Reeven Coldwing 12 and 14 Fans Review
Reeven is fresh in the scene, most notable for their CPU coolers so far but quickly expanding their product line. Two recent additions to their product lineup are the new Coldwing fan series, designed for mainstream use and with affordability in mind. Clad in standard Reeven yellow, the Coldwing fan series comes in both 120mm and 140mm fan models as economical case fan replacements.
The packaging for both the Coldwing 12 and Coldwing 14 use standard transparent plastic boxes with paper inserts. This allows for clear view of the actual fan inside while having a small footprint. At the back are multi-lingual table of specifications for the different fan variants of the same Coldwing fan size. For the Coldwing 12 for example, Reeven offers the following:
| Product Number | Fan Speed | Air Flow | Static Pressure | Noise Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RPM | CFM | inch H2O | dBA | |
| RM1225S08B | 800 | 43.0 | 0.019 | 14.5 |
| RM1225S20B | 2000 | 106.7 | 0.114 | 36.6 |
| RY1225S15B-RP | 300~1500 | 16.6~82.1 | 0.003~0.067 | 4.0~29.8 |
| RM1225S20B-PS | 500~1300(low) 500~2000(high) |
27.6~69.1(low) 27.6~106.7(high) |
0.008~0.049(low) 0.008~0.114(high) |
4.3~25.6(low) 4.3~36.3(high) |
The four variants include a low-speed 800RPM 3-pin version, a high-speed 2000 RPM 3-pin version, and two more with PWM connectors and variable fan speeds that top out at 1500 RPM (such as the sample on hand here) and a 2000 RPM PWM version.
For the 140mm Coldwing 14, there are four variants as well having three 3-pin versions that top out at 800, 1200 and 1700 RPM respectively and a PWM version that tops out at 1700RPM.
| Product Number | Fan Speed | Air Flow | Static Pressure | Noise Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RPM | CFM | inch H2O | dBA | |
| RM1425S08B | 800 | 43.5 | 0.018 | 14.3 |
| RM1425S12B | 1200 | 65.2 | 0.041 | 23.2 |
| RM1425S17B | 1700 | 92.4 | 0.091 | 36.4 |
| RM1425S17B-P | 300~1700 *300~1300 |
16.3~92.4 *16.3~69.9 |
0.002~0.091 *0.002~0.048 |
5.8~36.4 *5.8~24.7 |
The contents of each fan package is different. For the 140mm Reeven Coldwing 14 RM1425S17B-P fan set, four screws and four tool-free rubberized mounting is included with a lower-speed adapter for running the fan up to only 1300 RPM. For the 120mm Reeven Coldwing 12 RY1225S15B-RP, a MOLEX adapter is included as well as four mounting screws.
The Coldwing 14 uses standard 120mm mounting holes for better compatibility, thus it does not have a square frame for 140mm compatibility mounting. There are nine blades in total with straight struts and the blades have a more prominent leading curve than trailing edge. The hub itself is 39mm in diameter.
The 120mm Coldwing 12 has 11 blades and has a very steep curve towards the hub and relaxes as it reaches the edges. Unlike the Coldwind 14, the struts are thinner and curve against the blade direction.
Both of these fans have a standard 25mm thickness and using black frames that contrast the yellow blades and hub. The connector cables are all 30cm long and are braided.
Testing Methodology and Benchmarks
| Processor: | Intel Core i7-5775C |
| Motherboard: | ASRock Z97 Extreme 4 |
| Heatsink: | Cooler Master Hyper 212+ |
| Drive: | OCZ Agility 4 256GB (OS), Seagate 1TB 7200 RPM HDD |
| Video Card: | AMD Radeon HD5450 Passive |
| Case: | Cooler Master MasterBox 5 |
- Delta temperatures are used. Ambient temperature monitored at case intake.
- All case and heat sink fans were benchmarked with fan control settings disabled and running at 100% unless otherwise specified.
- Noise test was conducted in a synthetic setting so that it is the only fan running with the fan blowing into a case intake and the SPL-8810 sound meter was placed 15 CM away at the side.
- Temperatures are averaged (last minute) from individual core temperature results monitored by AIDA64 after 15 minutes.
- Overclocked settings have Vcore voltage manually set to 1.225V at 4.0GHz with EIST disabled.
- Fans were mounted as intake and run plugged in to a constant +12V voltage source.
- All tests were taken at least three times to get the final result.
| Comparison Fans | |||
| Name | max RPM | Price per piece in USD | Bearing |
| Noctua NF-F12 | 1500 | $24.99 | SSO2 |
| Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15 | 1850 | $25-30 | FDB |
| BitFenix Spectre Pro 120 | 1200 | $19.99 | FDB |
| Noctua NF-A15 | 1200 | $29.99 | SSO2 |
| Noctua NF-F12 iPPC 2000 | 2000 | $26.90 | SSO2 |
| Enermax Twister Storm | 3500 | $22.90 | Twister Bearing |
| Reeven Coldwing 14 PWM | 1700 | $16.99 | Sleeve |
| Reeven Coldwing 12 PWM | 1500 | $10.99 | Sleeve |
Benchmarks
Sound Profile (Fan RPM vs Noise Level) – Room ambient noise is 34.8dBA:
| Fan Speed | Reeven Coldwing 12 |
| RPM | dBA |
| 1500 | 41.1 |
| 1400 | 39.9 |
| 1300 | 39.1 |
| 1200 | 38.6 |
| 1100 | 37.9 |
| 1000 | 36.4 |
| 900 | 35.3 |
| 800 | 35 |
| Fan Speed | Reeven Coldwing 14 |
| RPM | dBA |
| 1700 | 44.4 |
| 1600 | 42.5 |
| 1500 | 41.3 |
| 1400 | 39.9 |
| 1300 | 38.3 |
| 1200 | 37 |
| 1100 | 36.3 |
| 1000 | 35.5 |
The Coldwing series is not Reeven’s first fan, nor will it be the last. It is not their flagship fan (that honor belongs to the fluid dynamic bearing Euros fan series), but it is important in that it fills that mainstream market segment. It is designed to be affordable and within reach but Reeven was also careful not to completely overlook performance.
As expected, they are sleeve bearing units and not particularly the quietest even at lower RPM where they would exhibit some grinding hum but they are good performers considering the price and they move quite a bit of air.The bundled tool-free noise-dampening fan mount was a welcome addition to the 140mm unit and was unfortunately absent in the 120mm model.
These are fans designed as a replacement for standard case fans originally bundled with an enclosure. The yellow-only choice however limits the color-coordinating option as yellow is not particularly common, but then again, that’s what modding is for. For case replacement fans, these Coldwing fans are a decent option, especially for those on a tighter budget.
