Conclusions and Product Summaries
Scythe Mugen
The Scythe Mugen stands out of the crowd as an excellent performer. It had little difficulty holding its own against the mighty Q6600 overclocked to 3.4GHz and the highly over-volted Athlon 64 X2 6000+. It did very well against the competition, coming in as a clear first place during our AM2 testing and a close second during our Intel testing. The five heatpipes and interleaving fin structure have proven to be an effective design, allowing the Mugen to perform well with a single quiet fan. The base quality of the Mugen is top notch as well. At a $40-50 price range, the Mugen is also a good value. You even get a 9-blade 120mm fan thrown in for that price.
Weighing in at a full kilogram and sporting a relatively large footprint, its size is its biggest vice, unfortunately. It fit our Asus P5K-E reference board without issue, but it did not fit a DFI Infinity board we had in the lab. I’m really not a big fan of the pushpin mounting system either. Although it has some positive qualities, like eliminating backplate compatibility issues and allowing installation without removing the mainboard, the Mugen is just not a good candidate for pushpins. The second advantage I mentioned is not really even applicable due to the Mugen’s size — I couldn’t imagine trying to install it with the mainboard in the case. Scythe should definitely consider creating a backplate for the Mugen or its future replacement. It would provide better support for heavy multiple fan configurations and would probably improve performance a bit as well.
Despite its size, the Mugen is a high quality, top-notch performer. It is an excellent choice for a serious enthusiast and earns Icrontic’s “Stamp of approval.”
Pros:
- Excellent performance, even with a single quiet fan.
- Mounting hardware included for just about all sockets including 478
- Lots of fan mounting options
- Good price
- 120mm 9-blade fan included
Cons:
- It is huge. There will inevitably be compatibility issues with some boards. It didn’t fit a DFI P35 Infinity Blood Iron that we had it the lab.
- It is heavy and really needs a backplate — especially on the Intel 775 platform. It is simply too heavy to be using pushpins for mounting.
We’d like to sincerely thank Scythe for sending us this sample!
Scythe Ninja Mini
The Scythe Ninja-Mini is the shortest of all heatsinks tested in this roundup, measuring only 115mm in height. It is a great choice for HTPCs and other compact cases where cooling performance can’t be compromised. Speaking of performance, it did quite well considering its size. It was able to hold its own against many of the full sized heatsinks in this roundup. This was using a 92mm fan with a lower CFM rating than our 120mm fan as well. Scythe markets the Ninja Mini as “quad core” ready — we can definitely confirm that. The Ninja Mini includes mounting hardware for all modern sockets, including 478, which is a nice bonus. It is relatively lightweight and easy to install. The base quality was also top-notch — totally flat and polished. Scythe was kind enough to include an 80mm fan and clips for both 80 and 92mm fans. Even 120mm fans can be mounted with optional brackets that can be purchased. The Ninja Mini goes for around $30-40 today, which is a very fair price considering its capability. Although the Ninja Mini is a trimmed down version of its big brother the “Ninja Plus” the heatpipe layout is improved — dispersing more evenly throughout the heatsink. Although passive testing was not in scope for this roundup, I have no doubt that the Ninja Mini would be a great passive heatsink with lower power systems with case fans in close proximity.
I hate to say it, but the Ninja Mini really isn’t that “mini.” It is nice and short, but its overall footprint is huge. It takes up more space horizontally than every heatsink in this roundup — even the Scythe Mugen. I had a difficult time finding non-obstructed mounting positions on both our 775 and AM2 boards. If Scythe shaved a few millimetres off of each side of the Ninja Mini, or found a way to mount a fan centrally, it would be a much more practical size.
Despite its large footprint, the Ninja Mini is a great performer and earns the Icrontic “Stamp of approval.”
We’d like to sincerely thank Scythe for sending us this sample!
Pros:
- HTPC friendly
- Good performer considering its size
- Lightweight and only 115mm tall
- Compatible with multiple socket types
Cons:
- Very large horizontally — presents many mounting and compatibility challenges.
