INTRODUCTION

   October happens to be one of my favorite months of the year since it marks the beginning of winter the season which is very kind to most electrical and electronic devices out there. For me winter means i can perform tests a lot easier not only because low temperatures in the lab are always welcome (especially when testing coolers) but also because we can achieve higher and more stable overclocks compared to the much hotter summer season (at least without having to worry about turning the AC on). Of course the arrival of winter doesn't mean people should feel free to "neglect" getting proper cooling for their systems (house temperatures are never as low as the ones outside after all) so we haven't really stopped searching around to bring all of you reviews of the most intriguing CPU coolers to hit the market and today with us we have the latest offering by our old friends over at Scythe called the Mugen MAX (SCMGD-1000).

   Scythe Co., Ltd., (Registered and incorporated in Tokyo Japan) originally started its business operation in Japan's famous "Akihabara Electric Town" located in the metropolitan Tokyo, where visitors can find a variety of products from the latest computer parts to the world's most advanced high-tech electric devices. Scythe Co., Ltd., began its operation and business since November, 2002 as a distributor and the manufacturer of passive and low-noise PC parts. Since then, the company has established the R&D facility in Taiwan & China for production and quality control, and the USA office (in Los Angeles, California) & European office (in Hamburg, Germany) for customer care and sales support. At Scythe, we believe that the best ideas for product come simply from knowing customers' needs and their expectations. Based on this philosophy, the PC enthusiasts working at Scythe know what to develop because that is exactly what we would like to have for ourselves too! We offer products with 100% quality assurance and total pride, and if the product has the Scythe name on it, you can rest assure that its quality will be up to the "Zero Tolerance" standards!

   Scythe has been using the Mugen name for quite some time now so the MAX is not really the first CPU Cooler in their product line to bear that name (if i recall correctly including two revisions this must be the 7th) and what that obviously means is that they needed to design and manufacture something that could easily surpass all its predecessors. Well it's been a while since i last had a Mugen CPU Cooler in my hands but judging by the special design (both of the body and fins), large size (for a non-sandwich model) and bundled 140mm Glidestream fan we all believe that the Mugen MAX should be more than capable of doing so. On top of that Scythe has also re-designed the layout of the heatpipes to make certain that the cooler doesn't have any clearance issues with mainboard components and RAM modules and although i don't really expect that to apply for every single mainboard in the market still it's a good feature to have especially for a large model like the Mugen MAX. Enough with the introduction page however, time to see just how good the latest Mugen MAX CPU Cooler by Scythe really is.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large product image along with the company logo and the CPU compatibility list are the things placed at the front of the box.

Several drawings of the Mugen MAX are placed on the left side right above the specifications list which is printed in 6 languages.

4 product pictures and a drawing are used to showcase the main features of the Mugen MAX.

Information regarding the product guarantee and Scythe are placed at the rear.

The bundle is placed inside a second cardboard box which is also keeping the Mugen MAX in place.

Along with the Mugen MAX you are also getting the 140mm Glidestream fan, 4 metal fan mounts, pouch with thermal conductive material, backplate, installation guide, Allen key and all the necessary mounting hardware for Intel LGA775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2/FM2+ mainboards.

THE MUGEN MAX

Just like its predecessors the Mugen MAX heatsink is not only 720g heavy but also quite large measuring 161mm in height, 145mm in width and 81mm in length.

The company logo is present at the top aluminum fin.

As you can see rather using a single large heatsink Scythe seems to have actually used 4 smaller heatsinks which are connected via part of the fins.

There are 40 aluminum fins placed on the heatsink.

The arrow like shape of the fins should help by improving airflow levels.

Six 6mm nickel plated copper heatpipes pass through the base and all of the fins.

The nickel-plated all-copper base has a nice mirror like finish.

Scythe includes a 140mm Glidestream sleeve-bearing PWM fan with the Mugen MAX that can spin up to 1300RPM (+-10%) to produce up to 97.18CFM with only 30.7dBA of noise.

With the fan installed the Mugen MAX is now 111mm in depth and weighs 850g.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   We always take things quite seriously when it comes to work so just like with the previous LGA1366 database we will not be testing each CPU Cooler on its own and with different ambient temperature levels and thus we can actually have yet another valid CPU Cooler database. Testing a CPU Cooler automatically means that you need to know where it stands against the immediate competition and to accomplish that we have spent both money and time through the years, something that we plan to continue to do so in order to get the most accurate results for the end consumers who read these lines. Every CPU cooler in this database is tested with the bundled 140mm/120mm/92mm/80mm fans while working at both idle speed and 100% of their speeds for all the temperature tests. CPU Coolers that do not come bundled with a fan/s are measured using a Noctua fan (size dependent on the model) to test for the temperature tests but due to the lack of a stock fan dBA level tests are obviously skipped. Single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of our test rig while dual/triple/quad (240/260/280/360/420/480/560mm) solutions with the radiator mounted at the top. For the dBA tests every cooler in the database was measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting (PWM fans do that on their own without our intervention). Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside the room. The Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste is used with every CPU Cooler in our latest LGA2011 database (although initially this was not the plan we had to change things to get the most accurate results). Finally it's very important to point out that just because a CPU Cooler is better than another when tested with our test rig that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).

     To successfully record the load temperatures we use the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   After i heard that Scythe USA had gone bankrupt i really thought it would affect Scythe in general in such a degree that we'd never get to see another product by them in the near future. Evidently i was wrong and so Scythe is still alive and kicking and not only that but they are also trying to get their USA branch up and running again. Moving to the Mugen MAX well like I’ve said so in the past our charts have a way of saying everything so not much for us to add since it's quite clear that we're talking about a very good CPU cooler that can go up against the likes of the Archon IB-E X2 by Thermalright and land right next to it in terms of performance with reduced noise levels. Obviously it really goes without saying that if you strap a second 140mm at the rear of the Scythe Mugen MAX in push & pull you should be able to match (if not surpass) the performance of the Archon IB-E X2.

   Scythe always had a nag for following a rather aggressive pricing policy for their products and it seems that the same stands for the Mugen MAX since it currently retails for just USD53.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 56Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Of course although Scythe made certain that the Mugen MAX has almost no clearance issues with mainboards still its size is most certainly going to pose a problem for small PC cases but i guess that can be helped. Long story short aside the unfortunate incident with their USA branch Scythe seems to be doing great and we think that the Mugen MAX is a clear indication for this that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Near-Excellent Performance
- Zero Clearance Issues With Most Mainboards
- Noise Levels
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Size (For Some)