Scythe Mugen MAX vs Mugen 4

Cooling Processors quietly

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jla
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Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:41 am

Scythe Mugen MAX vs Mugen 4

Post by jla » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:48 am

I tried to order a Kotetsu, but availability is poor in Finland and I haven't got a delivery estimate for it in almost a month. I need a cooler this week, and will change the order to either the Mugen MAX or Mugen 4. It will be on a Asus Z97 Pro Gamer with Crucial Ballistix 1600 CL9 (30mm height) in a Nanoxia Deep Silence 3 case. (165mm maximum cooler height) Which should I pick?

CA_Steve
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Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Scythe Mugen MAX vs Mugen 4

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Apr 21, 2015 3:59 pm

The performance is pretty close between the two with maybe a degree or two better temps at similar dB for the Max. If you don't plan to overvolt your CPU, get the cheaper one. If you do plan to overvolt, perhaps the Max will be better.

lodestar
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Location: UK

Re: Scythe Mugen MAX vs Mugen 4

Post by lodestar » Tue Apr 21, 2015 6:33 pm

The Mugen Max is a replacement for the Mugen 4, although there are still some stocks of the 4 around.

Of the differences between the two the most significant is the fan. The Mugen 4 has a version of the 120mm GlideStream PWM. To quote the PWM duty cycle and RPM figures from the SPCR Mugen 4 review:

20% 432 rpm
30% 489 rpm
40% 652 rpm
50% 816 rpm
60% 975 rpm

The Mugen Max has the same 140mm (140mm size rotor/120mm size fixings) GlideStream as fitted to the Scythe Ashura. Even allowing for the larger rotor size I think this fan will be quieter when used in PWM mode than the 120mm fitted to the Mugen 4. To quote the PWM duty cycle and rpm figures from the SPCR Ashura review:

20% 436 rpm
30% 438 rpm
40% 471 rpm
50% 607 rpm
60% 839 rpm

The relatively flat PWM profile of the 140mm GlideStream also means that fan noise remains more or less constant in the lower duty cycle ranges which can be a preferred characteristic.

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