Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B: Updated Cooling Legend
by Wesley Fink on April 11, 2007 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Additional Fan Tests
Initial test results showed the fan of the Scythe Ninja Plus B, while a better performer than the OCZ Vindicator fan, was still more slanted to silence than cooling performance. The stock fan provided average results in AnandTech cooler overclocking tests. To determine whether the overclocking limitations were a result of the cooler design or the fan selection, additional cooling tests were run with a new fan first used in the OCZ Vindicator review.
The SilenX IXTREMA 120 claims to provide the world's best noise-to-airflow ratio. The specifications claim a 14 dB-A noise level coupled with 72 CFM airflow. Perhaps even more remarkable is the rated watts of 1.92 which should be safe on almost any motherboard fan header.
The SilenX made quite a difference in the performance of the OCZ Vindicator which may be a rebadged Ninja Plus B. To determine if that was really the case we were interested in testing the Ninja Plus B with the same fan to see if results were the same. This will help answer the question as to whether the two coolers merely look similar or are in fact the same cooler with a different name. Results with a single stock fan and a single SilenX IXTREMA 120 are reported in all performance charts and graphs for the OCZ Vindicator and the Scythe Ninja Plus B.
We extend our sincere thanks to Frozen CPU for providing the SilenX IXTREMA 120 for testing. We are preparing for a roundup of 120 fans and Frozen CPU has provided an assortment of new and innovative fans that we think you will enjoy seeing in the upcoming 120 fan roundup.
Push-Pull Testing
Since a push-pull fan configuration made a significant improvement in our review of the Scythe Infinity cooler, push-pull was briefly tested using two stock Scythe Ninja Plus B fans. Overclocking performance was also tested briefly using two SilenX IXTREMA 120 fans.
Push-Pull results were similar to the findings on the Infinity. A single stock Scythe fan topped out at an overclock of 3.83Ghz. Using two of the 49.6 CFM fans allowed us to reach a top stable overclock of 3.9GHz, matching the top heatpipe tower coolers and the push-pull Infinity.
However, a single 72 CFM SilenX also allowed a top stable overclock of 3.90GHz, matching the top results with the Thermalright Ultra 120/SFLEX, Tuniq Tower 120, OCZ Vindicator (with SilenX fan), and Scythe Infinity (with two push/pull 46.5 CFM fans). This certainly points to a better fan providing better results with the Ninja Plus B. The soon-to-be-released Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme remains alone at the top of our performance charts with an overclock of 3.94GHz combined with temperatures among the lowest tested at each overclock.
With these results with a single SilenX we tried two SilenX 72 CFM fans in a push-pull configuration on the Ninja Plus B . This configuration provided no better overclocking than a single 72 CFM SilenX, but cooling was 2C better at the highest overclock of 3.9GHz. The Single SilenX was 42C idle and 62C load at 3.9GHz, where the two SilenX measured 40C at idle and 60C at load.
We can surmise from these results that airflow in the 72 CFM to 100 CFM range is likely optimum for highest overclocking and best cooling performance with the Ninja Plus B. Of course this is also impacted by the static pressure of the fan chosen for cooling. Certainly increasing airflow in the Ninja Plus B definitely improves performance, but the increase is not without limits. Eventually you reach the point where increasing airflow provides no further improvements in overclocking or cooling. This optimum point is likely to vary with each cooler and each type of design. It is a subject we will explore further in our 120mm fan roundup.
Initial test results showed the fan of the Scythe Ninja Plus B, while a better performer than the OCZ Vindicator fan, was still more slanted to silence than cooling performance. The stock fan provided average results in AnandTech cooler overclocking tests. To determine whether the overclocking limitations were a result of the cooler design or the fan selection, additional cooling tests were run with a new fan first used in the OCZ Vindicator review.
The SilenX IXTREMA 120 claims to provide the world's best noise-to-airflow ratio. The specifications claim a 14 dB-A noise level coupled with 72 CFM airflow. Perhaps even more remarkable is the rated watts of 1.92 which should be safe on almost any motherboard fan header.
The SilenX made quite a difference in the performance of the OCZ Vindicator which may be a rebadged Ninja Plus B. To determine if that was really the case we were interested in testing the Ninja Plus B with the same fan to see if results were the same. This will help answer the question as to whether the two coolers merely look similar or are in fact the same cooler with a different name. Results with a single stock fan and a single SilenX IXTREMA 120 are reported in all performance charts and graphs for the OCZ Vindicator and the Scythe Ninja Plus B.
We extend our sincere thanks to Frozen CPU for providing the SilenX IXTREMA 120 for testing. We are preparing for a roundup of 120 fans and Frozen CPU has provided an assortment of new and innovative fans that we think you will enjoy seeing in the upcoming 120 fan roundup.
Push-Pull Testing
Since a push-pull fan configuration made a significant improvement in our review of the Scythe Infinity cooler, push-pull was briefly tested using two stock Scythe Ninja Plus B fans. Overclocking performance was also tested briefly using two SilenX IXTREMA 120 fans.
