Tests of coolers - ASUS, Scythe, and Cooler Master
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Date: 06.06.2006
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Scythe Kamaboko-Z
Kamaboko-Z is a modified version of the Kamaboko cooler which we reviewed almost a year ago.
The scheme of fastening the cooler hasn't changed at all and fully meets the fastening of Scythe Ninja+.
The design improvement is about use of two heat pipes which link the base to the upper part of the radiator.
The cooler itself looks like this:
Another serious improvement is in that the plates of the upper part of the radiator are made of copper.
The cooler's overall dimensions are: the length is 96 mm, width - 94 mm, and the height 92 mm.
Note that the fan is powered via a Molex connector, and the rotational speed is determined with special additional connector. Besides, the user can adjust the speed with a regulator positioned on the bracket (the latter is installed on the rear wall of the housing).
Now a few words on the specifications. First, the cooler weighs 700 g. The fan is 92 mm in diameter (height - 38 mm), rotates at 3800RPM, generates 73.6.7CFM air flow, and does not make noise more than 46.0 dBa. The value 46 dBa is a bit too much, but if the user reduces the speed to the minimum possible (1000 RPM), then the noise level will drop to 14.0 dBA (i.e., below the audibility level!). At the same time, the air flow drops to 18.0 CFM. The practical tests showed the "honesty" of declared specifications: as the rotational speed drops below 1300 RPM, the fan runs absolutely noiselessly and if it exceeds 3000 RPM even confirmed overclockers will close their ears!
It should be noted that the cooler base is of ideal processing quality: We see a 100% mirror surface, which guarantees the maximum contact with the processor's heat spreader. However, that does not prevent from using thermo paste because very often CPU heat spreaders turn out to be faulty (both for AMD and Intel).
In general, the cooler produced a really positive impression, but its price seemed too high to us (30$).
Pros:
- Compact size;
- Ideal processing quality of the base;
- Speed regulator available (i.e. absolutely noiseless operation is possible);
- Compatibility to all the popular platforms.
Cons:
- Complicacy of installation.
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