Scythe Shuriken 2 Low-Profile CPU Cooler Review

How Much Does it Cost?

With an MSRP in the region of £35, the Scythe Shuriken 2 represents some excellent value for money. Not only based upon its performance, but also the fact that in terms of low-profile cooling designs, it’s definitely got a lot of advantages over much of its competition.

It’s a better product, and while it might be comparatively slightly more expensive, the additional build quality is evident throughout!

Overview

While not providing any (apparent) stunning levels of performance in our testing, we do again have to highlight exactly what this model finds itself competing against in our charts. In a more ideal world, we’d have a seperate set just for low-profile designs (note to self for future reference) just to make this more comparably fair.

Even among those larger coolers, however, (which in terms of size alone should have an advantage) the Scythe Shuriken 2 makes no poor account of itself. In fact, in terms of stock performance, it’s clearly an excellent cooler and would be well suited to most processor designs! Better still, while performing well, it actually looks really nice and, on an aesthetic level, again would be more than excellent for the vast majority of PC builds!

The only real question mark is the lack of RGB lighting. Are coolers better for having it? Well, it’s a matter of debate that we’re not going to be settling here today. Without the lighting though, we still think the Shuriken 2 looks fantastic!

Is it as good as the Noctua low-profile cooler we recently reviewed? No. Then again, this both looks and performs nearly as well and for (around) half the money! It’s your choice, but these factors do make the Shuriken 2 a very tempting proposition!

Should I Buy One?

In terms of a quality, well-designed cooler, the Scythe Shuriken 2 is truly excellent. As it is a low-profile design, however, it is clearly a product that’s going to be better suited to small-factor/m-ITX builds than full-sized desktop systems.

Put simply, it’s faultless within its own remit, but it is limited both in terms of its suitability and audience who’ll be looking for a cooling solution like this. If you are, however, looking for the perfect cooling solution to your little PC build, the Scythe Shuriken 2 is a truly fantastic proposition. Not only in terms of performance but in the simple fact that this design just speaks volumes of a truly quality product!

Scythe has, quite frankly, done it again with the Shuriken 2 and we thoroughly look forward to whatever cooling solution they next bring to the market!

Pros

• Excellent performance from such a small cooler
• Amazingly well designed – For such a low price it just breathes quality!
• Easy to install with no RAM compatibility issues
• You can (if you wish) upgrade the fan to a ‘thicker’ 120mm design
• A true value for money product!

Cons

• None

Neutral

• Limited practicality for full-sized systems – More suited to small factor/m-ITX designs
• No RGB – Make of that what you will!
• Not suitable for overclocking
• Better performing alternatives are available, but mostly at a substantially higher price!