Page 4 - Conclusion
The Scythe Ninja 4 performed well overall. As we have seen from our tests, it did an excellent job in really keeping the CPU temperatures controlled even under load. Not only that though -- noise levels are kept low at the same time. Furthermore, the three adjustable settings on the fan is a great way to add flexibility, so you can cap the noise level at your discretion. However, even at maximum speed, the sleeve bearing PWM fan was very quiet. Adding another fan onto the cooler can improve the performance even more, and additional mounting hardware is included from the factory for this purpose. Obviously, this will be at the cost of the silence, as two fans will definitely make more noise. The build quality is good overall, because of the materials that were used. A nickel plated copper base along with nickel plated copper heatpipes is great for heat transfer to the aluminum fins. Unfortunately, there are some inherent drawbacks within the product. The heatpipes are not soldered to the fins, which over time will cause a significant decrease in performance after many expansion and contraction cycles. Another thing to watch out for is just how big this heatsink is, which may cause interference with your memory, even if it was low profile. The installation instructions could be a little clearer to ensure the installation goes smoothly. Thankfully, for more experienced enthusiasts, there are only few parts to the installation, and it was easy enough figure out how all the parts fit together. One thing to note is on AMD sockets, if your backplate uses plastic pins, then this cooler is not compatible. However, with Scythe's Hyper Precision Mounting System, the Ninja 4 is compatible with many different sockets. At press time, you can find it for about $55 USD, which considering the performance is a good price. The only concern I have with this is that over time the Scythe Ninja 4 will lose its great performance over time, which means another heatsink at a similar price that may not perform as well initially, but will not lose its performance over time, is probably a better choice.
Scythe provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
6/10 means A product with its advantages, but drawbacks should not be ignored before purchasing.
5/10 means An average product with no real advantages; drawbacks and advantages just seem to cancel each other out.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 5.9/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The Scythe Ninja 4 performed well in all of our tests, but how long will it last?
Do you have any comments or questions about the Scythe Ninja 4? Drop by our Forums. Registration is free, and it only takes a minute!
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
