Reeven Kelveros & Arcziel CPU Coolers

Reeven, a relatively unknown PC cooling company, looks to make a name for themselves with a pair of oddly named heatsinks. The Kelveros is a classic tower heatsink with direct touch heatpipes while the Arcziel is a traditional, but rather tall down-blowing model.

June 25, 2012 by Lawrence Lee

Product	Reeven Kelveros RC-1202 CPU Cooler	Reeven Arcziel RC-0903 CPU Cooler
Manufacturer	Reeven
Street Price	¥ 2,131 (US$27)	¥ 3,980 (US$50)

Reeven is a relatively unknown PC cooling company that might have some relationship with Scythe, the well known heatsink manufacturer. The "Reeven" is the name of one of Scythe’s tower heatsinks and a couple of Reeven’s products show up on Scythe’s Japanese website. We recently reviewed the Reeven Vanxie, a tiny low profile stock cooler replacement. This time we look at a couple of bigger models, the oddly named Kelveros and Arcziel.

Reeven Kelveros

The Reeven Kelveros.

In many regards, the Kelveros is a classic, modern, heavy duty, tower heatsink. It stands 16 cm tall, has a substantial stack of aluminum fins, is equipped with a 1900 RPM 120 mm fan, and weighs just over two pounds. The cooler does have a few interesting features, including direct touch heatpipes, a technology that has made it possible for manufacturers to produce good, but not great, heatsinks at modest cost. The Kelveros also has an imposing jagged fin design, similar to the Scythe Yasya. A two-speed fan controller bracket is attached to the fan to augment its PWM capability.

Accessories.

The accessories found in the box consist of Intel and AMD mounting hardware, including a rotatable universal backplate, a small packet of thermal grease, and a case sticker. The installation parts seem to be on the weak side, comprised of thin metal brackets and small screws with fine threads. We prefer coarse threads and easy to secure thumbscrews/nuts to minimize fiddling.

Reeven Kelveros RC-1202: Specifications (from the product web page)
Model Number:	RC-1202
Compatibility:	Intel: 775 / 1156 / 1155 / 1366 LGA2011 ready AMD: AM3 / AM2+ / AM2 AM3+ / FM1 ready
Dimension:	W130xH160xD79mm / W5.12xH6.3xD3.11in
Heatsink Material :	Aluminum Fins (60 Fins) 6mm Copper Pipex2 / 8mm Copper Pipex2
Fan Dimension:	120x120x25mm / 4.72×4.72×0.98in
Fan Speed:	PWM with High / Low Switch Low: 650~1300RPM High: 650~1900RPM
Max. Air Flow:	Low: 35.0 ~ 69.1CFM High: 35.0 ~ 101.3CFM
Noise:	Low: 9.4 ~ 25.7dBA High: 9.4 ~ 34.7dBA
Weight:	755g /1.66lb (Heatsink Only)

Reeven Arcziel

The Reeven Arcziel.

The Arcziel is a more modestly sized down-blowing cooler with a 92 mm fan, a height of 11.6 cm and weighs slightly over a pound. It utilizes a traditional three heatpipe soldered to a copper base scheme. The fan is raised using four plastic clips, creating a fair amount of separation. This produces less turbulence but also decreases cooling proficiency. It’s a questionable choice as the fin-stack is very dense and thick for a top-down heatsink.

Accessories.

The Arcziel has a similar accessory set, but includes extra fan clips which actually turned out to be not only useful, but entirely necessary. Being a budget heatsink, the mounting options are more basic, pushpins for Intel motherboards, and tension clips for AMD installations.

