Scythe SCNJ-1000 Ninja with MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:14 am

Hello SPCR-forum members,

After reading and following for about 2 years Silent PC Review as a non-member, because of it always provided me the information that I needed for my questions and search for a quit rig. For that, first of all, I want to thank all you members for that.

Unfortunately, now I do have a question on wich I can't find a good answer, so now I have registrated myself. I've looked on many forums, reviews and

As for many of you I'm looking for a very quit, noiseless PC. For that purpose, I have lately done some purchases, these are:

Antec P180
Nexus fans (orange ones, the black & white were not for sale yet)
Silverstone Eudemon SST-FP52 (fancontroller)
Enermax Noisetaker 420
Crucial Ballistix (2 x 512 mb)
Amd Athlon 64 3200+
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
etc..

Now I'm plannig to buy a Scythe SCNJ-1000 Ninja a replacement for the stock AMD cooler. I really want to have this one, because (just like the P180) I adore the Ninja as soon as I saw it. What a great HS!
There's only one thing that's in the way of not buying it and that is:

Does the Scythe SCNJ-1000 Ninja fit onto the MSI K8N Platinum, regarding the layout of the board(especially taking notice with the place of the RAM-modules)?

In a nutshell:
1. Can anyone confirm that suggested combination of the Ninja onto the K8N Neo2 Platinum will fit?
2. What are other good alternatives, besides the Thermalright XP120 or Thermalright XP90?

Greetings,
Bobinho

p.s. I thought 'CPU Cooling' was the good place to put this thread, but I'm not sure (was doubting between this one and System Advice). If i put it wrong, my excuses for that.

spolitta · Post by **spolitta** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 8:06 am

cannot answer your first question but regarding good HS you might want to consider the new Thermalright HR-01, the Scythe katana or the xp90c.

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 10:49 am

Spolitta,

thank you for your answer.
The Katana makes a 'lot of noise', it has a noise level of 25 dba with the standard fan.
Regarding the HR-01: I can't find much info about this HS. Even the site of Thermalright has none. Besides that, maybe I will run into the same problem as with the Ninja, taking notice of the dimension of the HR-01 (besides that, it is a wonderfull HS).
The XP90(C) is one of the options I'm thinking of. But, i still would like to have the Ninja.

Hopefully there's someone out there that can confirm the fit or can with clear thinking take my doubts away.

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 12:37 pm

[quote="bobinho"]Regarding the HR-01: I can't find much info about this HS. Even the site of Thermalright has none. Besides that, maybe I will run into the same problem as with the Ninja, taking notice of the dimension of the HR-01 (besides that, it is a wonderfull HS).
The XP90(C) is one of the options I'm thinking of. But, i still would like to have the Ninja."quote]

The HR-01 is higher than the Ninja at 160mm (6.3"). While some SPCR readers have reported problems mounting a fan on the Ninja using the wire clips and the "hooks" on the Ninja cooling fins, the HR-01 AFAIK makes no provision for mounting a fan whatsoever. BTW - I am one of those who had serious problems mounting a fan on the Ninja.

If you're self-reliant and handy with things, both the Ninja and HR-01 would provide a nice - small? - challenge where fan mounting is concerned. If you want something that's guaranteed to work, the XP-90 or XP-90C is a safe way to go.

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 1:00 pm

Well, I like challenges and I'm pretty handy with things (If I may say so

), but I'm not sure if I want to take a challege with pretty expensive stuff.

I've already read the problems concernig the mounting of a fan on the Hr-01. What were your problems concerning the mounting of a fan on the ninja?

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 1:27 pm

[quote="bobinho"]Well, I like challenges and I'm pretty handy with things (If I may say so

), but I'm not sure if I want to take a challege with pretty expensive stuff.

I've already read the problems concernig the mounting of a fan on the Hr-01. What were your problems concerning the mounting of a fan on the ninja?[/quote]

First, no matter which side of the Ninja you use, the thumb-plates get in the way of either the fan or the wire clips. I successfully modified the fan clips (some new bends) to avoid the thumb-plates, only to find that the fan "slid around" on the face of the Ninja. With the mobo I was using, if the fan slid one way, the wire clips could randomly contact the DIMMs, possibly causing a short.

The point is, the Ninja provides no fan "seat", where when you put the fan in that position, it _stays_ in that position. The HR-01, too. On the other hand, the Shogun and the XP series both have "seats".

I'm now installing my Ninja as a passive HS. I may later try to mount a fan sans wire clips (I have a plan

. If the method works, I'll post it here.

Live · Post by **Live** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:41 pm

First, no matter which side of the Ninja you use, the thumb-plates get in the way of either the fan or the wire clips. I successfully modified the fan clips (some new bends) to avoid the thumb-plates, only to find that the fan "slid around" on the face of the Ninja. With the mobo I was using, if the fan slid one way, the wire clips could randomly contact the DIMMs, possibly causing a short.

