Conclusion

I think that the market success of the new coolers Zalman CNPS8000 and Scythe Mine will entirely depend on their price. Zalman CNPS8000 started selling for around $55-$60, but this is still rather expensive for a cooler that does not impress with its performance. Owners of compact system cases who are sure there’ll be no obstacles for the cooler near the mainboard’s CPU socket may like this model, though.

The Japanese “sandwich” Scythe Mine can be bought for about $43, i.e. only $3-4 less than the price of the super-cooler Scythe Ninja. The Ninja sells without a fan, so you should add $10-12 more to its price, but the Scythe Mine shows its full potential only with a 120mm fan which has to be purchased separately, too. So I don’t think your choice is obvious considering these prices. The Scythe Mine is a quiet cooler with good enough efficiency and simple fastening, but nothing more than that.

The pros and cons of the tested coolers are listed in brief below.

Zalman CNPS8000

Highs:

• Simple to install on and uninstall from the mainboard
• Low height (by today’s standards)
• Adjustable fan speed
• Good thermal paste included
• Good cooling efficiency

Lows:

• Low cooling efficiency with overclocked AMD processors
• Limitations on the near-socket space
• Not compatible with Socket 478

Scythe Mine (SCMN-1000)

Highs:

• Very low noise level
• Acceptable cooling efficiency for moderate overclocking
• Replaceable fan
• Ideally flat and finished base
• Compact base near the socket
• Practical and reliable fasteners

Lows:

• Too high a price for a cooler with that efficiency
• Only one 100mm fan included in the box