Reeven Arcziel RC-0903: Specifications (from the product web page)
Model Number:	RC-0903
Compatibility:	Intel: 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 AMD: AM3 / AM2+ / AM2 / 940 / 939 / 754 Socket AM3+ / FM1 ready
Dimension:	W95xD121.5xH86.5mm / W3.74xD4.78xH3.4in
Heatsink Material :	Aluminum Fins / 6mm Copper Heatpipe x 3 / Copper base
Fan Dimension:	92 x 92 x 25mm 3.62 x 3.62 x 0.98in
Fan Speed:	500 ~ 2500RPM (PWM)
Max. Air Flow:	10.0 ~ 51.15CFM
Noise:	7.8 ~ 32.3dBA
Weight:	383g 0.85lb (Heatsink Only)

Physical Details & Installation: Reeven Kelveros

The Reeven Kelveros is composed of 59 aluminum fins friction fit to two 6 mm and two 8 mm direct touch heatpipes made of copper. The cooler measures 130 x 160 x 79 mm or 5.1 x 6.3 x 3.1 inches (W x H x D) and weighs about 940 grams or 2.1 lb.

On average, the fins are 0.47 mm thick and spaced 1.61 mm apart.

Viewed from the top, the fins have a bat-like shape.

The oddest feature of the Kelveros is its two 6 mm thick heatpipes intermingled with two 8 mm thick pipes. This does cover more area than say, three 8 mm pipes, but it also means more wasted space taken up by the metal separators which are required for heatpipe stability.

For Intel installations, mounting brackets are screwed in around the base and then extenders are attached to the ends, securable at different points depending on the socket. The board is then flipped upside-down and bolts are inserted through the backplate to complete the process.

Installed on our LGA1366 heatsink platform.

As the bolts are thin and go in through the back of the motherboard, it’s easy to end up with an off-center mounting. The metal clips are also prone to bending downward when under pressure.

It’s also notable that the ridges running up each side for the fan clips do not go all the way up. The clips have to be tucked under the plate at the top of the heatsink.

Physical Details & Installation: Reeven Arcziel

The Reeven Arcziel is composed of 60 aluminum fins friction fit to three 6 mm copper heatpipes which are in turn soldered to a large copper base. The cooler weighs 480 grams or 1.1 lb and measures 95 x 121.5 x 116 mm (86.5 mm tall without the fan) or 3.7 x 4.8 x 4.6 inches (W x D x H).

The 92 mm stock fan is mounted on rigid plastic clips, elevated 7~8 mm from the heatsink surface.

The heatpipes curl into a set of ridges underneath the fin-stack. The fins are 0.28 mm thick and spaced 1.41 mm apart on average.

The base surface is slightly convex and finely polished.

For Intel installations, the metal clips have sliding pushpin system to accommodate the various sockets.

Our original intention was to mount the Arcziel on our LGA1366 heatsink testbed but this proved to be impossible. The pushpins did not extend out far enough, sitting at an angle when the heatsink was centered. Engaging one side prevented us from engaging the opposite side. We even went so far as to use tape to ensure they were extended as far out as possible.

Our LGA1155 heatsink test platform proved to be more accommodating.

Another issue came up when we removed the fan. The fan clips are extremely brittle, breaking with little effort. After swapping fans a couple of times, we had only a total of three functioning clips left.

TESTING

Before thermal testing, we took some basic physical measurements.

Approximate Physical Measurements
Cooler	Reeven Kelveros	Reeven Arcziel
Weight	770 g 940 g with stock fan and clips	400 g 480 g with stock fan and clips
Height	160 mm	116 mm
Fin count	59	60
Fin thickness	0.47 mm	0.28 mm
Fin spacing	1.61 mm	1.41 mm
Vertical Clearance*	43 mm	50 mm
* measured from the motherboard PCB to the bottom fin of the heatsink.

