here, we used the Intel mounting backplate, which comes with three settings: One each for LGA115X, LGA1366, and LGA775. With our system, we set it to LGA115X, and after inserting the backplate, you only have to screw them on using the included screw pillars. As with other mounting systems, a small amount of slack is given, so you do not over tighten anything.
Two metal mounting bars are included for Intel based systems, and can be positioned both vertically and horizontally, which is secured with the thumb cap screws. You can choose which way to install the CRYORIG R1 Universal, based on your cooling needs and space constraints. The most common installation is the horizontal orientation, since it usually faces out towards the exhaust. With the DIMM slots already clear due to the thinner fan, there is little reason to place it vertically. Next up, I used the alcohol pad to clean off my CPU before applying the included CP9 thermal compound. After that, all that was left was to align the R1 Universal and apply pressure while securing the two spring loaded screws with the included screwdriver. It is possible to install the heatsink without removing the fan, but it is easier if you do, since you get more space to see where the screws are aligned. One small gripe I had was how the bottom plate holding the spring loaded screws had come off. It was easily secured again using the screw in the middle, but I am not sure if this was a quality control issue, or something that came off during transit. Lastly, plug in the two fan cables to the PWM Y-Cable, and attach it to the motherboard CPU fan connector. Overall, the installation process was fairly simple and quick due to the Multiseg Quick Mount System.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
