Installation Tips

Scythe NINJA 2 supports all contemporary platforms and the practically disappearing Socket 478. You will not need to remove the mainboard from the system case to install this cooler, because you will be using the following retention types:

Socket 478 retention is not so interesting anymore, so we won’t dwell on it. However, the retention for AMD K8 and K10 processors catches on to a standard plastic frame around the socket that is screwed on to the backplate, so the PCB will not bend. As for the LGA775 platforms, for them you use standard plastic push-pin retentions that press the cooler very firmly against the processor heat-spreader but bent the PCB significantly. Besides, since the heatsink plates are very close it is very hard to rotate these pins in order to remove the cooler even in an open testbed. Inside a system case, it is simply impossible. Very inconvenient retention mechanism. I wish Scythe NINJA 2 used the same retention kit on spindles with a backplate as NINJA Copper. It is not flawless, of course, but still better than push-pin. Note that the distance from the mainboard PCB to the lowest heatsink plate measures 42mm.

Scythe NINJA 2 barely fits into a system case, we even had to remove a pair of DIMMs:

I took into account the comments our readers made after the previous reviews and decided to install a second fan on one of the sides of the heatsink rather than the back of it:

Our test results confirmed that this “cross-configuration” of the fans makes the cooler 2-3ºC more efficient than with the fans installed parallel to one another. Moreover, we saw this exact effect in a closed system case with a 120-mm case fan and a 135-mm PSU fan as well as in an open testbed without any additional fans to help Scythe NINJA 2.