Scythe Infinity: 5 Heatpipes and Silent 120mm Fan

Final Words

The question we asked in the beginning of this review was whether the Scythe Infinity would live up to the legend status that many users have bestowed on that product. The answer to this question has many parts and ranges from an enthusiastic yes to a "yes, but..." It is very clear that Scythe paid a lot of attention to lower noise in the latest version of the Infinity, and they succeeded in producing a CPU cooler with some of the lowest noise levels we have seen - particularly at higher overclocks where other coolers have to crank up their fans.

However, it is also clear than the current stock Infinity is not quite as good as the original models in reaching very high overclocks. The maximum overclock we could reach with stability using a stock Infinity fan setup was 3.83GHz - decent, but average among top heatpipe towers.

We fared better with a more powerful fan, reaching 3.85GHz at the price of a little more noise. The most effective solution, though, was to use two stock Scythe "silent fans" in a dual push-pull cooling configuration.

Using that setup, the Scythe matched the top-performing Tuniq Tower 120 in overclocking this CPU at a stable 3.90GHz. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact it did this at very low noise levels with two fans. The Tuniq was still cooler at 3.90GHz, but it was also noisier. The Scythe Infinity was still barely a whisper, even at 3.90GHz with two fans. We suspect if we combined two Tuniq fans, for instance, that we would get even better cooling - more in line with the Tuniq - but at the price of a bit more noise. We also found a single more powerful fan was still not as effective as two silent fans, which is very interesting.

Scythe also deserves praise for their effective design that allows easy installation on any current CPU socket. The tool-less socket adapters are cleverly designed and work very well. Our only real complaint here is that Scythe does not really address the massive weight of the Infinity in any way. It mounts the 2.2lbs - 1000 grams - in the same way stock coolers mount on the 775, 478, AM2, and 754/939/940. There is absolutely no doubt the installation is easy and effective, but we get very nervous with 2.2 pounds hanging on a vertical board with just four pop clips on a 775 Intel install.

This Scythe cooler is good enough that it deserves a more secure mounting system. This is particularly true since the multi-fan setup is the best performer and that weighs even more than the already massive 960 gram stock cooler. We sincerely hope Scythe will do a redesign of the Infinity mounting that finds some way to more securely mount this heavy HSF.

While they are at it, Scythe might also find a way to raise the fin cage a bit. It is impossible to pop in 775 clips in the mounting holes with the board mounted in a case. The clearance is just too tight to slip in a thumb and push the clips home. In the current design users need to mount the cooler before installing the motherboard in the case; It saves lots of frustration and prevents getting sliced by the sharp cooling fins. A little more cage clearance might allow mounting the Infinity on a motherboard that is still installed in the case.

These few complaints should be considered suggestions for improving a product that is impressive in its current performance. Our suggestion would be to run two Scythe silent fans in a push-pull arrangement as we did, or you could use two fans like the more powerful but still silent Silverstone FN121. The two fan option cooled better and allowed for higher overclocking. This moved the Infinity from average performance in our heatpipe tower tests to one of the best results in overclocking, cooling and low-noise that we have yet seen in our cooler reviews.

To return to our initial question, the Scythe Infinity is legendary in cooling with low noise. It is one of the quietest coolers we've tested with the single silent fan. The Infinity is also a decent performer in overclocking, but the stock cooler is average in performance among top heatpipe towers - at least with the single "silent fan" Scythe currently ships with the Infinity.

To move to the category of one of the best requires an Infinity with two fans in a push-pull setup. With that, the Infinity matches the highest overclock we have seen with this CPU. The two fans also seem to have few penalties to exact, particularly if the fans are Scythe "silent fans". The dual-fan Scythe is not yet a legend, but our performance tests indicate this push-pull configuration should be on the short list of anyone shopping for a CPU cooler.