Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B: Updated Cooling Legend
by Wesley Fink on April 11, 2007 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Words
Scythe's Ninja Plus Revision B is an update to a long-running and well-regarded heatpipe tower cooler. The design mounts six u-shaped heatpipes in three heatpipe clusters on each side of a square fin tower. The fin tower has slots for mounting clips on each side, which means up to 4 cooling fans can be mounted. The kit ships with one low-noise 120mm fan of moderate 49.6 CFM output.
The Ninja Plus B comes with easy to install mounts for Intel socket 775, AMD AM2/939/940/754 and the older Intel socket 478. The 775 mount uses push clips for mounting just like the Intel stock design, but this also brings concerns about a large, heavy cooler being mounted with such a flimsy connector, which was clearly intended for lighter weight coolers. We have had no problems with stressing the motherboard or falling coolers in vertical towers, but we strongly recommend that this is not a mount design for a LAN Party PC that will be moved frequently.
With the stock low-noise fan the performance of the Ninja was about the same as the Scythe Infinity - average but not chart-topping - with a maximum OC of 3.83GHz. However, like the Infinity, the Ninja has very flexible options for mounting 1-4 fans and performance with two standard Scythe fans in a push-pull arrangement reached 3.90GHz. This places the Ninja in the top tier of coolers we have tested.
The Ninja Pus B also managed to reach a 3.90GHz stable overclock with a single, higher output SilenX fan specified as 72 CFM/14 dB-A. Cooling performance and overclocking with the single SilenX fan were virtually the same as results with a dual fan push-pull using two of the low noise Scythe fans. With both the Scythe and SilenX fans cooling the Ninja Plus B noise levels remained below the noise floor of the system.
Cooling and overclocking tests were also run with two 72 CFM SilenX fans in a push pull arrangement on the Ninja Plus B. The highest stable overclock with this combo remained at 3.90GHz - there was no improvement in overclocking ability. However, two SilenX fans in push-pull cooled about 2C better at idle and load than a single SilenX fan or two Scythe fans in push-pull configuration.
As packaged the Scythe Ninja Plus B is a competent and quiet cooler. The Scythe kit is a more effective cooler than the similar OCZ Vindicator, but neither kit is chart topping. Swap the stock fan with a SilenX 72 CFM/14 dB-A fan, however, and the Ninja Plus B is then able to overclock to 3.90GHz, matching the best heatpipe towers we have tested. Comparing results of the Scythe Ninja Plus B with the SilenX to the OCZ Vindicator with the same fan proves rather conclusively that the OCZ Vindicator is not just a relabeled Ninja Plus B. The Scythe cooler does a better job of cooling with the same fan, and while the coolers may look the same, the Ninja is definitely the more effective cooler.
With results of the Scythe infinity and Scythe Ninja Plus B so similar in our tests, it is fair to ask which cooler is the better choice. That is a hard question to answer, but the Infinity is a little more compact in most cases and cools just as well as the large square Ninja. The choice depends on your preferences and the board/case that will be used with the cooler. However, both the Ninja Plus B and the Infinity are just good, quiet coolers with the shipping kit fans - they are not particularly great for overclocking. Add a quiet high output fan like the SilenX or use two Scythe fans in a push-pull configuration, and both coolers compete with the best we have tested. The Tuniq Tower 120 and Thermalright Ultra 120 still cool a bit better at most settings, but they reach the same overclock as the Ninja and Infinity with push-pull fans or a SilenX.
The Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme remains the best air cooler we have tested so far, reaching a 3.94GHz overclock at low temperatures with a Scythe SFLEX fan. The Scythe Ninja Plus B joins the top tier of coolers just below this with the Thermalright Ultra 120, Tuniq Tower 120, OCZ Vindicator with SilenX fan, and Scythe Infinity push-pull. In any of the tested configurations it is a quiet and effective cooler, with best cooling results with a high output fan or push-pull fans.
Scythe's Ninja Plus Revision B is an update to a long-running and well-regarded heatpipe tower cooler. The design mounts six u-shaped heatpipes in three heatpipe clusters on each side of a square fin tower. The fin tower has slots for mounting clips on each side, which means up to 4 cooling fans can be mounted. The kit ships with one low-noise 120mm fan of moderate 49.6 CFM output.
The Ninja Plus B comes with easy to install mounts for Intel socket 775, AMD AM2/939/940/754 and the older Intel socket 478. The 775 mount uses push clips for mounting just like the Intel stock design, but this also brings concerns about a large, heavy cooler being mounted with such a flimsy connector, which was clearly intended for lighter weight coolers. We have had no problems with stressing the motherboard or falling coolers in vertical towers, but we strongly recommend that this is not a mount design for a LAN Party PC that will be moved frequently.
