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Socket 775 and AM2 heatsink roundup
Mike D.
December 11, 2007 1:00 AM ET in Tech
Scythe Ninja Mini
The Ninja Mini from Scythe looks dwarfed compared to the other coolers in this roundup due to its short stature and included 80mm fan. The Ninja Mini is designed with HTPC and small cases in mind. It stands at a mere 115mm high. Upon closer inspection, however, it is just a short version of the very popular full-size Ninja Plus. Scythe is confident that the Ninja Mini is capable of handling even the toasty Core2 Quad processors with “Quad Core Ready” printed on the packaging. Although this may not be a very fair comparison due to its size and smaller fan, it will be interesting to see just how it stacks up. One notable difference is the superior heatpipe spacing on the mini compared to the Ninja Plus. Aside from that it employs the same general shape and six “U shaped” heatpipes.
Interestingly, the Ninja Mini allows for mounting of 80mm, 92mm and even 120mm fans. Clips are included for both 80 and 92mm fans, and 120mm clips can be purchased separately. It appears that a 92mm fan may genuinely improve the cooling performance of the mini, but with a 120mm fan, there is so much overlap that it will likely benefit little from it. We’ll be testing the Ninja Mini with our 92mm reference fan.
Image courtesy of Scythe
My first impression of the Ninja Mini was its short but wide shape. It is almost as wide as it is tall. It is not an overly heavy heatsink at a fanless 580g, and it is not top-heavy. Most of the weight resides near the base. This makes it a very safe and LAN-party friendly heatsink.
Scythe Ninja Mini Specifications
From: www.scythe-usa.com
- Dimensions: 110 x 110 x 115 mm
- Weight: 580g
- Material: Aluminum and Copper
- Included Fan:
- Dimensions: 80 x 80 x 25 mm
- Noise Level: 24.4 dBA
- Air Flow: 32.2 CFM
- Speed: 2,300 rpm (±10%)
- Bearing Type: Sleeve Bearing
As you can see, it is significantly shorter than its big brother, the Mugen. Our 92mm reference fan fit great and provided good coverage of all fins.
Base quality on the Ninja Mini is very good — perfectly flat and highly polished. It passed our glass pane test and our straight edge test with perfect marks.
Like the Mugen we looked at earlier, a full suite of accessories is included for just about any modern socket, including socket 478. The fan is a “Quiet” 80mm sleeve-bearing model.
Socket 775 Installation
The Ninja Mini relies upon OEM style pushpins for mounting. It was very easy to install. Because of its relatively lightweight, I was pleased with the sturdiness the mount provided.
As you can see, the Ninja Mini cleared all of the VRM components and the MOSFET heatsink without issue.
The real problem occurs when the fan is installed, unfortunately. Although the Ninja Mini is only 115mm tall, it is even wider than the Mugen, making RAM clearance an issue with our P5K-E. The RAM spacing on this mainboard is actually quite good, so I imagine other boards may have even more trouble. The fan can be installed on any of the four sides, but the orientation pictured is the most common, which usually provides the best results. It would have been best if Scythe trimmed down fin material to ensure adequate fan clearance.
One the other side, the northbridge heatsink is cleared without issue until the fan is installed. The clip rests on the heatsink. Thankfully, it does not interfere with the mount. A board with a higher profile northbridge heatsink would undoubtedly have an issue here.
Socket AM2 Installation
Installing the Ninja Mini on the DFI NF570-M2/G was not difficult. It mounts to the OEM retention module using metal clips. Because of the Ninja Mini’s huge footprint, it is much easier to install with the mainboard outside of the case.
RAM clearance was not an issue thanks to the height of the fins. I was worried about this as the ram is not far from the socket area on this board. Thankfully, we didn’t want to mount the fan on that side or it would have been a big problem.
Once the fan was mounted, the 8-pin CPU power connector was obstructed slightly.
Again, the monstrous width of the Ninja Mini makes it a very tight fit. Thankfully, we didn’t hit any brick walls, though it was close.
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