Scythe “Summit” Mine Heatsink/Fan

Scythe has been the most prolific heatsink manufacturer recently, and we think we know why: They’re cross-breeding their existing heatsinks to produce new ones. The Mine is the offsping of a Ninja and a Kamakiri, with genes from the Samurai Z mixed in. This heatsink has high aims; it has the Ninja in its sights, but has a smaller 100mm fan. Can it hit the target?

Note: Postscript on results with a Nexus 120 fan added July 18, 2006

July 16, 2006 by Devon
Cooke with Mike Chin

“Mine” is an odd name for a high performance heatsink. Mines are
hot, airless places of industry — hardly the luxurious, effortless image
that is likely to appeal to the enthusiast PC market. The name makes more sense
when you realize that the name is in Japanese, is pronounced “mi-né”,
and means “summit”. The imagery on the box makes sense too; the cold,
snowy peaks are much more appropriate than a hole in the mountainside.

The Mine is one of many heatsinks from Scythe. It is a large tower heatsink
that looks like the child of the
ever-popular Ninja and the
unconventional Kamakiri. Its voluminous size is definitely reminiscent of
the Ninja, but the fan sandwich comes directly from the Kamakiri. Hopefully,
the larger size of the Mine will allow it to perform better with low airflow
than the Kamakiri did. The universal mounting system comes from another Scythe
heatsink. If the Ninja and the Kamakiri are the parents, perhaps the
Samurai Z is the Godfather.

With so many family members, Scythe has its work cut out to find
a niche for the Mine. Scythe compares the Mine to the Ninja, recommending it
in systems where very low noise is less of a priority: “Unlike the
Ninja or Ninja Plus, that is designed for fanless or minimal fan requirements,
the Mine 3 Cooler is designed with 3 heatpipes and more fins to increase surface
area to maximize cooling abilities by utilizing a high performance 100mm fan
with high capacity airflow.” A
more detailed comparison between the two can be found in Scythe’s FAQ, where
test results for a 130W TDP processor are listed.

Mine means “summit” in Japanese, so the cold mountain peaks on
the box make sense.

No complicated baseplates here — just three sets of clips, thermal interface,
an installation sheet, and a Molex-to-fan-header converter.

Without seeing it firsthand, it’s hard to appreciate how large the Mine is.
As the photo below shows, it’s the same height as the Ninja, and only slightly
shorter than the Thermalright”Highrise” HR-01. As with any of these
high end heatsinks, a generous amount of space around and especially above the
processor is needed.

One advatange of the fan being set in the center is that it’s not quite as wide as the Ninja with a fan mounted on it. The difference is about the thickness of the fan, which is usually one inch.

The Mine is quite at home with the heavyweights. On the left: A Thermalright
HR-01; A Ninja on the right.

PHYSICAL DETAILS

The Mine’s tower configuration requires heatpipes — three
for each half. The two halves are mirror images of each other. Each consists
of a stack of aluminum fins, spaced about half as wide as the Ninja’s. Although
Scythe points out that this requires higher airflow, the fins are still spaced
more widely than many others. They should be a good match for the relatively
slow 1,500 RPM fan that Scythe has included.

The fins are cut in a wave shape that keeps the width of the fin
constant across its length, keeping the airflow impedance more or less constant
across the whole fin. This is a good thing; it means that all parts of the fins
should receive more or less the same amount of airflow.

A 100mm fan sandwich.

In addition to the noise reduction that Scythe notes in their feature page,
the wave shape of the fins has a secondary purpose. The small space between
the fins and the surface of the fan should reduce the amount of pressure needed
to force air through the heatsink. The wave shape also serves an aesthetic purpose:
They look like mountain peaks in the distance. Perhaps it was this shape that
inspired the name.

The fan is sandwiched between the two halves, and only the edges of the fan
make light contact with the fins. There is some potential for vibration-induced
noise here. A high speed fan may cause enough vibration to rattle against the
fins, or perhaps cause the fins themselves to vibrate and resonate.

