CRYORIG R1 Universal CPU Cooler on AMD SP3 Review

CRYORIG R1 Universal CPU Cooler on AMD SP3 Review Today I'm testing a cooler on a chip that it isn't intended for: I'm putting one of CRYORIG's R1 Universal cooler on one of my EPYC processors. While the default mounting system doesn't support this kind of setup, it is possible with the Threadripper adapter which is available. It will be interesting to see how this cooler holds its own against a CPU of this type. CRYORIG R1 Universal CPU Cooler CRYORIG's R1 Universal is a well-known CPU Cooler by now. It is installed in a lot of systems around the world already. However, probably not on as large a CPU as my EPYC. And with large, I mean the physical size. We all know that this type of CPU has a bigger size. While the cooler is known by many, we'll still go over the various details here. CRYORIG used all their knowledge to make a very effective cooler. It starts with their DirectCompress Soldering technique which is said to increase the contact surface between heatpipe and heatsink by 10% compared to traditional soldering. More contact surface means better heat dissipation, and that's what we want our cooler to do. The heatsink isn't just made up of a single piece either. It is divided into two sections with different fin spacing. With a bigger intake and smaller outtake, physics takes over and increases the exhaust air speed. Again, this is something which improves the cooling abilities. The last aspect to highlight here is the heatpipe connection design. The optimised placement allows each heatpipe to function to their maximum TDP capacity and CRYORIG managed to squeeze seven of them into the R1 Universal. R1 Universal Features The basic cooler features are covered in the above, but there's more to a CPU cooler than that. At least most of the time. We also need some fans to get airflow going. The R1 Universal comes with two fans, but they aren't the same. There's an XF140 which is a 25.4 thick 140mm fan while the XT140 is a 140mm fan with a thickness of 13mm. The thinner front fan allows for less to zero RAM interference. Acoustics are just as important as performance. That’s why both the XF140 and XT140 140mm fan integrate acoustic optimizations. Both fans featuring High Precision Low Noise (HPLN) bearing and the detachable Acoustic Vibration Absorbers that give the fan a snugger fit while cancelling vibration and noise at the same time. Every good CPU cooler also needs a proper mounting system. In this case, it is called MultiSeg and it allows for cross-platform support as well as quick and easy installation. Zero RAM Interference? Yes, but With a Catch! CRYORIG's R1 Imoversal comes with a feature called Zero RAM interference. This is due to two features, the thinner front-facing fan and the asymmetric design. This shifts everything slightly to one side which is great for motherboards which only have memory slots on the one side. At this point, we should mention that this is what the cooler is designed for. However, today we're testing it in a different setup and with a mounting adapter. These large TR4/SR3 processors also come with more memory support and most motherboards for them have memory slots on both sides of the CPU. That kind of thing creates an issue with this asymmetric design. Colour Options without RGB Colour options are no rarity these days, but it's mostly done by RGB lighting. Not so with the CRYORIG R1 Universal which uses a more old-school approach. The covers are removable and replaceable. It's an add-on which you'll have to get extra if you wish to, so it's something to keep in mind. However, it does give users the option to match the colour with the rest of the setup. The default brackets are white, but there are Red, Orange, Green, Blue and Black options. Specifications For in-depth specifications, please visit the official product page here. What CRYORIG Had to Say “The R1 is an accumulation of years of research and design. Putting good use to our multiple manufacturing and design patents, the CRYORIG R1 is jam packed with multiple one of a kind features. The long list of features include our patented DirectCompress full contact soldering process, Jet Fin Acceleration System, Heatpipe Convex-Align and Displacement Optimization Systems. The R1 will be featured in two flavors, the R1 Universal and the R1 Ultimate. The R1 Ultimate will have two XF140's full 140x140x26mm fans, and the ability to add a third XF140. The Universal version features one XF140 and a thin profile 140x140x13mm XT140 silent performance fan, offering terrific performance with almost no tradeoff for performance and compatibility.” Packaging and Accessories CRYORIG