Scythe Mugen 5 ARGB Plus in the test – Colorful all-rounder in many variants

The Mugen 5 is one of the most popular air coolers on the German market, in the bestsellers only slightly behind the already tested Scythe Fuma 2. Depending on the variant, a little smaller, a little cheaper and one fan less, the standard food seems to please the buyers. You can find out where the cooler compares to the competition and how it performs in the test in the following article:

Packaging / scope of delivery

Since I’m testing the largest version of the Mugen 5 with ARGB lighting today, the cardboard box is also a little bigger and more colorful. The packaging is adorned with colorful pictures and colored text printed all over in black. Otherwise, you stay true to the familiar design, list all relevant key data on the side and label the back with the most important features. The last two characters 限 伍 before the product name mean “limited to five” according to the translation, I couldn’t decipher the first character. If someone feels ready to translate, please leave us a comment in the forum.

Almost uncommon for this manufacturer, the accessories are quite generous without containing anything unnecessary. The use of various plastic bags is avoided again this time by simply packing everything in a larger bag and nesting the box with several cardboard parts. Praiseworthy! The heat sink itself is wrapped in foam. Mounting brackets, fan brackets and a rather large, but little filled tube of thermal paste join the 4-pin PWM Y-cable, screwdriver and “ACT-1000ARL” RGB controller. The enclosed instructions are brief, but sufficient.

Assembly / installation

The assembly is identical to the other coolers from Scythe and it is recommended to install the cooler lying on the table with the mainboard removed or to fix the backplate with adhesive tape. The backplate of the mainboard is used for the AM4 socket, the two silver brackets are mounted with four rubberized spacers and screws. After the two spring-loaded screws have been fixed in the brackets with the screwdriver provided, all that remains is to attach the fans.

All versions of the Mugen 5 have an asymmetrical design so as not to get in the way of the main memory. The coldplate is slightly convex and has a recessed “point” exactly in the middle. A second copy of this cooler does not have this “point”, so it seems to be a small flaw in production.

The workmanship is consistently good, corners and edges are deburred and the somewhat thicker slats hardly bend. Fans on the front and back are identical, each 120mm and rubberized at the corners.

Two fans, an ARGB-illuminated plate on the top and a cable with a Y-splitter create a tangle that is rather unusual for air coolers. There is also no duct to lay the cable of the plate, so it either simply rests on or is squeezed into the recess for the fan clips. The included (optional) RGB controller is magnetic, so it should be easy to accommodate in the housing.

Specifications

The following is an overview of the technical data; further information can be found on the manufacturer’s website as usual.

Overall dimensions WxHxD:
36 x 134 x 157.5 mm (including fan)

Total weight:
1,060 g (including fan)

Noise level:
4,0 ~ 29,75 dBA

Air flow:
16,6 ~ 66,47 CFM / 28,20 ~ 112,93 m³/h

Fan speed:
300 (± 200 rpm) ~ 1,500 rpm (± 10%) (PWM controlled)

Static pressure:
0.75 ~ 16.38 Pa / 0.0762 ~ 1.67 mmHO