Next we have the overclocking test results. With the i7-5820K kicking out a lot of heat at any configuration, we overclock to 4.4Ghz and try out the Scythe Ninja 4. Just as the stock charts show, the Scythe Ninja 4 is low down on the chart, with the load performance not redeeming the Ninja 4 this time. We suspect as we did before that the sound performance will be the redeeming factor and would hint again at custom fan profile potential.
We rank the coolers on their idle performance, if there is a clash we will rank them on their load performance, this is why the Scythe Ninja 4 is in fourth place and not first. The idle sound performance is pretty much the same as the stock performance, which is excellent. However, the load performance shows again the fan is not really pushed to keep the thermal performance inside a reasonable temperature envelope.
Again, this is all potential, with Scythe using a quiet and efficient fan. This begs to be put to the test with a custom motherboard fan profile, and don’t forget, the fan has a built-in speed slider, so you have a simple hardware override if required.
Conclusion
We have no issues with the Scythe Ninja 4, it’s a good traditional CPU cooler with some decent refinements. As with any test using default fan profiles and letting the hardware do the talking, you’ll need to understand the Scythe Ninja 4 position in the charts is an “out of the box” view. We think the cooler has a lot of potential and we don’t think it would take a lot of effort.
The GlideStream 120 PWM fan is a big lazy fan just waiting for some attention and the heatsink is a classic large tower block of a cooler. With the refinements that Scythe have added to the Ninja 4 and the GlideStream, the overall performance is not fussy, complicated or confusing, it’s just classic and simple. We think if you had this cooler and wanted to ramp up the performance, we are not sure if there are many CPU coolers to beat it. Out of the box however, it’s definitely worth consideration.
Scythe Ninja 4
Scythe Ninja 4 SCNJ-4000 CPU Cooler Review
Package - 8
Performance - 8
Price - 7
Consumer Experience - 8.5
7.9
We have no issues with the Scythe Ninja 4, it's a good traditional CPU cooler with some decent refinements. As with any test using default fan profiles and letting the hardware do the talking, you'll need to understand the Scythe Ninja 4 position in the charts is an "out of the box" view. We think the cooler has a lot of potential and we don't think it would take a lot of effort.
