Page 3 - Test Results
Our test configuration is as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 @ 2.7GHz (Stock settings)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury HX426C15FBK4/32 4x8GB
Chassis: SilverStone Precision PS14
Power: SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W
Storage: OCZ Trion 150 480GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro x64
Compared hardware:
- Reeven Ouranos RC-1401
- Scythe Mugen 5
All tests were run in our custom built computer to best reflect real life performance. The computer remained in the same place and room for all tests. The ambient temperature of the room was roughly 22 degrees Celsius. The thermal paste applied to each cooler was stock respective to their manufacturer's to rate its performance. Sufficient time between testing was applied for the paste to settle. The fans on all heatsinks were connected to the same motherboard 4-pin connector. The test computer was turned on and idling for at least one hour for the idling tests. High CPU load results were obtained using the Prime95 in place large FFTs test with four worker threads for a minimum of fifteen minutes, and recorded when the temperature was deemed stable. The Ouranos RC-1401 was tested using the stock fan from factory. The performance was compared with an air cooled CPU cooler from Scythe, the Scythe Mugen 5. The purpose of doing such tests was not for a performance competition, since they were quite different in terms of design and fan size; it is only for some comparison. The temperature results for each cooler was measured with CoreTemp, which reports the CPU's integrated digital thermal sensor for maximum accuracy. Each temperature result was calculated by taking the maximum value of the cores inside the CPU.
In the idle test, the two coolers had similar results. The Reeven Ouranos RC-1401 stabilized at 20 degrees Celsius. It was a pretty good result, considering the room ambient temperature was around 22 degrees Celsius. The temperature at idle state differed slightly between the Ouranos RC-1401 and the other cooler. The Scythe Mugen 5, only brought the temperature down to 22 degrees. At idle state, the Ouranos RC-1401 performed better than the Mugen 5. I think the reason is because the Ouranos RC-1401 had a 140mm fan, while the Mugen 5 only had a 120mm fan. The results suggested that, at idle state, the Ouranos RC-1401 had great performance.
The real challenge happened when the CPU was working at high load. Along with the increased processing speed of the CPU, the fan’s RPM also reached the maximum. After about half an hour, the Reeven Ouranos RC-1401 kept the temperature constant at 40 degrees Celsius. Today’s review unit resulted in one degree Celsius lower CPU core temperature compared with the Mugen 5. Please note regarding the single fan performance, the Reeven's Coldwing 14 PWM is better than the Mugen 5’s Kaze Flex 120 PWM in terms of maximum airflow. Therefore, with a higher performance fan, the Reeven Ouranos RC-1401 defeated the Mugen 5. However, as you can see above, the temperature difference between the two products was rather small. I believe for the CPUs with high thermal design power, the Ouranos RC-1401 will be able to deliver more impressive results over the Mugen 5. All in all, Reeven Ouranos RC-1401 has the ability to keep the CPU reasonably cool.
I am the kind of person who really cares about the noise level of my computer. In this case, I only had one fan running on the air-cooled heatsink. Therefore, the computer should be really quiet, even though there were three other fans inside the case. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is totally silent and 10 is a jet taking off, I would rate the Reeven Ouranos RC-1401 at 2.0/10 and 3.5/10 regarding noise emissions at idle and high load, respectively. The Coldwing 14 PWM was really quiet at low RPM thanks to the sleeve bearing. However, the fan can be a little bit noisy at high RPM. It is worth mentioning that a speed switch adapter cable is included in the package, and it can restrict the fan from spinning higher than 1100RPM. If you do not need the fan to work at the maximum 1700RPM, simply using the speed switch adapter cable can bring down the noise level.
After all the tests were done, I would like to say that the Reeven Ouranos RC-1401 is a well-balanced CPU cooler with a 140mm fan. Why was that? Because it had good cooling performance as measured above, and acceptable subjective test results regarding noise level. Moreover, the noise level can be further brought down by using the speed switch adapter cable.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
