Scythe, the name just seems to work great for a cooling company, and it’s a name that has become synonymous with top quality, great performing CPU coolers. Today for review I have the Scythe Andy Samurai Master 6 Heatpipe CPU Cooler, and I’ve put it to the test on both my Intel and AMD systems for this review, so read on to see what I learned…
Scythe "ANDY SAMURAI MASTER" 6Heat Pipes CPU Cooler
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: Scythe
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Scythe "ANDY SAMURAI MASTER" 6Heat Pipes CPU Cooler
Price:$54.00
Top-Flow High-End CPU Cooler! Incredibly Fast & Efficient Heat Transfer by IIFS! Easy-to-Mount VTMS Clips with AM2 Compatibility!
Features:
IIFS Infinity Interleave Fin Structure
Seeking the better way to efficiently dissipate the heat from total 6 heatpipes to heatink fins, this IIFS makes the quick & efficient heat transfer ever!
Top-Flow High-End CPU Cooler
Top-Flow airflow can cool both the CPU and the motherboard components simultaneously!
Tool Free Easy Installation
Newly developed & patent pending mounting mechanism VTMS (Versatile Toll-Free Multiplatform System) allows user to install the Andy Samurai Master CPU Cooler without any tool and hassle.
Universal Socket Compatibility with AM2
Andy Samurai Master CPU Cooler is compatible for socket 478/754/939/940/AM2 & LGA775. All in one solution for your PC system.
Specs:
Model Name: Andy Samurai Master CPU Cooler
Model #: SCASM-1000
Manufacturer: Scythe Co., Ltd. Japan
Combined Dimensions: 124 x 135 x 125(H) mm
Weight: 685g
Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 mm
Fan Speed: 1,200rpm (10%)
Fan Noise Level: 20.94 dBA
Air Flow: 49.58CFM
Bearing Type: Sleeve Bearing
Compatibility:
Intel LGA775 (SocketT) Proessor
Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processor 3200 Series
Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processor 3000 Sequence
Intel Core2 Extreme processor
Intel Core2 Quad processor
Intel Core2 Duo processor
Intel Core Duo Processor
Intel Pentium Processor Extreme Edition
Intel Pentium D Processor
Intel Pentium 4 Processor Extreme Edition supporting Hyper-Threading Technology
Intel Pentium 4 Processor supporting Hyper-threading Technology
Intel Celeron D Processor
{amazon id=’B000HZKFFI’ align=’RIGHT’}
Intel Socket478 Proessor
Intel Pentium 4 Processor Extreme Edition supporting Hyper-Threading Technology
Intel Pentium 4 Processor supporting Hyper-threading Technology
Intel Pentium 4 Processor
Intel Celeron D Processor
Intel Celeron Processor
AMD SocketAM2 Proessor
AMD Athlon 64 Processor
AMD Athlon 64 FX Processor
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor
AMD Socket940 Proessor
Dual-Core AMD Opteron Processor
AMD Opteron Processor
AMD Socket939 Proessor
AMD Athlon 64 Processor
AMD Athlon 64 FX Processor
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor
AMD Socket754 Proessor
AMD Athlon 64 Proessor
AMD Sempron Processor
Find more Scythe products at ShopZilla!
A Better Look at Things
:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
The packaging for the all of Scythes’ products is always very bright, colorful and just very interesting.
The box for the Andy Samurai Master CPU cooler is no different in that respect, even though there is all kinds of graphics and pictures all over the box, Scythe still manages to fit in a lot of information about the product inside.
Scythe includes detailed information about the cooler, its compatibilities and the contents right on the box.
Opening the box we are greeted with a black 120mm fan with the Scythe logo on it.
Once we get everything unpacked we find the CPU cooler itself, a small white box containing the mounting hardware and a brief installation guide.
I really like the mounting system for Scythe CPU coolers, there is no need to remove the motherboard from the case, it uses the existing mounting holes or bracket with interchangeable hardware. If you have multiple systems as I do, it’s easy to pop on set of brackets out and another set in and you’re ready to go. Scythe also included a squeeze pack of generic heatsink goo…
Find more Scythe products at ShopZilla!
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
The Scythe Andy Samurai Master CPU cooler is large, but it seems fairly lightweight for its size though.
On the top or front of the cooler we find the Scythe logo again between the ends of the heatpipes.
The fan is attach with a fairly common wire clip that goes through the actual fins on the cooler and into the standard mounting holes of the fan.
The six heatpipes of the Andy Samurai Master cooler are fairly thick and enter the fins section at staggering points so as not to promote heat buildup.
The included 120mm cooling fan has the standard 3-pin connector to power it up and monitor its speed. The fan is rated at 1200RPM and about 20dba, so it should be fairly quiet.
