BigAlDavies
New member
This is the Reeven Arcziel RC-0903
I needed a CPU cooler on a budget, and one that would fit inside my mATX case. Those twin criteria do not sound too demanding, but you would be surprised at the problems that arise when trying to find a cheap heat sink that won’t scrape against the side panel of your case. My search led me to the Reeven Arcziel RC-0903; a top-down, 92mm fan equipped CPU tower cooler. Its black and yellow colour scheme sets it apart from its competitors, and at only £16.65 from ebuyer.com I was anticipating a noticeable upgrade from my stock cooler.
Technical Details:
Source: http://www.reeven.com/arcziel-rc-0903/
The unit arrived in a sturdy cardboard box, which included the AMD motherboard brackets, Intel motherboard brackets, spare fan clips for attaching the fan to the heat sink, thermal compound in a plastic sachet, a set of multi-lingual instructions and some Reeven stickers. The cooler is marketed as suitable for all motherboards, and so I did not see a problem with fitting it to my FM1 Athlon II rig. The pre-installed fan meant that I only had to attach the AMD brackets, a very straightforward process of turning four screws. The fan fitted securely, the power cable was sturdy, and the brackets screwed onto the baseplate to form a very sturdy feeling product. The asymmetric design of the copper pipes meant that my RAM was not obscured, although if I was using particularly tall memory sticks, I may have run into an issue. I felt pretty confident before measuring the cooler to size.
The box, spare fan clips, the Intel and AMD brackets.
The overhang of the RAM modules.
At 122mm high, the unit fitted inside my case with ease – an issue that prevented me from buying something taller like a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, due to the issue of headroom. The Arcziel looked like it would fit perfectly onto the CPU, and so I checked the height of the AMD brackets provided.
Just over five inches' tall from the mobo.
I found that the default setting of the brackets was far too tight. As Reeven explicitly warn in the instructions against adjusting the height of the brackets they include, I was reluctant to squeeze the clips together to raise the height from the lowest of three possible settings to the middle. This proved to be too loose, and so I moved one side of the bracket back down to its original position. Without pushing the clips over the hook-fixing on my motherboard, I saw that this would provide a very snug fit. I applied the thermal compound, and attached the unit.
It was a dumbass move, and something I have learned from. The temperatures were worse than the stock cooler and in the prime95 stress test, they bordered on a dangerous level. Thankfully, the Reeven customer service has been awesome, and upon further investigation, the dimensions of the FM1 socket had changed. Upon learning this, Reeven sent a complimentary new set of brackets, and with a tense few minutes of screwdriver wiggling, I was able to remove the unit, fit the new brackets and start again.
The removed heatsink and the new brackets from Reeven. Great guys.
The heat sink has performed admirably since. The fan is quiet, and looks to be simple to upgrade if it takes your fancy. Its vertical configuration put off many reviewers, but I have not noticed a spike in case temperatures. It feels very sturdy, looks great, and would be a great cost-effective upgrade for those on a budget. It's barely audible on idle, and at its full RPM of 2500, it is still very quiet – completely drowned out by my hair dryer-esque GTX 570.
Sitting pretty under the web of cables, and above the hair dryer.
In terms of the temperature difference, the Arcziel has not gone above 48C under prolonged tests in prime 95, whereas the stock cooler would easily get to 64C in no time at all before I would turn it off. It’s a shame that the Athlon II X4 651k doesn’t want to clock above 3300MHz, as I’m confident the Arcziel would keep up with higher overclocks. In conclusion, this is a well-performing heat sink, whose price does not reflect its quality, from a company that provides a great service to its (occasionally idiotic) customers. It was easy to install and remove, was packaged well, runs quietly, and looks great. A good fit for small cases (and budgets).
Performance: 8
Price: 8
Presentation: 7
I needed a CPU cooler on a budget, and one that would fit inside my mATX case. Those twin criteria do not sound too demanding, but you would be surprised at the problems that arise when trying to find a cheap heat sink that won’t scrape against the side panel of your case. My search led me to the Reeven Arcziel RC-0903; a top-down, 92mm fan equipped CPU tower cooler. Its black and yellow colour scheme sets it apart from its competitors, and at only £16.65 from ebuyer.com I was anticipating a noticeable upgrade from my stock cooler.
