Scythe Andy Samurai Master CPU heatsink/fan

Table of Contents

Scythe continues its tradition of big, ambitious, heatpipe-equipped CPU coolers with curious names. This one takes its moniker from a cartoon character, and has a fan that blows down, instead of across, like so many high end heatsinks today. Can this return to “traditional” airflow help the Andy Samurai Master take on the big tower giants?

March 1, 2007 by Mike
Chin

Product
Scythe Andy Samurai Master
Model SCASM-1000: Socket 478 / 775 / AM2 CPU Heatsink
Manufacturer
Market Price
US$50~60

Scythe is a Japanese heatsink brand whose products we’ve usually looked forward
to reviewing. Not only are their heatsinks ambitious, creative and unusual,
the guys behind the brand seemed to be having a lot of fun with simple things
like Japanese names for their models: Kamakiri (Scythe Sword), Kamaboko
(Scythe Halberd / fish cake), Kamakaze (Scythe Wind), Katana (Japanese
longsword) and so on.

After the Scythe Ninja became the King Kong of the high performance,
low airflow, low noise CPU coolers, Scythe introduced the Mine (pronounced
mee-né, Summit), the Samurai, the Infinity, and now, the
Andy Samurai Master. The Scythe web site conjures up the phrase, “Where
East meets West!” in its description of this model. How a heatsink is East
or West, we can only conjecture; we suspect this reference is only about the
name.

According to Devon, who is something of an afficionado of Japanese anime films,
Andy Samurai Master is a brash, young western samurai character. That’s
about all Devon can remember, but it’s enough to explain the retail box, which
is visually one of the loudest ever to arrive at SPCR.

In any case, the Andy is a bit of a departure from most of Scythe’s
big heasinks in the last two years. It is designed for straight-down fan airflow,
rather than the parallel-to-motherboard airflow of the tower designs like the
Infinity, Ninja, Katana, or the even earlier FCS-50 and NCU-1000/2000.


This is one of the “loudest” heatsink boxes we’ve ever seen.


The cooler itself is in cool aluminum and has support for socket 775,
AM2 and even 478. There’s also an illustrated installation guide and a
package of Thermal Interface Material to apply between CPU and heatsink
base.

Scythe Andy Samurai Master Feature Highlights
(from the
product web page
)
Feature & Brief Our Comment
IIFS – Infinity Interleave Fin Structure
Seeking the better way to efficiently dissipate the heat from total 6
heatpipes to heatink fins, this IIFS makes the quick & efficient heat
transfer ever!
Fin spacing is very tight around the
heatpipes, but fairly open through the rest of the heatsink.
Top-Flow High-End CPU Cooler
“Top-Flow” airflow can cool both the CPU and the motherboard
components simultaneously!
To imply that this is a unique feature
is a bit cheeky, as the vast majority of OEM and standard HSF are configured
this way. Perhaps inadequate cooling of motherboard components has been
an issue with their tall tower heatsinks?
Tool Free Easy Installation
Newly developed & “patent pending” mounting mechanism “VTMS
(Versatile Toll-Free Multiplatform System) allows user to install the
Andy Samurai Master CPU Cooler without any tool and hassle.
A convenient mounting system similar to that used on the Infinity,
Samurai Z and Mine
coolers. A pair of needle nose pliers can be helpful, however.
Universal Socket Compatibility with AM2
Andy Samurai Master CPU Cooler is compatible for socket 478/754/939/940/AM2
& LGA775. All in one solution for your PC system.
Achieved with three types of detachable
clips. The AMD clip uses the right size hook to engage the single or center
lug on each side of the plastic retention bracket.

 

Scythe Andy Samurai Master Specifications (from
the
product web page
)
Model Number
SCASM-1000
Combined Dimensions
124 x 135 x 125(H) mm
Weight
685g
Compatibility
Intel LGA775 (SocketT) Processors
Intel Socket 478 Processors
AMD Socket AM2 Processors
AMD Socket 940 Processors
AMD Socket 939 Processors
AMD Socket 754 Processors
Fan Dimensions
120 x 120 x 25 mm
Noise Level
20.94 dBA
Air Flow
49.58CFM
Speed
1,200 RPM (±10%)
Bearing Type Sleeve

PHYSICAL DETAILS

Let’s start with some photos of this latest big heatsink/fan (HSF) from Scythe.

As the photos below show, it’s a big unit, with a 120mm fan held on top by
steel wire hooks. There are six heatpipes that join the fins to the copper bottom
base. The main cooling fins are formed of thin aluminum pieces press fitted
onto the heatpipes. The base and the fins are separated by a distance of about
two inches. That gap is filled with what looks to be a fairly conventional extruded
aluminum heatsink, roughly a 2″ cube. The bottom ends (evaporator) of the
heatpipes are sandwiched between a copper plate and this secondary heatsink.


