Introduction
We have earlier reviewed the GI-Paladin-400 from PCCOOLER and this cooler still has our high praise for the price-to-performance ratio in its class [per our tested coolers so far]. PCCOOLER has released two new coolers which are GI-EK6000 and GI-EK6020 White Plus. Basically, both coolers are the same with the only difference coming from the color. The GI-EK6000 is our topic of interest here and this cooler packs 6 composite heat-pipes going in a dense 50 aluminum fins forming a good enough heat sink capable of handling up to 250W TDP [according to the manufacturer]. This cooler is out-of-the-box compatible with the Intel LGA1700 socket which is a plus.
Product: PCCOOLER GI-EK6000 Plus
Price: US $53.90 [At the time of the review]
If you are wondering about the nomenclature of “Plus”, that indicates the push/pull configuration using two fans.
Specifications
Packaging and Unboxing
The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard box with a PCCOOLER theme all around.
The PCCOOLER GI-EK6000 Plus is compatible with the Intel LGA1770/1200/115x and AMD AM4 sockets. GI-PCCOOLER has paid attention to the mounting pressure issue on the LGA1700 socket and has used I-Shape mounting for better mounting pressure on that socket. We will test that once our Intel 12th gen based system gets online.
The PF-130 fans included in the box are rated for 81 CFM air pressure. The static pressure rating is 2.18mmH₂O. PCCOOLER is on the right track.
The heatsink is sandwiched between the fans. The accessory box was placed on the top and we took it out when taking the above picture.
Contents
Let’s take a look at what is provided in the box.
There is a white color accessory box with mounting hardware.
The user manual is sufficient to provide proper guidelines for the installation of the cooler.
There is an Intel backplate. The backplate from its design seems universal. The good thing on the backplate is the blue clips are clearly labeled with the corresponding Intel sockets. Yes, this cooler is compatible with the Intel LGA1700 socket.
The above picture shows the side of the backplate which faces the motherboard. Personally, I don’t like to paste backplates on my motherboard but that is me with my preference!
We have a bracket with multiple mounting holes on the arms. The standoff side faces up on the motherboard.
We have:
- 4x Gray/White color spacers for the Intel
- 4x Intel long pillars
- 4x Red color spacers for AMD AM4
- 4x AM4 long pillars
We have a Y-splitter cable provided.
4x metal clips are provided.
Closer Look
It is time to take a closer look at the components. The PCCOOLER GI-EK6000 Plus is compatible with Intel 1700/1200/115x and AMD AM4 sockets. PCCOOLER has mentioned this cooler to be able to handle thermal dissipation of up to 250W. The dimension of the cooler is 105x130x158mm where 158mm is the height of the cooler. The cooler weighs 960g.
We have a total of 50 aluminum fins stacked up. It is a standard sort of layout. There is no step design on the heat sink. The fins are in a straight line manner and there is no v shape notch or any other peculiar design element in the heat sink. The front and rear sides are identical in layout. The exterior sides are protruding making the larger inner side have an inset. The complete assembly is black color coated. The 50 fins are providing roughly 5900 cm² surface area for heat dissipation. In comparison the GI-Paladin 400 has 56 fins providing more surface area. But 50 fins with dual fans setup has a compensating factor here.
The left and right sides of the heat sink are identical. The outer sides have insets. This is where the metallic fan clips are attached to secure the fan on the heat sink. The heatsink is not that thick.
There is a plastic-made stylish cover on the top with the PCCOOLER branding in the center. For once I almost thought we had a brushed aluminum finish there, but it is all plastic material.
The above picture shows the displacement of the heat pipes in the heat sink. We have a U shape design with pipes covering the heat sink for effective heat dissipation. The placement of the pipes can be better understood when taking a look at the base.
The PCCOOLER GI-EK6000 Plus is using 6x composite heat pipes. They are copper made with black color coating and have a thickness of 6mm each.
The mounting plate is pre-installed on the base of the cooler and it is removable. There is a large head screw in the middle securing the mounting plate on the base. The spring-loaded screws are pre-installed on the mounting plate.
There is a protective cover on the base of the heat sink. It needs to be removed before installing the cooler. The base of the cooler measures roughly 38x44mm. We have a full copper plate making a contact with the CPU IHS.
PCCOOLER has provided their PF130 PWM fans with the GI-EK6000 Plus cooler. The fans are 130mm in size and have 9 black color blades. The rear fan has inversed layout on the blades.
The frame is not circular with specially designed mounting corners. The hub has a PCCOOLER branded sticker on it. Each mounting corner has an anti-vibration pad pasted on it. These fans are using Hydraulic Bearings.
The backside of the fans shows the 4-arms assembly on the mainframe with one arm having catchers. The wires are routed through these catchers towards the exterior of the fans. The fans are manufactured in China.
Sorry for the potato picture quality. There are arrow symbols indicating the direction in which the blades will spin and the direction of the airflow. The inversed side of the rear fan should face the rear of the motherboard. I am mentioning this because PCCOOLER has shown arrow directions on the rear fan which are not correct and if you would follow those arrow directions, you will install the rear fan in push configuration, not in pull.
The fans have 4-pin PWM fan connectors and are flat in design.