Large Heatsink Comparison: Average Fin Thickness & Spacing
Heatsink	Fin Thickness	Fin Spacing
Thermalright HR-01 Plus	0.45 mm	3.15 mm
Scythe Ninja 3	0.39 mm	2.64 mm
Noctua NH-U12P	0.44 mm	2.63 mm
Noctua NH-C12P	0.47 mm	2.54 mm
Noctua NH-D14	0.43 mm	2.33 mm
Thermalright Archon SB-E	0.49 mm	2.33 mm
Prolimatech Armageddon	0.51 mm	2.08 mm
Prolimatech Megahalems	0.50 mm	2.00 mm
Zalman CNPS10X Quiet	0.40 mm	2.00 mm
Scythe Kabuto & Zipang 2	0.34 mm	1.94 mm
NZXT Havik 140	0.41 mm	1.91 mm
Scythe Mugen-2	0.31 mm	1.89 mm
Swiftech Polaris 120	0.43 mm	1.85 mm
Thermalright Venomous X	0.53 mm	1.84 mm
Noctua NH-C14	0.38 mm	1.79 mm
Scythe Yasya	0.32 mm	1.78 mm
Cogage TRUE Spirit 1366	0.40 mm	1.70 mm
Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme Rev.2	0.30 mm	1.70 mm
Scythe Grand Kama Cross	0.38 mm	1.66 mm
Reeven Kelveros	0.47 mm	1.61 mm
Zalman CNPS9900 MAX	0.16 mm	1.59 mm
Thermalright Silver Arrow	0.32 mm	1.57 mm
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus	0.43 mm	1.54 mm
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme Rev.C	0.56 mm	1.52 mm
Zalman CNPS10X Extreme	0.42 mm	1.50 mm

Small Heatsink Comparison: Average Fin Thickness & Spacing
Heatsink	Fin Thickness	Fin Spacing
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B	0.29 mm	1.13 mm
Scythe Big Shuriken	0.33 mm	1.19 mm
Reeven Vanxie	0.28 mm	1.39 mm
Reeven Arcziel	0.28 mm	1.41 mm
Noctua NH-L12	0.49 mm	1.51 mm
Scythe Kozuti	0.12 mm	1.69 mm
Scythe Samurai ZZ	0.33 mm	1.74 mm

 

Testing on larger heatsinks are done on our
LGA1366 heatsink testing platform, while smaller coolers tackle our LGA1155 heatsink testing platform. A summary of the test system
and procedure follows.

Key Components in LGA1366 Heatsink Test Platform:

• Intel Core i7-965 Extreme
  Nehalem core, LGA1366, 3.2GHz, 45nm, 130W TDP.
• Asus
  P6X58D Premium ATX motherboard. X58 chipset.
• Asus
  EAH3450 Silent graphics card.
• Intel
  X25-M 80GB 2.5" solid-state drive. Chosen for silence.
• 3GB QiMonda
  DDR3 memory. 3 x 1GB DDR3-1066 in triple channel.
• Seasonic X-650 SS-650KM
  650W ATX power supply. This PSU is semi-passively cooled. At the power levels
  of our test platform, its fan does not spin.
• Arctic Silver
  Lumière: Special fast-curing thermal interface material, designed
  specifically for test labs.

Key Components in LGA1155 Heatsink Test Platform:

• Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge core, LGA1155, 3.1 GHz, 45nm, 95W TDP, overclocked/volted to 3.6 GHz and 1.300V.
• Intel DP67BG ATX motherboard.
  P67 chipset.
• Asus
  EAH3450 Silent graphics card.
• Kingston
  SSDNow V 30GB 2.5" solid-state drive. Chosen for silence.
• OCZ Platinum Extreme Low Voltage DDR3 memory. 2 x 2 GB, DDR3-1333 in dual channel.
• Seasonic X-400 SS-400FL
  400W ATX power supply. Passively cooled
• Arctic Silver
  Lumière: Special fast-curing thermal interface material, designed
  specifically for test labs.

The systems are silent under the test conditions, except for the CPU cooling
fan(s).

Normally, our reference fans are used whenever possible, the measured details
of which are shown below.

Reference Noctua 140mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements
Voltage	SPL@1m	Speed
12V	28~29 dBA	1250 RPM
9V	21 dBA	990 RPM
7V	15~16 dBA	770 RPM
6V	13 dBA	660 RPM

Reference Nexus 120mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements
Voltage	SPL@1m	Speed
12V	16 dBA	1080 RPM
9V	13 dBA	880 RPM
7V	12 dBA	720 RPM

Reference Nexus 92 mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements
Voltage	SPL@1m	Speed
12V	16 dBA	1470 RPM
9V	12 dBA	1150 RPM

