Scythe Mugen 6 and Mugen 6 Black Edition Review: Quiet cooling at a reasonable price

Thermal results without power limits

Without power limits enforced on Intel’s i7-13700K, the CPU will hit its peak temperature and thermally throttle with even the best air coolers. When the CPU reaches its peak temperature, I have measured the CPU package power to determine the maximum wattage cooled to best compare their performance. The results below do not include the best liquid coolers on the market, which are able to keep the CPU under TJMax (100C).

The single fan version of the Mugen 6 cooled 222W, on average, with no power limits enforced. This is just a little better than BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Pro 5 in the low-noise mode. The Mugen 6 Black Edition cools an additional 7W thanks to its second fan. This performance is between BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Pro 5 and DeepCool’s Assassin IV in their low-noise modes.

The maximum noise levels of both coolers are low, with the Mugen 6 reaching only 39.6 dBA with fans running at full speed. With two fans, the Mugen 6 Black Edition runs just a tad bit louder at 40.3 dBA. Both results are among the quietest results in our charts.

Thermal results with noise normalized to 38.2 dBA

Finding the right balance between fan noise levels and cooling performance is important. While running fans at full speed can improve cooling capacity to some extent, the benefits are limited and many users prefer a quiet system. With this noise-normalized test, I’ve set noise levels to 38.2 dba. This level of noise is a low volume level, but slightly audible to most people.

When I tested Scythe’s Fuma 3 last year, I was a bit disappointed with its noise-normalized performance compared to the competition. Both versions of the Mugen 6 perform better in this regard. The normal version of the Mugen 6 cools 220W in this noise-limited scenario, outperforming big-name rivals like Noctua’s NH-D15 and BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Pro 5. The Mugen 6 Black edition cools an additional 5W, with performance comparable to BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Pro Elite and Thermalright’s Frost Commander 140.

175W Cinebench results

Most coolers on the market can keep Intel’s i7-13700K under its peak temperature if the power consumption is limited, so for this test, we’ll be looking at the CPU’s actual temperature.

With a steady 175W load run on the CPU, the Mugen 6 with only a single fan performed on par with Scythe’s previous Fuma 3. The black edition performs 2C better, reaching only 56C over ambient. This places it on par with DeepCool’s Assassin 4S, Cooler Master’s MA824 Stealth, and many of the best coolers on the market.

Both versions of the Mugen 6 had excellent noise levels, with an average of 38.2 dBA – a noise reduction of 3.2 dBA compared to last year’s Fuma 3! These results are very good, tied with DeepCool’s Assassin IV & 4S for the second quietest coolers that we’ve tested in this scenario.

125W Cinebench results

The lowest power limit I test with Raptor Lake CPUs is 125W. This is a high enough limit to allow the CPU to maintain its base clock speeds even in the most intensive tests, and most coolers should be capable of keeping the CPU below TJ Max (the max temperature before throttling) – even Intel’s stock cooler can handle a load like this with ease.

Really, thermals do not matter in this scenario – but if you’re interested in them, CPU temperatures are shown in the graph above. Noise levels, rather than CPU temperature, are the most important factor here. These were ideal for both versions of the Mugen 6, never overpowering the ambient system noise of 37.3 dBA. What this means is that the cooler ran quieter than my system fans.

Conclusion

With the Mugen 6, Scythe brings performance and noise levels comparable to high-end models available from BeQuiet! and DeepCool – but at a more reasonable price. If you’re looking for a good-performing air cooler with low maximum noise levels, Scythe’s Mugen 6 and Mugen 6 Black Edition are well worth considering. 

There aren’t many other quiet coolers at this price level, but an alternative to consider would be Thermalright’s Phantom Spirit 120. It can dissipate slightly more watts for high-end CPUs, but also has higher maximum noise levels.