Akasa Nero S vs. Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B

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PE4KS

New member
Hmmmm, I already have a Nero S, but I am never happy with temps. I have just ordered the Mugen 2 based on this review:

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 35-14.html

However, it has become aware to me that the Mugen 2 might not be any better than the Nero, because of this review:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/c [...] r-review/2

Now I know the two reviews are from different sites and both over look things like current ambient temps or airflow from the case, but what I am concentrating on is the fact that both reviews use an i7-870 with around the same Vcore (1.35v+). The second review actually suggests that the Nero S is better, however it seems all temps are a lot lower in this review because the Noctua NH-D14 is much lower, so I guess it was a cooler day or something. If you compare the difference between the Mugen 2 and NH-D14 in the first review and the Nero S and NH-D14 in the second review both are 4 degrees worse than the Noctua.

Excuse the ramble. What I am trying to say is which is better and have I just purchased something that will not improve my temps at all? Any improvement will do
tongue.gif
 
Your not taking into account how much people might have to spend on a cooler, so you cant just out right say its the best cooler on the market so I should get it. Yes it has the best performance but is it the best value for money? No...
 
well it is actually the best cooler performance and money wise, those noctua fans are easily worth 30-40 own there OWN then that leaves that beast of a chunk of metal at only £20-30 so there we go
 
You may be wondering why I said this cooler is cheap, so as a final word I am going to tell you why.

The Prolimatech Megahalems costs around £40. However, it comes with no fans. By the time you add those fans you are looking at £80. The Noctua costs (give or take a few quid) sixty pounds. If you deducted the price of the Noctuas from the cooler you would end up paying £20 for this cooler. The fans on the Noctua are twenty quid a pop and I know that only too well because I just bought four of them for my case. So, like for like I would put £20 fans on the Megahalems. And after spending £80 you would then realise it's not as good as the NH-D14.

Ed. I'll have a fiver that bumtech link gets removed.

The only cooler BT have never reviewed is the NH-D14. I wonder why. Maybe because it would be a little upsetting for all of their sponsorship coolers?

You get what you pay for mate. It really is as simple as that. You've now bought two coolers when you could have gotten one. Whatever way you look at it the Noctua is cheap

You find me one other company that will send you a free 1155 retention and we do lunch (or something).
 
thestepster said:
well it is actually the best cooler performance and money wise, those noctua fans are easily worth 30-40 own there OWN then that leaves that beast of a chunk of metal at only £20-30 so there we go
Click to expand...

That might be the case but its not really about that. Unless someone is buying something like the Megahalems which doesn't come with fans then someone is buying a complete package and I would be that on average they wont change it. Now if you take that approach then yea, the NH-D14 is still the best performer but it comes with a high price. For almost half that price you can get something that is maybe 4 - 5 degrees hotter. Double your money for 4 - 5 degrees? Thats good performance but not good value. Plus who says the noctua fans are the best anyway? They are pretty expensive for what they are.

Anyway, my OP didn't mention whether I should have got the Noctua, it mentioed which is the better heatsink between the Akasa and the Scythe.
 
Come on guys, stop this cr*p about the NH-D14, quite frankly I've had enough of it, too. All people on this forum ever say when it comes to CPU coolers is NH-D14! Sure it's a great cooler but if someone's looking for a budget cooling solution the NH-D14 is not for him.
 
You're absolutely right. A cheaper cooler will be 4-5c hotter. However, what you are forgetting is that 4-5c on an overclock isn't insignificant. It's absolutely HUGE.

My Phenom 2 940 was hitting 52c in Prime 95 @ 3.4ghz using both a Corsair H50 *and* a NH-12CP. That was it, that was the limit. Another 1c and the machine would go BZZZZZP through the speakers and restart. So as much as AMD say it has a max temp of 62? olbocks. It may well before it goes bang, but taking it over 52 simply makes it reboot. And that isn't down to my bios or software as they are set to 60.

So again it would depend on what you consider value. Me? Well, getting my CPU to a rock solid Prime stable 3.8ghz? well worth the money. That's another 12% on top of the 12% that the other coolers could manage and in real world terms? Oh my it makes one hell of a difference.

You said yourself mate that you weren't happy with your temps. Temps are something we can never be truly happy with as we all want the lowest ones possible. On air that means you need to spend. The cooler you have ordered is around the same price as the one you had before. Infact after a check they are priced identically - £32 or so.

That means you have now spent £64. However the key here is price to performance. Both coolers are priced the same - what's clear about that picture?

You are going to get what you pay for mate. No company makes a miracle cooler that can perform as well as the Noctua for anywhere close to the price.

I know it's expensive but hey, what I would do is return the Scythe, get a refund, whack on the stock cooler and sell the Akasa then get the Noctua.

Ed. I'm not being patronising and I am not trying to chastise you. If you think you have done a few coolers in search of the holy grail?.... Me? I got three. A Noctua NH92 twin fan. A corsair H50 and a NH-C12p. You can imagine what I spent on those (£150+). What a waste.

Complex! said:
Come on guys, stop this cr*p about the NH-D14, quite frankly I've had enough of it, too. All people on this forum ever say when it comes to CPU coolers is NH-D14! Sure it's a great cooler but if someone's looking for a budget cooling solution the NH-D14 is not for him.
Click to expand...