Find more Scythe products at ShopZilla!
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
One thing interesting about he Scythe Andy Samurai Master CPU cooler is that it features sort of a secondary cooler as well, there is a large heatsink mounted directly to the base.
The heatpipes are sandwiched between the copper plate on the bottom and the secondary heatsink.
You can see the slots on the side of the heatsink of the included mounting brackets to clip into.
The base plate comes covered with a protective blue plastic film to prevent any damage to the surface during transit.
The actual copper base has a very nice finish to it, only very fine scratches can be seen, it appears to be flat as well.
Well now that we’ve had the product tour, let’s move on to the installation and testing….
Find more Scythe products at ShopZilla!
Installation, Testing and Comparison on Intel 775:
First up, I installed it with my Intel P4 955X CPU on my ASUS P5wd2-e Premium motherboard. The first thing that we need to do is find the correct mounting brackets and attach them to the Scythe Andy Samurai Master. Very easy, no problems there, just clip them in and you’re done.
The installation was a bit of a problem for me, nothing to do with the Scythe cooler, it’s the motherboard itself with its large heatsinks and close quarters.
Getting the clips to engage fully was a real problem for me, mainly because of the height of the heatsinks of the ASUS motherboard. Two of the heatsinks ended up being very close to the plastic tabs of the mounts, but this is something that has always been a problem for this board with this type of mounting system.
Getting it all installed, it really is not as big as it seems, with a bit of creative wiring I got everything working fine.
Onto the actual testing… I ran two instances of Prime95 for 30 minutes to get load on the Intel P4 955X CPU, and to get the idle temps I let the system sit for 30 minutes as well. Ambient temp during testing was 22C.
As we can see the Scythe Andy Samurai Master CPU Cooler just blows away the Intel stock cooler and has some very good temperatures overall. The idle temps are tied with the Noctua NH-U9F CPU Cooler, and the load for the Andy Samurai is actually under the idle temp of the Intel stock cooler. Not a bad CPU cooler at all.
The most noticeable thing is that the Andy Samurai Master is very quiet, virtually silent, I couldn’t hear it over the other fan in my system.
Go to the next page for testing and install on my AMD setup…
Find more Scythe products at ShopZilla!
Installation, Testing and Comparison on AMD 939:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Ok, I’ve got an AMD X2 4200+ installed on an EVGA NF4 SLI micro-atx motherboard.
As with the Intel install we need to find and install the correct mounting clips for the socket 939, again very easy to do.
Installation is very simple, the mounting brackets for the Scythe Andy Samurai Master just hook over the center clip and then you need to turn the handle on the bracket to tighten it down.
I had no clearance issues at all with this setup, very easy no problems, but my board was out of the case. I did find that when I un-installed the Andy Samurai i had to remove the PSU temporarily to get my hand to fit to reach the mounting bracket, so this might come into play if installing while still in the case.
Again it all fit fine in my case, same case I used for the Intel setup, a CoolerMaster Centurion RC232.
For testing it’s the same procedure, two instances of Prime95, one on each core for 30 minutes and to get idle the system sat for 30 minutes, ambient temp was again 22C.
I was very surprised by the idle temperatures, the same as my Corsair Nautilus liquid cooling system, very nice indeed. When it came to the load temps the the Andy Samurai couldn’t keep up to the other coolers, but it’s still well within specs, a good 25 degrees below the max for ht eX2 CPU I believe. Yes the AMD Stock Cooler did a bit better, but we all know that the AMD stock cooler is an exceptional cooling solution, but it can be a bit loud, the Andy Samurai ram at 1200RPMs the whole time, and was virtually silent. I personally would happily trade a few degrees for a quieter case.
Find more Scythe products at ShopZilla!
Summary:
Silence has always been important to me in all of my computers, and with the Scythe Andy Samurai Master CPU Cooler I get that and good performance as well. The Andy Samurai Master is a great choice for anyone looking to cool and quiet their systems with a quality product that comes from a company with a great reputation. The ease of installation is a big bonus, no more removing the motherboard to install your new high end CPU cooler, just pop the clip in and away you go. Some people might think the price is a bit high, but I think it is right on for all that you get, ease of installation, silence, performance and a reliable product…
DragonSteelMods gives the "ANDY SAMURAI MASTER" 6Heat Pipes CPU Cooler a 4.5 out of 5 score.
Pros:
-Very easy installation
-Looks great
-Very quiet
-Top quality/well made
Cons:
-Large, tight fit on some motherboards
I would like to thank Scythe for the chance to review the "ANDY SAMURAI MASTER" 6Heat Pipes CPU Cooler and for their support of DSM.