Scythe Mugen 5 (SCMG-5102AR) ARGB Plus Cooler Review

Installation

As we noted earlier in the review, Scythe has provided you with everything you could possibly want or require to install this. Not only are you given a decent amount of thermal paste (far more than you’d need for one installation), but you’re also provided with a generally excellent manual.

While it is a little light on the written details, the diagrams are excellent and more than helpful in getting you started!

Mounting

The mounting design to your motherboard is a fairly standard one and that, by the way, is no criticism. Too often we see cooling manufacturers attempt to create their own version which is often different purely for difference’s sake and, might I add, rarely better!

Anyone who installs coolers on a semi-frequent basis will be more than familiar with the design used here. Scythe hasn’t re-invented the wheel, but quite frankly, they didn’t need to!

The only mildly unusual factor in the installation of the Scythe Mugen 5 is that to access the 2nd screw (to bolt the radiator onto the mounting kit) you have to screw it through the radiator.

This is by no means the first time we’ve seen this design and, in truth, it’s a lot less complicated than a number of alternative methods we’ve seen for larger air-coolers. Remember that screwdriver, though? Scythe gets a huge thumbs up from us for including this as it makes the job immeasurably more easier.

There’s nothing I hate more than a design like this that doesn’t include a suitable screwdriver and, trust me, I’ve seen more than a few of them!

Overall Thoughts

So, from out of the box and onto our system, this cooler took us around 10 minutes to install. Not bad at all. Particularly considering that this is quite a large air cooler which can often be awkward.

In terms of the aesthetics though, while it might look a little drab with the light off, it looks amazing once the RGB show starts.

A huge positive factor with the Scythe Mugen ARGB Plus is the fact that it comes with a manual RGB controller. Put simply, not everyone has an RGB capable motherboard and, as such, having the adaptor is an invaluable asset that too many cooling companies don’t provide!

Taking it a step further, the adaptor itself is of remarkably good quality. Through the use of one button, you can manually cycle through the RGB modes and, better still, being magnetically backed, you can attach it anywhere within your chassis.

I must admit, while I already knew that the Scythe Mugen 5 was an excellent cooler, the ARGB Plus model definitely takes it a huge step forward. Admittedly, most of the improvements are aesthetic, but there are enough design tweaks to genuinely make this appear (at least so far in this review) to be a truly excellent cooling solution.