With the fan it stands just shy of 5″. It may not be a tower, but
it’s still pretty tall, and some clearance is still needed above the fan
to allow air intake, probably at least one inch. That puts the real operational
height on par with the tower giants like Ninja, Thermalright Ultra 120,
Infinity, etc.

The top fins do not make direct contact with the bottom secondary fins.
Note the notches for the modular mounting clips in the extruded aluminum
piece.

The secondary extruded aluminum heatsink bonded to the copper
base appears to have a couple of functions:

  • It provides a firm anchor to which the modular mounting clips are inserted.
  • It provides additional cooling surface area in the airflow path of the fan.
    (Unlike, for example, the similarly designed Thermalright SI-128, which leaves
    empty this space between base and main fins.)

Note that the secondary fins stay within the boundary of the bottom
base to ensure that it has no chance of interfering with any motherboard components
around the CPU. The heatpipes are potentially more of a problem in this regard.

Without the secondary extruded fins, the ASM resembles the Thermalright
SI-128
superficially, though the latter has only four heatpipes compared
to the Andy’s six. Another huge difference is the effective area of each fin
in the ASM, which is about double that of the SI-128. You can see in the photo
below that the fins of the SI-128 are not much taller than the 1″ thickness
of the fan on top of it

The Fins

Removing the fan and looking straight down gives us a clear idea
of what Scythe means by “interleaved fin structure”. At first glance,
it appears that the spacing between the fins is not all the same. But if you
look closely, you find that there are two different types of fins:

  • 46 fins that run the full width of the HS and join all six heatpipes.
  • 32 that join only three of the heatpipes and measure roughly 1″ square.

The latter are staggered between the full width fins so that between
three closely spaced fins is a double space, at least in the middle and outer
edges. The total number of double spaces is 15. The second colored picture below
shows the fin layout more closely.


It’s a lot of fins.


“Interleaved fin structure.”

This interveaving of fins appers to be an attempt to balance large cooling
surface area with low impedance for slow spinning fans. The concept was introduced
in the Infinity, the last big tower HS from
Scythe that we reviewed.

However, as you will see in the painted photo below, the Infinity’s fin interleaving
is not quite the same. The double fin density is achieved by using three different
sets of fins that overlap around the heatpipes. One set spans the area between
the two lines of heatsinks, while another set hangs off each edge.

The spacing between the fins near the heatpipes is the same in both heatsinks.
But for the rest of the airflow path presented to the fan, the fin spacing is
considerably tighter in the Andy Samurai Master than in the Infinity. The consequence
should be that the cooling performance of the ASM is better with high airflow,
and the Infinity’s cooling is better with low airflow.

In the Infinity, we found that the impedance of the fins proved to be a hindrance
for cooling at low airflow, despite interleaving, which kept that model from
matching the performance of the very best low airflow optimized heatsinks. The
Andy really can’t do better, can it?

The Base and Mounting Clips

The photo below shows the flat, mirror-smooth copper base, and the modular
clip mechanism. Basically, the retention clips for each socket type come in
pairs. These insert into two slots on either side of the bottom auxilary fins
structure (the violet arrows show where these lots are). Shown below are the
clips for socket 775. The actual mechanism for attaching the HSF to the motherboard
is the same set of four push-and-twist plastic locking cylinders used on stock
Intel heatsinks.


Flat, polished copper base; modular mounting socket 775 clips.


The AM2/K8 clip is a spring-loaded mechanism that engages one lug on
each side of the plastic retention frame on the motherboard. This all-metal
device is better than the AM2/K8 clips delivered with our review sample
of the Infinity; that clip seemed fragile as it employed just two thin
plastic nubs to hold the heatsink in place.

 


The socket 478 clip uses a pair of familar flat spring clips.

Inserting the clip modules to the heatsink was a bit fiddly, but
some pressure with the thumbs was enough to get them in. Once installed, they
seem secure, but perhaps not quite as secure as fixing the clips with screws
or bolts, which are easy enough for most computer DIYers to handle. The slight
fiddliness probably not a bad price to pay for the tool-less adaptability, though.

FAN DETAILS

The fan included with the sample was a Scythe DFS122512L. This is the same
model fan that came with the Ninja Rev. B we
reviewed recently
. The specifications suggest a very quiet fan that spins
at just 1200 RPM yet still moves a fair amount of air. The fan is mounted using
two wire clips that are similar to the clips that come with many of Scythe’s
other heatsinks. They are quite easy to use.


