Test Results

Let’s start of by checking to see if the fan orientation makes a difference in this particular test case:



No measurable difference when it comes down to CPU temperature, the PWM area however is slightly cooler when the fan is blowing “upwards”; do note that your experience may differ depending on case layout, case cooling and power supply used; do test both orientations to see which one provides cooler results.

Now onto the comparative tests, I’ve included Scythe owns Ninja, the AMD heatpipe stock cooling and the Thermalright Ultra-120 tower heatsink. At none overclocked settings these are the results:



With the Papst 120mm fan at 100% the results are very closely matched, with the Ultra-120 in the lead. The Infinity trails the Ninja by ~1°C no matter the fan speed. The stock fan is noticeable louder at full speed but becomes inaudible at 50%. With reduced air flow the Ninja has the lead, closely followed by the Infinity and Ultra-120. It’s very hard to name a winner here as the results are extremely close. Let’s see if adding more heat can open up the playing field:



The gap between the Ninja and Infinity widens slightly as the newcomer is now trailing by 3°C. The Ultra-120 falls behind and can’t compete with the larger surface area of the Scythe coolers. The stock fan offers a performance increase over the Papst but it’s also noisier.

Conclusion

When I first saw the Infinity at Cebit I didn’t get the impression from Scythe that they were marketing it as a “Ninja” killer… but how exactly do you kill a ninja?


"^^ as you see - it's not easy... to kill a Ninja"

The Infinity does add more raw potential power with tightly packed aluminum fins and 5 copper heat pipes, add a high speed 120mm fan (or even multiple) and it will allow for some very high end (overclocked/overvolted) CPU’s to run at very low temperatures, overclockers will love this heatsink.

Coupled with a silent fan the Infinity performs admirable but doesn’t improve on the Ninja, if you are building a new PC either choice of heatsink will keep your CPU cool and your system quiet.

PRO
Excellent performance
Stock fan very quiet at reduced speed
Easy plug and play multi-platform installation
Fair price ~€40

CON
At full speed included fan is audible in silent system
Weight is a concern if you move your PC around a lot, carry your tower case lying flat or temporarily remove the Infinity

I like to thank Scythe for sending over the product for testing;

Questions/Comments: forum thread