It's a nice looking cooler, but with my OEM HSF being inaudiable even under load (860K...pre-Wraith cooler with stock thermal pad) it's hard to justify an upgrade until there's a fan failure that warrants taking action. I did like the Zalman copper radial thing I previously had on my Xeon 3065, but the stock cooler out of the box was just stupidly simpler to install and did the job well enough to make aftermarket cooling a pointless additional cost.
This product is targeted at people that need more than their stock HSF offers. For example, this rig has an 860K also. Overclocked. I am SO glad I don't have the stock HS. I've got a nice Noctua that is silent at most loads, but can move a lot of air under a full-system load (CPU and GPU loaded for hours).
I never did overclock my 860K. Mine is chained to an A68H chipset that lacks those capabilities. I haven't really regretted that decision since CPU performance was lacking at stock speeds that any gains realized in overclocking would have been fairly insignificant. Of course, after last night's OS drive failure and my lack of desire to deal with desktop hardware in general means I'm going to be disposing of the system's remaining components via an electronics recycler or local mom and pop computer store in the next few days anyway. As it's a desktop, it's in the "not worth fixing when it breaks" category since it's an immovable heap chained to a power outlet.
looks nice. More widely spaced fins will allow for better cooling at lower fan speeds. That is to say this seems targeted at quiet cooling more than at top cooling performance. That's right up my alley.
Wait, Scythe is still around? Been some time since I last heard of something from them. Katanas, Mugens and all Samurai-related stuff - they were nice and had their own palce on the market. This one seems a proper cooler built in Scythe style.
It's a nice design, but 1200 rpm for a single 120mm HSF is a bit low. Most aftermarket PWM fans will idle under 700 rpm anyways which is close to silent, so it would have been nice if Scythe could distinguish itself a bit more at higher rpms. I'd still take one over an AIO LC any day though.
If you think a 120mm fan at 1200RPM is "too low", you are not the target demographic of this kind of HSF. Not sure what your CPU load is but I've used their original Ninja cooler on a 95W Q9450 with 20% OC back in the day and at 1000RPM it was able to keep temps under 55*C while running P95 stress test. Under gaming loads, it's obviously less, but I would've liked it to be quieter still. I would imagine their current big HSFs are more effective. A lot depends on your environment's noise floor too. In my house, a 120mm fan under 500RPM = silent, 6-700= quiet, >800 = noticable, >1000= annoying. If they had a PWM fan with a range from 300-1600 or whatever max speed most people would be happy with, I'm pretty sure they'd use that, but I for one am glad they're focusing more on the quiet crowd than the extreme overclockers.
EDIT (rosy retrospection bias removal): at 55*C, not under. And it was probably at 1200RPM, not 1000 as that was the S-Flex fan's speed I used. In any event, 1200 was loud.
Your example of the Q9450 running P95 may not be as relevant anymore though since P95 has become a whole lot more stressful since then. I have never seen sub-60*C on air with mildly overclocked Bloomfield/SNB/IVB/Haswell/Skylake with above nominal memory clocks. My focus is also on noise, however, and I've went through almost the entire range of Noctua and Noiseblocker fans so I was assuming a best case scenario where 1200rpm is fairly quiet, since after all, Scythe is also a well respected cooler/fan designer.
it's nice to see Scythe around. I have a Ninja Mini cooler on my pc, as it is the biggest HSF under 12cm tal, wich is the maximun height my case allows. even being small it performs very well on a overclocked 2500k with hot enviroment temperature, considering it has only a 8cm fan (as nothing bigger will fit).
recently I performed some clever use of cardboard to channel air properly (block top and side, to force air from case fans through the fins too) and my temps dropped about 5C. so I'm keeping this system for maybe 3 or 4 more years.... amazing lifetime for a computer!
Who needs liquid cooling when you have heatsink-fans like this? I still have my Scythe Mugen 2 on my Phenom X4 965 :) I got it to be quiet, and I don't hear it. The fan barely spins half the time.
My buddy's liquid cooler pump failed and he had to deal with getting it warranty replaced.
They are just a lot of unnecessary complication. Costs more, radiator mounting, possible pump failure, possible hose failure and spill.
That said, I'll be glad when I can just get a decent cooler with my CPU like a Wraith cooler, that is a good design and coupled with a more efficient CPU does the job with even less hassle.
