CRYORIG H7 CPU Cooler Review: Worry-free Compatibility
A Closer Look at the CRYORIG H7
The CRYORIG H7 is a tower air cooler measuring 73 mm x 123 mm x 145 mm without a fan installed. It weighs 577 grams but with a single bundled fan installed, it weighs up to 711g. The H7 has a 40-piece aluminum fin array measuring 0.4mm thick per piece with a 2.2mm gap between each other. The intake side has a unique somewhat honey-comb design that CRYORIG calls the “Hive Fin”, meant to act as flow-acceleration channels to increase the rate of airflow across the array.
The H7 was also designed to be mindful of RAM clearance with its three-piece nickel-plated copper heatpipe positioned off-set from the center to eliminate any memory module compatibility with the intake fan installed. The side of the fin array are partially open in the strip of area before the first heatpipe begins and right where the second heatpipe ends. This serves as additional airflow exhaust for the accelerated intake air.
The top of the CRYORIG H7 has a thick black cap that provides a very tidy appearance to the heatsink instead of an unnattractive typical heatpipe wick at the end with typical air coolers. At the center of the top and through the fin array is a hole which serves as an access port for removing the integrated X-bar mounting mechanism if necessary (perhaps if an alternate mounting kit is needed for a future motherboard socket standard for example). The X-bar mounting mechanism is the reason why the accessory kit did not have plenty of parts. This approach should also simplify installation a lot more.
The base itself where the heatpipes converge is very clean with nary an extra flux can be found. The nickel finish also gives a very polished, high quality look to the H7. The actual contact surface measures 40 x 35.15mm, which is smaller than most heatsinks. Typical heatsinks usually measure 38 x 38 mm which is the full coverage for an Intel LGA2011 CPU integrated heatspreader. The CRYORIG H7 however is officially compatibile to only Intel LGA115x and AMD motherboards so this is not a major concern. The contact surface has a machined finish with obvious off-center rounding marks. This contact surface is protected with a plastic film fresh out of the box and can leave adhesive residue (visible in the photo below) so cleaning the surface is suggested before using.
The bundled QF120 is the “Balanced” version which can ramp up to 1600RPM. There is also a Silent and Performance version which operate at a maximum of 1000RPM and 2200RPM respectively. The QF120 is a PWM fan with sleeved connectors and has a semi-open frame that allows additional air intake along the front. The corners are also rubberized for vibration and noise dampening.
RPM range as measured by ASUS FanXPert II is displayed below:
