Scythe Ninja 5

[testman78]

Introduction

Scythe has refreshed its Ninja CPU cooler so we had to show it to you. Especially those who care about high performance and silent cooling will be interested in this review as Scythe Ninja is well known high performance cooler series which is also inexpensive comparing to competitive products. In this review we will try to show you what can you expect from the latest version of this really popular CPU cooler. It is now in its 5th generation of design, but it still retains the same large size. I know it's good but how good you will find out browsing next pages of this article. I can only tell you it's worth the time.



Specifications.




Packaging & Contents

On a well-designed retail package, you can always find a nice photo of the product itself. The box of the Scythe Ninja 5 is no exception. The picture of the CPU cooler is located in the front of the container that has a black background. Scythe's company logo is printed at the top right corner, while the product's name, Ninja 5, is printed in grey, and it is located at the top right front cover. Below the product's image, the information of compatibility is provided. At the bottom, we see also the notation to AM4 compatibility.



The back of the packaging is where we find where to go for support, as well as reading that outside of Japan. This cooler carries a two-year warranty. Along the bottom, we find precautionary notes and safety tips.



The next panel on the box is where Scythe delivers the name of the product along with five, dimensional renderings, of the tower and the fan. At the bottom, some of this information is repeated, but they do go into further detail in the specifications shown in the chart.



The last panel shows off the key features. There is the ram advertisement clearance, and also a mention of the use of the Kaze Flex 120 PWM fan. Scythe then brings up the Hyper Precision Mounting System III used with the cooler and makes sure to tell us that this design is capable of using a pair of fans. Overall speaking, the retail package design of the Scythe Ninja 5 is good. Customers will be able to find out useful information about this product without any trouble.



First thing to notice after I opened the package for the first time was the pretty big carton box, holding all of the additional accessories. Beneath it was a Styrofoam sheet covering and protecting the heat sink itself from any external intervention, which could cause a damage to the product.



Getting everything out of the box you have the main heatsink, cooling fan/s, mounting hardware for both AMD and Intel, thermal paste, a screwdriver, and installation instructions.




A Closer Look

It is now in its 5th generation of design, but it still retains the same large size. Unlike other heatsinks, the Ninja series uses a square shape so the size of each side is the same. That means users can mount their fans in any orientation.



This is also why the 40 aluminium radiator fins are open on all sides, so airflow can freely pass through.



Heat is taken from the core and distributed by heatpipes to each of the four tower corners.



Three heatpipe tips end up on each corner.



Understandably, the massive two fans further add to the already massive body of the Ninja 5.



To compensate for this potential clearance issue, Scythe staggers the bottom set of radiator fins to clear memory components along the sides.



Heat transfer from the nickel-plated copper-base to the aluminum fins is achieved by utilizing total of 6 (each has a diameter of 6mm) high quality copper Heatpipes, which are nickel plated as well.



The cooling pipes are plated the same color as the rest of the cooler, giving it a uniform silver finish across the surface. The base of the cooler ships with a protective layer of plastic on it. This will help to keep the base in good condition, but as the warning says, peel this off before installation.



The base is machined to a near perfect mirror finish. Any marks left from the machining of the base have been levels with the use of the nickel plating, and deviation of the surface only occurs nearest the edges. The mating surface is ever so slightly convex, which helps to increase pressure and helps with the removal of heat. On top of the base, Scythe uses a thick chunk of aluminum, which has fins in it to help dissipate some of the heat. Running across the fins is a mounting bar, which is permanently attached, and has the mounting screws built into the bar as well.



Unlike the Ninja 4, the new Scythe Ninja 5 comes with a pair of Kaze Flex 120 PWM fans. This allows builders to run a push-pull setup right out of the box. Furthermore, these are the latest generation flagship Kaze Flex 120 fans with sealed-precision fluid dynamic bearing and operates silently. They also have a long lifespan of 120.000 hours (MTTF). The frame is black, the eleven blades are gray, and the 4-pin PWM fan connection is at the end of the black braided sleeve which covers the wire.



The fan/s that cools the tower is the SU1225FD12L-CDP 120mm PWM fan. The fan has rubber pads in each corner, on both sides of the fan, to ensure the fan does not vibrate against the fins.




Installation

Getting the Ninja 5 installed is pretty easy. We are going to be installing the cooler in our Intel Z97 system, which makes use of the Intel LGA1150 socket. The first thing you are going to want to do is install the Intel backplate. Line up the backplate on the backside of your motherboard and install secure it with the included stud nuts and washers. Refer to the manual to see what holes are for your specific socket. New plastic / rubber spacers align the mounting screws and secure the backplate during installation which further simplifies the process. Next you have to install the mounting plates. These line up on top of the stud nuts. Again refer to the manual to see what holes to use and how to line them up. The improved H.P.M.S III mounting system has been equipped with spring-loaded screws that counteracts uneven pressure distribution and provides compatibility with all current motherboard sockets.



