Viewing page 3 of 4 pages.
Previous 1 2 3 4 Next
FAN DETAILS
The fan's model number identifies it as an Adda model — the same one found
in several of Scythe's other products, including the Ninja Plus. Decoding the
model number reveals that the fan is classified as "Ultra Low" speed,
and has a sleeve bearing. Scythe heatsinks generally come with quiet fans,
and this one should be no exception.
A low speed model that appears to be sourced from Adda.
As mentioned, the fan can be attached to any of the heatsink's four sides,
but it looks goofy on the narrow ends. The low speed fan is
unlikely to do well in this configuration; not only does it have to contend
with the double fin density across the whole width of the heatsink, but the
heatpipes themselves block a substantial portion of the airflow.
The fan is mounted using two wire clips that are identical to the clips that
come with the Ninja. The clips can be quite tight, and several Ninja users complained
that they were difficult to install. This goes double when installing the fan
on the ends of the heatsink as the narrower sides put the clips under even greater
tension.
Just because it's possible to mount the fan this way doesn't make it a good
idea...
The is how the fan should be mounted for optimal cooling.
INSTALLATION
The copper base is polished flat and smooth, and is thinner than most bases.
It is also slightly wider, as it must be to transfer heat to all five heatpipes.
The base is mirror smooth.
The Infinity uses the same universal mounting system as the Samurai Z and the
Mine, both of which impressed us with their ease of use and the fact that they
require no tools. All three of the common CPU sockets are supported: Socket
478, Socket 775, and AMD's K8 sockets, including AM2. Each mounting
system comes with its own set of clips, which themselves clip onto the heatsink
as illustrated below.
The mounting system uses the stock retention brackets for Socket 478 and K8
systems, neither of which is well suited to supporting nearly a kilogram of
metal. The K8 mounting system in particular seems very fragile, as the heatsink
is only held on by two thin plastic nubs. We would not recommend moving any
system with the Infinity installed. Although not as simple to use, a backplate-based
mounting system might be more appropriate for a heatsink of this size.
The clip for Socket 478...
...attaches to the heatsink as shown here.
Unfortunately, the universal mounting system does not allow the heatsink orientation
to be chosen. Socket 775 systems avoid this issue thanks to the square layout
of the mounting holes, but other systems may end up with the heatsink facing
the wrong direction. K8 boards that can mount the Infinity correctly should
have mounting nubs pointing towards the backplate.
Socket 478 boards may face a problem no matter which orientation the Infinity
would be installed. Most boards that support Socket 478 locate the CPU very
close to the top edge of the board, which means that, if the heatsink it oriented
so that air is blown out the back, the side fins are likely to hang over the
top edge of the board — the space typically occupied by the power supply.
On the other hand, boards that do not have this problem will inevitably require
the airflow to be vertical, which is less than ideal for low noise cooling.
In addition, Socket 478 was not designed with as much clearance around the CPU
socket as more recent systems, so the Infinity's large size may be an issue.
The photos below show how tight a fit it was in our test system.
The fan just barely clears the RAM on our test system.
On the other side, the heatpipes touch the capacitors beside of the retention
module.
| Help support this site, buy from one of our affiliate retailers! |
|
