During testing we cleaned the CPU surface free of the previous samples leftovers. We then applied a fresh film of thermal grease and let the cooler burn in for an hour. While some people prefer a full 24hr burn in to get ‘optimal grease adjustment’ I have yet to see a realistic differential between the two time spans.
As you can see there are some pretty impressive numbers from this bunch of coolers from Scythe! All three coolers start idle in the mid 20’s and work their way up to the mid 30’s during load. The average difference from idle to load is about ten degrees Celsius. This is not so bad due to the fact that the temps started in the mid 20’s range. This does however create a concern. The Katana 2 and the Ninja Plus could suffer if the side panel’s intake fan was removed due to their size where as the Ninja Mini still performed on par with the bigger siblings.
Over all, Scythe has managed to create some killer heatsinks. Scythe’s build quality was top notch and each cooler’s performance does not disappoint. While the Ninja Plus Rev. B cooler screams for more elbow room, the Katana 2’s only concern is that it has enough head room. The Ninja Mini keeps up with its bigger brothers but yet does it in a smaller form factor which is great for smaller cases and HTPC cases. All around Scythe has some pretty Kickass products available and they should definitely be on your consideration list if you are looking to build a new system or upgrade. Our thanks go out to Scythe for their supply of these review samples and their continued support of 3dGameMan.com!