packs the R1 Universal in a full-colour printed box. Every side is filled with either photos of the product or information about it. The ease of installation is one of the highlights in this cooler and as such, it has a prominent highlight on the side. The rear size has all the specifications of both the heatsink, fans, and the combination of both. All the accessories are nicely packed inside, making sure everything arrives as it should and in one piece. Parts and Accessories In terms of parts, there's everything you'll want. We get mounting options for AMD and Intel, a y-cable for motherboards with just a single CPU FAN header, a screw-tool, and all the smaller parts you'll need. The package also includes an installation manual, fan clips, a cleaning wipe, and a tube of CP7 thermal paste. A Closer Look Based on the age of this cooler, I think most of you are familiar with the physical look and features. Still, we'll go over them on this page. Heatsink with the Fans Installed The R1 Universal is a pretty nice looking CPU cooler. The colour changes and ratios are well adjusted, making it a beauty from every angle. R1 Universal's colour changes can be seen the best when we're looking from the side. From the grey fans over the white and silver to the black. If you don't like white, you can change that with the optional addons. We'll get to them on the next page. The only "boring" side is the rear side. Then again, you could attach a third fan there to brighten things out. Into the Details When we turn the R1 Universal upside down, we get a great view on the heat pipes and their asymmetric bends. The whole thing is shifted to the side, thus allowing for better RAM compatibility there. The tradeoff is that it gets worse on the other side. But that's only an issue if you got RAM slots on both sides of your CPU. The seven heatpipes can barely fit the contact area, but they do. It's really an optimal usage of the available space. Once we remove the protective film from the contact surface, we get a great look at it too. Installation Normally I'd show the installation here, but I'll wait with that until we get to the next page. We won't be using the included default mounting system as we're putting it on an EPYC processor. There's still one more thing to show as part of the installation and that's the contact area between the cooler and the CPU. As it's clear from this picture below, the entire CPU isn't covered. Mount and Colour Changes There are two things which we can change on the basic CRYORIG R1 Universal and those are the mounting system and colours. Socket TR4 Upgrade Kit With the Socket TR4 Upgrade Kit, we can mount the cooler on TR4 and SP3 sockets. The upgrade kit will also work for the R1 Ultimate, H5 Universal and Ultimate, and the C1. Within the adapter package, is a small manual on how to use it as well as all the parts needed. They aren't many, but they serve their purpose. SP3/TR4 Installation The installation of CRYORIG's R1 Universal is a breeze thanks to the upgrade kit. Screw the spacers into the socket, put the metal brackets on, and secure them with the included nuts. Now you're ready to mount your CPU cooler. Clearance Issues As I mentioned on the first page, having memory slots on both sides of the CPU creates some issues. The sideways offset of the cooler creates great clearance on one side, but hinders it on the other side. Something to keep in mind when you plan your build. However, if you aren't utilising all the memory sockets, it'll fit nicely. At least as long as you don't use modules with too large heat spreaders. The modules in these photos are without any sort of heat spreaders. Customod Cover for R1 The Customod covers for the R1 are an awesome little extra you can get. They will fit both type R1 CPU coolers and allow you to match them to the rest of your setup. I got the green and blue version with this sample, but there are more colours available. There's also red, orange, and black options. There isn't a lot to say to the new colour options as such. You get exactly what you'd expect. The new covers are easily added, giving your CPU cooler a whole new look. You can even mix and match them if you like. Changing the colours with these extra ones is a breeze. Unclip the fans, gently remove the white ones and slide the replacements on instead. Put the fans back and it's ready. Whether you go for blue as above or green as below, it'll look great. What colour you pick will naturally come down to the rest of the colours in your system. Besides green and blue, there's also the option for orange, red, and black on top of the default white. You can even mix and match them. There's no