CoolingReviews

Scythe Ninja 5 CPU Cooler Review

Performance

Performance of the Ninja 5 cooler has been tested on two test platforms – Intel Coffee Lake and Skylake-X. Tests were performed at default processor settings.

The Coffee Lake platform includes the i5-8600K, six-core processor which is installed inside the ATX PC case. Results on this processor are compared to Corsair H80i AIO cooler.

The Skylake-X platform includes the i9-7900X ten-core processor which works on an open space/test-bench. Results on this processor are compared to custom water cooling which is based on the Watercool Heatkiller waterblock and dual 360mm radiators.

Idle – tests without any significant load, programs, and Windows services run in the background.

Mixed Load – load based on PCMark 10 tests so various, popular applications.

Max Load – CPU/FPU tests in AIDA64 stability test.

All temperatures are in the Celsius scale.

 

Test 1  – Coffee Lake / i5-8600KThe i5-8600K seems like a less demanding processor but under full load temperature is going up really quick. Especially that our processor is not delidded or modified in another way.

Idle temperature is not really important but in mixed load tests, we can already see that the Ninja 5 is a bit better than the H80i AIO. Under full load, the difference is about the same but what you can’t see in the table is that the Ninja 5 is still quiet while Corsair cooling requires nearly twice as high fan speed to keep the temperature low. Just as a reminder, the Kaze Flex fans spin up to about 800 RPM while used in Corsair AIO fans can pass 1500 RPM.

Quick conclusion. If you don’t have space for an additional radiator and care about cooler’s price then Scythe Ninja 5 can replace popular AIO coolers and doesn’t cost as much. Also, great fans keep your CPU cool and don’t make unnecessary noise.

 

Test 2 – Skylake-X  / i9-7900X

The second test is harder just because the i9-7900X processor uses much more power under load. Considering its wattage, I think that results are still good. Our custom water cooling has a much higher thermal capacity and under full load, the difference is about 8°C. We could expect more considering how much this cooling cost. The Ninja 5 handles ten-core CPU well and is quite cheap. It’s also about the best air cooling you can get.

Overclocking is already a challenge. The i9-7900X can go over 300W under full load at 1.2V what is about the maximum for the Ninja 5 cooler. We were able to stabilize our CPU at 4.7GHz and about 1.20-1.22V. However, the temperature under full load at these settings was above 90°C, just below maximum safe values. Even custom water cooling is not much better in this case as our maximum frequency was 4.8GHz at 1.25V.

If you are looking for a cooler for Skyake-X processor then Scythe Ninja 5 is a good option which I can recommend. If you expect better results then there is only large custom water cooling which cost much more. I just think that most users could spend that price difference on a larger SSD or better graphics card.

 

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