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#902 - Scythe Kama Wing Memory Heatsink |
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Written by Zach Jeffers
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Saturday, 29 December 2007 |
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Page 3 of 3
Results and Conclusion:
For review of the Scythe Kama Wing memory 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
 
 
While handling these modules with the new Scythe Kama Wing heat spreaders, I found that the lack of double sided heat tape cause the memory modules to slide around or out of the cooler. Taking the retention clips off, I bent them inwards to create more pressure on the heat plates. Doing so help to a degree, but nowhere near what I would expect for proper retention.
While testing these coolers under load, I found that the coolers felt cool to the touch. A cohort said, “Well that means they are dissipating the heat efficiently.” This is not necessarily the case though. You want the coolers to be warm as a sign that they are pulling heat off of the source. To test this, I performed a mild voltage overclock of +0.10v on the DIMMs and pulled the reins in on the timings. After running a MemCheck on the modules, they began to hang somewhere between 1/3 and ½ of the way through the testing. As pulling the coolers off of the DIMMs, I found the chips to be very warm, almost hot to the touch. This was very disappointing. I blame this on the lack of proper heat transfer from the chips to the heat plates.
While a proper temperature was not able to be obtained, it is quite clear that the Kama Wing is not quite ready for full flight as your next cooling purchase. The build quality of the heat plates was immaculate as in the usual Scythe style but the cooler’s actual usefulness suffered greatly. I wanted so much to like these coolers, but I feel that they honestly need a revisit buy the development team at Scythe. Unfortunately the Scythe Kama Wing memory coolers need some work before I can recommend them. I would like to thank Scythe for their supply of this review sample and their continued support of 3dGameMan.com!
> ADDITIONAL INFO/COMMENTS IN THE FORUMS <
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Pros |
Cons |
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- Great Looks
- Easy Installation
- Reasonable Pricing
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- Loose Retention
- Poor Performance
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