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Scythe unveils Ashura cooler with 140 Hayabusa fan

Published on 1st February 2013 by Gareth Halfacree

The Scythe Ashura includes a new bridge-type retention mechanism along with a redesigned fan dubbed the 140 Hayabusa.

Scythe has unveiled its latest CPU cooler, the Ashura, and it comes equipped with a new fan design it calls a 140 Hayabusa, with claims of cool running and near-silent operation.

The heatsink itself is a relatively unsurprising design: based on a tower stack of thin aluminium fins connected to six 6mm heatpipes leading to a sizeable coldplate with a mirror-like finish. That plate is clamped to the processor through a newly-designed bridge-type retention bracket, which uses screws and a three-piece design to handle the weight of the hefty 750g cooler. At 145mm x 65mm and 161mm tall - with the fan adding an extra 25mm to the thickness - it's a pretty tall but narrow heatsink, and Scythe claims to have maximised compatibility by keeping the height below 200mm and raising the bottom of the fins to clear any heatsinks fitted to RAM modules.

The fan, meanwhile, is a new design for Scythe dubbed the 140 Hayabusa - a Japanese word for the peregrine falcon, and used on everything from high-power motorcycle engines to a range of unmanned spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. In Scythe's case, the name is given to a pulse-width modulation (PWM) controlled 140mm fan which features large blades connected to a small central shaft to increase static pressure over similar-size rival fans. According to Scythe, the new design - which includes a slit in the blade to reduce air resistance and noise levels - offers 1.47 to 10.0 Pascals of static pressure and 37.37 to 97.18 cubic feet per minute of airflow at speeds of between 500 and 1,300 RPM with noise levels measured at 13dBA to 30.7dBA.

Compatible with the whole range of Intel and AMD sockets, the cooler is supplied with a single 140 Hayabusa fan but supports two 120mm to 140mm fans mounted in a push-pull configuration thanks toa redesigned and stronger wire fan retaining clip design.

UK pricing has yet to be confirmed for the Scythe Asura, with the company claiming a $55 US recommended retail price (around £35 excluding taxes.) More details and images are available on the company's official website.

9 Comments

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Corky42 1st February 2013, 12:13

With so many CPU HS being large tower designs (at least top end air) is there anything more designers can do to get better cooling on air ?
There seems to be very little innovation now days in CPU HS :(

dogknees 1st February 2013, 12:24

I think they've gotten as good as they can for a reasonable cost. It's a bit like convergent evolution where everyone starts off with different, individual idea, but they all end up at almost the same place after a few cycles of optimisation.

I guess there aren't enough people prepared to pay significantly more for air cooling. I'd like to see what the manufacturers could do if they could charge what a good water cooling system costs. What could they do for $200+ I wonder.

Most of the change these days seems to be fiddling about with fan blade shapes, notches, slots,....

I agree, it's getting boring!

kingred 1st February 2013, 13:04

Cue the stretch Hyabusa jokes!

Kacela 1st February 2013, 19:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogknees
I think they've gotten as good as they can for a reasonable cost. It's a bit like convergent evolution where everyone starts off with different, individual idea, but they all end up at almost the same place after a few cycles of optimisation.

I guess there aren't enough people prepared to pay significantly more for air cooling. I'd like to see what the manufacturers could do if they could charge what a good water cooling system costs. What could they do for $200+ I wonder.

Most of the change these days seems to be fiddling about with fan blade shapes, notches, slots,....

I agree, it's getting boring!

The only reasonable improvement they could make to an air-cooled setup would be to use silver fins rather than aluminum. Silver is at least 50% higher in terms of thermal conductivity than aluminum, so yes, air-cooling could be made much more efficient within existing architectures, but obviously at a higher cost. I'd easily pay double for a silver finned air-cooled setup if I saw a 50% improvement in cooling efficiency over aluminum...

sixfootsideburns 1st February 2013, 22:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kacela
The only reasonable improvement they could make to an air-cooled setup would be to use silver fins rather than aluminum. Silver is at least 50% higher in terms of thermal conductivity than aluminum, so yes, air-cooling could be made much more efficient within existing architectures, but obviously at a higher cost. I'd easily pay double for a silver finned air-cooled setup if I saw a 50% improvement in cooling efficiency over aluminum...

or copper... why would any company use a precious metal when they could use copper which is vastly cheaper and has nearly the same thermal conductivity. Silver is typically traded at about $32 USD/troy ounce and copper costs about $4 USD/lb

Corky42 2nd February 2013, 01:17

Carve the hole HS from the worlds biggest diamond....

Maki role 2nd February 2013, 01:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixfootsideburns
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kacela
The only reasonable improvement they could make to an air-cooled setup would be to use silver fins rather than aluminum. Silver is at least 50% higher in terms of thermal conductivity than aluminum, so yes, air-cooling could be made much more efficient within existing architectures, but obviously at a higher cost. I'd easily pay double for a silver finned air-cooled setup if I saw a 50% improvement in cooling efficiency over aluminum...

or copper... why would any company use a precious metal when they could use copper which is vastly cheaper and has nearly the same thermal conductivity. Silver is typically traded at about $32 USD/troy ounce and copper costs about $4 USD/lb

Well full copper heat sinks do exist, just look at the Thermalright True Copper for example. One major issue though is that copper is much denser than aluminium (8.97gcm^-3 vs 2.70gcm^-3) which leads to incredibly heavy heat sinks that are often simple too impractical to use. Certainly I don't think I'd want to strap on 2KG+ of metal onto my motherboard and CPU without a hefty amount of reinforcement.

Also a major bottleneck is simply air itself, changing the heat sink material honestly wouldn't make that much of a difference. What would make a bigger difference would be the quantity of air passing through, thus being able to remove as much heat as possible. Water cooling works so well mostly because you can have giant radiators that maximise the surface area available, leading to much more cool air being available in comparison to a standard heat sink.

brooksy 2nd February 2013, 21:01

I bought Thermalright True Copper second hand from ebay it weighs a ton. I think I can sell it for scrap and make a fortune.

dogknees 3rd February 2013, 02:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maki role
Quote:
Originally Posted by sixfootsideburns
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kacela
The only reasonable improvement they could make to an air-cooled setup would be to use silver fins rather than aluminum. Silver is at least 50% higher in terms of thermal conductivity than aluminum, so yes, air-cooling could be made much more efficient within existing architectures, but obviously at a higher cost. I'd easily pay double for a silver finned air-cooled setup if I saw a 50% improvement in cooling efficiency over aluminum...

or copper... why would any company use a precious metal when they could use copper which is vastly cheaper and has nearly the same thermal conductivity. Silver is typically traded at about $32 USD/troy ounce and copper costs about $4 USD/lb

Well full copper heat sinks do exist, just look at the Thermalright True Copper for example. One major issue though is that copper is much denser than aluminium (8.97gcm^-3 vs 2.70gcm^-3) which leads to incredibly heavy heat sinks that are often simple too impractical to use. Certainly I don't think I'd want to strap on 2KG+ of metal onto my motherboard and CPU without a hefty amount of reinforcement.

Also a major bottleneck is simply air itself, changing the heat sink material honestly wouldn't make that much of a difference. What would make a bigger difference would be the quantity of air passing through, thus being able to remove as much heat as possible. Water cooling works so well mostly because you can have giant radiators that maximise the surface area available, leading to much more cool air being available in comparison to a standard heat sink.

Agree. More, thinner, copper fins with more airflow/pressure drop across the stack. Ultimately it's the air that has to carry the heat away, so the more air you can move and the greater the surface area, the more heat you can shift. = More $$