X-bit labs

New Coolers from Scythe: Katana II and Kama Cross Review (page 9)

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 07/02/2007 | 03:58 PM ]

Noise Level

The amount of noise generated by the coolers was measured with a digital noise-level meter Center-321 (0.1dB accuracy) using A-curve weighing. The measurements were done at night in a totally quiet apartment – the level of ambient noise was as low as 31.6dBA.

The noise level was measured at a distance of 1 meter from a closed and fully functional system case (with the side-panel fan turned off) as well as at a distance of 3 centimeters when the CPU cooler was the only operating component. The comfortable level of 36-37dBA is marked with a dashed line in the diagram.

Each cooler is very quiet, but the two new models from Scythe are even quieter than their opponents. And we should give them due credit for that.

Conclusion

I have tested two new coolers from Scythe in this review and they have showed moderate thermal performance, but their pricing is non-competitive, at least at this time. Right now there are more efficient coolers available that are comparable to or cheaper than the Katana II and Kama Cross.

The indisputable advantages of these coolers are their very low noise level, universal and simple retention mechanism for each platform, free positioning of the heatsink on a mainboard with any type of CPU socket, and low weight. As we saw in case of Kama Cross, you can improve the cooler performance by replacing the stock 100mm fan with a 120mm one, however it still does not make the cooler competitive against other coolers with a comparable price.