I"m with you, another $60 isn't insignificant to most people and that is a lot of weight hanging off the side. I am getting too old to tinker, I really like AMD's new solution where the CPU overclocks itself. With the bundled (I assume) Wraith cooler that sounds like a sweet kit. I don't need to have a huge weight hanging off the CPU, and I don't have to spend the time dialing in a stable overclock, it's like the best of both worlds. Zen can't get in my hands soon enough.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
16 Comments
Back to Article
RaichuPls - Monday, December 12, 2016 - link
Who are the two main makers for liquid cooling? Acetek and?kidsafe - Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - link
Asetek and Coolit.BrokenCrayons - Monday, December 12, 2016 - link
It's a nice looking cooler, but with my OEM HSF being inaudiable even under load (860K...pre-Wraith cooler with stock thermal pad) it's hard to justify an upgrade until there's a fan failure that warrants taking action. I did like the Zalman copper radial thing I previously had on my Xeon 3065, but the stock cooler out of the box was just stupidly simpler to install and did the job well enough to make aftermarket cooling a pointless additional cost.Alexvrb - Monday, December 12, 2016 - link
This product is targeted at people that need more than their stock HSF offers. For example, this rig has an 860K also. Overclocked. I am SO glad I don't have the stock HS. I've got a nice Noctua that is silent at most loads, but can move a lot of air under a full-system load (CPU and GPU loaded for hours).BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - link
I never did overclock my 860K. Mine is chained to an A68H chipset that lacks those capabilities. I haven't really regretted that decision since CPU performance was lacking at stock speeds that any gains realized in overclocking would have been fairly insignificant. Of course, after last night's OS drive failure and my lack of desire to deal with desktop hardware in general means I'm going to be disposing of the system's remaining components via an electronics recycler or local mom and pop computer store in the next few days anyway. As it's a desktop, it's in the "not worth fixing when it breaks" category since it's an immovable heap chained to a power outlet.MamiyaOtaru - Monday, December 12, 2016 - link
looks nice. More widely spaced fins will allow for better cooling at lower fan speeds. That is to say this seems targeted at quiet cooling more than at top cooling performance. That's right up my alley.3ogdy - Monday, December 12, 2016 - link
Wait, Scythe is still around? Been some time since I last heard of something from them. Katanas, Mugens and all Samurai-related stuff - they were nice and had their own palce on the market. This one seems a proper cooler built in Scythe style.etamin - Monday, December 12, 2016 - link
It's a nice design, but 1200 rpm for a single 120mm HSF is a bit low. Most aftermarket PWM fans will idle under 700 rpm anyways which is close to silent, so it would have been nice if Scythe could distinguish itself a bit more at higher rpms. I'd still take one over an AIO LC any day though.hybrid2d4x4 - Thursday, December 15, 2016 - link
If you think a 120mm fan at 1200RPM is "too low", you are not the target demographic of this kind of HSF. Not sure what your CPU load is but I've used their original Ninja cooler on a 95W Q9450 with 20% OC back in the day and at 1000RPM it was able to keep temps under 55*C while running P95 stress test. Under gaming loads, it's obviously less, but I would've liked it to be quieter still. I would imagine their current big HSFs are more effective.A lot depends on your environment's noise floor too. In my house, a 120mm fan under 500RPM = silent, 6-700= quiet, >800 = noticable, >1000= annoying. If they had a PWM fan with a range from 300-1600 or whatever max speed most people would be happy with, I'm pretty sure they'd use that, but I for one am glad they're focusing more on the quiet crowd than the extreme overclockers.
hybrid2d4x4 - Thursday, December 15, 2016 - link
EDIT (rosy retrospection bias removal): at 55*C, not under. And it was probably at 1200RPM, not 1000 as that was the S-Flex fan's speed I used. In any event, 1200 was loud.etamin - Monday, December 19, 2016 - link
Your example of the Q9450 running P95 may not be as relevant anymore though since P95 has become a whole lot more stressful since then. I have never seen sub-60*C on air with mildly overclocked Bloomfield/SNB/IVB/Haswell/Skylake with above nominal memory clocks. My focus is also on noise, however, and I've went through almost the entire range of Noctua and Noiseblocker fans so I was assuming a best case scenario where 1200rpm is fairly quiet, since after all, Scythe is also a well respected cooler/fan designer.Gothmoth - Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - link
will anandtech test it?curious how it fares against a noctua nd15.
supdawgwtfd - Saturday, December 17, 2016 - link
It won't stand a chance...marc1000 - Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - link
it's nice to see Scythe around. I have a Ninja Mini cooler on my pc, as it is the biggest HSF under 12cm tal, wich is the maximun height my case allows. even being small it performs very well on a overclocked 2500k with hot enviroment temperature, considering it has only a 8cm fan (as nothing bigger will fit).recently I performed some clever use of cardboard to channel air properly (block top and side, to force air from case fans through the fins too) and my temps dropped about 5C. so I'm keeping this system for maybe 3 or 4 more years.... amazing lifetime for a computer!
mikato - Thursday, December 15, 2016 - link
Who needs liquid cooling when you have heatsink-fans like this? I still have my Scythe Mugen 2 on my Phenom X4 965 :) I got it to be quiet, and I don't hear it. The fan barely spins half the time.My buddy's liquid cooler pump failed and he had to deal with getting it warranty replaced.
They are just a lot of unnecessary complication. Costs more, radiator mounting, possible pump failure, possible hose failure and spill.
That said, I'll be glad when I can just get a decent cooler with my CPU like a Wraith cooler, that is a good design and coupled with a more efficient CPU does the job with even less hassle.
fanofanand - Tuesday, December 20, 2016 - link
I"m with you, another $60 isn't insignificant to most people and that is a lot of weight hanging off the side. I am getting too old to tinker, I really like AMD's new solution where the CPU overclocks itself. With the bundled (I assume) Wraith cooler that sounds like a sweet kit. I don't need to have a huge weight hanging off the CPU, and I don't have to spend the time dialing in a stable overclock, it's like the best of both worlds. Zen can't get in my hands soon enough.