Scythe Katana review at SPCR

[Zap]

Scythe Katana HSF review at Silent PC Review

Pros
* Stock fan undervolts well
* Low price
* Universal socket compatibility
* Light weight
* Cooling for voltage regulators
* Heatsink can be installed in most any orientation

Cons
* Fiddly installation;
* Possible bad access to mounting screws on many modern motherboards
* Instruction sheet poorly laid out
* Fan clips prone to stretching

FINAL CONCLUSIONS
The Scythe Katana is a worthy addition to the Scythe line. It does well in comparison to some of the other sub-$30 heatsinks we've tested (ZAP'S NOTE: SHOULD BE COMPARED AGAINST $30-40 HSF). Its stock fan is very quiet once it is slowed down, making it a decent choice for a midrange system. For hot high-end processor, however, a bigger, more expensive heatsink is probably required... The light weight of the heatsink makes it totally safe to transport while mounted on a motherboard in a system. The Katana could find a good home in a midrange gaming system for LAN parties... It's probably the best heatsink currently made for socket A / 370... The Katana is a good choice for a silent midrange system, where money is a concern. The only drawback is that a Zalman Fanmate may need to be included in the cost so that the fan can be slowed down.

I purchased mine from SVC.com for about $34 plus shipping (split among other stuff I ordered). Expected delivery date is Thrusday, 11/6. I'm planning to use it for my wife's system, a socket 754 A64 3400+ with a Chaintech VNF3 motherboard in a Lian Li PC-7BW Plus case. If I get around to it I'll post pics of the build after I'm done.

I purchased the unit without seeing any quality reviews (only those dodgy ones with misspellings, no controlled environment and glowing conclusions, you know what I mean). The SPCR review kinda affirms what I expected, that this unit works fine and is a reasonable value, but doesn't work as well as any unit using a 120mm fan. I'm kinda concerned about the "fiddly installation" but I've installed many aftermarket heatpipe coolers on video cards, an AC Silencer and some other "tower heatpipe" coolers so I shouldn't have too many problems with fiddly universal mounts.

Hopefully this will be $34 well spent.

Before I purchased the unit I made a post here asking if anyone else has used it. I was going to append this post to my original one, but MY POST DISAPPEARED. I recall it not having any replies, and dropping down the list like a brick, but it should still be here somewhere. I posted it around or just under a week ago and the words "Scythe Katana" were in the title. I've done searches, including all forums here and did not find it. I've even searched all forums for all posts made by myself with nothing else specified for the past 90 days and... nothing... Is this strange? Is it a conspiracy? Am I losing my mind? Is it just my fanciful imagination that I made the original post? Did internet gremlins eat my post? Am I watching too much pr0n? Er, ahem, don't answer that one.

I also recall mentioning the Katana HSF in a few other threads and only one of them comes up in a search.

 

[Elcs]

Im sure Ive lost a post or two somewhere. I know I posted somewhere quoting a tankguys post, something about some parts, customer service and some joke but I cant find it to check on the thread.

I thought about getting a Katana for a socket A system then using it on an s939 system when the time comes but Im pondering skipping s939 and going for M2.

It looks pretty good although Im all for choosing my own fan these days.

 

[Zap]

The thing with my missing posts are that I've gone back to look at them after I posted... and then one day they are gone!??!?

The Scythe Kamakaze comes with a perfectly standard 92mm fan. You can replace it with whatever other brand 92mm fan you want, provided the corner "ears" are open like most fans and not closed like Nexus fans, or you'd have to do some minor modding.