Passive CPU Coolers ShoutOut: CM Z600 vs Scythe Ninja CU

Cooling/CPU Cooling by jmke @ 2008-05-21

In this comparative performance test we put two 1000gr+ CPU coolers through our stress tests to see which one comes out on top. Both are designed for passive cooling but can benefit from a bit of forced airflow too. How to they compare to the other 40 heatsinks we tested before? Let´s find out

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Conclusive Thoughts

DATA Analysis

Let’s start with the Ninja Copper which performed exactly as Scythe said it would, equipped with the reference fan it performed 1~2°C better than the original Ninja. Seeing as the price of the CU version is almost double, it’s very hard to recommend it. Looking at the product as a whole, equipped with the stock 800rpm fan it delivers impressive performance numbers, noise wise the stock fan is dead quiet at 12v and comes in third in the low noise ranking, only ~2 degrees hotter than the Thermalright IFX-14. Undervolting the stock fan can be done and the noise dropped even further, 1dBA over ambient @ 1cm is stellar, the CPU temperature remains very acceptable at 56.5°C.

The Coolermaster Hyper Z600 was able to best the original Scythe Ninja by a 1~2°C degrees, swapping places with the Ninja Copper in the result chart; this is not an easy feat and we were quite impressed by this cooler’s performance.

The Passive load tests is where the gloves come off, both coolers are at their operation limit when paired with this Pentium 4 Prescott CPU, you’ll probably get away passively cooling a Core 2 Duo with a mild overclock or a stock running Core 2 Quad, but the benefits of adding a very low speed fan are not to be ignored, as they easily shave of 10°C of the load temperatures. If you meet the requirements for passive cooling (low overclock, low heat output CPU) then you can confidently run the Ninja CU and Hyper Z600 without a fan attached, do take note that a case fan is required, a 120mm mounted in the rear is the ideal setup.

In the compact Antec Sonata 2 case both heatsinks are quite close to the rear exhaust fan which does help in the passive cooling tests. Our first load test has both coolers at ~69°C which is high, but not yet too high. When we installed our cardboard cut the temperatures noticeably dropped, ~5°C for the Z600 and ~7°C on the Ninja CU, at this point the load temps are very acceptable taking into account that we’re running without a fan installed. However we are neglecting one cooler which also completed our passive load tests, the Thermalright IFX-14 is a massive and expensive copper/aluminum heatsink, in our test setup it sat very close to the rear exhaust fan and without custom duct managed to keep the CPU at 56°C, grabbing the performance crown in this test.

Conclusive Thoughts

In this shootout we compared the performance and noise production of two new CPU coolers, the Scythe Ninja Copper and Coolermaster Hyper Z600 produced very similar results on our test bench. What we haven’t yet mentioned is the price of the Hyper Z600, we already know that the Ninja Copper will set you back close to €55, the Coolermaster Z600 uses less expensive material and is available for much less, €40! For comparison the Thermalright IFX-14 costs €60.

The Scythe Ninja CU did not improve much on the original Ninja Rev B which comes at a price of ~€35; this leaves us with the choice between the IFX-14, Hyper Z600 and Ninja AlCu. Price/Performance the IFX-14 falls behind as it costs almost twice as much as the competition; the Hyper Z600 is slightly better than the Scythe Ninja but not by much, it also costs a bit more and doesn’t come with a fan. It does include more extra’s for extra fan mounting and overall mounting system and consistent performance is not something to be ignored.

If you are in the market for a high end CPU cooler at an acceptable price both Scythe Ninja RevB and Coolermaster Hyper Z600 will make excellent choices; the Ninja Copper is too expensive for the slight benefit it offers; if cost is no factor the Thermalright IFX-14 remains first choice, if you can fit it inside your case.

We hope our tests help you make an informed decision, we won’t call one product the winner as the differences in noise/performance are very closely matched, and prices change constantly and depend on the region you live in. We can however recommend the Hyper Z600 and Ninja Rev B Plus for offering and excellent price/performance/noise ratio!


Madshrimps (c)


We thank Joost from Coolermaster and Hiro from Scythe for sending in their products for test, until next time!
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Comment from Stida @ 2008/05/23
Nice review.
I've got a Ninja CU, but it's a bit difficult to mount 2 fans on it.
the 'pull' fan touches the cu fins with it's blades...

For the rest: great heatsink!
Comment from jmke @ 2008/05/23
put two strips (cardboard, foam) at each two sides of the fan between fan||heatsink that should clear up the space; shouldn't be much, 1-2mm is enough.

 

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