With the Ashura, Scythe has made a single tower cooler, that is surprisingly well built, especially if we consider its price of 39 Euro. Other than that it should offer decent cooling capacity, so it's not going to be an issue if you want to overclock your CPU by a few hundred MHz. So far we're rather curious to see what this cooler is capable of.
The Scythe Ashura is quite an interesting CPU air cooler. In this case we
get a mid-range CPU cooler that features a total of six heatpipes, which all
have a six millimeter diameter. It is basically a single-tower cooler, that
comes with an all
nickel plated copper base, while the heatsink is cooled by a 140mm PWM fan .The Scythe Ashura certainly
draws a lot of attention with its sleek and rather slim design.
As noted earlier, both the base and the heatpipes on the Scythe Ashura are
made from copper while the tower heatsink itself is made from aluminum. It features six heatpipes with
six millimeter
diameter which are not
in direct contact with the CPU but have been routed through the copper base. Since
Scythe used quite a slim heatsink, the heatpipes are bent in order to be
spread across two halves of the heatsink and cover as much area as possible as
well as also fit inside the heatsink for that matter. The heatsink fins are made from
aluminum and the entire Scythe Ashura is quite compact and sleek compared to
what we are used to see from tower-design CPU coolers. The manufacturing quality
is definitely high and we certainly did not expect anything less from
Scythe. The base does not have a perfect mirror finish but it is still very good.
The cooler comes bundled with a 140mm PWM fan - model SV1425HB12M-P. Scythe did
well choosing this fan, since it is one of the best fans we have seen in a long
time. There is absolutely no noise originating from the bearings and rotation
speeds can be as low as 100 rpm, which is seriously impressive.
Specifications |
Model |
Ashura |
Type |
Classic 140mm tower |
Provided Fan(s) |
1 x 140x25mm PWM |
Supported Fan(s) |
2 x 140mm |
Base Material |
Nickel
plated copper |
Fins Material |
Aluminum |
Socket Support |
AMD AM2(+), AM3(+), FM1,
FM2
Intel LGA 775, 1150, 1155, 1156, LGA 1366, 2011 |
Thermal compound |
Scythe (Bag) |
Product Page |
Ashura |
The bundle and the box are quite simple but that does not mean that Scythe
did not do a good job at this point too. Inside the box you will find everything you need to put things in
place and the mounting kit offers really good compatibility. The
box is made out of solid cardboard and although it is only protected by a
plastic shroud our sample arrived without a single dent or any damage
whatsoever. The bundled fan is not attached to the heatsink while the rest of the
mounting components are placed in a separate small box on the other side of the
cooler. The bundle includes an installation manual, mounting components, four
fan clips, small bag of Scythe thermal compound, a 140mm fan and of course the heatsink
itself.
[pagebreak]
Photo Gallery
[pagebreak]
Installation
Installation of the Scythe Ashura is quite simple and easy. Scythe kept everything nice
and clean as there are not too many mounting parts. The thermal compound is not
pre-applied and comes in a small bag. The overall pressure on the CPU is quite good
and you get one universal backplate but two different brackets to keep the
cooler in place. There is really nothing much to complain about, since this
cooler is compatible with any socket it might be used on. Especially considering
the decent price point, this is certainly a pleasant surprise.
Due to its slim-design, the Scythe Ashura does not block any memory slots or any
other components for that matter. The fan clips are easy and practical and
Scythe threw in an additional set of clips in case you decide to use it in a
push-pull configuration with two fans. The clips are compatible with any
140x25mm fan.
Test Setup |
Mainboard |
ASUS Z87-Deluxe (BIOS 1602) |
CPU |
Intel Core i7-4770K Stock (Turbo On / HT On) |
Memory |
ADATA XPG V2 2x4GB DDR3-2800 CL12 1.65V |
Video |
Intel HD Graphics 4600 |
Software |
Windows 7 x64
wPrime Benchmark v2.10
CPUID HWMonitor 1.24.0 |
PSU |
Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2 |
Fan Controller |
Lamptron FC5 V3 |
Thermal Compound |
Pre-applied or bundled
GELID GC-Extreme else |
[pagebreak]
Absolute Performance
Temperatures
7V |
Idle |
Load |
Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
33 °C |
53 °C |
Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
33 °C |
53 °C |
Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
34 °C |
57 °C |
Scythe Ashura |
36 °C |
58 °C |
Cooler
Master Hyper 103 |
36 °C |
60 °C |
Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
36 °C |
61 °C |
Prolimatech Lynx |
35 °C |
63 °C |
Intel Stock |
39 °C |
83 °C |
To measure the cooling capacity we took temperatures in idle and load
with the fans at 7 and 12 V. The idle temperature represents the lowest
temperature hit by the processor package after 10 minutes in idle. The load temperature is
the highest temperature hit by the processor package after one pass of wPrime v2.10. The
wPrime test takes 4 minutes and puts load on all 8 threads.
Room temperature is 25°C.
12V |
Idle |
Load |
Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
32 °C |
51 °C |
Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
33 °C |
51 °C |
Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
33 °C |
53 °C |
Prolimatech Lynx |
34 °C |
55 °C |
Scythe Ashura |
34 °C |
55 °C |
Cooler
Master Hyper 103 |
36 °C |
58 °C |
Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
34 °C |
57 °C |
Intel Stock |
35 °C |
70 °C |
Fan Speeds
|
7 Volt |
12 Volt |
Scythe Ashura |
600 rpm |
1'440 rpm |
Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
900 rpm |
1'500 rpm |
Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
900 rpm |
1'500 rpm |
Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
660 rpm |
1'530 rpm |
Prolimatech Lynx |
600 rpm |
1'740 rpm |
Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
1'200 rpm |
1'980 rpm |
Intel Stock |
1'260 rpm |
2'040 rpm |
Cooler
Master Hyper 103 |
1'580 rpm |
2'400 rpm |
Fan speeds (RPM) at 7 and 12 V.
