Introduction

CPU coolers have always been an important upgrade for computer enthusiasts. Manufacturers are continously creating better and more efficient coolers that come in many shapes and forms to appeal to different market segments, from the avid overclocker to the case modder.

The age-old solution is always to increase the size of the heatsink. All else being equal, a larger heatsink will have more surface area to dissipate heat from. While that's desirable, there are size limitations that coolers must adhere to.

Hence, the most popular way of further improving the performance of a cooler's heatsink these days seems to be via the use of heatpipes. Heatpipes allow heat to be quickly wicked away from the cooler base and transferred to the heatsink fins.

But it wouldn't do the cooler any good if all that thermal energy just accumulated at the fins. To quickly dissipate heat from the fins, active air flow is a must. The greater the air flow, the faster heat can be dissipated from the fins. But it isn't easy to just use the fastest fan you can buy because high fan speed almost always means a high noise level.

So, it has become a challenge today to provide a leading-edge cooling solution without deafening noise levels. Is it an impossible task?

Well, today, we will look at what is one of the top contenders in the CPU cooler market - the Scythe Ninja Plus heatpipe CPU cooler. Let's see how well Scythe has tackled these problems in their latest CPU cooler.

Scythe Co. Ltd.

Scythe is a relatively new comer to the CPU cooler market. The company was set-up in 2002 as a distributor and manufacturer of PC parts and gaming hardware. One of its first coolers to hit the market was the Kamakaze which was released in 2003.

Based in Tokyo, Japan, Scythe also has regional offices in the USA (in Torrence, California) and Europe (in Hamburg, Germany). Scythe has now expanded its product line to noiseless CPU coolers as well as enthusiast-targeted coolers.

The Ninja Plus cooler is the latest CPU cooler to debut from their factories. They also sell the heatsink itself, which they are marketing as the Scythe Ninja. The difference between the Ninja and the Ninja Plus is the inclusion of a 120 mm Scythe fan in the Ninja Plus package.

Now, let's get on with the Ninja Plus cooler!