The specifications of the fan are:
| Dimension | 130x130x25mm |
| Type | 4-pin PWM Connector |
| Speed | 800-1600 RPM ± 10% |
| Airflow | 81 CFM |
| Air Pressure | 2.18 mmH₂O |
| Noise | 16.8~28.6 dB(A) |
| Rated Voltage | 12VDC |
| Operating Voltage | 10.8~13.2VDC |
| Starting Voltage | 7VDC |
| Rated Current | 0.29A |
| Power Input | 3.48W |
Here are the pictures of the assembled cooler.
Installation
The height of the sockets on the backplate is reduced as compared to the one on the GI-Paladin 400. Hence we faced more difficulty installing the cooler in the PC Case. We would suggest laying the case flat on the table and then proceeding with the installation. PCCOOLER could have used long pillars/standoffs on the backplate which would have reduced the hassle. We have to deal with 10 components in total to mount the installation kit. Please refer to the user manual for installation steps.
We have faced mounting pressure which was uneven despite several attempts. It took 4 attempts to get it closer to the even spread.
Clearance
The height of the cooler is 158mm. Keep this in mind while planning your build with respect to the PC Chassis as the chassis should have support for CPU cooler’s height of a minimum of 160mm or so.
As can be seen in the picture, the cooler has no RAM clearance issue.
The cooler does not block the first 16x PCIe slot on the MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK.
The rear fan was a perfect fit as well.
The cooler has a good enough clearance for the top side of the motherboard as well.
Testing
The following configuration has been used: –
- Intel i7 10700k
- MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
- T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE
- addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
- bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
- Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in open-frame layout
Here is the settings table for testing:
| Clock (MHz) | 3800 All Cores |
| Voltage (V) | 1.030 |
| Clock (MHz) | 4700 All Cores |
| Voltage (V) | 1.248 |
| Clock (MHz) | 5000 All Cores |
| Voltage (V) | 1.324 |
| Turbo Boost | Disabled |
| C-States | Disabled |
| Speed Step | Disabled |
| Thermal Paste | Noctua NT-H1 |
| Thermal Paste Application | Dot Method in the center. |
| Test Run Time | 30 minutes |
| Idling Time | 10 minutes |
| Fan Speed | 100% PWM Duty Cycle |
| Pump Speed [Where applicable] | Connected to the AIO Pump header to run at 100% speed |
| Header | CPU_Fan header for the fans and Pump_Header for the pump |
| Software | AIDA64 6.3 Extreme [FPU] |
We are using Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste for coolers testing. Using the same thermal paste for all coolers would ensure standardization. Delta temperatures are reported on the graphs. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.
Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of the chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.
Let’s take a look at the results.
3.8GHz All Cores
4.7GHz All Cores
5.0GHz All Cores
The PCCOOLER GI-EK6000 Plus has a fantastic performance.
Noise
The Noise level was approximately 54 dBA at an ambient of 32 dBA. This is a bit of a high noise level at fans’ full speed.
Conclusion
We have tested the PCCOOLER’s new cooler named GI-EK6000 Plus. This is a single tower configuration in push/pull configuration. The GI-EK6000 Plus is compatible with Intel Sockets LGA: 115x, 1200, 1700, and AMD AM4 sockets. The tower comprises 50 aluminum fins. The dimension of the cooler is 105x130x158mm where 158mm is the height of the cooler. Each fin has a 0.4mm thickness. The 50pcs stacked aluminum fins are around 5900 cm² thermal surface area which tad less than 6600cm² thermal surface area on the GI-Paladin 400 cooler.
This cooler is using 6x composite heat pipes having a thickness of 6mm each. This is a critical difference when compared to the GI-Paladin 400 which has 4 heat pipes. The heat pipes are soldered to the copper base and the complete assembly is in the black color coating. They are in a U shape design making contact with the fin stack. There is a plastic-made top cover with the PCCOOLER branding which is a nice touch. The overall build quality is satisfactory. The base measures 38x44mm. The cooler has a pre-installed base plate which is a wise move. There are two spring-loaded screws on the base plate or crossbar.
This cooler comes with two PF130 PWM black fans. These fans have a dimension of 130x130x25 and have a 120mm fan mounting spacing. These fans are rated for up to 1600 RPM ±10% speed with a maximum airflow rating of 81 CFM at the air pressure rating of 2.18 mmH₂O. The fan features 9 blades to ensure high pressure with low noise operations. The installation of the cooler is somewhat convenient and involves only 10 mounting hardware items. The height of the sockets on the backplate is short and it would be difficult installing the cooler inside the PC Case with the case standing on the table. I would suggest laying the case on the table, flat. Also, the Intel backplate is required to be pasted on the backside of the motherboard which is something I personally don’t prefer. Our sample did not come with the thermal paste but PCCOOLER has mentioned that the cooler comes with GT-3 thermal paste with a thermal conductivity rating of 12.8W/mK.
The PCCOOLER GI-EK6000 Plus has an MSRP of US$53.90. The PCCOOLER is offering 3 years warranty on the cooler. The thermal performance of this cooler is good in its class. We pitched this cooler against the DeepCool AS500 Plus White cooler and the GI-EK6000 Plus came on top. The PCCOOLER GI-EK6000 Plus offers fantastic performance at a tad less price compared to the DeepCool AS500 Plus (the US $70) and comes recommended by us.
We are thankful to the PCCOOLER for the provision of the GI-EK6000 Plus cooler for the review.