The point is, the Ninja provides no fan "seat", where when you put the fan in that position, it _stays_ in that position. The HR-01, too. On the other hand, the Shogun and the XP series both have "seats".

I'm now installing my Ninja as a passive HS. I may later try to mount a fan sans wire clips (I have a plan . If the method works, I'll post it here.

What kind of fan did you try to mount on the Ninja? I believe the fan clips are only for 120x25mm fans.
Check here for pictures and some info on fan mounting the ninja:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article251-page2.html

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:55 pm

thanks, Felger, for your explenation. I did a search on spcr and you're certainly not the only having troube mounting a fan on the ninja.

I also saw that a (passive) ninja does the job in a P180 very well (I already knew that, only I always thougt it was in combination with a fan on top of it).

@Live: I'm plannig to put an nexus 120 mm fan on it.

The only thing is that i still haven't fouhnd an answer to the question if a Ninja will fit on the MSI motherboard.

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:57 pm

[quote="LiveWhat kind of fan did you try to mount on the Ninja? I believe the fan clips are only for 120x25mm fans.[/quote]

Conventional 120x25mm fans. I have several.

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 5:45 am

Hmm, I think I have to conclude that no one over here can answer my question and take my doubt away regardig the fit of the ninja with the msi k8n neo2 platinum.

I will go to the shop, with my board, and then test it out.

If it doesn't fit, I'm planning to buy an XP90 or XP120.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 12:16 am

Can anyone very this fit?
I was looking at buying a ninja.
Please help!

mkygod · Post by **mkygod** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 2:03 am

I was wondering this myself because i was considering the Ninja to replace my xp90. I also own the MSI NEO-2 platinum board which has a fairly unique motherboard layout.

The board is suited very well for an XP-90 because the heatsink fins are now horizontal instead of vertical and the heatsink overhangs the RAM in prime position to be cooled by the heatsinkfan.

What i know for sure (based on the position of my xp-90) that putting in a Ninja means it will not be aligned properly to the 120mm fan in an Antec case, the heatsink will sit too low and too far away from it for passive cooling.

Also, due to the motherboards socket placement (smack dab in the middle of the board), the installed HS fan will be sitting very close to your drivebay, maybe even overhanging over your IDE ports and making cable management quite cramped in a small case like the P150. If the Ninja is any bigger than a 92mm fan (which are the dimensions of the xp90) then can see it being a problem in a small case.

victri · Post by **victri** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:42 am

The layout of this mb might pose problems for some. Especially around the IDE connectors if you plan to install the fan right on top of them. There's possibly about 50mm of clearance from the base of the Ninja to the point where the heatpipes and fins flare out. If you look at the side profile of the Ninja, it's narrow at the bottom. Those with flexible IDE cables (or the old school flat type) will be fine. The memory slots should still be accessible unless you choose to mount the fan over it and block off a slot or two. You'll still be able to wiggle the memory stick in, though. You just have to be good with tight spaces.

PS: I didn't find the fan clips much of a problem. It was much easier to mount the heatsink (STRONG CLIPS!) by clearing out the surrounding area first (memory, vid card, cables etc).

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 8:51 pm

My biggest concern was space between the CPU heatsink and the GFX card.
Have a look at this picture:

Since the CPU socket is below the memory it sits close to the GFX card.
I wasn't teribley worried about the IDEs and what have you.

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:41 am

Guys,

Sorry for my late reply. I've been out for the rest of the day....
I can say that the Ninja fits on the motherboard, the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum. After the confirmation of one of the coworkers of Scythe I took the step and bought a Ninja. I was still not convinced, but took the risk

.

The onlys thing is that I haven't got my PC running. Last week I bought my new processor and it wil take about 1 or 2 weeks before I have it all up and running, this due to lack of time (unfortunately). When my pc is complete, I will post some pictures in Generall Gallery.

I have already taken some pictures of the Ninja on the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (that was whitout the processor) with my memory modules (Crucial Ballistix). If you want I can post them, after the weekend, in this topic.

Haven't checked the IDE cabels, but i think that ain't a problem.

deksawyer · Post by **deksawyer** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:30 am

Yes, please post the pics.

I'm interested in the amount of clearance between the fins and the back of the gfx card.

I had to remove my Big Typhoon when I fitted a Gigabye passive 6600, as the heatsink on the rear would have been in the way.

Currently using a Zalman 9500LED but it's too noisy!

D.

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:54 am

Allright I made some quik photos (I can't find the otherones anymore)

Next week I'm changing my VGA-cooler to a Zalman VF700 CU LED and than I can build my complete new rig. Now, the VGA is a Radeon 9800 Pro with an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer, Rev.3.

I think the last 3 pictures can provide the most info. You can see that not too high memory modules aren't a problem and that there is some space between the back of the VGA card and the Ninja.

deksawyer · Post by **deksawyer** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:25 am

Thanks for that! I still don't think there's room with my passive VGA cooler.

