Raijintek Pallas CPU Cooler Review
Raijintek's Pallas is a new and inexpensive slim CPU Cooler aimed at the Mini-ITX segment; intended to compete with Thermalright’s top-of-the-line AXP-200.
Noise
High cooling performance achieved over a small surface is always accompanied by more noise. The Pallas’ maximum fan speed is 1423 RPM, which is faster than the AXP-200’s 1295 RPM ceiling. Those speeds result in noise levels of 45.5 and 44 dB(A), respectively. At 1000 RPM, the Thermalright cooler is still quieter than Raijintek’s offering by 0.5 dB(A). The newcomer comes in at 39.7 dB(A) after slowing down its fan. This doesn’t have to be the last word, though. Its fan can be further slowed all the way to 650 RPM via the PWM signal.
Raijintek's motor noise is noticeable in open or mesh-heavy PC cases; there’s some room for improvement in this area to quiet things down. Unfortunately, there’s (literally) less room for these improvements than there would be for a 2.5cm-thick fan. Then again, the AXP-200’s fan isn’t completely quiet either.
In spite of using the same fan as Raijintek's Ereboss, the Pallas’ results are somewhat worse than its sibling’s. One of the reasons for this is the different position of the downward-facing fan in relation to the measurement microphone. Using a different fan isn’t possible without major alterations either, since the included retention clips are specifically designed for low-profile fans. Raijintek doesn’t include an installation frame for larger fans like Thermalright does with its AXP-200 either.
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