[Scythe] Mugen 2

ntavlas · Post by **ntavlas** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:04 pm

http://silenthardware.de/reviews/cpu/sc ... index.html

Though in German, it`s a nice review that shows Skythe`s latest behemoth smashing the competition. After a series of under-performing models Skythe seems be back.

There are quite a few interesting things to see:

The design is neat: vertical gaps help the normally spaced fins breathe better.
There is finally a bolt through mounting system!
There are new, cool looking heat-pipe caps.
It comes with a PWM version of the slipstream.
And most importantly it offers great low airflow cooling performance.

Eagerly awaiting an SPCR review!

maf718 · Post by **maf718** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:52 pm

I read that review earlier in a translated by google sort of English version (not much easier to understand than the German) and it's nice to see a Scythe cooler doing so well again. I think the return to a bolt-thru system as standard has a lot to do with it, and the design of the tower split into five columns with two heatpipes each surely helps airflow. The only test it didn't win was the totally passive one, which it was not designed for.

Here's the Scythe product page: http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/products/cp ... ooler.html
I like the 22-hole funky Flip Mount Super Back-Plate (F.M.S.B.), it works with every socket more or less (no mention of AM3 tho). I guess Scythe really did listen to those of us who wrote to them whinging about push-pins.

Anyone have first hand experience they'd like to share?

haysdb · Post by **haysdb** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:12 pm

I received a Scythe Mugen 2 today from Jab-tech. I paid $46.04 including shipping. Unfortunately I don't have the motherboard, cpu, and case yet, so I won't be able to give you anything more than my visceral impressions today.

Dimensions:

132 x 64 x 158 - Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme
130 x 100 x 156 - Scythe Mugen 2 (Note: these are the dimensions of JUST the heatsink. With the supplied fan on the long side it measures 130x125)
120 x 50 x 159 - Xygmatech HDT-1283
116 x 116 x 152 - Sythe Ninja 2
110 x 60 x 160 - Thermalright HR-01 Plus

I'll take Scythe's word on the weight:

870 grams - Scythe Mugen 2
790 - Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme
770 - Noctua
700 - Sythe Ninja 2
600 - Xygmatech HDT-1283
600 Thermalright HR-01 Plus

I count 46 fins, with a stack height of 103mm, resulting in fin spacing of 2.28mm.

1.42 - Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme
1.96 - Xygmatek HDT-S1283
2.28 - Scythe Mugen 2
2.64 - Noctua NH-12P
3.15 - Thermalright HR-01 Plus
3.68 - Scythe Ninja 2

I have no way of measuring the thickness of the fins but I can tell you they are "thin." Thinner than the fins on the TRUE, that's for sure. The fins are press-fit on the heatpipes with no spacers like the TRUE has, making this heatsink quite delicate. Handle carefully.

Somewhat curiously, or it least it seems so to me, the heatpipes are nickle coated where the fins attach, but bare copper below. Aesthetics? It does look nice.

The base that mounts to the CPU has fins rising from it up to just below the bottom fins. In other words they take advantage of what is empty space on other tower heatsinks.

The 120x25mm fan is a 4-pin (PWM) Scythe model SY1225SL 12LM-P, 0.18A. There is a curious sticker on one side. It shows a picture of a barrel with an X over it. Whether this is supposed to represent a trash dumpster or a Shop Vac I can't tell you.

The fan attaches to the heatsink with metal spring clips. The Noctua NH-U12P uses the same mounting method. It appears to be a perfectly secure attachment method, if you manage to do it without bending any of the fins. There is some up/down adjustment possible.

You'd better have damned good eyesight or a magnifying glass to read the instructions. Could they have possibly made the print any smaller? It's like they had one sheet of A4 paper and they simply shrunk the 4 pages of instructions to fit the front and back of one page. I checked the scythe website for a PDF document of the instructions and didn't find one. Hopefully they will make one available.

The heatsink is attached to the motherboard from the back of the motherboard through a backplate that replaces the one that comes on the motherboard. The mounting method required me to squint through a magnifying glass at the miniature drawing for 30 minutes but I finally understand it. It looks simple enough and should be quite secure.

The tops of the heatpipes, as seen in the photos, are capped. It makes for a nice finished appearance.

With a huge amount of fin surface area and ten heatpipes (or 5, depending on how you count), the potential is certainly there for this to be a good cooler.

