With the introduction of the new Raijintek Pallas 120 RGB, Raijintek has refreshed the original Pallas cooler, introduced on the market in 2014. Raijintek has made a complete redesign of this sff cpu cooler. The first big change in the Pallas design is the matte black color of the aluminium fin-stack and heat-pipes. The original mirror finish nickel-plated copper base has been replaced with a direct-touch base: now the six cooler's copper heat pipes are in direct contact with the CPU. Raijintek has also add an RGB LED illumination using a fan with 10 diodes (4-pin standard RGB header). Now it can support AM4 and LGA2066 sockets, in addition to LGA115x and AM3+.
Raijintek in this new version of the Pallas has maintained the C-type format and the extreme compact dimensions of the heatsink, enlarging in this way.
Speaking of size, the Pallas is only a little bit larger than a 120mm fan, measuring 140mm across and 150mm deep. One of the most important aspect for people who are building a small size system is the heatsink's height, that, in the Pallas is just 68mm including the fan. And in addiction it is also not heavy; it weight only 550 g, including the fan.
Like others C-type heatsink it has six 6mm heatpipes in a classic arrangement for this tipe of cooler.
The fan features a 4-pin PWM header, a hydraulic bearing and a speed modulable between 200 and 1,400 RPM. It pushes up to 41.71 CFM of air, with a maximum noise output of 28.43 dBA. Two standard clips hook the fan on the heatsink body. Raijintek Pallas 120 RGB is available at the price of 39.90 $/€.
The Packaging
The cooler comes in a colorful packing made of a cardboard box. On the top cover, there is a Raijintek brand name and logo printed on the top left side. The top side of the box has a white color background with a picture cooler, in side position, printed on it. A caliber highlights the Raijintek Pallas height showing that is 68mm.
On the right side of the packing there is a table listing all the cooler's specifications, including socket compatibility. The cooler is compatible with most of the sockets. Pallas 120 Rgb is printed on the front of the box.
Inside the Box
Once we open the box, we can find the 120mm rgb fan, the black finished heatsink, the installation guide and the accessories inside transparent containers.
Overall inside the Pallas 120 Rgb box, Raijintek has provided following contents: 1x Fan;
2x Fan clips; 1x Heatsink;
4x Plastic spacers; 1x Backplate for Intel/AMD;
2x Stand off; 1x crossbar;
4x Knurled threaded screws; 1x Intel/AMD mounting clips; 4x LGA2011 screws; 2x M3 screws; 4x Metal Nuts; 1x Thermal Paste; 1x installation guide.
The Heatsink
When you see the Raijintek Pallas 120 RGB for the first time, you are immediately struck by its appearance. Indeed, if already there aren't available on the market many cooling devices with a black finish, those with the C type shape are even less so. We can almost define it as a rarity.
Going to look the Pallas 120 RGB more closely, it features six heatpipes, each with a diameter of 6 mm.
They have the task to transfer heat from the baseplate to the aluminium fin stack of the radiator.
Heatpipes are bended to create a C shape; in this way the height of the Raijintek Pallas is only 55 mm (without the fan).
This is a great news for everyone who want to build a SFF pc without renouncing keep all cool inside the chassis.
All pipes join together into heatsink base creating a perfectly plane and continuous surface in direct contact with the cpu.
Raijintek has completed the redesign of the Pallas with the addition of the Aeolus β-RGB ultra slim fan.
It measures 120mm with a thickness of only 13 mm and can spin from 200 RPM to 1400 RPM. It ensures an air flow of 41.71 CFM (Max) and an air pressure of 0.67 mmH2O (max).
The Aeolus fan needs two cable for each power and RGB lighting. There are a standard 4-pin PWM cable and a 12V 4-pin RGB header cable.
There are 17 traslucent blades set inside the black frame; on the rotor there are placed the LEDs whose light illuminates the system through the plastic.
Overall together with the fan, the Raijintek Pallas is very compact, measuring only 68 mm in height.
TEST SETUP
Given that the Raijintek Pallas 120 Rgb is a heatsink suitable for small chassis, we decided to test it under these conditions.
Our test rig is based on an Intel's Z370 platform. Specifically, we use the MSI Z170i Gaming Pro AC paired with an Intel Core i7-6700K.
At the side of the CPU we put 16GB (2 x 8GB) of Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR4 clocked at 3,000MHz. The system features a Crucial MX500 1TB SSD and a EVGA Supernova G2 750 power supply. The operating system is Windows 10 64-bit (latest update).
We have completed the build with a ZOTAC RTX 2060 SUPER Mini graphic card.
To perform the test we also used, in addition to the Raijintek one, the following heatsinks: Intel stock cooler, Noctua NH D15, Noctua NH-L12S, Scythe Big Shuriken 3, Reeven Brontes, Be Quiet Shadow Rock LP, Cryorig C7 and Cryorig C1
CPU: Intel i7 6700k
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR4 16 gb @ 3000MHz
Motherboard: MSI Z170i Gaming Pro AC
Cooling: Raijintek Pallas 120 RGB and others
SSD: Crucial MX500 1TB
Power Supply: EVGA Supernova G2 750
GPU: - ZOTAC RTX 2060 SUPER Mini
All the components have been supplied by courtesy of our wallet.
The installation
With the new Pallas 120 Raijintek has introduces also a nwe undated assembly kit, expanding compatibility to AMD AM4 socket.
During the installation, regardless of whether we are doing a build with a AMD or Intel socket, we have to use the same universal backplate.
The first thing to do is match the holes on the heatsink plate with those on the motherboard.
After this we have to secure the backplate on the rear side of the motherboard with screw and counternuts. We also have to remember to insert between MB an nuts the 4 rubber washers.
The next step is to install the mounting clip on top of the screws, closing the block with the 4 metal nuts provided.
