Scythe Mugen 5 Rev.B CPU Cooler Review

Reviews
By Avery Little
published

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Test Methods, Results & Conclusion

Comparison Products

Unparalleled in size when compared to other recently tested single-fan coolers, today we compare it to the thickest coolers to use the same fan size.
Cooler Master MasterAir Pro 4
Deepcool Gammaxx 400
Noctua NH-U12S

The hardware setup for the cooler reviews remains consistent. It includes a Core i7-5930K with a slight overclock using a moderate voltage level inside a well-ventilated Corsair 760T case. The motherboard is set to a 115°C throttle point, and temperatures in the chart are above ambient (the thermal reading, minus the room temperature).

Test Results

Temperatures reported are quite average. This is adequate cooling for the price range.

The Scythe Mugen 5 Rev.B stock fan runs at very low RPMs.

You can see how the low RPM fans keep the noise at a very good (quiet) level, especially in comparison to similarly marketed options.

The Mugen 5 Rev.B is highly efficient, and at this price point it’s very attractive for builders seeking a silent solution.

This representation of the Mugen 5 Rev.B’s value tells us one thing: your product choice depends on what you’re after in this price point. Do you need the extra cooling offered from something like the DeepCool Gammaxx 400 or the Cooler Master MasterAir Pro 4? Or are you looking for the quietest option for your dollar? The Mugen 5 Rev.B performs on average for cooling. It's difficult to get the best of both worlds, and at this price point that’s even less likely. If you want it all, you'll have to spend more.

Overall, we were impressed with the strengths of this cooler, however. It is surprisingly quiet, has moderately good cooling potential, sells at an attractive pricing, and even possesses nice aesthetic flair, making it a great value.

MORE: Best CPU Cooling

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MORE: All Cooling Content

Avery Little
21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • AgentLozen
    I'm getting a "file not found" error when I attempt to access page 2.
    Reply
  • shrapnel_indie
    I presume this all falls down to the fan. Replace the fan with its, more than likely, cheap sleeve bearings with a better fan, and the 1 year issues will start to weaken. Of course that will probably increase noise and improve cooling performance... depending on the replacement... but once this is done, you've just spent more $$$.

    Sell just the Heatsink for around $30-40, and let us choose our own fan to buy? Then we fall responsible for its noise/performance ratio. Toms, would be nice to see these heatsinks done and compared also with a specified fan of the given size (ie. Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM for a 120mm fan, or other agreed upon model)... just to even out what the heatsinks alone can do (cooling performance, and its own contribution to noise, subject to fan blade design.)
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    19815117 said:
    I'm getting a "file not found" error when I attempt to access page 2.

    I'm getting that on a lot of Toms pages lately. Just refresh until it works.
    Reply
  • BadBoyGreek
    I've stayed away from Scythe coolers since the Ninja 2. Had installed it in a friend's rig some years back and within a year, the fans failed 3 times. You also had to install the fans after the heatsink was secured to the mobo, otherwise you wouldn't have enough clearance to fasten it to the socket otherwise, and the retention clips / fans were a pain to install after the fact.

    Perhaps Scythe coolers have improved since my experience with them, but based on past experience, I wouldn't recommend them.
    Reply
  • Bsquared
    I have to yell out a "yeah, me too!" to what SHRAPNEL_INDIE said. I would indeed find it very useful to see a test of a group of heat sinks all being tested with the same fan. That would really empower us, the "poor" enthusiasts. It would be nice to know for once that we could overclock to our hearts' content with the potential of not needing to spend double on an AIO for every build.
    Reply
  • the nerd 389
    Is there any way you could check the minimum sustainable fan speeds? Just knowing how slow they can go would help in designing a quiet build, especially for the coolers with higher max speeds.

    After all, the best cooler for quiet builds is one that has decent performance at slow fan speeds as well as enough headroom to push the CPU when needed. This cooler is quiet, but I wouldn't want to run the CPU at 85 C (61+24C).
    Reply
  • Onus
    Each cooler review I've seen over the last year or so just makes that cheap Gammax look better and better. Slowing its fan down, or using a better fan, would likely quiet it down nicely while still providing decent cooling performance.
    Reply
  • the nerd 389
    19815980 said:
    Each cooler review I've seen over the last year or so just makes that cheap Gammax look better and better. Slowing its fan down, or using a better fan, would likely quiet it down nicely while still providing decent cooling performance.

    If you replace the fans on this cooler with faster models with similar airflow and noise at a given RPM, it would outpace the Gammaxx 400 in all realistic cases. This is based on the measured values in the article and a 40*log relationship between the delta-T and noise (usually quite accurate for estimating cooler performance).

    Based on that model, this cooler even gives the NH-D15 a run for it's money. The D15S would probably turn out ahead, though.
    Reply
  • systemBuilder87
    I think anybody looking for a quiet fan will probably buy a Noctua U14-S (140mm fan) which moves at least 40% more air at the same RPM, so it can run at much lower RPM. We recently got one shipped from Amazon for $70 including tax ($64 retail). I think it would be a better cooler and potentially, just as quiet. It is low profile and can fit into many cases.
    Reply
  • Ltpessimist
    I have Scythe Zipang it also takes upto a 140mm fan, i have a noise blocker fan on it now and i think it is one of the most robust cpu coolers of it's time. got it about 9yrs ago and it still fits all sockets including the new Amd AM4 socket. so if my cooler is this good maybe this new one will be even better.
    Reply