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#876 - Scythe CPU Cooler Roundup |
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Written by Zach Jeffers
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Sunday, 30 September 2007 |
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Page 7 of 9
Installation:
For testing of the Scythe coolers, we used the following hardware:
Enclosure: Antec P190 (Noctua NF-S12 intake fans) with included PSU's
Processor: AMD 3800+ X2 (Socket AM2)
Motherboard: ECS
KA3 MVP
Memory: Crucial
Ballistix 2gig (2 x 1gig) DDR2 PC2-6400
Video: GECUBE Radeon X1950 PRO 256MB DDR3 PCIe x16 HDCP Edition
Storage: Seagate 7200.10 320 GB SATA2
Optical: Plextor PX-740UF PATA
Scythe Katana 2 Installation:
Installation of the Katana 2 heatsink unit was easy and straight forward. Simply place one retention lever over the mounting notch on the CPU bracket, and then place the other side down and over the opposite notch. Clearance around the cooler was not an issue as no motherboard components even came close to contact.
  
Scythe Mini Ninja Installation:
Installation of the Scythe Ninja Mini was a bit more complicated than the Katana 2. When we originally mounted the 80mm fan to the cooler, we placed it low as to push cooler air over the machined aluminum fins covering the base of the unit. This resulted in clearance issues with our KA3 MVP’s rear exhaust fan and the memory modules even though they were pushed back to DIMM slots 3 and 4. The solution to this issue was to raise the fan up and over the memory modules. This is a 25-30% decrease in air flow over the fins of the cooler. This won’t be a problem on motherboards that do not have the memory so close to the CPU socket and those that do not feature mini rear exhaust fans.
 
 
Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B Installation:
The Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B features many of the same size issues as the Ninja Mini. Though this cooler does not have the ‘lever-in-fin’ issue that the Mini has, you will want to check out Scythe’s motherboard compatibility charts to make sure that your motherboard will facilitate this cooler. With our Noctua NC-U6 passive northbridge cooler installed, the Ninja Plus’s 120mm fan came within a couple millimeters of the unit. This was fine with us as it aids in the airflow passing through the northbridge but at the same time sucks the warm air off the chipset and through the CPU cooler.
One lesson learned from our installation of the Ninja Plus Rev. B was that you will need to install the heatsink first, then the fan. The sheer size of the unit makes it very difficult, especially for those with large hands, to mount the stiff harness to the CPU bracket. This harness was much stiffer than the previous two coolers and makes installing this cooler inside the case near impossible.
 
  
While we are on the topic of size, both the Ninja Plus Rev. B and the Katana 2 CPU coolers were tall enough to cause a conflict with the side intake fan of our Antec P190 case. To keep testing consistent, we simply placed the side panel with working fan just on the side of the case with no open areas as they were covered. For those with side intake fans and/or ducts, you may want to look into the Scythe Ninja Mini as it will better facilitate your fans.
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