A low speed model that appears to be sourced from Adda.

INSTALLATION

Installing the Andy on our test bench socket 775 motherboard was more or less
straightforward. The mounting plugs work exactly the same way as on the stock
Intel heatsinks. The main difficulty had to do with reaching under the main
bank of fins to apply pressure on the plugs. With a couple of them, it was awkward
to do. Installing the heatsink on the motherboard before mounting it inside
a case is probably wise. This will let you exmain each plug closely to ensure
that they are all fully engaged. If you have a conventional layout case, at
least leave the PSU off until after the HSF is installed; there will be no room
for your hand to get to the mounting plugs with the PSU in place.

With the heatsink mounted as in the photo below, the heatpipes protruded beyond
the border of our motherboard by a fair distance, around 3/4″. This could
pose problems in many cases where the PSU would be too close. However, because
the heatsink can be rotated and fitted on the board in three other orientations,
fitting on to most socket 775 motherboards in most cases should not be a problem.

CAUTION for AM2 and 478 Socket Users: The heatsink cannot be rotated
so freely with either AM2 or 478 sockets, however; with those boards, the ASM
can only be mounted in one of two orientations, 180 degrees from each other.
Whether the heatpipes protrude up and beyond the motherboard will depend greatly
on the exact position of the CPU socket and the orientation of the heatsink
retention bracket as well as the amount of space in your case between the edge
of the motherboard and the power supply. As yet, Scythe’s site does not appear
to have a compatibility (or incompatibility) list of motherboards for the ASM.


The Andy is a big HSF, no matter how you look at it.

TESTING

Testing was done according to our
unique heatsink testing methodology
, and the reference fan was profiled
using our standard fan testing
methodology
. A quick summary of the components, tools, and procedures follows
below.

Key Components in Heatsink Test Platform:

Test Tools

  • Seasonic
    Power Angel
    for measuring AC power at the wall to ensure that the
    heat output remains consistent.
  • Custom-built, four-channel variable DC power supply, used to regulate
    the fan speed during the test.
  • Bruel & Kjaer (B&K) model 2203 Sound Level Meter. Used to
    accurately measure noise down to 20 dBA and below.
  • Various other tools for testing fans, as documented in our
    standard fan testing methodology
    .

Software Tools

  • SpeedFan
    4.31
    , used to monitor the on-chip thermal sensor. This sensor is not
    calibrated, so results are not universally applicable; however,
  • CPUBurn
    P6
    , used to stress the CPU heavily, generating more heat that most
    realistic loads. Two instances are used to ensure that both cores are stressed.
  • Throttlewatch
    2.01
    , used to monitor the throttling feature of the CPU to determine
    when overheating occurs.

Noise measurements were made with the fan powered from the lab variable DC
power supply while the rest of the system was off to ensure that system noise
did not skew the measurements.

Load testing was accomplished using CPUBurn to stress the processor, and the
graph function in SpeedFan was used to make sure that the load temperature was
stable for at least ten minutes. The fan was tested at four voltages: 5V, 7V,
9V, and 12V, representing a full cross-section of the its airflow and noise
performance.

The ambient conditions during testing were 18 dBA and 22°C.

TEST RESULTS

The Fan

The stock fan is the same model supplied with the Infinity. We found the earlier
sample to be one of the quietest stock heatsink fans ever, and similar to our
reference fan. This second sample was just about identical to the first.

Unlike the sample that came with the Infinity, this sample displayed no audible
clicking or chuffing at any angle or speed. We had suspected the earlier sample
was damaged; our experience with this sample confirms the suspicion. At the
same CFM, the Scythe and the reference fan sounded just about identical, and
they performed identically with the Andy on the test bench.

Stock Fan Profile: Scythe DFS122512
Brand Scythe Power Rating 0.18A
Manufacturer ?? Airflow Rating 49.58 CFM
Model Number TT-1225 RPM Rating 1,200 ± 10% RPM
Bearing Type Sleeve Noise Rating 20.94 dBA
Hub Size 1.59″ Header Type 3-pin
Frame Size 120 x 120 x 25 mm Starting Voltage 4.6V
Voltage
Noise
RPM
CFM
Power
12V
24 dBA@1m
1200 RPM
54 CFM
1.08W
9V
20 dBA@1m
960 RPM
42 CFM
0.83W
7V
19 dBA@1m
790 RPM
32 CFM
0.68W
5V
<18 dBA@1m
570 RPM
21 CFM
0.53W
@25 cfm (5.5V)
<18 dBA@1m
620 RPM
24 CFM
0.57W

At 12V, we’d characterize both fans as being smooth and very quiet but audible,
with the nod going to the slower Nexus. The Scythe has a bit more growl that
disappears below 7V. At 9V, a similar difference was heard but much reduced.
Given the typical ambient noise for most homes (and certainly offices), many
users will find either fan inaudible at this voltage. Both fans were just barely
audible at 7V and inaudible from one meter at 5V.