As an aside, I'm building a Core i7 system and first ordered a TRUE (Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme-1366) for an Asus P6T motherboard. I then decided I would go with the EVGA X58 board instead and then recognized, to my horror, that the cpu socket is mounted so close to the edge of that board, the TRUE was apparently not going to fit in the Silverstone FT-01 mid-tower case. My second choice was going to be a Thermalright HR-01 but I happened to stumble over the Mugen 2. I liked the design, the appearance, and the price, so I ordered one. With some irony then I note that the Mugen is all of 2 mm narrower than the TRUE. The Mugen 2 makes the TRUE look small.

haysdb · Post by **haysdb** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 11:39 am

Mugen 2 Installation Guide
http://www.scythe.co.jp/manual/scmg-2000-manual.pdf

yamahaSHO · Post by **yamahaSHO** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:07 pm

Man that thing looks cool (no pun intended)!

haysdb · Post by **haysdb** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 9:17 pm

I don't have any benchmarks for you but I'm giving the Mugen 2 two thumbs up. It's cooling an i7 920 running at 3.4 GHz at stock voltage. The fan that comes with the cooler is sweet. It's smooth running and at 1300 RPM will never be heard outside the case.

It's a huge heatsink, but fits comfortably on my Asus P6T Deluxe. Tall memory would force the fan to be mounted a bit higher than would be optimal but there's no problem with my Mushkin memory.

It's a screaming good deal at under $50 with the primo fan. IMO.

fyleow · Post by **fyleow** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:09 am

Price is very attractive, but the size bothers me a bit. I have the first version of the infinity and working with it is a hassle. The size of the heatsink makes changing memory difficult and the rear case fan cannot be cleaned without removing the entire motherboard on a P180. I think you can probably remove the rear case fan on a P180 if you're using a TRUE.

haysdb · Post by **haysdb** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 1:16 am

I don't plan on removing the memory but yes, the fan would have to be removed to get to one bank of memory, and doing that inside the case will be difficult.

I've never had to remove a case fan. Compressed air has always been sufficient to clean my fans. But yes, if you DO need to remove that fan, it will be more difficult to get to with the Mugen 2.

My board is still outside the case but for sure, getting to the 8-pin 12V connector is going to be non-trivial. It would be possible with the thinner TRUE, but well neigh impossible with the Mugen 2. Too bad that cable isn't modular! I will have to attach it before mounting the motherboard in the case.

You raise some legitimate practical considerations.

haysdb · Post by **haysdb** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:57 am

I switched to the Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme this morning. My CPU temps are running right at 2 degrees higher with the same Scythe fan, although it could be a degree warmer in my apartment than it was this morning. That 2 degree difference does agree with some of the tests I have seen.

As we have discussed, the TRUE allows access to all 6 memory slots on my i7 board, and should give me plenty of room to connect (and disconnect if necessary) the 12V cable from the power supply.

Something else I find nice, and this surprises me, is the fan mount. I thought it was kind of kludgy and even gimmicky, but it just works. There isn't a hint of vibration as there was with the Mugen, where the fan was pressed right against the heatsink.

The mounting system of the TRUE is vastly superior. First, it mounts from the top which is a huge plus. Second, it doesn't require removing the OEM backplate as the Mugen did.

The only real beef I have with the TRUE is cosmetic. Couldn't they have finished off the ends of the heatpipes a bit better? 6 of the ends look nice. The other 6 are 'disfigured'.

So, performance-wise, I think the Scythe cooler beats the Thermalright by a tiny bit, but practical considerations definitely favor the TRUE.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:39 am

It looks like it has a (1300RPM?) Slipstream on it.

[Edit: I like the straight forward design -- and I especially like the looks of the bolt-through mounting hardware! I hope they sell that with all their HSF units.]

Tephras · Post by **Tephras** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 3:03 pm

Yes, it's a 1300RPM Slipstream according to Xbitlabs. There's a link to their review with pictures of the fan in this post.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:53 am

Hi,

I was pleasantly surprised to see the price of this HSF: $40 at NewEgg -- and it is on sale for $32!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835185093

It is also out of stock there, at the moment.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:28 pm

Scythe seems to be back on the track again.... finally ^^

niels007 · Post by **niels007** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 4:51 pm

We can expect a review soonish then Neil?

[Scythe] Mugen 2

[Scythe] Mugen 2

This is a BIG heatsink