Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
The overall design of the Reeven Justice II RC-1207 is quite standard for a tower cooler with a side mounted fan. The shape of the fins is close to a rectangular shape with a little notch on the left and right side, plus a little cut-out to leave space to secure the heatsink in place, making the general shape of the entire heatsink roughly a rectangular prism. To secure the fan to the heatsink, the provided clips hold the fan to the heatsink by hooking onto the fins by the notch and hooking into the holes in the corner of the fan, as you can see in the picture above.
The fin on top is thicker compared to the others likewise to its predecessor. The Reeven Justice RC-1204 uses this thicker fin to protect the fins below it as well as make the whole cooler stronger. The thicker fin makes the build sturdier. This is where the differences between the Justice II RC-1207 and the other Reeven coolers start to take form -- the top fin is now black with the Reeven logo engraved in the center of the fin. The choice to make the top fin black is a nice touch to the aesthetic of the heatsink, creating a more unique look. There are no holes that need to go through fins, as they have been moved to the front and back of the heatsink to allow for more surface area per fin, as well as an easier baseplate mounting solution. There are six sintered heatpipes. The design of the Justice II RC-1207 is sleek, being mostly black with a minimal amount of yellow on the fan. I appreciate the choice to change the color, as yellow is not very common in most PC setups.
When it comes to measurements, the Reeven Justice II RC-1207 is 125mm in width, 155mm in height, and 100mm in depth including the fan. This is on the smaller side of the medium range of coolers. You can reference the size of this heatsink in comparison to the 120mm fan. The Reeven Justice II RC-1207 is actually smaller compared to the Reeven Justice RC-1204. As expected, the Justice II RC-1207 is lighter than the Justice RC-1204 by 10g, weighing in at 920g including the fan. The reduction in weight is welcomed as it will cause less stress on the motherboard. The only issue with having a lighter weight cooler is that the cooling mass could be reduced, which may negatively affect the performance. The trade-off between size and cooling performance should always be considered when looking at CPU coolers. We will look at how the cooler’s size and fan will perform on the next page.
Taking a look at the side of the heatsink, you can see more evidently the top black fin is a little thicker serving to protect the lower fins. The rest of the fins are thinner to save weight while also maximizing surface area. The fins are made out of aluminum likewise to many CPU coolers. The reason behind most fins being made out of aluminum rather than copper is because aluminum is a lighter metal. Although copper has better thermal conductivity, the trade-off between weight and performance is not worth it as the gain in weight is much higher than the gain in performance.
Continuing on, the materials used to build the heatsink is not the only factor in lowering temperatures, but the fan used is another key aspect to this cooling solution. The Zephyros II is the choice of Reeven for the Justice II RC-1207. This fan is a 120mm unit. The maximum rated air flow of the Zephyros II is 50.93CFM and the maximum rated air pressure is 1.033mmH2O. Note that CFM stands for cubic feet per minute. On paper, the CFM of this fan does not sound that great, but let us see how it fares in the actual testing performance which will be explored on the next page. In regard to noise level, with the use of fluid dynamic bearings (FDB), it is specified as 25.1dBA at the loudest, which is pretty good. FDB is one among three main bearing types in most fans today. The other two bearing types are sleeve and double ball bearings. FDB bearing fans are essentially just better versions of sleeve bearing fans, through the difference in the bearing design and how the lubricant fluid is kept intact with the assistance of seals. With the aid of FDB technology, the Zephyros II is expected to last about 120,000 hours. Regarding the RAM clearance, there should be no issues due to the slim structure design. Generally, you will not need to worry about the clearance between the heatsink and the motherboard.
Taking a look at the base of the Reeven Justice II RC-1207, the based seems to be made out of copper. The base, as well as the heatpipes, of the Justice II RC-1207 are electroplated with nickel to protect them against oxidation. The nickel plating gives the illusion the base and heatpipes are not actually made of copper, but they are in fact made with copper on the inside. Nickel is highly resistant to corrosion, making it an excellent choice to keep the copper parts in this cooler in the most optimal condition. The nickel plating also serves to make this cooler look better by making the base and heatpipes match with the fins. With the help of the provided thermal paste, heat can smoothly be transferred from the CPU to the rest of the cooler. All six continuous heatpipes are soldered to the base. The fins are also attached to the heatpipes quite firmly. The whole build is well done, and it allows the Justice II RC-1207 to have a long expected lifespan.
For the Reeven Justice II RC-1207, the orientation of the heatpipes are parallel with the fan mounting surface of the heatsink. This makes the alignment of heatpipes different from the original Reeven Justice RC-1204. For this cooler, the heatpipes are aligned in two rows into the radiator fins, likewise to the original Justice RC-1204. The layout of the heatpipes of the Justice II RC-1207 allows for an even distribution of heat to the fins. Looking at the picture about, you can see how the fan is attached to the heatsink’s by two metal wire clips. The process of attaching the fan was quite streamlined, so I have no complaints.
The installation of the Reeven Justice RC-1207 was easier than I initially thought it would be. Reading the installation manual was very helpful in guiding me to successfully install this cooler. The backplate is needed to install the mounting bracket for both Intel and AMD CPUs. On top of the mounting bracket, there is an included mounting bar that can be attached using screws. It is important to note the fan cannot be mounted onto the heatsink until after the heatsink is installed onto the motherboard. Almost all parts used for the installation are made out of metal, meaning the build quality of these parts are strong enough to hold up this cooler. The spacers and washers are not made of metal, allowing the user to tighten the screws without worry about over tightening the screws. I find it funny how the backplate proudly displays Intel when you install an AMD processor and vice versa.
After the backplate is positioned correctly, the mounting bracket can be screwed on. There are three positions to screw in the mounting plate based on what socket type you are using. The installation manual makes understanding which one you should use very easy. In my case, I followed the instructions for AM4 processors. The fan must be installed after the heatsink in all cases, as the fan will get in the way of screwing the heatsink in if not removed as you can see from the image below. In my experience with this installation, everything fits precisely as it should be. As stated previously, the cooler does not interfere with the space of any other components in my PC. This will allow me to upgrade my RAM and any other components with ease.
Overall, the Reeven Justice II RC-1207 is well-made. The thicker top fin is a welcomed feature of this cooler that shows the dedication and care put into the design of this product. The installation process was quite streamlined, making the entire process very easy. I generally had a positive experience with the installation. Now for the part that really matters, the actual cooling performance. Let us find out on the next page.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware, Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