Push-Pull results were similar to the findings on the Infinity. A single stock Scythe fan topped out at an overclock of 3.83Ghz. Using two of the 49.6 CFM fans allowed us to reach a top stable overclock of 3.9GHz, matching the top heatpipe tower coolers and the push-pull Infinity.
However, a single 72 CFM SilenX also allowed a top stable overclock of 3.90GHz, matching the top results with the Thermalright Ultra 120/SFLEX, Tuniq Tower 120, OCZ Vindicator (with SilenX fan), and Scythe Infinity (with two push/pull 46.5 CFM fans). This certainly points to a better fan providing better results with the Ninja Plus B. The soon-to-be-released Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme remains alone at the top of our performance charts with an overclock of 3.94GHz combined with temperatures among the lowest tested at each overclock.
With these results with a single SilenX we tried two SilenX 72 CFM fans in a push-pull configuration on the Ninja Plus B . This configuration provided no better overclocking than a single 72 CFM SilenX, but cooling was 2C better at the highest overclock of 3.9GHz. The Single SilenX was 42C idle and 62C load at 3.9GHz, where the two SilenX measured 40C at idle and 60C at load.
We can surmise from these results that airflow in the 72 CFM to 100 CFM range is likely optimum for highest overclocking and best cooling performance with the Ninja Plus B. Of course this is also impacted by the static pressure of the fan chosen for cooling. Certainly increasing airflow in the Ninja Plus B definitely improves performance, but the increase is not without limits. Eventually you reach the point where increasing airflow provides no further improvements in overclocking or cooling. This optimum point is likely to vary with each cooler and each type of design. It is a subject we will explore further in our 120mm fan roundup.
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Pirks - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
I'm going to get myself a monster of a heatsink called Cooler Master GeminII. It has two 120mm fans on top that blow right down on the mobo. On the other hand I keep reading all these news here coming from Gary, Wesley, Jarred and the gang, that tower coolers like Infinity or Thermalright kick ass and yield only to waterblocks. Now, the question is - are you guys really missing this important part of cooling mosfets, power circuitry, some northbridge, memory etc? Or is it really unimportant?I mean, what's the point in having such an imbalanced cooling solution where the CPU is cool but evetything else is almost melting? I recall my experience with Athlon XP in a tight poorly ventilated case - I put Zalman on it instead of a little tower HSF and you you know what? The power circuitry temperature went down 16 degrees right there, and I stopped getting Windows freezing on me. Stability became just like on those pesky Macs (j/k) :)
So what is it? A vertical tower? Or a horizontal cooler that blows on mosfets? Or a mix of both with tower and additional coolers around it to cool mosfets?
At least a link to some systematic research won't hurt, I can only see opinionated forums where half of the population says towers suck because they don't cool mosfets and the other half says towers rock precisely because they don't cool mosfets :) Wesley? Gary? Any other AT overclocking guru? What's your opinion and arguments for it (or against it)?
LaGUNaMAN - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
Speaking of the Cooler Master GeminII, requesting to have that reviewed as well. Great job on the article BTW Bozz Wesley. Can't wait for the 120mm fan roundup. (^^,)Wesley Fink - Friday, April 13, 2007 - link
The CoolerMaster Gemini II is in the lab for review. I agree it looks really promising with a pair of low-noise high-output fans. We hope to get to it within the next couple of weeks.Kaleid - Saturday, April 14, 2007 - link
Could you try placing one fan in the middle of that cooler? Does it really perform better with two fans or would one silent fan do the trick?Stele - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
That's a very good question, one which I've often asked myself when looking for coolers. Granted, a straight-through airflow right out the back of the casing helps prevent a build-up of warm air inside it, but that would leave a weak level of airflow around the other hotspots on the motherboard... especially with the likes of a 680i SLI overclocked.
It would be terrific if Anandtech could deploy a few thermocouple probes or even an IR thermometer and measure the temperatures of those hotspots - PWM heatsink (or PWM MOSFET if no heatsink present), northbridge, and if time allows, perhaps even the side of a RAM DIMM and graphics card nearest the CPU socket area. That would certainly help differentiate the coolers good at just cooling the CPU from those that can do better overall. :)
noobzter - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
1. How does the CPU temp as reported in NTune compare to TAT's?2. What was the ambient temp during the test?
noobzter - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
Sweet, thanks!Wesley Fink - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
TAT workload testing with the stock Scythe fan on the Ninja Plus B show test results virtually the same at TAT 80% CPU load as our 30 minute gaming tests. Since you are likely familiar with TAT results that info may be useful. TAT does stress both cores in testing, which our current game tests do not do.Wesley Fink - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
1. TAT (Thermal Analysis Tool) is an Intel program, so it did not occur to us to use it for verification on an nVidia chipset. However, it is CPU centric, and we found it DOES work on the 680i chipset. Comparing Idle temps to nVidia Monitor results at 3.73GHz overclocked showed reported Monitor and TAT temps within 0-2C of each other. We will test more with TAT using internal load tests in the future.2. Ambient room temperature during tests is 70F (21C).
iluvdeal - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
I am looking for a quiet HSF which allows good OCing for a Core2Duo and the Ninja fits that bill, however the one thing that's constantly repeated about it is it's difficult to securely mount with a S775. That's what scared me away from it.