Results Analyzed

With the Zipang Scythe tried to deliver a high performance and low noise top-down heatsink; from the results we can see that out of the box the heatsink with its 140mm is extremely silent but compared to the other competitors does not offer a better performance/noise balance.

Tower cases have a preference for tower coolers, especially if you have a nice 120mm exhaust fan at the back. When we equip the Zipang with our reference GlobalWin fan the performance is no better than the more compact Scythe ANDY we tested earlier and at high speed fan setting it definitely trails the pack.

The similar size/design Thermalright SI-128 with the same GW NCB fan @ high cools 6.5°C better at the same noise level.

Conclusive Thoughts

At an asking price of $45~50 (~€40) it’s more expensive than the Thermalright SI-128 (which doesn’t come with a fan) which offers a better performance/noise ratio when both heatsinks are tested with the same fan.

While the Zipang is a brave endeavor to try an advance top-down CPU cooling performance to help bring better products to owners of smaller enclosures, we can’t really find any convincing arguments to choose it over the competition, or even their own products (Scythe ANDY).

If you happen to come by the Zipang at an interesting price you shouldn’t waste the opportunity though as its easy installation and very low noise stock fan will certainly not disappoint you. To make it an interesting choice at the current price the performance/noise ratio is not sufficient however.

All summed up:

+ Acceptable performance
+ Extremely silent 140mm fan included
+ Easy installation

- Price/Peformance/Noise ratio not best in class
- Push-pin installation not ideal for performance


We like to thank Hiro from Scythe for allowing us to test the Zipang, until next time!