Cooling Performance

Scythe Andy Samurai Master w/ stock or reference
120 fan
Fan Voltage
Temp
°C Rise
°C/W
12V

38°C
16
0.21
9V

42°C
20
0.26
7V

46°C
24
0.30
5V

51°C
29
0.37
Load Temp: CPUBurn for ~20 mins.
°C Rise: Temperature rise above ambient (22°C) at load.
°C/W MP / TDP: based on the amount of heat dissipated by the CPU
(measured 78W); lower is better.
Scythe Andy vs. Scythe Ninja vs. Thermalright
Ultra-120
Fan Voltage
Scythe Andy
Scythe Ninja
Ultra-120
°C Rise
°C/W
°C Rise
°C/W
°C Rise
°C/W
12V
16
0.21
14
0.18
15
0.19
9V
20
0.26
16
0.20
17
0.21
7V
24
0.30
17
0.21
21
0.27

Fan @ 12V: The stock fan was quiet at full speed, which is unusual.
It was quieter than just about any other stock heatsink/fan we’ve tested,
except for the Scythe Infinity, which came with the same model of fan. The
noise consisted of a smooth midrange hum and slight low frequency growl that
was easy to tune out. Compared to the Nexus, the stock fan sounded more tonal
but produced less turbulence noise.

The cooling performance was excellent, very close to the Scythe Ninja and
Thermalright Ultra-120, which are the top dogs in our entire database of tested
heatsinks. Differences of 1~2°C are generally too close to the margin of error
to call definitive, so you could say that the aforementioned models and the
Andy have essentially the same cooling performance with this level of airflow.

Fan @ 9V: The stock fan actually became quiet enough to be considered
an acoustic non-factor in most systems. It is a challenge to build a system
that is quieter than the stock fan at this voltage — for many people,
there may be no acoustic benefit to slowing the fan any further.

Performance remained very good, but the lead of the Ninja and Ultra 120 increased
increased to 3-4C, which is significant. The tighter spacing of the ASM’s
fins was beginning to show their effect.

Fan @ 7V: At this level, the Nexus fan and the stock fan were both
basically inaudible from one meter. There would be little point in reducing
the fan speed any more. In a system with other sources of noise, the difference
would not be heard. Only a slight low frequency hum let us know that the stock
fan was spinning, and that was audible only when closely listened for.

The Andy’s performance fell further from the Ninja and Ultra-120. We expect
this is due to the higher impedance of the tighter spacing between fins, interleaved
or not. For most systems, the performance is still good enough for safe temperatures.

Fan @ 5V: Both fans were inaudible from one meter at this level. The
29°C temperature rise is borderline peformance, however. The temperature inside
a case could be easily 10°C higher than the 22°C measured on our open bench.
This would mean a CPU temperature in excess of 62°C, which is still within
safe limits, but getting close. There’s no real acoustic advantage to running
the fan this slow, so this data is not really that relevant.

ANDY VS. INFINITY VS. SI-128

It’s an obvious comparison: The Infinity is Scythe’s previous “interleaved”
fin heatsink, while the SI-128 is the closest competition from Thermalright,
except, of course, that it is a lot smaller and has 1/3 fewer heatpipes. (Note:
The Infinity was retested on the new heatsink testing platform with the fan
mounted on the wide side. The results here are slightly different than in the
original Infinity review, which used a different CPU and motherboard.)

Scythe Andy vs. Scythe Infinity vs. Thermalright
SI-128
Fan Voltage
Andy
Infinity
SI-128
°C Rise
°C/W
°C Rise
°C/W
°C Rise
°C/W
12V
16
0.21
16
0.21
21
0.27
9V
20
0.26
18
0.23
26
0.33
7V
24
0.30
20
0.26
29
0.37

The two Scythe heatsinks performed the same wth the fan at 12V. As the airflow
was reduced, the Infinity took the lead pretty decisively. The Thermalright
is clearly disadvantaged by its smaller size. It’s in a different class altogether.

TOP FLOW ADVANTAGE?

This refers to the claim made in the Andy’s marketing blurb, about how the
straight down fan airflow helps to cool the motherboard components (like voltage
regulators and chips) better than parallel-to-the-motherboard type tower designs.
Unless a test is designed specifically for it, this claim is difficult to deny
or verify.