Wave shaped fins keep direct contact with the fan to a minimum.

Three copper heatpipes sprout from each side of the base.

The base is unremarkable for a tower heatsink: Smooth, polished copper that
simply transfers heat from the CPU to the heatpipes without a fuss. The finish
on our sample was well polished and smooth.

A smooth copper base.

FAN DETAILS

In order to accommodate the wide range of fans — 60-140mm — the conventional
methods of mounting a fan could not be used. Including screw holes for 60, 70,
80, 92, 100, 120, and 140mm fans would have been impractical if possible at
all, and it is just as hard to imagine a wire clip that could accommodate every
size.

Instead, the Mine uses a clamp to hold the fan in place. The clamp consists
of a pair of aluminum plates that hook on to the frame of the fan, and two screws
that pull the plates together, squeezing the fan between them. The photograph
below shows how the system works.

Two screws pull a pair of aluminum plates together, effectively clamping
the fan in place.

Despite the obvious possibility of swapping the fan, we didn’t bother to try.
The heatsink is designed to work best with the included 100mm fan, which was
acceptably quiet even at 12V. A 120mm fan would protrude beyond the boundaries of the fins, while a 90mm fan would not provide airflow to the entire fin area. Given the dearth of other 100mm fans on the market,
we don’t see why anyone would swap the fan.

The fan itself is a medium speed Scythe
Kaze-Jyu (“Ten Winds”), model SY1025SL12M. It has a smooth sleeve
bearing and, despite its medium speed billing, would probably be classed as
low speed by most manufacturers. A slower 1,000 RPM model and a faster 2,000
RPM model are also available. Scythe specifies the noise level as 22 dBA, with
no measurement distance given.

INSTALLATION

Simple installation: Insert the appropriate clip, and mount on
standard motherboard heatsink bracket.

Scythe’s recent heatsinks have become easy to install. As mentioned, the
Mine’s mounting system is identical to the one used in the
Samurai Z (Follow the link for more detailed photographs). The only exception
is a good one. Unlike the Samurai Z, the base of the Mine is not used as a secondary
heatsink, so the fragile fins that broke so easily are no longer needed. The
sockets for the mounting gear are much sturdier, and should stand up to more
wear.

The system is simple: Each of the three common mounting systems (K8, Socket
478, and Socket 775) has its own set of clips that all fit onto the heatsink
in the same way. Choose the appropriate clips, attach them to the heatsink,
and mount the heatsink on the stock retention bracket in the system. No access
to the underside of the motherboard is required. Most AM2 motherboards are reported
to work using the standard K8 clips, but Scythe
has an FAQ question that describes which AM2 systems will not work. Scythe’s explanatory illustration is shown below.

Apparently there are two variants of AM2 HS retention brackets in use.
The incompatible one has a bit more plastic around the screw housing, thus blocking the Mine’s clip.
A bit of work with a file on the incompatible retention bracket might make it compatible.

One issue is that the mounting system only allows the Mine to be installed in one orientation. With some motherboards, the fan will blow towards or away from the PSU (assuming the PSU is in the conventional location); with other motherboards, the fan will blow towards or away from the back panel. In most cases, the latter is preferred, as it allows the case fan to do the work of evacuating the hot air, rather than the power supply. Like many other HS, the user is at the mercy of the motherboard / HS retention bracket orientation for the fan to be oriented the preferred way. The Ninja does not have this limitation, as its fan can be mounted on any of the 4 sides.

TESTING

On the test bench…

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.
• AOpenAX4GE Maxmotherboard – 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-4000, 512 MB
• Seagate Barracuda IV 40G 1-platter drive (in Smart
  Drive)
• Seasonic
  Super Tornado 300 (Rev. A1)
• Arctic Silver
  Ceramique Thermal Compound
• Nexus
  Real Silent 92mm fan
• Two-level plywood platform with foam damping feet. Motherboard on
  top; most other components below. Eases heatsink changes and setup.

Measurement & Analysis Tools

• CPUBurn
  processor stress software
• SpeedFan
  version 4.25 software to show CPU temperature
• A custom-built variable DC power supply that allows us to dial in exactly what voltage
  is powering the fan
• B&K model 1613 sound level meter

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. Every fan was tested at four voltages: 5V,
7V, 9V, and 12V, representing a full cross-section of the fan’s airflow and
noise performance.

The ambient conditions during testing were 16 dBA and 23°C.

TEST RESULTS

12V: At full speed, this may well be the quietest stock fan we’ve
ever heard. While we weren’t as impressed as one
reviewer, who couldn’t hear it at all, we do have to offer our congratulations
to Scythe. No other stock fan that we know of has been this quiet at 12V.
The fan is quiet enough to put any doubts as to whether it’s worth keeping
the oddly sized fan to rest.

Note that we said quiet, not silent. The fan definitely made some
noise, mostly in the form of a low growl. There was also a slight overtone
that could have been the aluminum fins resonating, and a significant amount
of air turbulence.

Cooling performance was very good, although not champion level. That’s hardly
a surprise, because the stock fan is so slow. With a fast fan screaming along
at 3,000 RPM, we have no doubt that the Mine could hit with the big boys.
A more valid comparison would be to look at how the Mine compares with other
heatsinks at a constant noise level… keep reading to find out.

9V: The resonance and most of the growl disappeared at 9V, leaving
turbulence noise as the prominent source of noise. This is good enough for
a very quiet computer; in a loud environment it might even have been inaudible.
Cooling performance definitely dropped, but was still well within the bounds
of safety for our P4 Northwood chip. There’s even a little headroom to cool
a warmer chip.

7V: At 7V, the fan was almost inaudible from one meter. Only a faint
clicking let us know it was still spinning, and we had to listen hard to hear
it. Performance was now borderline for our processor; we do not think any
of Intel’s 800 or 900 series could be cooled properly at this level. However,
most AMD chips should still be fine, as they tend to run cooler than our test
bed.

5V: The fan noise disappeared entirely at this level. We had to listen
from within a foot or two to pick the noise out from the background. Performance
was not good enough to cool our test rig under real system conditions, but
a cooler processor would be perfectly fine. Despite Scythe’s claim that the
Mine is not intended for low airflow conditions, it certainly does well enough
so long as a cool processor is used.

COMPARISON

The Mine was compared against several of our favorite low airflow heatsinks,
including the Scythe Ninja. Both the Ninja and the HR-01 are designed for fanless
operation and are significantly more expensive than the Mine. We include them
because they are our favorite heatsinks, but they are not really intended to
perform in the same class. The Zalman CNPS-7000ALCU, one of our previous favorites
and still a very good heatsink is also included.

The comparison is meant to judge how well the Mine performs at a very quiet
noise level, so we attempted to find test results as close to 22 dBA@1m as possible.
This noise level represents what we consider to be the best compromise between
noise and cooling for the Mine.

The Mine is clearly not at the same level as our favorite tower heatsinks, which employ a 120mm fan with 30% greater fin area than a 100mm fan, thus providing greater airflow even at lower RPM and at similar noise levels.
Both the Ninja and the HR-01 outperform the Mine significantly at the same noise
level. The Zalman CNPS-9500 also outperforms the Mine, but at the expense of noise; at
5V it is spinning as slowly as it can with its included Fanmate2 speed controller and it still sounds subjectively
worse than the Mine. Only the old CNPS-7000 trails behind the Mine, a testament
to how far CPU heatsink design has come in a few short years.