You might want to change that NB cooler as well. The Zalman NB-47J fits nicely.

Have you seen the new VF900-Cu VGA cooler from Zalman? Looks good.

Keep us updated with the build.

D.

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 1:45 pm

How much millimeter sticks VGA Cooler from your VGA card? If you can tell me that, I can measure if for you.

I've already bought a NB-47J, the only thing is that I have to mod it a bit (bent or cut a few of the lanes). Otherwise the VF700 CU LED will not fit.

deksawyer · Post by **deksawyer** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:24 pm

Sorry, I missed this reply..........

My heatsink protrudes around 2cm from the GFX card at its highest point.

How much clearance do you have? And how is the build coming along?

D.

brightman · Post by **brightman** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:03 am

Having started my build last night I fitted a Scythe Ninja to the K8N Neo2 Platinum. My recommendation would be to install the memory modules (at least populate DIMM1, the one nearest the CPU) _prior_ to installing the Scythe Ninja...

I didn't and so had to remove the heatsink having just installed it to fit the memory in doh!

Tonight I'm aiming to replace the northbridge fan with a Zalman NB47J. I've gone for a passive GeForce FX 5200 graphics card which (if I have measured correctly) will fit without having to 'nobble' the NB47J.

Fun fun fun!

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:11 am

deksawyer wrote:Sorry, I missed this reply..........

My heatsink protrudes around 2cm from the GFX card at its highest point.

How much clearance do you have? And how is the build coming along?

D.

Sorry from me, now I missed your post

.
2 Cm isn't really much, I'm not sure if that will fit. Tonight I will measure it for you (currently I'm at work).

The building of my new PC has finished, also bought a new tft (Acer AL1923) and desktop set (Logitec MX5000 Cordless). All components are doing fine in my Antec P180 black SPCR edition

!! Soon I will post some photos in General Gallery.
(Currently I'm waiting on a Antec iLuminate Blue External LED Light Tube. I have won such a thing with the customer survey of them. When I've received it I'll make some nice photos)

@Brightman: Sorry, I should have mentioned that. I have put my crucial ballistix in the slots prior to the Ninja (Although I had to take of the Ninja several times for installing the temp sensor on a good spot)
I had to mod my NB-47J otherwise the Zalman VF700 CU would not fit.

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 1:39 am

Allright, made some pictures of the space between the Scythe Ninja and my Videocard.

@ Deskawyer: As you can see the space between the Ninja and the 9800 Pro is about 1 cm. Conclusion is that your heatsink on your GFX will not fit in combination with the Ninja.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 10:45 pm

You can see how things worked out for me here:

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... 377#257377

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:46 pm

Hi Tokna, I saw your topic. Great that it worked out for you! I hope I have helped you some.

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 8:49 am

I know that no one has touched this particular issue in 5 months but I still have a question, thats very important to me.

I am interested in getting a Ninja. My system spec is below.

The only issue is that from the top edge of my Graphics card PCB to the top most part of the Graphics card cooler is 12mm, a little more than the 1CM approx as previously quoted.

This wont be an issue if the fins are far enough apart, and happen to straddle the 2 bolts that hold the backplate and frontplate of my GPU together.

OR, the fins can be snipped and/or bent a little.

The ideal answer would come from a K8N NEO-2 Platinum owner who ALSO own a Ninja AND an ATI VGA Silencer 5.

This would reduce my system to a 2 fan system on the desktop (the VGA Silencer fan does not fire up on the desktop.

Andy

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:36 am

A quick update, there is no real need to reply as my Ninja is on its way along with a 4000+ to replace my 3500+, I will make it fit one way or another.

Andy

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:53 am

OK, I have my Ninja + 4000+ CPU now.

I had 1 very minor problem with fitting the ninja, the clips to mount the Ninja on the bracket are VERY tight............. I fitted it anyway, so the problem has gone.

Performance is dissapointing at the moment, I have a AC VGA Silencer directly below (minimum 1mm clearance), and the back fan on my P180 is 3.5 inches away from the Ninja.

The Ninja passively is a breath of fresh air, I now dont have the annoying high-pitched noise that I got from the fan on my AC Freezer 64, but performance is very much lacking when I am playing games. My CPU temp hit 64C. 64C is unacceptable, my 3500+ and Freezer (running on minimum ~800rpm) used to hit 53 MAX. I have tried running my Ninja with the Scythe S-Flex 1200rpm fan that came with the Ninja, but at 1200 rpm its LOUD, at 1000rpm and below it makes a horrible high pitched noise.

Out of the Frying pan, and into the fire.................. Typical.!!!!!!

I had a brief go at ducting late last night, but it made no difference, does anyone have any suggestions of how to duct air from the Ninja to the back case fan on the P180 EASILY, I dont want to do something really fancy and then find that it doesnt work, I was thinking along the lines of cardboard for testing.

Regards Andy