Now you obviously don't seem to understand this so let me explain it once and for all.

This site is an honest website. We don't tell people lies or offer them false hopes. The recommendations don't fluctuate to suit dude. There are good products and there are not so good products -it's as simple as that.

The best air cooler in the world is the NH-D14. Due to that (fact, jack) then any one who can speak with experience is going to be honest. And the honest truth is that the NH is worth every penny because of what it can do.

He has asked how the two coolers he has listed compare, we have told him the truth. He has asked how to drop his temps, we have told him the truth. Sometimes the truth can hurt but you know what dude? I would rather p*ss people off and upset them and do EVERYTHING I can to prevent them from making a mistake than say "hey you know what? that cooler is AMAZING" and then them sit there in a weeks time and say -

"FFS, what a bunch of lying f***ing w**kers"

And that my friend is true honesty. If it upsets? FINE. I don't give a flying s**t in honesty. I tried my absolute level best to prevent some one recently from buying a Sapphire motherboard. At first he refused to listen, then he got bound by a contract. Two days later he's back "Waah this motherboard is utter s**t, bios is terrible, update uses a method from the ark ETC ETC".

So you see, had I said "yeah great board dude !" then I would have been responsible. As it went yeah, I'll still try and offer the poor sod some advice (note every one else was just done talking to him) and try help him out. I trust he has now learned the error of his ways.

This site as far as I can tell is a big important place that deals every day with manufacturers. Not just some soap box where every one gets on their high horse and spouts off tripe. As thus you need to be responsible and honest when offering advice.

I hope you can understand that, because I'm sure as heck Tom does.

Oh and dude. Are you running an NH? If not get one. If you come back unhappy I will stick a pineapple up my rectum dry.
 
I understand that the NH-D14 is worth every single penny, but you have to understand that not everybody has 70 euros to spend on a cooler. I would love to run to the local hardware store, purchase the D14 and overclock my cpu some more, but the fact is I can't because of the money it costs. Sure, it isn't expensive for what it has to offer, but it's still a lot of money. If you look at the Mugen 2, a cooler that performs pretty well (a couple of degrees hotter than the Noctua), but is much more affordable (35 euros, which is half the price of the Noctua!)
 
but like alien said the 2 coolers he's bought combined are more expensive than a single nh-d14, and he's never happy with his temps that means he wont be until he's got the best of the best simple as that
 
Complex! said:
I understand that the NH-D14 is worth every single penny, but you have to understand that not everybody has 70 euros to spend on a cooler. I would love to run to the local hardware store, purchase the D14 and overclock my cpu some more, but the fact is I can't because of the money it costs. Sure, it isn't expensive for what it has to offer, but it's still a lot of money. If you look at the Mugen 2, a cooler that performs pretty well (a couple of degrees hotter than the Noctua), but is much more affordable (35 euros, which is half the price of the Noctua!)
Click to expand...

/truth

Then save up and wait.
 
There is always the argument that you can save get the best, but a lot of people dont want to do that and in many cases there is no need. Its like saying, I want to upgrade my GPU but dont have much money, oh ok I will save up for a GTX580 as they are the best single cards. IMO, thats just stupid as your not looking at the bigger picture such as what res you run games and what games you run, in many cases the 580 would be overkill in a situation where something like a 460 would suffice. I know the price ranges are much greater with GPU's but the principle is the same...ever heard of "Bang for Buck"? There has to be a reason why it is used so often.

I am running an i5-750, a pretty cool chip and imo there is a lot to be said for a cases air flow. If this is high I think it reduces the need for such a high performing heatsink. I did say I am not happy with my temps but that aren't that bad, I really dont require the best of the best performance, just a little better, hence my OP. Class leading performance is always nice but is it always necessary?

This thread has gone completely off topic. There is no denying that the NH-D14 is the best air cooler and tbh I will probably test my Scythe when it arrives and if there isn't that much performance increase then I will probably exchange for the Noctua as I have had my eye on it ever since Tom reviewed it. But I cant agree that it is the best value cooler, and again that is not what I asked.
 
Then the answer was simple. At those prices they are going to be right about the same. Six of one half a dozen of the other comes to mind.

I don't see the similarity between saving an extra £28 or an extra £300+ for a 580 but ho hum, to each his own. It just gets rather muddled by reading your OP you see.

PE4KS said:
Excuse the ramble. What I am trying to say is which is better and have I just purchased something that will not improve my temps at all? Any improvement will do
tongue.gif
Click to expand...

Yes, yes you have. Your closing line any improvement suggests (to me at least) that you got another one because you weren't happy with the other. Fair play, your money yours to waste I guess.

Sooner or later you WILL end up with a Noctua in there. I don't think this thread has gone off topic at all, was just trying to save you dumping more money into coolers when sooner or later you'll end up with an NH-D14 and agree with every one else who owns one.
 
Cheap-skate here is still using an OCZ Vendetta 2 on his extreme and Ninjas on his quads
tongue.gif


Application of the coolers is important too. Buying the best and just chucking it on including regular thermal mud isn't going to get you the best results you can get.

Add to that your gpu circulating it's heat around the case aint gonna help, for that matter your drive locations and so forth.

All in the planning.
 
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