Introduction
PCCOOLER has released a new cooler in the PALADIN line of air coolers named PALADIN S9. This cooler is available in black and white colors. This cooler is a dual tower configuration in 120mm sizing. This cooler packs 6 composite heat-pipes going in dense 43+5 aluminum fins 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. The cooler has stylish covers with A-RGB backlighting. The provided 120mm fans also pack A-RGB lighting.
Product: PCCOOLER PALADIN S9
Price: US $66.99 MSRP
Specifications
Closer Look
The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard box with a PCCOOLER theme all around.
We have a nice presentation of the contents in the box. The accessory box is tucked between both towers and they are placed inside thick black color Styrofoam pads. The fans are separately placed in the foam pad.
There is a white color accessory box provided in the main box.
PCCOOLER has provided a user guide to help the user with the installation process.
PCCOOLER has provided:
- 1x PWM Y-splitter cable
- 1x A-RGB 5V, Standard interface Y cable with headers and socket
There are 4x metal clips for both fans.
PCCOOLER has provided screws and related mounting hardware in separate transparent containers. Each container is labeled for ease of identification.
We have a plastic-made backplate for the Intel platform.
The backplate has two self-adhesive strips. These will hold the backplate in its place during the installation. Personally, I am against the idea of using anything which requires pasting on the motherboard area.
PCCOOLER has provided:
- 2x Intel Mounting Brackets
- 2x AMD Mounting Brackets
It is time to take a closer look at the cooler. The PCCOOLER PALADIN S9 is compatible with Intel 20xx/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 130×136.5x156mm (LxWxH) where 156mm is the height of the cooler.
We have a total of 48 aluminum fins stacked up. It is a standard sort of layout. Both towers are identical in layout. The heatsink is following a stepped design. We have 43 fins on the top followed by 5 fins in a recessed design. This is done to ensure the maximum clearance for high-profile RAM. The tower without a fan has clearance for up to 44mm or so RAM height.
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 surface of the heatsink has insets at regular intervals. The complete assembly is black color coated which is done using the black electrophoresis (EP) process.
The left and right sides of both towers 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 fins are jointed on the sides.
Both towers feature stylish plastic covers. The PCCOOLER branding on both covers is A-RGB backlit. The rest of the cover top is in black color syncing in well with the overall black color theme of the cooler. the edges of the covers are finished in silver color and stepped down design which further augments the overall layout.
The PCCOOLER PALADIN S9 is using 6x sintered powdered heat pipes. They are 6mm thick. They are also finished in the same black color. The heat pipes are aligned in a way to have maximum contact inside the heatsink with the fins.
There is a small length 3-pin A-RGB connector cable on each tower. This is there to power the A-RGB LEDs under the top covers. Though this is a proprietary connector, the main connector on the fan is a standard 5V, 3-pin A-RGB one. We will cover this shortly.
The above picture illustrates the convection of heat from the base to the top of the heatsink. They are also showing the sintered powered coated heat pipes.
The mounting plate is pre-installed on the base of the cooler and it is removable. There is a screw in the middle securing the mounting plate on the base.
The base plate has two spring-loaded screws which make the installation convenient.
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.
The copper base has a fine polish mirror finish to it.
PCCOOLER has provided two 120mm A-RGB fans with this cooler. The fans are 130mm in size and have 9 frosted blades for even transfusion of the light effects. The frame is not circular and has a square design. The hub has a PCCOOLER branded sticker on it.
Each mounting corner has a cut-to-size anti-vibration pad.
The frame is rigid and there is no arrow marking.
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.
The fans have 4-pin PWM fan connectors and 3-pin, 5V addressable connectors. The cables are flat in design.
There is a proprietary 3-pin socket. This is where the proprietary 3-pin connector of the top covers on the heatsink is connected to. PCCOOLER has managed the proprietary connector between the fans and the top covers. The main connectivity with the source controller is done via a standard 3-pin A-RGB, 5V connector. I would say this is a smart implementation.
The fans are using FDB bearings which are wear-resistant.
The specifications of the fan are:
| Dimension | 120x120x25mm |
| Type | 4-pin PWM Connector |
| Speed | 800-1800 RPM ± 10% |
| Airflow | 73.6 CFM |
| Air Pressure | 1.98 mmH₂O |
| Noise | 10~28.6 dB(A) |
| Rated Voltage | 12VDC |
| Operating Voltage | 10.8~13.2VDC |
| Starting Voltage | 7VDC |
| Rated Current | 0.42A±0.03A Max |
| Power Input | 5.04W |
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. This is why they have provided 2x self-adhesive strips to hold the backplate in its place. We have to deal with 11 components in total to mount the installation kit. Please refer to the user manual for installation steps.
Clearance
The height of the cooler is 156mm. Keep this in mind while planning your build with respect to the PC Chassis.
The front 120mm fan covers the XPG Lancer RGB 6000 DDR5 kit which stands at 44mm. This raises the overall height of the cooler to 160mm or so.
As can be seen the tower without the fan has clearance for up to 44mm for the RAM height.
The cooler does not block the first 16x PCIe slot on the GIGABYTE Z690 AERO-G.
The rear end of the heatsink is not obstructed by the rear IO cover.
The cooler has a good enough clearance for the top side of the motherboard as well.