NOISE RECORDINGS

Scythe Mine:

MP3: Scythe Mine, Stock fan: 5V-7V-9V-12V,
5s Ambient between levels: One
Meter, One Foot

Comparative:

MP3: Nexus 120mm fan: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient
between levels: One Meter,
One Foot

MP3: Nexus 92mm fan: 5V-7V-9V-12V, 5s Ambient
between levels: One Meter,
One Foot

CONCLUSIONS

The Mine deserves accolades for including the quietest stock fan we’ve ever
heard on a heatsink. It is worth the money for this reason alone. Other heatsinks
may outperform it at the same noise level, but with the cost of a quiet fan
factored in, they are all significantly more expensive than the Mine.

With a higher airflow fan, the Mine may have potential to outperform these
other heavyweights, but at the expense of noise. As it is, the stock fan should
be adequate to cool nearly any system. It is certainly possible to use it in
a quiet system.

We also appreciate the refined mounting system that retains the ease of use
that we saw in the Samurai Z without its durability issues. Installation should
be completely tool-free unless the fan is changed (not something we recommend).

In a very hot, overclocked
or dual gaming video card system where cooling is essential, it may be worth upgrading to a beefier heatsink,
since the Mine will require more airflow to reach the same level of performance.
However, for well-designed quiet systems that employ one of the current AMD A64 or Intel’s new Core 2 processors with TDP under 70~80W — which covers the vast majority of current processors — the Mine can do the job just as quietly
without costing as much. It’s an easy recommendation.

Much thanks to Scythe
USA for the Mine sample.

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POSTSCRIPT ADDED JULY 18, 2006: With a Quiet 120mm Fan
(Just click to the next page)

POSTSCRIPT: WITH A QUIET 120MM FAN
July 17, 2006 by Mike Chin

Naturally, there were cries of outrage in the forum discussion about the lack of comparison between the Ninja and the Mine with the same reference 120mm Nexus fan. This was something Devon and I had discussed briefly. We decided against it for several reasons:

• The Mine with 100mm fan and the Ninja Plus with 120mm fan are priced exactly the same at US$54.
• If you add a 120mm fan to the Mine, it will cost you at least $10 more than the Ninja Plus, and it will be even taller than the Ninja (by a few mm). Why wouldn’t you just go for the Ninja, which is superb and good enough for any application we know of?

Such was our reasoning, but some forum members thought otherwise. In the spirit of responsiveness to readers and for the sake of completeness, the Mine has been retested with a Nexus 120mm fan. All conditions and ancillary test equipment were the same as in the original test detailed on the previous page.

The Nexus 120 fan added 7mm to the height, making it that much taller than the 150mm of the Ninja or the stock Mine. Width was increased by a similar amount.

TEST RESULTS

So it is clear the Scythe benefits from the greater airflow and coverage area of the larger Nexus 120 fan. This is especially evident at very low speeds. The larger fan is also quieter at higher speeds, although there’s a touch of metallic whine at 12V that can only be attributed to vibrations from the HS itself. Note that at 7V and under, the Mine plus Nexus 120 is borderline acceptable for cooling with our test CPU.

With the same Nexus 120 fan at 12V, the Mine gets closer to the Ninja, but it’s still a distant 6°C away. The Ninja with the Nexus 120 breaks the 0.2°C/W mark, which is truly championship territory. The Mine with the same fan manages 0.25°C/W, which is still excellent, and 3°C better than with its stock 100mm fan. It still does not better any of the other top HSF models except the Noctua NH-U12, which it just noses.

Is the gain in performance worthwhile? If you have to buy another fan, probably not. You’d be better off just buying a Ninja Plus for the same price.

What about AM2 compatibility? Well, Scythe has informed me that they are working on revising the AMD mounting setup for both the Mine and the Ninja to make them compatible with AM2 (and still backward-compatible with the older K8 754, 939, 940 socket HS brackets). This means that instead of 3 holes on each side of the mounting clip for the Mine, it will have just one. I imagine the adapter for the Ninja will be a plastic bracket that replaces the AM2 bracket and provides socket 478 style 4-clip holes. These revised products will be available for sale in the market by this time next month.

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