Measurement and Analysis Tools

• Extech 380803 AC power analyzer / data logger for measuring AC system
  power.
• Custom-built, four-channel variable DC power supply, used to regulate
  the fan speed during the test.
• PC-based spectrum analyzer:
  SpectraPlus with ACO Pacific mic and M-Audio digital
  audio interfaces.
• Anechoic chamber
  with ambient level of 11 dBA or lower
• Various other tools for testing fans, as documented in our
  standard fan testing methodology.
• SpeedFan,
  used to monitor the on-chip thermal sensors. The sensors are not calibrated,
  so results are not universally applicable. The hottest core reading is used.
• Prime95,
  used to stress the LGA1366 CPU heavily, generating more heat than most real applications.
  8 instances are used to ensure that all 4 cores (with Hyper-threading) are
  stressed.
• CPU-Z,

  used to monitor the CPU speed to determine when overheating occurs.

• Thermometers to measure the air temperature around the test platform
  and near the intake of the heatsink fan.

Noise measurements are made with the fans powered from the lab’s variable DC
power supply while the rest of the system was off to ensure that system noise
did not skew the measurements.

Load testing was accomplished using Prime95 to stress the processor and the
graph function in SpeedFan was used to ensure that the load temperature is stable
for at least ten minutes. The temperature recorded is the highest single core
reading. The stock fans were tested at various voltages to represent a good
cross-section of airflow and noise performance.

The ambient conditions during testing were 10~11 dBA and 21~23°C.

Reeven Kelveros: Stock Fan Measurements

Specifications: Reeven Kelveros Stock Fan
Manufacturer	Reeven	Power Rating	6.24 W
Model Number	RM1225S19C-PS	Airflow Rating	101.3 CFM
Bearing Type	Sleeve	Speed Rating	1900 RPM
Corners	Open	Noise Rating	34.7 dBA
Frame Size	120 x 120 x 25 mm	Header Type	4-pin
Fan Blade Diameter	114 mm	Starting Voltage	< 5.0 V
Hub Size	40 mm	Weight	170 g
Data in green cells provided by the manufacturer or observed; data in the blue cells were measured.

The stock fan bears a resemblance to Scythe’s Slip Stream series due to the soft curves of blades and the curled struts that increase the angle they form with the blade’s edges. Spinning at around 1900 RPM, the fan has a substantial power draw of 6.24 W, a tremendous airflow rating of 101.3 CFM and presumably a high noise output to match.

Stock Fan Measurements
Voltage	Speed	SPL@1m
12V	1960 RPM	34 dBA
9V	1600 RPM	30~31 dBA
7V (low)	1330 RPM	25 dBA
6V	1150 RPM	21 dBA
5V	870 RPM	15~16 dBA
4.5V	590 RPM	11 dBA
Measuring mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle from the center of the heatsink. Ambient noise level: 10~11 dBA.

Though the Kelveros fan has a high nominal speed, its acoustic character was surprisingly inoffensive for much of its range. It was turbulent and buzzy at higher speeds like many sleeve bearing models, but as the motor was slowed, the noise quality remained more or less constant. The one exception was at 5V where it generated 15~16 dBA@1m and produced on an odd low pitched tone. This seems to be an isolated effect that was only noticeable at or near the 5V level, so for the most part, the fan undervolts well. The included two speed controller acts as a 12V/7V switch which isn’t particularly useful as PWM control is now common, and the fan still emitted a loud 25 dBA@1m at 7V.

The Reeven Kelveros stock fan at 5V measures 15~16 dBA@1m.

Our acoustic analysis shows the tone we noted at 5V is centered at approximately 300 Hz. At most other voltages, the fan was surprisingly smooth.

