A Closer Look
Now Lets take a closer look at the Scythe Ashura CPU cooler.
The Package
Scythe did their best to create an attractive packaging for their Ashura CPU cooler, you can also see a lot of information about the cooler on the packaging and some of the features.
If we open the box we can first see a protective piece of foam, after removing that we can see the heatsink itself, the Glide Stream 140mm fan and the accessory box.
The heatsink itself is on both sides protected with a piece of foam, so the heatfins are not damaged during transport.
Now lets look at whats in the box shall we?
Obviously we have the Ashura heatsink itself, a 140mm Scythe Glide Stream fan and a box with accessories (mounting brackets, screws,…)
Here we can see whats in the box: a manual, an Intel backplate, Intel and AMD mounting brackets, screw and fan clips.
You can have a better look at the manual in the photo gallery and on the photo here under you have a better look at the screws and brackets
Now that the box is out of the way lets have a look at the heatsink itself:
“User-friendliness and a compact heatsink design while not sacrificing efficient cooling performance – pursuing this goal, Scythe engineers set out to develop the Ashura. The result is a CPU cooler shining with wide-spread compatibility to most current motherboard sockets while minimizing the risk of memory modules with tall heat sinks coliding with the Ashura. Its’ from the ground-up newly developed mounting system realizes easy but reliable mounting to the majority of today’s current, mainstream CPU sockets.Teamed up with the 140mm GlideStream fan sporting a max air flow of 165 m³/h makes the Ashura suitable for quiet as well as performance cooling, and can also be counted on as a reliable partner when overclocking is on the agenda.”
After I unboxed it, this is what the Ashura looks like.The heatsink has a big surface area where you can easily mount a 140mm fan on, if you use bigger fans they have more airflow with less rotations what results in less noise. Something many users can appreciate, a quiet computer.
Its always nice when a cooler looks good too, like the Scythe Ashura you can easily install it in a case with a windows without seeing just some aluminium fans, no you see some kind of black metal plate, I really love it.
The cooler doesnt has a copper baseplate but this is becease the copper oxidates, the information Scythe provides:
“There have been rumors around, that Scythe is using aluminium due to cheaper prices – this is just plain wrong.
Due to its high susceptibility to oxidation, copper tends to change the surface colour during the long transport from the factory to our distributors. There is no satisfactory way to avoid this optical change. Because of this, all Scythe CPU coolers produced from the beginning of 2008 have a baseplate still consisting of copper, but they are now nickel-plated.”
From what you can see the Ashura has 12 heatpipes for good heat removal, I really like that.
The included 140mm fan is really quiet and its a simple black fan with a black sleeved power cable, its always nice when when manufacturers also look to the appearance of their products like black cables, finishing, …
Scythe did include some thermal paste but your better of if you buy some other tubed thermal past for a couple of reasons. Its easier to apply on your CPU, It cools better and its better quality (if you buy some decent thermal paste).
Lets get to the testing now!
