Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B: Updated Cooling Legend
by Wesley Fink on April 11, 2007 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Cooling at Stock Speed
Some users will never overclock their CPU, but they still want to run the coolest CPU temperatures possible to enhance stability and extend CPU life. The Scythe Ninja Plus B kit includes a moderate output low noise 120mm fan. We also tested the Vindicator with the 120mm SilenX IXTREMA 120 fan.
With the stock fan the end user does get relative silence, but the cost is poorer cooling than most other heatpipe towers tested at AnandTech. As soon as the switch is made to the SilenX fan you can see this cooler is starved for airflow with the stock fan. Idle temps with the SilenX drop to 27C, which is among the best measured performance at stock Idle in our cooler reviews
It is more difficult to effectively simulate a computer being stressed by all of the conditions it might be exposed to in different operating environments. For most home users CPU power is most taxed with contemporary gaming. Therefore our stress test simulates running a demanding contemporary game.
The Far Cry River demo is looped for 30 minutes and the CPU temperature is captured at 4 second intervals with the NVIDIA monitor "logging" option. The highest temperature during the stress test is then reported. Momentary spikes are ignored, as we report a sustained high-level temp that you would expect to find in this recording configuration.
Cooling efficiency of the Scythe Ninja Plus B was tested under load conditions with both the stock fan and the SilenX at stock speed. Results are compared to the Intel retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers.
The Ninja Plus B under load at stock speeds reached a maximum temperature of 47C with the stock cooler. This was among the worst load results at stock speed with the coolers tested at AnandTech. Switching to the SilenX fan improved the load temperature to 35C. This is a stellar result, and one of the best stock speed load temperatures we have tested. This compared to the Tuniq at 34C, the Cooler Master Hyper 6+ and Zalman 9700 at 36C, the Thermalright Ultra 120 at 33C , and the top Ultra 120 Extreme at 32C.
It should also be clear that cooling results with the Scythe Ninja Plus B are quite different than results with the OCZ Vindicator using the same SilenX fan. The Ninja Plus B cools better than the Vindicator using the same fan. This strongly suggests that while the Vindicator looks similar it is not just a rebadged Scythe Ninja Rev. B. There are enough differences in their designs to have an impact on cooling performance. This becomes clearer in a closer look at cooler performance scaling.
Some users will never overclock their CPU, but they still want to run the coolest CPU temperatures possible to enhance stability and extend CPU life. The Scythe Ninja Plus B kit includes a moderate output low noise 120mm fan. We also tested the Vindicator with the 120mm SilenX IXTREMA 120 fan.
With the stock fan the end user does get relative silence, but the cost is poorer cooling than most other heatpipe towers tested at AnandTech. As soon as the switch is made to the SilenX fan you can see this cooler is starved for airflow with the stock fan. Idle temps with the SilenX drop to 27C, which is among the best measured performance at stock Idle in our cooler reviews
It is more difficult to effectively simulate a computer being stressed by all of the conditions it might be exposed to in different operating environments. For most home users CPU power is most taxed with contemporary gaming. Therefore our stress test simulates running a demanding contemporary game.
The Far Cry River demo is looped for 30 minutes and the CPU temperature is captured at 4 second intervals with the NVIDIA monitor "logging" option. The highest temperature during the stress test is then reported. Momentary spikes are ignored, as we report a sustained high-level temp that you would expect to find in this recording configuration.
Cooling efficiency of the Scythe Ninja Plus B was tested under load conditions with both the stock fan and the SilenX at stock speed. Results are compared to the Intel retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers.
The Ninja Plus B under load at stock speeds reached a maximum temperature of 47C with the stock cooler. This was among the worst load results at stock speed with the coolers tested at AnandTech. Switching to the SilenX fan improved the load temperature to 35C. This is a stellar result, and one of the best stock speed load temperatures we have tested. This compared to the Tuniq at 34C, the Cooler Master Hyper 6+ and Zalman 9700 at 36C, the Thermalright Ultra 120 at 33C , and the top Ultra 120 Extreme at 32C.
It should also be clear that cooling results with the Scythe Ninja Plus B are quite different than results with the OCZ Vindicator using the same SilenX fan. The Ninja Plus B cools better than the Vindicator using the same fan. This strongly suggests that while the Vindicator looks similar it is not just a rebadged Scythe Ninja Rev. B. There are enough differences in their designs to have an impact on cooling performance. This becomes clearer in a closer look at cooler performance scaling.
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crimson117 - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
Also included are pictures of compatible ninjas.
bigpow - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
I bought the Ninja a while ago (I think AT article helped make that decision for me)I'm glad to know that AT cares about its readers
Eventhough the Ninja is old (and probably doesn't make sense for new system build), a lot of us still have them and it's nice to know that the old Ninja still has what it takes.
The suggestion to replace the S-Flex fan is also very nice.
Thank you
Talcite - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
You guys mentioned that you were looking for a quiet PSU for the testing rig...At SPCR, everyone uses the Seasonics S12s and M12s for silence. I personally have a S12-430W and it is very quiet. I sleep less than 2 feet away from my system and can barely hear it. I haven't heard the M12 personally, but it should be near silent anyways. Maybe you guys should look into the Seasonics?
Gary Key - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
We will be testing several power supplies over the next couple of weeks but at this point the Seasonic based Corsair 620HX is the leading candidate for this test scenario based on the units we have on-hand.fic2 - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
Hopefully you will test the SilenX PS, too. If their PSs perform anything like their fans they should be good. Website: http://www.silenx.com/ixtremapropsus.asp">http://www.silenx.com/ixtremapropsus.asp.jay401 - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
Good review and definitely appreciate this recent spurt of HSF reviews. Looks like the Ultra 120 Extreme is the way to go... if indeed they've revised their mounting bracket for S775. Do you have any confirmation of that?Btw two quick typos: Page5 - first graph "iis", Page7 - paragraph ending with word "solution" has no period after it. =)
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
You have exceptional editing skills. Thanks for pointing out the typos. Corrected.No word yet on a modified S775 bracket for the Ultra 120 Extreme, but we will ask Thermalright again.
jay401 - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
Journalism degree/geek :DThanks for planning to follow up with Thermalright; I doubt I'm the only potential buyer of their performance-topping design who would like to know if the product can now be installed without bending tensioning brackets. ;)
dm0r - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
and also ask thermalright the new cpu cooler they made....IFX-14. It really looks promising. Thanks for the review!Brunnis - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
So, how are we going to compare the effectiveness of these coolers when you seem to have used different fans? I can see the point of testing with stock fans (if applicable), but the thing most people want to know is which heatsink that performs the best. Your heatsink reviews also seem to be geared towards heavy overclockers, in which case testing with the stock fan makes even less sense. You don't even provide RPM figures for the fans used on the different coolers.I'm sorry, but I just find these reviews pretty much pointless. The testing methodology is flawed, considering the group of users that you're targeting.