With the stock low-noise fan the performance of the Ninja was about the same as the Scythe Infinity - average but not chart-topping - with a maximum OC of 3.83GHz. However, like the Infinity, the Ninja has very flexible options for mounting 1-4 fans and performance with two standard Scythe fans in a push-pull arrangement reached 3.90GHz. This places the Ninja in the top tier of coolers we have tested.
The Ninja Pus B also managed to reach a 3.90GHz stable overclock with a single, higher output SilenX fan specified as 72 CFM/14 dB-A. Cooling performance and overclocking with the single SilenX fan were virtually the same as results with a dual fan push-pull using two of the low noise Scythe fans. With both the Scythe and SilenX fans cooling the Ninja Plus B noise levels remained below the noise floor of the system.
Cooling and overclocking tests were also run with two 72 CFM SilenX fans in a push pull arrangement on the Ninja Plus B. The highest stable overclock with this combo remained at 3.90GHz - there was no improvement in overclocking ability. However, two SilenX fans in push-pull cooled about 2C better at idle and load than a single SilenX fan or two Scythe fans in push-pull configuration.
As packaged the Scythe Ninja Plus B is a competent and quiet cooler. The Scythe kit is a more effective cooler than the similar OCZ Vindicator, but neither kit is chart topping. Swap the stock fan with a SilenX 72 CFM/14 dB-A fan, however, and the Ninja Plus B is then able to overclock to 3.90GHz, matching the best heatpipe towers we have tested. Comparing results of the Scythe Ninja Plus B with the SilenX to the OCZ Vindicator with the same fan proves rather conclusively that the OCZ Vindicator is not just a relabeled Ninja Plus B. The Scythe cooler does a better job of cooling with the same fan, and while the coolers may look the same, the Ninja is definitely the more effective cooler.
With results of the Scythe infinity and Scythe Ninja Plus B so similar in our tests, it is fair to ask which cooler is the better choice. That is a hard question to answer, but the Infinity is a little more compact in most cases and cools just as well as the large square Ninja. The choice depends on your preferences and the board/case that will be used with the cooler. However, both the Ninja Plus B and the Infinity are just good, quiet coolers with the shipping kit fans - they are not particularly great for overclocking. Add a quiet high output fan like the SilenX or use two Scythe fans in a push-pull configuration, and both coolers compete with the best we have tested. The Tuniq Tower 120 and Thermalright Ultra 120 still cool a bit better at most settings, but they reach the same overclock as the Ninja and Infinity with push-pull fans or a SilenX.
The Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme remains the best air cooler we have tested so far, reaching a 3.94GHz overclock at low temperatures with a Scythe SFLEX fan. The Scythe Ninja Plus B joins the top tier of coolers just below this with the Thermalright Ultra 120, Tuniq Tower 120, OCZ Vindicator with SilenX fan, and Scythe Infinity push-pull. In any of the tested configurations it is a quiet and effective cooler, with best cooling results with a high output fan or push-pull fans.
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Frumious1 - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
RTFA! The stock fans are different, and there's no reason to compare the OCZ with the Ninja fan or the Ninja with the Vindicator fan. If someone is going to but a heatsink and use a different fan, they're a lot more likely to go with... I dunno, maybe something like a SilenX? They used the same aftermarket fan for both non-stock configurations, and the Ninja performed slightly better in the termperature tests. Isn't that the informaiton you wanted???I'm sorry (not), but your post is pretty much pointless. Your reading comprehension is flawed, considering the content of the article.
Brunnis - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
Way to be on the offensive... I was talking about ALL the heatsinks not just the Ninja vs Vindicator. I've re-checked the article and I've still not found any info on what fans that were used on the other heatsinks. So, apparently I'd have to dig back through all the old tests to find that info. Is it too much to ask for a table that lists the fans (including the RPM) used on each cooler? It still wouldn't enable us to see what heatsink that actually performs the best (with the fan out of the equation), but it's better than nothing.Frumious1 - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
Ah, I see... you want them to do something like maybe a fan roundup, right? Maybe if you ask nicely instead of using words like useless and pointless they might do a http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?...">120mm fan roundup? Outside of the Thermalright coolers however, I'd expect just about everyone to go with the stock fan anyway.On a different note, I think a nice list of current street prices for the various coolers would be very useful. Most of the cooler reviews have mentioned price, but a table somewhre in the article would make the situation a lot more clear.
DrMrLordX - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
Good to see the ol' Ninja alive and kicking. That ought to put any comparisons between it and the OCZ Vindicator to rest.Spoelie - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
Kinda hard when the label of the table on the second page still says ocz vindicator ;)Wesley Fink - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - link
Editing oversight corrected.