Scythe Mugen Max Review

Scythe Mugen Max Closer Look:

The Mugen Max is a large, rectangular, single tower style cooler. The vertical fin stack has 39 fins with a 2.6mm spacing and one top cover plate. The stack dimensions are 145 x 86 x 161 mm tall and the entire stack is offset to aid in RAM clearance which you can see in the side view to the right.

The top cover has a center access hole for the base mounting bracket. You will need a long screwdriver for this screw. The other screw will be out in the open and easy to access. The Scythe logo is clearly embossed across the top cover which is secured at the corners with flat head style fasteners.

The top cover plate is nicely polished to a mirror finish. There are six nickel plated heat pipes measuring 6mm in diameter. The arrangement of the heat pipes up through the fin stack maximizes the efficiency as air moves through the stack. There are three deep channels that cut into both sides of the fin stack to improve air flow.

The base has some small fins to help disapate heat, and the nickel plated face of the base is flat and shiny.  Those heat pipes are packed close together in the base. Don't forget to remove the protective cover sticker from the base before installation.

The 140mm PWM fan has eleven thin blades to move the air through the fin stack and carry the heat away from your CPU. It is rated at .37 amps and can move up to 97.18 CFM.

The fan easily clips to the fin stack and a second set of clips is including in case you want to add a second fan. The 140mm fan doesn't look so big when it is up against the large fin stack.

The fin stack offset is not as obvious when the fan is installed. After you have the fan mounted, you are ready to get the mounting hardware attached to the motherboard.

Installing this cooler is fairly easy if you lay your case / motherboard flat. You can do a vertical installation like I did, but since the center bar (that holds the cooler to the motherboard) is loose, the install is a little more challenging.

The base plate is placed behind the motherboard and has threaded holes. You have to hold the plate in position while you screw four stud nuts through the motherboard and into the base plate.  There are different hole locations in the base plate to cover the various Intel sockets. Then the two mounting plates are screwed to the stud nuts and this provides the base to which the cooler is mounted. And here we have the final installation. The base plate and mounting brackets are installed and ready to go. A little blob of the included thermal paste is applied to the center of the CPU.

The mounting bar secures the base of the cooler to the motherboard. One screw is easily accessible and the other requires a long screwdriver, or you can use the included small wrench.

The heavy offset of the fin stack allows for RAM clearance even with the fan installed on the MSI Z87 test motherboard. Keep in mind that the offset may not benefit LGA 2011 motherboards, meaning that you won't necessarily have access to all eight slots.