Scythe Kama Cross
The Kama Cross is without a doubt, the most unique heatsink we tested during this roundup. In the end, I don’t think I can label its design a success or a failure. Although it did not perform as well as the others in the roundup, it still has some very clear positive aspects — namely its low cost, light weight and compatibility with just about any modern socket and mainboard. It performed consistently across both our 775 and AM2 test platforms and out of all the heatsinks, provided the best cooling to mainboard components. It allows for flexible mounting options and is not difficult to install. It is a ‘decent” all around performer and a significant step up from the retail AMD and Intel HSFs if outfitted with a decent 120mm fan.
Although the included fan is better than nothing, I’d argue that it would not serve the Kama Cross well — especially considering the results we saw with a 40% greater CFM rated fan. Although the Kama Cross is clearly not the best choice for someone looking to do some heavy overclocking, it is not a bad choice for someone looking for a low cost upgrade from the retail HSFs. It kept a Q6600 at 3.2GHz with temperatures in line with what the retail cooler was able to do with no overclock at all. After taking a quick look online, it can be had at around the $30 mark — a good price. Once you factor in the cost of a 120mm fan, the price is not as great, unfortunately. Scythe should consider bundling a higher CFM 120mm fan with future revisions of the Kama Cross and find some way to extract some extra cooling performance from the design through additional heatpipes or an auxiliary heatsink over the base. In the end, there are enough good things to say about the Kama Cross to award it the “Icrontic Stamp of approval.”
Pros:
- Low cost
- Lightweight
- Good base quality
- Easy to install
- Excellent compatibility, should be compatible with just about any modern mainboard or socket.
- Healthy airflow to mainboard components — the best tested in this regard
Cons:
- Sub-par performance, even with a much more powerful fan than the included model.
We’d like to sincerely thank Scythe for sending us this sample!
Tuniq Tower 120
The Tower 120 has proven itself to be a worthy competitor. It had little difficulty taming the heat output of our highly overclocked Q6600 and was in the top-3 for just about every test. Its biggest strength lies in its design. Although it looks very large, the centrally mounted fan greatly reduces its overall footprint. It is also very “upright” and easily clears RAM slots and the busy PWM area of the mainboard. Its bolt-through LGA 775 mounting system provided a very stable mount and the backplate is smartly designed to avoid pins from the PWM components at the rear of the mainboard. There are some nice extras included with the Tower 120, including a 9-blade fan and a PCI-bracket fan controller. As far as price is concerned, the Tower 120 is a bit on the pricey side. At the time of writing this, it can be found for around the $50 mark. It is not the cheapest heatsink on the market, but it is a good value considering its high quality, bundled fan and fan controller.
About the only disappointing thing about the Tower 120 is its AM2 mounting system. A lot of thought and effort clearly went into creating a high-quality bolt-through mounting system for LGA 775, socket 478 and AMD K8 (754/939). I can’t help but feel that the AM2 clip was merely an afterthought provided to ensure that compatibility existed. The mount was not nearly as secure as it was on our Intel system and it really showed in the results. Even after trying several times to remount and retest the Tower 120, I could not translate the great performance I saw on our 775 system over to our AM2 system. It was able to handle the load of our over-volted 3.3GHz 6000+ without much trouble, but it simply didn’t perform as well as it did on our Q6600 system.
AM2 issues aside, the Tower 120 is a great performer and a very good quality heatsink. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a quality HSF to use on a 775 or 754/939 based system and therefore, it earns Icrontic’s “Stamp of approval.”
We’d like to sincerely thank Tuniq for sending us this sample!
Pros:
- Great performance on our Intel Q6600 test system
- Very good design with a centrally mounted fan.
- A very nice and stable mount for Socket 775 systems
- Great board compatibility due to “upright” design and intelligently designed backplate.
- Extras — included fan controller.
Cons:
- Sub-par mount and performance on socket AM2 systems.
- Unclear and difficult to read manual
Coolink Silenator
Despite its more compact nature, the Silenator did very well during our testing. I was astounded as to how well it performed on our AM2 6000+ test rig. It was only one degree shy of the Scythe Mugen, which is twice the size and weight of the Silenator. The design and mounting system of the Silenator is superb. The base was also high quality and completely flat. The backplate is smartly designed and the resulting mount is very secure. “They thought of everything” was my thought when I mounted the Silenator on our two test rigs. Documentation is complete and well written — if you have a question, it is most likely in the manual. Availability of the Silenator to North America will be somewhat limited, unfortunately. Our European readers can purchase a Silenator at around the $50 mark. Considering the included ball bearing fan, fan controller and high-quality nature of the Silenator, I would consider that to be a fair price.
