Reeven Justice RC-1204 CPU Cooler Review

Chad takes us on a tour of Reeven's Justice 120mm fan operated RC-1204 CPU cooler. Spoiler alert: he seems pretty damn impressed by it.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: Reeven
12 minutes & 6 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 94%
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The Bottom Line

You do have to peel back all of the layers to see the Justice RC-1204 in the proper light, but once it is visible, stand back! This cooler offers top tier performance, it is quieter than most, it looks good, and doesn't cost near what others in its league do. What's not to like?

Introduction, Specifications and Pricing

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Reeven may be a newer name when it comes to CPU cooling solutions, and as of not too long ago, we could say that with an honest face, because before looking at the pair of 140mm cooler they had sent to us, they were nothing more than a company we had seen in a few news blasts. However, looking at the Ouranos and the Okeanos CPU coolers, both 140mm fan cooled designs, we saw two things. First was the fact that they build a solid cooler with enough aesthetic appeal to be very relevant to many of the other top selling coolers at this time. The second thing we learned with those coolers is that Reeven loves the color yellow, and that is not lost on this latest submission either.

While both of those coolers were in the top end of the charts, the design that brings us here today has a slightly tougher road ahead of it. This is due to the fact that this cooler is not only more compact and will fit on a few more places that the previously mentioned coolers would not, it is also based with a 120mm fan in mind to cool its tower. It all seems pretty fitting that we just happened to have a run of 120mm coolers all lined up like this, but it will make it easy to compare this new Reeven submission against a couple of coolers that did really well for themselves, and also did so with a very light attack on the wallet.

Though it may be an uphill climb for the Reeven Justice RC-1204 CPU cooler that we are looking at currently, as the SE 214X does a very nice job for the cost, and the Pure Rock does all that and offers near complete silence, so the bar is set pretty high. For those in the market for a 120mm fan based cooler, and like it to be dressed up and presentable as well, this does give the Pure Rock a hard run for its money in that department, so settle in as we cover the specifications, see what the Reeven Justice costs, and after an in depth look at it, see just how well it stacks up against others still so fresh in our minds.

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Reeven is not so forthcoming when it comes to delivering all the specifications many users like to see. They do show us that the Justice also goes by the name RC-1204, and that it is fully capable of installing to all current AMD and Intel sockets. We then see that the cooler is 162mm tall, that it is 131mm in width, and that it is 105mm deep with the fan installed. They then move to the fan dimensions where we see it is a 25mm thick 120mm diameter fan and slip in that there are six 6mm diameter heat pipes. It is said to run at speeds from 300 to 1500 RPM delivering a maximum of 82.1 CFM with only 0.67 mmH2O of pressure to help it along. We also see that this fan will deliver up to 29.8 dB(A) of noise when in use, and combined with the cooler body, it weighs 930 grams in total.

Here is what they don't mention. The fins are of course aluminum, but there are 53 fins in this stack, and yet a cap fin that is much thicker and made of aluminum. The top plate is also where the aesthetics are added with holes and the Reeven name on it. The do mention the pipes, but not that they and the base are made of copper, and then once assembled get a Nickel plating treatment. They do mention the fan, but they do not mention that the blades are bright yellow, nor do they address these yellow fan clips that are super simple in design, but are truly near genius in the way they work.

Current efforts to locate this cooler inside of the US is fruitless at this point, and while there is talk of them working hard to get into the US markets with a stronger show of force, most e-tailers are already full of many other designs which makes it very tough for Reeven to break out if you will. While we could not locate a live listing showing stock of the Justice RC-1204, in our emails we were told that the MSRP was set at $53 in the market on this side of the pond. While in and of itself, $53 for a CPU air cooler isn't out of the realm of affordable, but with the bar set so high with a pair of $35 submissions, Reeven and the Justice have a lot of work ahead of them.

Packaging

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The Reeven Justice arrives in a white box with a few black swirls for a bit of a pattern. At the top is a mix of yellow and black text offering the company name as well as the product and what sockets it will fit on. Along with an image of the tower without the fan, compatibility gets more specific under that image.

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This side also offers the company and product name at the top, but the image this time around is from down low, and it includes the fan this time. Along the bottom are a trio of features; the easy to install design, the use of six heat pipes, and that the Justice is ready to go for a second fan.

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The back offers the company name and tagline at the top, followed closely by the fact that this cooler is made in Taiwan. Lower on the panel we find dimensional renderings of the cooler and lower still is a wide specifications chart covering many languages.

