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TESTING
Test Platform
- Intel
P4-2.8A The Thermal Design Power of this P4-2.8 (533
MHz bus) is 68.4 or 69.7W depending on the version. As the CPU is a demo model
without normal markings, it's not clear which version it is, so we'll round
the number off to ~69W. The Maximum Power, as calculated by
CPUHeat
& CPUMSR, is 79W.
- AOpen
AX4GE Max motherboard - Intel 845GE Chipset; built-in VGA. The on-die
CPU thermal diode monitoring system reads 2°C too high, so all readings
are compensated up by this amount.
- OCZ DDRAM PC-3700, 512 MB
- Seagate Barracuda IV 40G 1-platter drive (in Smart
Drive from Silicon
Acoustics)
- Seasonic
Super Tornado 300 (Rev. A1)
- Arctic Silver
Ceramique Thermal Compound
- Nexus 120 fan
- Two-level plywood platform with foam damping feet. Motherboard on
top; most other components below. Eases heatsink changes and setup.
Measurement & Analysis Tools
The ambient temperature during testing was 21°C. Ambient noise level for
testing and recording was 18 dBA/1m.
RESULTS
| Scythe Ninja w/ Nexus 120
fan |
|
Fan V / CFM
|
Load Temp
|
°C Rise
|
°C/W MP
|
°C/W TDP
|
Noise
|
|
no fan
|
>70°C
|
>49
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
12V / 42
|
35°C
|
14
|
0.18
|
0.20
|
22 dBA/1m
|
|
9V / 36
|
37°C
|
16
|
0.20
|
0.23
|
<19 dBA/1m
|
|
7V / 28
|
40°C
|
19
|
0.24
|
0.27
|
<17 dBA/1m?
|
|
Load Temp: CPUBurn for ~20 mins.
°C Rise: Temperature rise above ambient at load.
°C/W MP / TDP: Temperature rise per Watt, based on CPU's
Maximum Power (79W) or Thermal Design Power (69W) rating
Noise: SPL measured in dBA at 1m distance with high accuracy
B & K SLM
|
No fan: Without a fan, and with the motherboard sitting horizontal on
the test bench, the CPU hit >70°C in 20 minutes and the system froze
at some point beyond that. This might seem an instant dismissal of Scythe's
claims about the Ninja being an effective fanless heatsink, but it really is
not. The Ninja will do better with the motherboard oriented vertically so that
its fins are running perpendicular to level.
There was no time to repeat the fanless test with the motherboard vertical,
as this review process clashed with hectic preparations for the trip to Taipei
for Computex 2005.
Inside a real system, there would be nearby airflow from
an exhaust case fan and/or a power supply. The assumption of peripheral airflow
is the basis of all heatsinks marketed as "fanless". Either that or
a <20W CPU, preferably <10W. Given the good experience many users have
had in real systems with the smaller NCU-1000 & 2000 from Scythe, I'd say that careful, sophisticated users should have good results with a fanless
Ninja . Just how hot a CPU the Ninja can cool without a fan mounted directly on it will depend greatly on airflow around it.
Nexus 120 - 12V / 42 CFM: At full tilt, this fan blows slightly above
40 CFM, which is modest for a 120mm fan. It's also very quiet and smooth, by
a small margin, the quietest fan encountered in SPCR testing. The 14°C rise
is on par with the performance of the Thermalright XP120 in our review, using
fans that blow a bit more air than the Nexus 120. This puts the Ninja at the very top of
our current heatsink performance chart.
Nexus 120 - 9V / 36 CFM: The fan is audibly quieter, and the Ninja cooled
at almost the same level of performance as when the fan was at 12V. A 16°C rise is great for this low
level of noise.
Nexus 120 - 7V / 28 CFM: At this speed, the Nexus fan is inaudible
from a meter away even in the very quiet test room. Inside a PC case, it would
be inaudible under almost all conditions. The 28 CFM is with very low pressure,
yet the cooling performance remains tops; 0.27 °C rise per watt is still
excellent even for today's super hot CPUs.
NOISE RECORDINGS
Scythe Ninja HS with Nexus 120 fan:
MP3: Nexus 120 - 8.8V - 35 CFM / 19 dBA @ 1m
MP3: Nexus 120 - 12V - 41 CFM / 22.5 dBA @ 1m
Recordings of Comparable HSF:
MP3: Arctic
Cooling Super Silent 4 Ultra TC MP3, 22 dBA/1m
MP3: Zalman 7000 - 5V - 22 dBA/1m
MP3: Panaflo 80L - 7V - 17 dBA/1m -- on most any heatsink
MP3: Coolermaster Hyper 48 - 9V - 21 dBA/1m
|
HOW TO LISTEN & COMPARE
These recordings were made with a high
resolution studio quality digital recording system. The microphone was 3" from
the edge of the fan frame at a 45° angle, facing the intake side of the fan to
avoid direct wind noise. The ambient noise during all recordings was 18 dBA or
lower. It is best to download the sound files to your computer before listening.
To set the volume to a realistic level (similar to the original), try playing this Nexus 92mm case fan @ 5V (17 dBA/1m) recording and set the volume so that it is barely audible. Then don't reset the volume and play the other sound files. Of course, all tone controls and other effects should be turned off or set to neutral. For full details on how to calibrate your sound system playback level to get the most valid listening comparison, please see the yellow text box entitled Listen to
the Fans on page four of the article
SPCR's Test / Sound Lab: A Short Tour. |
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