New Mid-Priced Coolers from OCZ and Scythe: The Small and the X of It

Final Words

Those who want the best in air cooling will not be satisfied with either the OCZ Vendetta or the Scythe Kama Cross coolers. However, since neither cooler is aimed at or priced like the top of the air cooling heap, it is unfair to measure their worth by the top standards. As midrange air coolers their worth should be measured by midrange expectations.

So what do we expect in a midrange cooler? We certainly don't expect the top overclock to be the same, but it should not be far from the best. We expect cooling performance to scale well, paralleling the curves of the top coolers tested at slightly lower performance levels. Price should be low enough, compared to the top coolers, to make the compromises palatable. Finally, a standout feature like smaller size, lower weight, and easier mounting would give cooler shoppers a reason to choose the midrange cooler instead. Something like an innovative and effective new design that makes the cooler stand out from the crowd could also make a cooler a reasonable option.

With these criteria how do the OCZ Vendetta and Scythe Kama Cross measure up to our midrange expectations? They both excel in some areas and unfortunately fall short in others.

The Scythe Kama Cross is frankly a disappointment. The design is very innovative with the X aimed at combining the best of heatpipe towers and down facing cooling. Unfortunately, it provides the worst of each feature and ends up being barely better in performance than an Intel retail cooler. At a price of $40, recently reduced to $30 at most web etailers, it does not compare well to the zero cost of Intel retail, or $50 to $70 for the Tuniq, Scythe Infinity, and Thermalrights that significantly outperform this cooler.

Even a terrific 120mm fan like the Scythe S-FLEX can't do much to improve the mediocre performance of the Kama Cross. The cooler is also large, but not particularly heavy, and installation with the push-pins can be a challenge in most cases. So, unless you are in love with the interesting and funky looks of this "Gen-X" cooler, which we can actually understand, it is best to choose another midrange cooler.

The OCZ Vendetta is a different story. The cooler is much smaller than the usual top 120mm side-fan heatpipe towers, and the Vendetta is also much lighter. You can find it on sale for around $30 and performance mirrors the top coolers we have tested at AnandTech, with just slightly lower cooling capabilities. Even the overclock is an acceptable 3.87GHz with a small 92mm fan. This matches the entry-level water cooling systems we have tested. Installation is also a snap, the mount is easy to install, and the only "gotcha" is the wobbly push-pins. We can live with that as you only mount it once for most users, but we do hope OCZ or Xigmatek can improve the push-pins with a minor update to the Intel 775 mount.

We would also prefer that the Vendetta be able to mount a larger 120mm fan. However, the 92mm is okay in performance at the highest speed. Unfortunately, the highest speed of the fan also measures much noisier than the specifications for the cooler. If you want performance and silence you will need to mount another 92mm like those we recommended on page six.

We really do like the elastomeric mounting straps and the innovative design for using them to mount the fan. We just wish the completed Vendetta cooler was as quiet as promised. If noise is not a major worry for you the Vendetta is fine as is, but you will need to run at lower fan speeds and lower overclocks or install a new and better fan if you want to overclock and sleep next to your computer.

Overall, we would pass on the Kama Cross unless very low noise and a conversation-piece design are the main objectives. However, the OCZ Vendetta is a very good value in midrange cooling. For around $30 it matches the performance of entry-level water cooling at a much lower price. This is enough savings to forgive the minor performance reductions you get with this smaller cooler. The good news is the cooling scaling behaves exactly like the very best coolers, and performance is predictable and very competitive.

If the noise of the Vendetta can be solved with a replacement fan it can be a near-ideal midrange cooler. With more competitive noise performance the Vendetta would be an easy recommendation from AnandTech at its current price point. Even with the current noise issues it is still a very good performer for the money and a very good buy.