Reeven Kelveros: Test Results

Reeven Kelveros
Fan Voltage	Fan Speed	SPL@1m	°C Rise above Ambient
Stock Fan
12V	1960 RPM	35 dBA	44
9V	1600 RPM	30~31 dBA	45
7V	1330 RPM	25 dBA	46
6V	1150 RPM	21 dBA	47
5V	870 RPM	15~16 dBA	51
4.5V	590 RPM	11 dBA	58
Reference Nexus 120mm Fan
12V	1080 RPM	15~16 dBA	47
9V	880 RPM	13 dBA	51
7V	720 RPM	11~12 dBA	55

The Kelveros’ delivered a 44°C rise at top speed, a poor showing as top notch heatsinks can typically reach a similar result with very low fan speeds. Furthermore, the performance barely changed when the fan was slowed to between 9V, 7V, and 6V. The stock fan was essentially bottlenecked by the capabilities of the heatsink. Low speed performance wasn’t great either; the stock fan was beaten by our reference Nexus 120 mm fan by 3~4°C operating at similar noise levels.

CPU Coolers (ref. 120mm fan): °C Rise Comparison
Heatsink	Fan voltage / SPL @1m*
	12V	9V	7V
	15~16 dBA	12~13 dBA	11~12 dBA
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme Rev.C	38	40	43
Thermalright Venomous X	38	41	43
Prolimatech Megahalems	38	41	44
Noctua NH-U12P	39	42	44
Scythe Mugen-2	39	42	45
Cogage TRUE Spirit 1366	40	42	45
Prolimatech Armageddon	40	42	46
Zalman CNPS10X Quiet	40	43	46
Noctua NH-C14	39	42	48
Scythe Yasya	41	43	47
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme	40	43	48
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus	41	44	48
Thermalright Archon SB-E	42	43	49
Thermalright Ultra-120	42	45	49
Titan Fenrir	43	46	50
Scythe Ninja 3	44	47	49
Noctua NH-C12P	43	47	51
Zalman CNPS10X Extreme	43	47	53
Swiftech Polaris 120	46	49	54
Zalman CNPS10X Flex	45	50	54
Cooler Master V8	46	50	54
Antec Kühler H20 620 (pump at 7V, almost inaudible)	52	52	53
Reeven Kelveros	47	51	55
Scythe Grand Kama Cross	45	52	57
Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme Rev.2	49	52	58
Scythe Kabuto	51	53	60
*Note: there are minor differences in measured SPL due to the variety of fan orientations and mounting methods offered by the compared coolers.

The Kelveros isn’t a bad heatsink, but it is incredibly inefficient for its size and weight, ending up near the bottom of our large heatsink performance chart. It was also second worse amongst side-blowing tower coolers, beating only the AC Freezer Xtreme.

Reeven Arcziel: Stock Fan Measurements

Specifications: Reeven Arcziel Stock Fan
Manufacturer	Reeven	Power Rating	2.52 W
Model Number	RM9225S25C-P	Airflow Rating	51.15 CFM
Bearing Type	Sleeve	Speed Rating	2500 RPM
Corners	Open	Noise Rating	32.3 dBA
Frame Size	92 x 92 x 25 mm	Header Type	4-pin
Fan Blade Diameter	85 mm	Starting Voltage	< 5.0 V
Hub Size	32 mm	Weight	80 g
Data in green cells provided by the manufacturer or observed; data in the blue cells were measured.

The Arcziel’s stock 92 mm fan is a fairly high speed sleeve bearing model, rated for 2500 RPM. The design is unremarkable, with seven hook style blades intersected by straight struts.

Stock Fan Measurements
Voltage	Speed	SPL@1m
12V	2570 RPM	33 dBA
9V	1920 RPM	25 dBA
8V	1640 RPM	21~22 dBA
7V	1370 RPM	16 dBA
6V	1100 RPM	13 dBA
Measuring mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle from the center of the heatsink. Ambient noise level: 10~11 dBA.

As one would expect of a 2500 RPM model, the Arcziel’s stock fan is quite loud. It becomes quieter when undervolted, but the fan’s character changes depending on the level. At 9V and above, it had a typical buzzy and turbulent nature. At 8V, the turbulence was transformed into an annoying drone. At 7V it produced 16 dBA@1m which is considered quiet by most users, but the motor was audibly humming and rattling when observed at close proximity.

At 7V, the Arcziel stock fan generates 16 dBA@1m.

The hum emitted by the fan at 7V has frequency of about 170 Hz, fairly low pitched.