difference between the two clip-on brackets and as such, the choice is yours. Here at eTeknix, we like blue. After all, it's our colour. Test System and Methodology Setup Location and Ambience The test system is run in a separate room with as little interference from anything as possible. It is located as far away from any home appliances as possible. The ambient temperatures are around 19-22 degrees unless otherwise specified here. Thermal Transition In order to keep our reviews as consistent as possible, we will always use Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste on every CPU cooler we review. We want to test the efficiency of the cooler and not the pre-applied thermal paste. While the pre-applied might be good, we need comparable results. Testing Methodology and Results We record the figures for the idle state around 5 minutes after the system is booted. The load figures are taken after a 20 minute run with OCCT, a CPU load of 100% and a memory load of 90%. OCCT is run for 30 minutes (1/24/5) to calculate the load results. We pick the package temperature to show in our graphs as they show the average of the chip's cores effectively. All the fans are left to operate at default PWM profile speeds, again, unless otherwise stated. The acoustic measurements are taken 10cm horizontally and 10cm vertically away from the CPU cooler with the VGA fan disabled. There is approximately a 1-degree Celsius margin of error in our temperature recording software CPUID HW Monitor and there is approximately a 1.5dBA margin of error with our Sound Level Meter. Test system: GIGABYTE MZ31-AR0 AMD EPYC 7351P 16-Core CPU Motherboard iGPU with passive cooling Crucial DDR4 2133 MHz (8x 16GB) Patriot Scorch 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 1200W All testing conducted using NT-H1 thermal paste Software Used CPUID HWMonitor OCCT 4.5.1 Performance Temperatures - Single CPU CRYORIG's R1 Universal does surprisingly well. The surprise is due to the smaller contact surface which doesn't seem to hinder its performance. The four packages come in at idle temperatures of 20/20/19/20 while the load temperatures come in at 46/46/42/41. Acoustics - Single CPU The R1 does produce a little more noise than our standard testbench cooler, but not a lot. And considering what it has to handle, it's not bad at all. Final Thoughts Pricing The R1 Universal from CRYORIG isn't a cheap cooler, but it's worth the price in my opinion. At the time of this review, it's available for £82.88 in the UK and $110.69 in the US. The SicketTR4 Upgrade kit will set you back another £21.19 or $6.00. The Customod colour panels are available for $6.99 to $11.99 at the time of this review. I could not find them listed in the UK counter sites, but I'm sure there are some shops out there which sticks them. Overview The R1 Universal from CRYORIG is a good CPU cooler, there can be no doubt about that. It is built well, looks great, and does an effective job at keeping the chips running cool. The many special features such as the DirectCompress soldering, Heatsink Displacement Optimisation and Jet Fin Acceleration System all help improve the effectivity. Despite the size difference between the coolers contact surface and the CPU, it does an impressive job when mounted on our EPYC processor. I was actually surprised how well it did and I expected a negative impact from it. But that wasn't the case, not at all! Asymmetrical Design The asymmetrical design is great for motherboards which only have memory sockets on one side of the CPU. However, when you have them on both sides, you run into trouble with this CPU cooler. At least if you want to populate all the slots. This is simply due to the design of the cooler as it originally is designed for standard consumer motherboards. So, make sure that it'll match with your setup. Customod Colour Options With the Customod colour options, you can match the cooler to the rest of your setup without the need for RGB. A lot of lighting isn't everyone's cup of tea, making this a great alternative. Should I Buy One? I have to be honest. While the R1 Universal does an awesome job at keeping my EPYC CPU cool, I would probably go with one that has full contact over the entire CPU package. But I'm also a very cautious person. However, if you got a spare one on the shelve, the TR4 upgrade add-on is a great way to get some use out of a very impressive cooler. It's a cheap way to utilise the cooler on the latest AMD sockets. Pros Great cooling abilities Good built quality Upgradable to the latest sockets Colour upgrade options to match your setup Cons Conflict with memory if you have sockets on both sides of the CPU