Scythe Mine Or Zalman 9500?

AssaultEXAssaultEX
edited June 2006 in Hardware
Can anyone help me choose a cpu cooler for my comp? I was researching and i found two that i really liked the Scythe Mine and the Zalman 9500. Both are pretty attractive, but considering performance and price I don't know which one to choose. Thanks In Advance.

Zalman 9500 - http://www.pro-clockers.com/article.php?id=73
Scythe Mine - http://www.pro-clockers.com/article.php?id=133

Comments

  • AssaultEXAssaultEX
    edited June 2006
    Can someone help please? I'm kind of in a hurry of buying one. THANKS.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2006
    I don't have the Scythe Mine, but I do have the Scythe Ninja and also the Zalman 9500 and of the 2, the Ninja is the better cooler. The only gripe I have about the Mine's configuration is that with the way the fan is installed between the fin stacks, you are restricted to using only 25mm thick fans. But if I had to choose between the 2 heatsinks you mention, I think I would go with the Scythe mine, based on the Ninja's performance and also the Mine is a bit cheaper than the 9500. The 9500 is a good hsf and is a beautifully expecuted design, but it isn't in the same class as a Ninja or Big Typhoon or XP90-C.

    Another alternative to your choices would be the new Thermalright Ultra 120. It's shaping up to be a top contender cooling-wise.

    One caveat about all the heatsinks except the 9500, XP90-C and to some extent, the Big Typhoon is that they are all very tall and won't fit in a narrow case. For example, the Ninja won't fit into my Praetorian RC730 case and with a 38mm Panaflo mounted, the Big Typhoon doesn't really fit well either. The 9500 does fit into my case and the XP90-C does also, even with a 92 X 38mm fan mounted.

    I hope I didn't hopelessly confuse you with the choices I present to you. ;)
  • AssaultEXAssaultEX
    edited June 2006
    Thanks, i've did some research on the thermalright ultra 120 and it seems pretty good. In one review he used a p4 3.2 processor and what a coincidence that i have the same processor. The conclusion temperatures were low but i am not sure what does ambient temp and die temp mean. does ambient mean idle and die mean load? Thanks

    Review - http://www.overclockers.com/articles1329/
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2006
    Ambient temp is the temp of the room the heatsink is being tested in. Die temp is the temp that is being seen by either the processor (with their processor test) or a temp sensor mounted into their large die processor simulator. I generally like and believe the tests that Joe Citarella runs on heatsinks because he does test both ways now. The only problem I see with the Ultra 120 is the same as for the Scythe Ninja; installed height. If your case has room for it, the Ultra 120 should make an excellent choice.

    EDIT: If you do go with the Ultra 120 on a socket 478 board, you will need to get an adapter to fit it to your board. It doesn't come with the adapter, AFAIK.

    EDIT2: Here's a link to the socket 478 adapter kit you would need to mount the Ultra 120 to a socket 478 board. If your system is a LGA775 board the Ultra 120 natively supports mounting to it.
  • AssaultEXAssaultEX
    edited June 2006
    Which fan do you recommend with this HS? A low noise less power fan? or a 100+ CFM 40+dBa fan?

    EDIT: The Ultra-120 won't fit on a regular socket 478 mobo?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited June 2006
    Muddocktor has given good advice. If you are interested in a Scythe heatsink, go with the Ninja. It's an outstanding heatsink, and one that can be run with just about any 120mm fan you choose. It should outperform the Zalman 9500 by about 4 to 5*C. You can also run it without a fan if your case is well ventilated and you aren't running a very high overclock.

    With the Scythe on a P4 3.2, get a low RPM 120mm fan and you won't even be able to hear it. The 9500 is a good heatsink, and as Mudd stated, it's a work of engineering art, but it is a little whiney.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2006
    AssaultEX wrote:
    Which fan do you recommend with this HS? A low noise less power fan? or a 100+ CFM 40+dBa fan?

    EDIT: The Ultra-120 won't fit on a regular socket 478 mobo?

    As far as fans go, I would go with something like the Panaflo M1BX, which is a 120 X 38mm fan. It moves 86-87 cfm of air at a decent static air pessure and is rated at 35-36 dB. I have several of the M1A versions of that fan(no rpm monitoring) and the noise you do hear is just the whoosh of air movement and hardly any bearing noise. If that is too loud, you can alwys put a fan controller on it and vary the fan speed too. I rather a 38mm thick fan over a 25mm thick fan because in my experience, the thicker fan is less noisy at a given cfm.

    With the adapter kit I linked to in my previous post, the Ultra 120 will fit on socket 478, but the adapter doesn't come with the heatsink. I know this because a guy on the overclockers.com forums ran into this problem when he got an Ultra 120 for his socket 478 system. After he got the adapter, he had no problems using the Ultra 120 on his socket 478 system. The adapter is $4.00 at Sidewindercomputers, who is one of the very best vendors to deal with on the net.
  • AssaultEXAssaultEX
    edited June 2006
    Thanks, I think i am going to choose the scythe ninja now. I saw it on jabtech for like less than 30 bucks. Pretty good deal i say =] Thanks Leo and Mudducktor for all your help. Much appreciated


    EDIT: after putting everything i wanted in the shipping cart the scythe all together was 54 and the ultra with the same things was only 10ish dollars more. would you pay 10 dollars more for the ultra or get the ninja? Thanks

    EDIT: If you buy the Scythe Ninja on Jab-tech.com does it come with a 120mm Fan already? If so, then i will just get the Scythe.

    Link: http://www.jab-tech.com/product.php?productid=3281
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2006
    If it's the Ninja+ model like you linked to, then yes it should come with the fan. That's a damn good price for it too. :thumbsup: Jump on it.
  • AssaultEXAssaultEX
    edited June 2006
    Yes, it is the ninja plus. Thanks. I think the price of it just became 31.95 it was 29.95 o.O
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited June 2006
    It is impossible to find a better cooler for the money. That's excellent.
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