Reeven Arcziel: Test Results

Reeven Arcziel
Fan Voltage	Fan Speed	SPL@1m	°C Rise above Ambient
			CPU	VRM	RAM
Stock Fan
12V	2570 RPM	33 dBA	34	22	21
9V	1920 RPM	25 dBA	38	30	25
8V	1640 RPM	21~22 dBA	40	34	26
7V	1370 RPM	16 dBA	42	38	27
6V	1100 RPM	13 dBA	47	41	27
Reference Nexus 92mm Fan
12V	1470 RPM	17 dBA	41	35	23
9V	1150 RPM	13 dBA	52	47	31

For such a large cooler (at least by our small heatsink testbed standards), the Arcziel’s performance is underwhelming but at least it doesn’t hit an apex like the Kelveros. The fan speed had a significant impact on temperature, creating a 13°C range between 6V and 12V operation. Interestingly, this is one of the few heatsinks where our reference fan actually fared worse, producing a thermal rise above ambient 5°C higher than the stock fan while emitting 13 dBA@1m.

Heatsink Comparison Tables

°C rise Comparison (CPU Temperature)
SPL (dBA@1m)	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12
Noctua NH-L12 (both fans)	33	–	–	34	–	35		–	36
Noctua NH-L12 (ref. 120mm fan)	–	–	–	–	–	34		–	37
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B (ref. 120mm fan)	–	–	–	–	–	36		–	39
Noctua NH-L12 (120mm fan)	–	–	37	–	–	38	–	39	42
Scythe Big Shuriken (ref. 120mm fan)	–	–	–	–	–	41		–	43
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B	–	39	–	–	–	43		–	48
Reeven Arcziel	–	–	–	–	42	–	–	47	–
Scythe Samurai ZZ (ref. 92mm fan)	–	–	–	–	–	–	44	–	51
Reeven Arcziel (ref. 92mm fan)	–	–	–	41	–	–	–	52	–
Scythe Samurai ZZ	–	–	45	–	–	46	–	52
Noctua NH-L12 (92mm fan)	42		–	44	–	47	–	51	57
Scythe Big Shuriken	43		–	–	–	–	46	–	61
Scythe Kozuti	–	–	57	–	–	62		–	65
Reeven Vanxie	–	66	–	–	–	–	77	–	F

Initially we thought it unfair to test such a big cooler on our small heatsink testbed, but our fears turned out to be unjustified. Like the Kelveros, the Arcziel doesn’t live up to expectations, being outperformed by the Big Shuriken 2 and Noctua NH-L12, despite a huge size mismatch.

°C rise Comparison (VRM Temperature)
SPL (dBA@1m)	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12
Noctua NH-L12 (both fans)	17	–	–	19	–	21		–	23
Noctua NH-L12 (ref. 120mm fan)	–	–	–	–	–	20		–	25
Scythe Big Shuriken (ref. 120mm fan)	–	–	–	–	–	25		–	29
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B (ref. 120mm fan)	–	–	–	–	–	27		–	31
Noctua NH-L12 (120mm fan)	–	–	24	–	–	26	–	27	32
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B	–	29	–	–	–	34		–	39
Noctua NH-L12 (92mm fan)	28		–	31	–	33	–	38	43
Scythe Samurai ZZ (ref. 92mm fan)	–	–	–	–	–	–	36	–	43
Reeven Arcziel	–	–	–	–	38	–	–	41	–
Scythe Big Shuriken	28		–	–	–	–	30	–	47
Reeven Arcziel (ref. 92mm fan)	–	–	–	35	–	–	–	47	–
Scythe Kozuti	–	–	36	–	–	40		–	45
Scythe Samurai ZZ	–	–	38	–	–	39	–	47
Reeven Vanxie	–	45	–	–	–	–	56	–	F

VRM cooling is even worse on the Arcziel as it has a substantial fin-stack sitting up high above the motherboard, and the fan too is elevated, making it very difficult for airflow to make its way down over the areas around the CPU socket.