Technical Details:
Model Number: RC-0903
Compatibility: Intel: 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 AMD: AM3 / AM2+ / AM2 / 940 / 939 / 754
Socket AM3+ / FM1 ready
Dimensions: W95 x D121.5 x H86.5mm / W3.74 x D4.78 x H34in
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: 6.5 ~ 32.3dBA
Weight: 383g - 0.85lb (Heatsink Only)
Compatibility: Intel: 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 AMD: AM3 / AM2+ / AM2 / 940 / 939 / 754
Socket AM3+ / FM1 ready
Dimensions: W95 x D121.5 x H86.5mm / W3.74 x D4.78 x H34in
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: 6.5 ~ 32.3dBA
Weight: 383g - 0.85lb (Heatsink Only)
Source: http://www.reeven.com/arcziel-rc-0903/
The unit arrived in a sturdy cardboard box, which included the AMD motherboard brackets, Intel motherboard brackets, spare fan clips for attaching the fan to the heat sink, thermal compound in a plastic sachet, a set of multi-lingual instructions and some Reeven stickers. The cooler is marketed as suitable for all motherboards, and so I did not see a problem with fitting it to my FM1 Athlon II rig. The pre-installed fan meant that I only had to attach the AMD brackets, a very straightforward process of turning four screws. The fan fitted securely, the power cable was sturdy, and the brackets screwed onto the baseplate to form a very sturdy feeling product. The asymmetric design of the copper pipes meant that my RAM was not obscured, although if I was using particularly tall memory sticks, I may have run into an issue. I felt pretty confident before measuring the cooler to size.
The box, spare fan clips, the Intel and AMD brackets.
The overhang of the RAM modules.
At 122mm high, the unit fitted inside my case with ease – an issue that prevented me from buying something taller like a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, due to the issue of headroom. The Arcziel looked like it would fit perfectly onto the CPU, and so I checked the height of the AMD brackets provided.
Just over five inches' tall from the mobo.
I found that the default setting of the brackets was far too tight. As Reeven explicitly warn in the instructions against adjusting the height of the brackets they include, I was reluctant to squeeze the clips together to raise the height from the lowest of three possible settings to the middle. This proved to be too loose, and so I moved one side of the bracket back down to its original position. Without pushing the clips over the hook-fixing on my motherboard, I saw that this would provide a very snug fit. I applied the thermal compound, and attached the unit.
It was a dumbass move, and something I have learned from. The temperatures were worse than the stock cooler and in the prime95 stress test, they bordered on a dangerous level. Thankfully, the Reeven customer service has been awesome, and upon further investigation, the dimensions of the FM1 socket had changed. Upon learning this, Reeven sent a complimentary new set of brackets, and with a tense few minutes of screwdriver wiggling, I was able to remove the unit, fit the new brackets and start again.
The removed heatsink and the new brackets from Reeven. Great guys.
The heat sink has performed admirably since. The fan is quiet, and looks to be simple to upgrade if it takes your fancy. Its vertical configuration put off many reviewers, but I have not noticed a spike in case temperatures. It feels very sturdy, looks great, and would be a great cost-effective upgrade for those on a budget. It's barely audible on idle, and at its full RPM of 2500, it is still very quiet – completely drowned out by my hair dryer-esque GTX 570.
Sitting pretty under the web of cables, and above the hair dryer.
In terms of the temperature difference, the Arcziel has not gone above 48C under prolonged tests in prime 95, whereas the stock cooler would easily get to 64C in no time at all before I would turn it off. It’s a shame that the Athlon II X4 651k doesn’t want to clock above 3300MHz, as I’m confident the Arcziel would keep up with higher overclocks. In conclusion, this is a well-performing heat sink, whose price does not reflect its quality, from a company that provides a great service to its (occasionally idiotic) customers. It was easy to install and remove, was packaged well, runs quietly, and looks great. A good fit for small cases (and budgets).
Performance: 8
Price: 8
Presentation: 7