Noise Levels
|
7 Volt |
12 Volt |
Intel Stock |
33.3 dBA |
37.1 dBA |
Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
32.3 dBA |
37.4 dBA |
Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
32.3 dBA |
38.4 dBA |
Cooler
Master Hyper 103 |
34.2 dBA |
39.5 dBA |
Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
33.4 dBA |
39.6 dBA |
Prolimatech Lynx |
33.0 dBA |
40.3 dBA |
Scythe Ashura |
32.0
dBA |
41.0 dBA |
Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
34.5 dBA |
41.7 dBA |
Decibel meter (Voltcraft SL-200) has been placed 1 meter away from the
cooler. Measurements are conducted in a quiet room, where there are no other noise source. 32 dBA is the lowest
we can get in our room. Also here
the measurements are conducted at 7 and 12 V.
[pagebreak]
PWM Performance
Temperatures
|
Idle |
Load |
Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
33 °C |
55 °C |
Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
35 °C |
55 °C |
Prolimatech Lynx |
34 °C |
57 °C |
Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
36 °C |
57 °C |
Scythe Ashura |
36 °C |
58 °C |
Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
35 °C |
59 °C |
Cooler
Master Hyper 103 |
36 °C |
60 °C |
Intel Stock |
39 °C |
75 °C |
At this point we plugged the fan(s) to the motherboard CPU fan header and let the
motherboard take care of fan speeds. In other words the motherboard will
adjust the fan speed via PWM signal according to CPU temperature. The idle
temperature is the lowest temperature hit by the processor package after 10
minutes idle. The load temperature is the highest temperature hit by the
processor package after one pass of wPrime v2.10. The
wPrime test takes 4 minutes puts load on all 8 threads.
Room temperature is 25°C.
Fan Speeds
|
Idle |
Load |
Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
380 rpm |
687 rpm |
Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
450 rpm |
740 rpm |
Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
471 rpm |
770 rpm |
Scythe Ashura |
436 rpm |
550 rpm |
Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
800 rpm |
969 rpm |
Prolimatech Lynx |
765 rpm |
1'077 rpm |
Cooler
Master Hyper 103 |
950 rpm |
1'465 rpm |
Intel Stock |
1'230 rpm |
1'630 rpm |
Values are in RPM, we took the lowest speed hit by the fan(s) in idle and the
highest under load.
Noise Levels
|
Idle |
Load |
Noctua NH-U12S
Single Fan |
32.0 dBA |
32.0 dBA |
Noctua NH-U12S
Dual Fan |
32.0 dBA |
32.4 dBA |
Alpenföhn
Matterhorn Pure |
32.0 dBA |
32.7 dBA |
Corsair H75 Single
Fan |
32.2 dBA |
33.2 dBA |
Scythe Ashura |
32.0
dBA |
33.4 dBA |
Cooler
Master Hyper 103 |
32.0 dBA |
33.6 dBA |
Prolimatech Lynx |
33.3 dBA |
33.9 dBA |
Intel Stock |
33.3 dBA |
34.4 dBA |
Decibel meter (Voltcraft SL-200) has been placed 1 meter away from the
cooler. Measurements are conducted in a quiet room, where there are no other noise source. 32 dBA is the lowest
we can get in our room. Also here
the measurements are conducted at lowest and highest fan speeds in idle and
under load respectively.
[pagebreak]
Conclusion
General |
|
+ |
- |
With the Ashura, Scythe has a convincing product in
its lineup. It is an affordable mid-range cooler and features great manufacturing quality. The overall performance is good
and noise levels are decent as well. The cooler is extremely silent with
the bundled PWM fan at 7 volt. The mounting system is
also practical and compatible
with all Intel sockets since LGA775 as well as all AMD sockets from AM2 to FM2. |
|
- Performance
- Noise levels
- Quality
- PWM
- Mouting
- Price
- Socket compatibility |
- Noise levels at 12V |
|
Installation |
|
+ |
- |
Mounting is easy and practical and the mounting kit is
compatible with any recent Intel and AMD socket. The mounting mechanism parts are
solid, thermal paste comes in a small bag and Scythe went an extra mile
to include additional fan clips in case you want to add another 140mm fan. |
|
- Easy and practical
- Compatible Intel and AMD
- Thermal compound (Tube) |
|
|
Performance |
|
+ |
- |
The cooling performance of the Scythe Ashura is
good. It does a way better job than most cheaper coolers and to make things worse, for competition at least,
it even does a better job than some more expensive and bigger coolers. |
|
- Cooling performances |
|
|
Noise
Levels |
|
+ |
- |
The overall noise levels are good and the
Scythe Ashura is silent.
However, we are a bit sensitive when it comes to noise and we would
surely like that the noise levels are just a tad bit lower. The cooler
is extremely silent when the mainboard controls it for us but when we
want to set 12V, maybe to overlcock a little bit, our decibel meter
reports 41.0
dBA, which is rather high. |
|
- Silent PWM and 7V
|
-
Noise levels at 12V |
|
Recommendation / Price |
|
+ |
- |
We can definitely recommend this cooler, since it
features a truly excellent fan as well as decent cooling performance. The
Scythe Ashura is a high quality product with a reasonable price of 39
Euros, and even good enough to put to shame some higher priced and
bigger coolers from the competition. |
|
- Price
- Office PC
- Gaming |
- Overclocking |
|
Rating |
We gave the Ashura from Scythe 4.5 out of 5 stars. |
|