Next, apply some thermal paste and mount the cooler. Use the crossbar and proper screws to secure the cooler to the mounting hardware.



All that is left now is to simply attach the fans using the included fans clips, to plug it into the CPU fan header.



The mounting hardware Scythe uses with the Ninja 5 is extremely simple and straightforward. I would rate the installation process a 9 on a scale of 1 (hardest) to 10 (easiest).



The huge size of the Ninja 5 seems a bit counter to the small agile nature of a Ninja, but it certainly looks nice.



The included black and gray fan adds a tiny bit of contrast to the bright aluminum fins. It also doesn't hurt that the shuriken on the top fin adds a nice little accent to this gargantuan single-tower cooler.




Installed - Memory Clearance


The lower fins are reduced in size to allow installation of RAM modules with heatsinks up to 55 mm in height.



These fins are present on both sides of the cooler, thus offering memory clearance even for LGA 2066 mainboards with eight memory slots.



The Scythe Ninja 5's clearance around the socket is good due to the ability to mount the fans on any of its four sides, a feature that may come in handy with certain builds.




Test System & Methology

Test System:

Cpu:Intel Core i7-4770K,OC@4.2GHz
Motherboard:ASUS Maximus VI Gene Z87
Memory: 16GB Mushkin
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD 6970
Power Supply: Antec HCG 750W
Boot Drive: Ocz Vector
Storage Drive: 3TB Seagate Barracuda
Boot Drive: Ocz Vector
Chassis: Dimastech Bench Table Easy V2.5



Software:

AIDA64
CPUID HW Monitor 1.23
CPUID CPU-Z 1.65
Prime95-FPU


I am testing the performance as follows:

Ambient temperatures are kept at 23C throughout my tests.
The CPU Fan is set to 100% to eliminate inconsistencies as a result of PWM control.
Idle temperatures are obtained after booting the PC and idling on the desktop for 30 minutes.
Load temperatures are obtained after running Prime95′s test for 15 minutes.



Temperature

The Scythe Ninja 5 does extremely well by performing similarly to some 240 mm based AIOs. And remember... this cooling level remains silent as well.




Noise Level

The 800 RPM the fans max out at produces a hum, you will not hear the fans once the cooler is inside a case. Its quality fans really make this cooler shine.




Conclusion

Scythe's Ninja 5 is a solid cooler that delivers superb performance compared to the similarly priced competition. Another big plus in favor of the Ninja 5 is the fact that it is silent. With the fans at 100% RPM, it hit just 42 decibels. If you think that's loud (it's not), you can limit the fan's RPM to 300 for that ultra-quiet experience. The heatsink design of Ninja 5 has been tweaked in the development process. While the new all-black top fin-layer offers improved aesthetics, the shortened six fin-layers on the bottom of the stack are assuring great compatibility to RAM modules. Thanks to the gaps, which are implemented on two sides of the heatsink, Ninja 5 is able to offer outstanding compatibility to RAM modules with a total height of 55 mm. The new mounting mechanism included with the Ninja 5 was a pleasure to use, as it is simple, well-built and doesn’t have any issues to note. In terms of value,Scythe have hit us with a threat in the Ninja 5, looking around at other coolers which are close to the same price 45.00 EUR (taxes excluded) and it seems the Ninja 5 fits in nicely and should be the top performer for the price range. To compare, the Noctua NH-D15 is of very similar design yet it costs over 40.00 EUR more and looking back at the benchmark results it only offers a difference in temperature of 2c lower than that of the Ninja 5. Now of course Noctua have been around and have proven quality but the question is, is it worth the extra price? The money you could save could very well be the difference in upgrading your SSD from 128GB to 250GB if you are in the process of planning a new build which is nothing to bat an eye out. A thing do keep it from being exceptional. The cooler is very large.



The Ninja made waves when it debuted back in 2005, I never had the opportunity to use one, but I’ve researched the transition of the revisions and sub models since. It’s clear that the core design is a winner because 10 years later it’s still viable. Much has changed in terms of small refinements to the fin arrangement, materials used, but it’s still the great product it was, just more able! Scythe has a longstanding reputation among PC enthusiasts for making high quality components that offer excellent performance at low noise levels. The Ninja 5 continues this tradition and does so wonderfully, leaving us truly impressed with its performance and styling, along with ease of installation.