Digital Lighting
The PCCOOLER PALADIN S9 features subtle A-RGB lighting on the fans and the top covers of the heatsink. We have tested the lighting using the RGB FUSION 2.0 app on the GIGABYTE Z690 AERO-G motherboard. The A-RGB lighting was responding to the changes flawlessly. Here are a few pictures:
PCCOOLER PALADIN S9 Testing
The following test bench is used: –
- Intel i7 12700k
- GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G
- XPG Lancer RGB 6000 32GB DDR5 kit
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE
- Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
- be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
- Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open-frame layout
Here is the settings table for testing:
| P-Cores Clock (MHz) | 4800 All Cores |
| E-Cores Clock (MHz) | 3800 All Cores |
| VCore (V) | 1.140V [Overrides to 1.153V] |
| Turbo Boost | Disabled |
| C-States | Disabled |
| Speed Step | Disabled |
| Thermal Paste | Noctua NT-H1 |
| Thermal Paste Application | 4 small and 1 large dots on the IHS. |
| Test Run Time | 30 minutes for XTU Stress Test
20 minutes CINEBENCH R23 |
| Idling Time | 10 minutes |
| Fan Speed | 100% PWM Duty Cycle |
| Header | CPU_Fan/CPU_Opt Headers |
| Software | Intel XTU and CINEBENCH R23 |
This is our first regular cooler being tested on the newly established 12th gen hence there is no graph being plotted at the moment. The graph will be added once more coolers are tested.
The ambient temperature was in the range of 23.5° ~ 24.5°C. Let’s take a look at the results.
| Load | Idle Temperature | Load Temperature |
| Intel XTU CPU Stress Test | 24°C | P-Cores Average: 69.5°C
E-Cores Average: 60.5°C |
| CINEBENCH R23 with AVX | 24°C | P-Cores Average: 77°C
E-Cores Average: 66°C |
Noise
We are not measuring the noise level due to environmental noise that is beyond control. Both fans at full speed are not making loud noise and I was comfortable sitting close to the PC.
Conclusion
PCCOOLER has released a new cooler named PALADIN S9. This cooler is available in black and white color editions. This is a dual-tower configuration in 120mm size. The cooler is compatible with Intel Sockets LGA: 115x, 1200, 1700, 20xx, and AMD AM4 sockets. Each tower comprises 48 aluminum fins in a 43+5 configurator. The dimension of the cooler is 130×135.6x156mm where 156mm is the height of the cooler. Each fin has a 0.4mm thickness. PCCOOLER has stated that they are shipping their EX90 Thermal Paste with these coolers. The said thermal paste has a rating of 14.8W/m.k. Our sample was without any thermal paste hence we were unable to test this thermal paste.
This cooler is using 6x heat pipes having a thickness of 6mm each. These heat pipes are sintered powder coated and finished in a black color coating. In fact, the complete assembly is black color coated using a black electrophoresis (EP) process. They are in a U shape design making contact with the fin stack.
Each tower has a stepped design at the base of the heatsink. We have 43 fins on the main portion whereas the stepped area has 5 fins in recessed. This is done to make more room for the high-profile RAM. Both towers have stylish black color covers which are A-RGB backlit. The PCCOOLER branding lights up when powered on. 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. The base measures 38x44mm approximately.
This cooler comes with two 120mm A-RGB Auto RGB fans. The Auto RGB here means that the fans and the backlit top covers on the heatsink will light up in Rainbow mode in case we don’t connect the A-RGB LEDs to the power source. Each fan has semi-frosted 9x blades for even transfusion of light colors. These fans have a dimension of 120x120x25 and have a 105mm fan mounting spacing. These fans are rated for up to 1800 RPM ±10% speed with a maximum airflow rating of 73.6 CFM at the air pressure rating of 1.98 mmH₂O.
The A-RGB lighting is compatible with:
- GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
- MSI MysticSync App
- ASUS AURA SYNC
- ASRock PolyChrome Sync
We have tested the A-RGB lighting using the RGB Fusion 2.0 on the GIGABYTE Z690 AERO-G motherboard and it was working flawlessly. The lighting is quite subtle and not overly done to my liking. I appreciate the PCCOOLER design team for using the standard 3-pin, 5V, A-RGB connector on the fan and the Y cable.
The installation of the cooler is convenient and involves only 11 mounting hardware items. The Intel backplate is required to be pasted on the backside of the motherboard which is something I personally don’t prefer. Other than that, the installation is not trivial and the user can set up the cooler in no time. PCCOOLER is using metal brackets though the backplate is not metallic. The towers provide RAM clearance of up to 44mm. The front fan, however, has to be slide up with a 44mm kit which increases the overall height of the cooler. The cooler has no clearance issue other than that. Its dimension of 130×135.6x156mm makes it a fit for the majority of the mid-tower cases. To err on the side of caution, do check the case clearance beforehand just in case.
The PCCOOLER PALADIN S9 has an MSRP of $66.99 which is a tad high priced than the EK6000 and EK6020 coolers. The later coolers are single tower configurations. The PCCOOLER is offering 3 years warranty on the PALADIN S9. We have tested the cooler on our new test platform based on Intel Alder Lake S sing i7 12700k. The cooler was able to handle the AVX load with mild overclocking on P-Cores and E-Cores quite well and did that with better acoustic performance from the fans. The PALADIN S9 packs a good thermal performance as an average of all P-Cores temperature values was 77°C at 24°C ambient. Clearly, we have more thermal headroom for further overclocking. PCCOOLER means business with their PALADIN series coolers and S9 is no exception to that. The Paladin S9 based on its features set and good performance comes recommended by us.
We are thankful to the PCCOOLER for the provision of the PALADIN S9 cooler for review.