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The last panel keeps to the trend with the naming at the top, but the majority of the panel is used for precautionary measures. It is here that they take the time to make sure you use the product correctly, and how to do this.

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Reeven also went with the super simple interior packaging. Just a layer of dense foam at the bottom, the cooler set upon that, and a layer of cardboard at the top to isolate the hardware from it. While it does not seem like very much protection, this cooler does arrive in perfect condition.

Reeven Justice RC-1204 CPU Cooler

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Looking at the Justice RC-1204 face to face, it is hard to ignore those 11 yellow blades covering the body of the cooler inside of the black frame. We can also see that the heat pipes are running the same direction as the fan rather than stacked behind one another.

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Now we see that the cooler is really squat, at least as far as the bends in the pipes at the bottom are concerned. You can see that these pipes split the tower into thirds, and to the left it is hard not to notice matching yellow fan clips.

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The back of the cooler offers the same pipe layout as the front does, and as we move up to the fins, we find the outer edges are raised from the center, and when it comes to coolers, that is a beneficial thing.

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The last side of the cooler is a mirror copy of what we saw two images ago. At this point, we would like to draw your eyes to the way the clips work. They simply "plug" into the fan, there is a tab to set between two fins, and then you simply clip them to the shallow ledge at the front and back of this cooler.

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The top of the cooler offers a thicker top plate that covers the heat pipes. Not only it is perforated down the middle with the Reeven name there, it is also cut out at the corners for added aesthetics. The larger holes to either side of the company name are how you would use a screwdriver to install the Justice.

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At the bottom of the stack, we find that the fins are pressed around the pipes from top to bottom to utilize every single fin for cooling potential. We can also see the hole at the bottom that corresponds to one of them above to pass the screwdriver through.

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The top of the base has a wide channel cut into it to accept the cross bar mounting used for this cooler. The raised tabs to the right and left of it allow the cross brackets tabs to lock into the center of the base to ensure a properly centered cooler installation.

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The heat pipes are soldered into the base, and evidence of this is plainly visible on either side. The mating surface is slightly convex, and while actual milling marks are not visible, the final surface is not a mirror polish.

Accessories and Documentation

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The hardware Reeven sends is universal to all installations. The black backplate addresses both AMD with rectangular mounting, and three square Intel options. The top bracket to the left has the corners set for Intel, and notches at the long sides to accept AMD mounting. As for the cross bar at the top, it sets in the base of the cooler. You can also see the small tabs that help it to lock into the cooler.

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AMD and Intel users will need the long studs to pass through the backplate, unless you are an LGA2011 user, as you then opt for the specific standoffs for that socket at the right. The four nuts allow the top bracket to be bolted down, the pair of screws next to them are for the cross bar, and they even offer a small wrench to aide in the installation process.

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The last bag of goodies contains the rest of the kit. Here we see four of the yellow fan clips to add a second fan if you would like. In the middle is an LGA775 spacer made of rubber and four washers to isolate the backplate and help lock the studs in place. We also have the white plastic standoffs that go under the top bracket along with a packet of thermal paste to get you underway.

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Once this folded up bit of paper us unfurled, opening to eight times this size, we are given everything needed to complete the process with the Justice. Great renderings and a step-by-step process allows any user to get this cooling installed correctly and quickly. With so much room in this guide, they even broke it down to most of the Intel sockets, and then on the back is LGA2011 specific and AMD specific sets of instructions. You really cannot ask for much more.

Installation and Finished Product

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We sent the studs through the LGA115X holes in the backplate and have already slipped the black washers over them prior to installing the plate. While AMD sockets do require one of two orientations of this plate, it clears for Intel sockets in all four directions.

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As the guide shows us, it is then that we install the standoffs, set the top bracket into place, and with the provided wrench, we tightened all four nuts until they stopped moving.

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On some motherboards, the provided wrench would suit most users just fine. As we can see it fits well and can easily be turned. However, with our motherboard, access at the top of the motherboard is nil, and we are pleased we have the screwdriver option to use.

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With room on either side of the memory left as this cooler stands behind them, it is easy to gauge that this is indeed a 120mm CPU cooling solution. Thing is though, even with the bright red used here, that bold choice of yellow still looks good, and in our opinion does not clash as much as one might assume.

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Of course the usual suspects when it comes to memory, as long as the heat spreaders aren't that tall will indeed fit into all four slots. With memory such as what we used, we could remove the top, but otherwise, we find one slot almost useless without that option.

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This is a thick bodied tower, but even so there is still plenty of room for that second fan option. We would have loved to have seen that performance as well, but alas, we only have one fan.

