Viewing page 1 of 5 pages.
1 2 3 4 5 NextOctober 2, 2005 by Devon
Cooke and Mike Chin
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Product
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Scythe Katana CPU Heatsink with Heatpipes
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Supplier
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Scythe USA
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Price
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~US$30 |
Scythe is one of the most prolific heatsink makers
on the market. At present, their web site lists no less than ten different coolers
from the Scythe brand. These products cover almost every conceivable
market niche for heatsinks, from cheap $20 heatsinks to the massive (and expensive)
Ninja, which has the potential to cool almost any CPU passively. You have to
wonder whether Scythe gives any thought at all to the target market for their
products, but you certainly can't argue with the choices they offer. The only
downside is knowing which one to pick!
The Scythe Katana won't be competing with the Ninja for the performance crown,
but it's much more reasonable in size and price. Its light weight and universal
compatibility make it useful in situations where a larger heatsink
cannot be used.
A full color box to keep the retailers happy, but it's no larger than
it needs to be.
Included in the box: The heatsink with the fan pre-mounted, installation
hardware, and installation instructions.
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Scythe Katana: Feature Highlights (from the
product web page)
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Feature & Brief
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Our Comment
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Super Light Weight & Compact Heatpipe CPU Cooler
With 92mm fan attached on the Katana CPU Cooler, it overall weight is
ONLY 300g! This cooler is ideal for both users seeking for an upgrade
for their current CPU or for systems builder to integrate into their PC
systems to build a silent PC systems. |
300 grams is probably the lightest aftermarket heatsink we've ever
seen. Ideal for systems that are frequently moved, such as a LAN Party
system. |
Universal Socket Compatibility
Katana CPU Cooler is compatible for socket 370/462/478/754/939/940 &
the new LGA775. All in one solution for your PC system! |
Compatible with all modern processors,
and can even be used with old Celerons, P-IIIs and AMD's Socket A processors. |
Low-Noise 92mm Fan
Supplied 92mm fan rotates at only 2000rpm providing only 25dBA of noise,
this cooler is an ideal solution for low-noise PC systems. |
Low noise sounds good to us, but we've learned to be sceptical about
these claims. We'll have to test it to find out... |
Cooling the Mainboard Components
With the unique angle (70 degree) construction of the Katana CPU Cooler,
the cooler can also cool the components on the mainboard to prolong its
life and keep your PC system stable (subject to fan mounting & airflow
direction). |
Both AMD and Intel thermal guidelines state that
the CPU fan should also cool the VRMs around the CPU socket. Most tower-style
heatsinks do not follow this guideline, but Scythe has made an effort to
do so. Whether the effort is successful is harder to say. |
4-Way Mountable Design to Optimize the Cooling
With the special mounting clips provided with Katana CPU Cooler, users
are able to mount this cooler in the best position based on the airflow
and set-ups inside the PC case. (For socket 370/462, limited to 2-way
mountable design) |
This means the heatsink can always be mounted with the fan blowing
in the right direction — something that is not always possible with
tower heatsinks. |
Based on the feature set alone, the Katana has a number of desirable qualities.
Its low 300 grams mass is incredible, only two thirds of Intel's recommended
450 gram limit for heatsinks. Many other heatsinks exceed this limit by 200
grams or more, and some all-copper designs weigh over a kilogram! The low
weight means it does not suffer from the two major risks associated with heavy
heatsinks: Stressing and warping the motherboard, and coming loose during transportation.
Some of the problems common to tower-style heatsink with the fan blowing across the CPU have
been addressed:
It can be mounted in any orientation, meaning that there are
no situations where the airflow cannot be directed towards the rear system fan.
Note that Socket 370 and Socket A (462) do not have this advantage (of being rotated to any position), so if you
have an older system you will still need to be careful.
Some airflow over the motherboard voltage regulators
is achieved by tilting the heatsink slightly. This is an improvement
over most tower heatsinks, which typically do not provide any airflow for the
motherboard. It is still inferior to the traditional downward-blowing
heatsinks, most of which can provide cooling on at least two sides of the CPU.
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Scythe Katana Specifications (from the
product web page)
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Model Name |
Katana CPU Cooler |
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Manufacturer |
Scythe Co. Ltd., Japan |
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Compatibility |
Intel
Celeron (socket 370) all speeds
Celeron (socket 478) all speeds
Pentium III (socket 370) all speeds
Pentium 4 (Socket 478) all speeds
LGA775 (Socket 775) all speedsAMD
Duron (socket 462) all speeds
Sempron (socket 462) all speeds
Athlon (socket 462) all speeds
Sempron (socket 754) all speeds
Athlon 64 (socket 754) all speeds
Athlon 64FX (socket 754) all speeds
Opteron (socket 939) all speeds
Opteron (socket 940) all speeds |
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Fan Dimensions |
92 x 92 x 25 mm |
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Combined Dimensions |
98 x 96 x 130 mm |
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Fan Speed |
2000 RPM (±10%) |
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Fan Noise Level |
25.0 dBA (no distance specified) |
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Airflow |
35.12 CFM |
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Weight (with Fan) |
300 g |
Scythe really has gone for universal compatibility; even socket A and 370 are supported. Note that 300 grams is AMD's maximum recommended mass for socket A. (The only current processor not listed is the Pentium M, which does not
have a standard mounting form factor for desktop use. Many Pentium M boards utilize
mountings similar to other sockets, so compatibility will depend on the motherboard
more than the heatsink.)
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