Therefore we have to insert the two stand-offs into the holes of the mounting clip.
Raijintek has set up 4 of them in the middle of each side of the clip, so we can rotate the heat sink according to our needs.
We have therefore reached the final stages of the installation. After putting the thermal paste on the processor we can finally go to mounting the Pallas, fixing the crossbar on the clip with two M3 screws.
All that remains is to mount the fan and connect its power cable to the motheboard header.
Overall the installation has been rather simple and there were no particularly critical or difficult passages. This is a sign of a good product engineering by Raijintek.
However, it is fair to point out that during the test we found that, with ram above 39mm, there could be some problems of cohabitation between the two elements , in case of particular orientations of the heatsink.
The same thing in the case of particularly generously sized motherboard heatsinks or bulky I/O covers.
We have therefore decided not to use the G.Skill Trident Z (that are 44mm tall) anymore instead opting for the sober Crucial Tacticals, which with their 37mm height are perfect.
However, it should be added that this is actually a "non problem" as it is quite common in all C-shaped heat sinks.
Overall, we could classify the ease of installation of the Raijintek Pallas 120 with an 8/10.
TESTING RESULTS
For discovering the real perfomance of the Raijintek Pallas 120 we have used 3 different test: Cinebench 15, Blender Classroom scene render and wPrime 2.10.
We have repeated the tests 3 time to have a result thet can be the more accurate possible.
After every check we recorded the highest result (both temperature and noise) and then made an average of the results.
In this review we have choose to compare the Pallas 120 with other low-profile heat sinks around the same price range: Noctua NH-L12S, Scythe Big Shuriken 3, Reeven Brontes, Be Quiet Shadow Rock LP, Cryorig C7 and C1.
It must be said that the Cryorig C1 costs a little more than the rest of the group (69.90 $)
In addition we includes to the test the Intel stock cooler and the classical Noctua NH-D15, to give performance reference both at the top and at the bottom.
Now going to analyze the tests result.
With stock cpu settings the CPU temperature with the Raijintek Pallas 120 RGB as cooling solution, signs 64.8 degrees.
This result is good and puts the Pallas on the same level of other similar encumbrance heatsinks.
The Noctua NH-12LS performs a little bit better: 3.7 degrees, that is 5.7%.
Among the heatsinks designed specifically for small cases, however, the Cryorig C1 to soar, with its 59.45 degrees celsius.
However, among the heatsinks designed specifically for small houses, the Cryorig C1 stands out over all, with its 59.45 Celsius degrees.
In overclock situation the results change, and the Raijintek performs a little worse being overtaken by the Reeven Brontes.
In OC circumstances, the performance gap widens and the Pallas loses enough ground from both the Scythe Big Shuriken 3 and the Noctua NH-L12S, respectively 3.3 and 6.1 degrees.
Considering the difficulty of the test, the result is still satisfactory.
In the phonometric measurements during the test the Raijintek Pallas 120 RGB, with its 34 dB, scored an excellent result.
In fact, it ranks third in the ranking behind the Noctua NH D15 and the Be quiet Shadow Rock LP, which with a sound pressure level of only 30 dB is the best among the "mini ITX" heat sinks.
Overall we are therefore faced with a heat sink that can do its duty at every juncture, without particular flaws such as the Cryorig C1 which is excellent for cooling but too noisy.
The Raijintek Pallas 120 then earns a nice 8 in the performance anzalysis.
Now let's talk about the price / performance ratio.
We took the Intel stock heatsink as a reference in our analysis. We then calculated how many dollars each of the other coolers costs for each grade less.
Well the Pallas costs 2.97 $ per grade, which puts him in fifth place in this particular ranking.
It costs 0.41 cents more than the Noctua NH-L12S (+ 16%), 0.45 $ more than the Reeven Brontes (+17.8%) and 0.27 $ more than the Scythe Big Shuriken 3 (+9.9%).
We then prepared a further chart that analyzes the piece / sound pressure ratio.
Always using the Intel heatsink as a reference point, we calculated how much each decibel costs less.
This time the Raijintek Pallas 120 RGB reaches the summit with $ 1.38 per dB.
If we go to see an aggregate analysis of the price / performance ratio, the Pallas is behind the second place on a par with the Reeven Brontes.
The ratio is very similar to that of the first classified the Scythe Big Shuriken 3 but also to the Noctua NH-L12S.
The differences are really very small, around 2.3-2.9%, so we can say that the first four coolers are on a par with the price / performance level.
CONCLUSIVE THOUGHTS
Before trying the Raijintek Pallas I had high expectations. In fact from its presentation it seemed to me a heatsink that, besides having a fantastic appearance, was also well engineered and therefore able to handle important workloads.
Well, my expectations remained satisfied, or rather they were almost completely satisfied.
In all honesty, given the great quality that transpire at first sight, I expected that could be even better than the Noctua NH-12LS. In this way it would have set a new performance standard in the low-profile heat sink segment.
And I was left with the doubt that with some slight changes in the design of the base of the Pallas 120, this result would be easily achievable.
Overall, however, the Pallas is a high quality product that allows all those who want to create a system of reduced dimensions to have a further choice in an offer that until now was a bit asphyxiated.
Now there are four possibilities on the market: the Reeven Brontes, the Noctua NH12-LS, the Scythe Big Shuriken 3 and the investigated here Raijintek Pallas.
Whoever decides to choose the Raijintek Pallas 120 (whether with or without RGB) will not only get a cooler with an exceptional appearance but also a cooling device that performs well in every situation as well as being really quiet.
We have therefore reached the moment to give an overall opinion to this Raijintek Pallas 120. We give to it an overall rating of 8.5 / 10.
Below you can find the summary table of the votes in the single sections.
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