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While much of the yellow in the fan is blocked from this angle of viewing the Justice RC-1204, we still have the fan clips to remind us. With most users looking at this for most of the coolers life, we appreciate the measures taken to dress this up for more pleasurable viewing rather than seeing pipe tips and regular fins.

Test System Setup, Thermal Tests and Noise Results

Test System Setup

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I would first like to thank ASUS, InWin, Patriot and Fractal Design for supplying products for me to test with.

To see our testing methodology and to find out what goes into making our charts, please refer to our CPU Cooler Testing and Methodology article for that information.

Thermal Results

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Idle temperatures with the Justice were on the low-end with a reported average of only 25.75 degrees. When loaded though, that number doubles to a result of 51.5 degrees with the CPU at stock. Considerably better than stock, it is also able to outperform both of the more affordable solutions we were talking about earlier. Looking to either side of it on the charts we find that for its pricing, it does pretty well.

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Once the overclock was applied, the idle temperature did go up to 27.5 degrees. Once we loaded the system and waited for things to level out, we found all of the testing was very consistent no matter how it is oriented with the 70.66 degree average here. Again, considering the cost of the coolers that surround the results shown here, this is very affordable performance.

Noise Level Results

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To get the 26 dB result shown on this chart, you must first limit the fan speed to 1000 RPM as ours reported for the stock testing. 2 dB out of the top of the charts is impressive, and within that range, most users will never hear that difference behind the door of a chassis.

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While slightly louder than a few we have tested previously, the 38 dB rating we found with the fan spinning 1515 RPM is still really good. Of course, this is a touch more audible than some of the most "silent" solutions, but this will go a lot of places the others won't or can't.

Final Thoughts

There is no doubt that at the beginning of this review we were sort of harsh to Reeven and the Justice CPU cooler with us having the Pure Rock and SE 214X so fresh in our minds. Of course, there are a select few things of each that sort of offer them an advantage to a lot of users, the Justice RC-1204 is in a league above them.

Stylistically, you get a really nice cooler to look at once it is installed, and if you don't mind being bold, or already have a yellow trimmed motherboard, Reeven definitely has the right cooler for you. While we have seen coolers that may be slightly less audibly intrusive, the Justice offers a sweet mix of performance, style, and cost.

The fan clips on this, while so simple in their design, are some of the most solid, well thought out, and easiest to use designs made on the market. If you are one of those who has a pile-o-fans lying around and is always trying them out on the cooler, only the NIC C5 cooler offers an easier attachment method when it comes to fans. Speaking of the fan, this does lead us to the only issue we did see in this design. Since the cooler is so squat in its design, there is little room to shift the tower away from the memory.

While they do offer clearance to use naked or lower height sticks with heatspreaders, there are a lot of other coolers now that afford room for any and every stick on the plant, so that is something to keep in mind when selecting this cooler. Otherwise, from its prefect condition out of the box, all the way through the installation, use, and lack of serious noise coming from this cooler, we find it to be well done and thought out, near perfect.

In saying near perfect, there is a lot that comes into play for that to be said. There is no way that you can complain about the performance, you could, but you have to take it into perspective. Keep in mind there is only five degrees between this and a very pricy AIO. Since most users will use the PWM functionality this fan offers, it is rare that you will get to the level that we reached, but even in the hottest of sessions using the PC, you will have to pay attention to pick up on this cooler inside of a chassis, as 38dB is not that loud at all.

Once you have your mind wrapped around all of that, it mostly comes down to the all mighty dollar. To obtain better performance than what we find with the Justice RC-1204, you have to spend at least $20 more for a degree, and some triple the $54 MSRP that Reeven has set for this cooler to take the top of the chart. We would simply opt for the second fan, boost the efficiency a degree or two, and enjoy the Justice in all its yellow and aluminum glory.

TweakTown award
Performance 93%
Quality including Design and Build 96%
General Features 95%
Bundle and Packaging 91%
Value for Money 97%
Overall 94%

The Bottom Line: You do have to peel back all of the layers to see the Justice RC-1204 in the proper light, but once it is visible, stand back! This cooler offers top tier performance, it is quieter than most, it looks good, and doesn't cost near what others in its league do. What's not to like?

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Chad joined the TweakTown team in 2009 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. After a year of gaming, Chad caught the OC bug. With overclocking comes the need for better cooling, and Chad has had many air and water setups. With a few years of abusing computer parts, he decided to take his chances and try to get a review job. As an avid overclocker, Chad is always looking for the next leg up in RAM and coolers.

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