MP3 SOUND RECORDINGS

These recordings were made with a high
resolution, lab quality, digital recording system inside SPCR’s
own 11 dBA ambient anechoic chamber, then converted to LAME 128kbps
encoded MP3s. We’ve listened long and hard to ensure there is no audible degradation
from the original WAV files to these MP3s. They represent a quick snapshot of
what we heard during the review.

These recordings are intended to give you an idea of how the product sounds
in actual use — one meter is a reasonable typical distance between a computer
or computer component and your ear. The recording contains stretches of ambient
noise that you can use to judge the relative loudness of the subject. Be aware
that very quiet subjects may not be audible — if we couldn’t hear it from
one meter, chances are we couldn’t record it either!

The recording starts with 5~10 second segments of room ambiance, then the fan
at various levels. For the most realistic results, set the volume so that
the starting ambient level is just barely audible, then don’t change the volume
setting again.

• Reeven Kelveros with stock fan at 1m
  — 5V (15~16 dBA@1m)
  — 7V (25 dBA@1m)
  — 9V (30~31 dBA@1m)
  — 12V (35 dBA@1m)
  

• Reeven Arcziel with stock fan at 1m
  — 7V (16 dBA@1m)
  — 8V (21~22 dBA@1m)
  — 9V (25 dBA@1m)
  — 12V (33 dBA@1m)
  

FINAL THOUGHTS

Reeven Kelveros

The Reeven Kelveros’ stock fan, despite being a high speed model, has decent acoustics once the speed is turned down. That, unfortunately, is the only compliment we can pay. It’s impossible to run the fan at quiet levels while maintaining good performance because the proficiency of the heatsink is decidedly poor. Of all the tower heatsinks with 120 mm fans we’ve tested over the past few years, the Kelveros is second worst only to the AC Freezer Xtreme, which sold for considerably less.

The main culprit appears to be the mounting system — a backplate doesn’t necessarily equate to good contact between the heatsink base and processor heatspreader. The mounting clips are thin and weak, and attached to the bottom of the heatsink, rather than over the top of the base. When the screws are tightened, the metal bends downward, so most of the extra pressure is applied to the corners, rather than the center where the majority of CPU heat is generated. Having to flip the motherboard upside-down also makes installation difficult, particularly when attempting to center the bolts so no corner is favored over an other.

Availability is also an issue. We found only one place actively selling the Kelveros, a Japanese site listing its price as ¥ 3,980 or close to US$50. At this price, no one should even consider purchasing it. The Kelveros has nothing to distinguish itself aside from its looks.

Reeven Arcziel

As much as the Kelveros disappointed, the Arcziel managed to fail even more dramatically. It’s the first CPU cooler we can recall that could not be installed on our 1366 platform due to incorrect mount sizing. We then resorted to testing it on our LGA1155 test platform for smaller coolers, and it failed to surpass the performance of some heatsinks barely half its size. The fan isn’t very good, either, with tonal elements at various speeds.

The fundamental design of the heatsink seems flawed for a down-blowing model. The fin-stack is very thick with tightly packed fins, creating a big obstacle for the fan to push air through. In addition to being a tall cooler, the fan is raised far off the heatsink surface, decreasing its cooling capability further. The rigid plastic clips used to keep the fan in place are terrible, breaking so easily that Reeven provides an extra set as part of the accessory package. We started off with 8 and after a couple of careful fan swaps, were left with just 3.

The Arcziel too seems to only be available in Japan at the moment, with a retail price of ¥ 2,131 or approximately US$27 after conversion. With all its problems, it might be worth buying at a 50% discount. It is after all, still better than a stock cooler, though is incredibly inefficient for its size.

Reeven has made the most underwhelming entrance to the competitive world of aftermarket CPU coolers we’ve ever seen.

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SPCR Articles of Related Interest:

Thermalright Archon SB-E 15cm Fan CPU Cooler
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 & Reeven Vanxie CPU Coolers
Fans from Noctua & Corsair at Computex 2012
SPCR’s Updated 2012 Small CPU Heatsink Test Platform
Fan
Roundup #6: Scythe, Noiseblocker, Antec, Nexus, Thermalright
Noctua
NH-L12 Low Profile Cooler

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