What we do know is that if the voltage regulators get too hot, their efficiency
drops, and the system ends up drawing more power. We usually monitor the AC
power draw of the test system as a matter of routine. We also pay attention
to the DC power drawn by the AUX12V (2x12V) socket that powers the motherboard
voltage regulators and the CPU. If the power draw under our CPU stress testing
varies, usually that’s a sign that we should pay attention to whatever is causing
this.

The DC power draw with the CPU under high stress measured 78W when we examined
it while setting up the test platform. That included tests runs with three tower
style heatsinks, the Ninja, Zalman 9500 and Thermalright Ultra 120. The measurement
remained at 78W with the Andy, too, so at least for our test setup and conditions,
there was no apparent top flow advantage. This doesn’t mean there will never be any advantage; overclock the CPU and put it in a case with dual 8800s… and you’d probably see an advantage over the tower heatsinks, especially with a high airflow fan.

NOISE RECORDINGS IN MP3 FORMAT

Scythe Andy Samurai Master (DFS122512L): 5V-7V-9V-12V,
5s Ambient between levels
: One
Meter
, One Foot

Comparatives:

Arctic Cooling Alpine 64: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient
between levels
: One
Meter
, One Foot

Scythe Mine w/ stock fan: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient
between levels
: One
Meter
, One Foot

Nexus 120mm fan: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient between
levels
: One
Meter
, One Foot

HOW TO LISTEN & COMPARE

These recordings were made
with a high resolution, studio quality, digital recording system and are
intended to represent a quick snapshot of what we heard during the review.
Two recordings of each noise level were made, one from a distance of one
meter
, and another from one foot away.

The one meter recording is
intended to give you an idea of how the subject of this review sound in
actual use — one meter is a reasonable typical distance between a
computer or computer component and your ear. The recording contains stretches
of ambient noise that you can use to judge the relative loudness of the
subject. For best results, set your volume control so that the ambient
noise is just barely audible. Be aware that very quiet subjects may not
be audible — if we couldn’t hear it from one meter, chances are we
couldn’t record it either!

The one foot recording is
designed to bring out the fine details of the noise. Use this recording
with caution! Although more detailed, it may not represent how the subject
sounds in actual use. It is best to listen to this recording after you
have listened to the one meter recording.

More details about how we
make these recordings can be found in our short article: Audio
Recording Methods Revised
.

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

The Andy Samurai Master joins the long roster of Scythe heatsinks that reached
SPCR’s top ranks of quiet, high performance coolers. While it sets no new records,
the ASM’s cooling ability is good enough for consideration by any performance-oriented
computer enthusiast. It doesn’t need to set any new records; for the
first time since the invention of the PC, current CPUs are actually running cooler today than the ones from a year ago. The fact that this heatsink comes
with a very quiet fan that’s among the best we’ve heard is icing on the cake.

The interleaved fin design is a bit different from the tower style Infinity, resulting in tighter spacing.
The Infinity clearly performed better with low airflow. The tighter spacing in the fins of the Andy is the obvious cause for this difference.

We wonder why Scythe continues its trend of tighter spacing between fins. It’s
possible that with a very high speed fan (say 100 CFM) and a very hot CPU, the
Andy could edge just about everything else on the market for cooling performance.
However, such performance is not really called for. In for forseeable future,
even with quad core, the thermal characteristic of desktop CPUs are not going
to exceed the worst excesses of the Intel P4 Prescott era — and Scythe’s
earlier coolers can already handle such monsters without super high airflow.

For most potential buyers, the question is whether the straight down airflow
design of the ASM suits overall component and case cooling better than the parallel-to-motherboard
airflow design of the tower heatsinks which now dominate high end coolers. Among
straight down airflow designs, we can think of no other cooler that does better
than the Andy Samurai Master today.

Pros
* Excellent cooling performance
* Very quiet fan
* Fairly easy, tool-free installation
* Performs well enough for very quiet, low airflow fan setting
* Straight down airflow may help cool other motherboard components better.
Cons
* Large enough to cause compatibility issues
* Heavy
* Mounting system could be more secure
* No fan controller (although so many motherboards have them built in
now)

Much thanks to Scythe
USA
for the Andy Samurai Master sample.

* * *

Articles of Related Interest


Recommended Heatsinks
SPCR’s unique heatsink testing
methodology

SPCR’s standard fan testing
methodology

Scythe Infinity Heatsink / Fan
Scythe SCNJ-1000 Ninja Heatsink
Thermalright
Gets Back on Top with the Ultra-120

*
* *

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