Although the AM2 performance of the Silenator was excellent, it did not fare as well on our LGA 775 system for some reason. I actually tested it on our Intel system first and was shocked when I saw the AM2 results afterwards. I went back to the Intel rig to ensure my results were reproducible — they were. It is still a good performer but it didn’t have the same jaw dropping performance that it did on our AM2 system. The mount was excellent on both sockets, so I’m thinking it must have something to do with the different positioning of the processor cores under the Q6600’s heat spreader (grabbing at straws on this one). At any rate, this is why we test on both AMD and Intel rigs.
Despite the “average” performance we saw on our Q6600 test rig, the Silenator’s AM2 performance was stellar. If you have an X2 or Phenom, this would be a great choice. The Silenator mounting system was hands down, the best out of all heatsinks we tested in this roundup. Overall, it is a good heatsink. As such, it earns the Icrontic “Stamp of approval.”
Pros:
- Superb mounting system — very secure. The best we’ve seen to date.
- Excellent base quality
- Excellent AM2 performance
- Compatible with just about any board due to its narrow, upright stature and well designed backplates.
- Fan controller and quality ball bearing fan included
- Well-written and complete documentation
Cons:
- Not terribly impressive LGA 775 performance
- Must purchase one of three versions of the Silenator for your socket type.
- Limited availability in North America
Thermalright SI-128 SE
Thermalright did not fail to impress with the SI-128 SE. It was the clear 1st place leader during our overclocked and over-volted Q6600 testing. Thermalright has really taken downdraft performance to the next level with the SI-128 SE. The “through hole” design, large 8mm heatpipes and dense fins allow for very good heat dissipation. The support bars help to prevent heatpipe bending and were a very welcome addition. The SI-128 SE backplate is well designed with only two small contact areas. The SI-128 SE stands high enough to avoid the busy socket area and is a good heatsink as far as compatibility is concerned.
Although the SI-128 SE was a clear 1st place winner during our Intel testing, it came in a distant third during AM2 testing. After seeing these results, I remounted and retested the SI-128 SE and saw the same results. Again, this was somewhat surprising but may have to do with the slightly convex base that we saw on our SI-128 SE and the different positioning of the cores under the heatspreaders. The convex effect on the base was not very bad but I would expect better considering the $50-60 price tag it carries and the superb build quality evident across the rest of the heatsink. The mounting system was functional, but the heatsink could be rotated due to the round shaped dimple in the retention top-plate. This is an issue Thermalright should keep in mind for future design considerations.
Overall, the SI-128 SE is a great heatsink and is very capable of taming the latest and greatest CPUs and is awarded Icrontic’s “Stamp of approval”
Pros:
- Great performance, especially on our Intel test system.
- Downdraft design helps to keep mainboard components cool.
- High-quality look and feel.
- Easy to use clip-mounts for the fan. Supports 25mm and 38mm thickness fans.
Cons:
- The base is slightly convex.
- Mounting system is not totally secure — it allows the heatsink to be rotated.
- Performance not consistent across Intel and AMD systems bit weaker on the AMD side.
- Expensive
Final Thoughts
So there you have it; six heatsinks and six awards. Each one had unique design elements and clear strengths. I must admit, I was expecting at least one or two heatsinks to go home with an “Outstanding Product” award, but all six heatsinks had a somewhat significant flaw in either one area or another. At first, I was not sure if I wanted to complicate the review with both socket 775 and AM2 results but in the end I am very glad that I did. I really could not believe the performance delta that some of these heatsinks exhibited across the two platforms. It really pays to look around for reviews using your socket. It is not safe to assume that a heatsink will perform as well on AM2 as it does on 775. The results may surprise you.
Anyone who knows me on the Icrontic forums knows that I’ve never been a big “Air cooling” guy, but it really is amazing just how far air-cooling has come. Just when I think a new model reaches the limits of air-cooling, I see bigger and more complex designs that take air-cooling to the next level. I look forward to what the future has in store from each of these manufacturers and look forward to getting more heatsinks in the lab!
Icrontic would like to sincerely thank Scythe, Tuniq and Coolink for providing the heatsinks in this review. Their support of this and other tech sites across the web is greatly appreciated.
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