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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 NextScythe Mugen 4 CPU Cooler: Scythe Strikes Back
August 27, 2013 by Lawrence Lee
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Product
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Scythe Mugen 4 (SCMG-4000)
CPU Cooler |
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Manufacturer
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Scythe |
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Street Price
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£35~£40 |
As some of you know, Scythe was one of the pioneers of aftermarket CPU cooling.
They helped popularize the now ubiquitous tower design adopted by the best air-cooled
heatsinks currently on store shelves. The original Scythe Ninja belongs in the
DIY hall of fame, a landmark cooler at the start of the tower era. But today,
someone looking for a high-end cooling solution is, more often than not, turning
to products made by companies like Prolimatech, Noctua, and Thermalright. In
this space, Scythe has become sort of a second class citizen.
That's not to say they haven't produced anything worthwhile in the past five
or six years. On the contrary, they've made some nice tower coolers, good GPU
coolers as well as some exceptional smaller CPU heatsinks like the Ninja Mini
and the Shuriken series. They just haven't participated in the race to the top
that their competitors have been engaged in, with each new model getting progressively
bigger. The last notable big cooler Scythe we reviewed was the Mugen-2, which
won our coveted Editor's Choice award in 2009 for delivering mid-to-high performance
at a relatively attractive price.
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The Mugen 4.
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We never got our hands on the Mugen 3, but the Mugen 4 is now here for our
appraisal, and it looks like an offering that might bring Scythe back into contention
as far as big heatsinks are concerned. The Mugen-2 had a very boxy appearance
while the Mugen 4 is sleeker and slightly slimmer. The structure has been revamped
to be less uniform with the heatpipes and fins taking on a more staggered approach.
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The Mugen-2 installed with bolts entering through the trace side of the motherboard.
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A bigger difference might be the mounting system. The Mugen-2 was one of the
first Scythe coolers to feature a bolt-thru mechanism but installation was finished
on the back side of the motherboard which is usually an awkward
procedure. The newest Mugen uses a more modern and familiar scheme, similar
to those adopted by the big boys, the aforementioned Prolimatech, Noctua, and
Thermalright. If you're going to copy someone, copy the best.
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The box.
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Package contents.
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Included with the heatsink is a brief assembly guide, mounting gear, two sets
of fan clips, and a 120 mm fan. The fan is a Glide Stream 120, the successor
to one of favorite fan lines, the Slip Stream 120. Depending on how well the
Mugen 4 performs, the fan might be what puts it over the top. Aside from Noctua
and Phanteks, Scythe is the only major heatsink manufacturer to consistently
mate their coolers with excellent sounding stock fans.
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| Compatibility |
Intel®: Socket LGA775, Socket LGA1150, Socket LGA1155, Socket LGA1156, Socket LGA1366, Socket LGA2011 (Square ILM) / AMD®: Socket AM2, Socket AM2+, Socket AM3, Socket AM3+, Socket FM1, Socket FM2 |
| Overall Dimensions |
130 x 88 x 156.45 mm / 5.11 x 3.46 x 6.14 (excl. fan) |
| Weight |
625 g / 22.04 oz (Heatsink only) |
| Fan Model Name |
Glide Stream 120 PWM |
| Fan Model Number |
SY1225HB12SM-P |
| Fan Dimension |
120 x 120 x 25 mm / 4.72 x 4.72 x 0.98 in |
| Noise Level |
5.3 ~ 28 dBA |
| Air Flow |
20.7 ~ 79 CFM / 35.16 ~ 134.2 m³/h |
| Fan Speed |
400 (±200 rpm) ~ 1,400 rpm (±10%) (PWM-controlled) |
| Static Pressure |
1.18 ~ 15.3 Pa / 0.12 ~ 1.56 mmH2O |
| Fan Bearing Type |
Sleeve Bearing |
| Scope of Delivery |
2 x mounting plate (Intel), 2 x mounting plate (AMD), 1 x mounting bar, 4 x screw for mounting plates, 8 x stud nuts, 2 x mounting screws, 1 x spacer (socket 775), 4 x spacers, 1 x wrench, 4 x fan clips (2 sets), back plate, thermal grease, installation manual |
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