Scythe Fuma 3 CPU Air Cooler, Intel LGA1700, LGA1151, AMD AM5/Ryzen 120mm, Dual Tower, Black Top Cover

Prologue:The Wraith Spire cooler I had with my Ryzen 7 2700 was doing okay, but it would have big spikes in temps whenever the CPU was used to transcode. The temps would idle at 39-40C (22C Ambient) and peak at 65-70C (on Prime95). The Wraith Spire would frequently spin up its fans to cool the CPU, and it was very noticeable sound-wise. I had a Corsair Air 740 case (great for air cooling), but it was not reaching it's potential, so I was in the market for a new CPU cooler.I had looked at the numerous Noctua, beQuiet, and Cooler Master coolers, but either the color scheme was not my style, the price was too high, or the product wouldn't be compatible with my tall RAM (Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro). I had read about the Scythe Mugen 5 rev. B and the Fuma coolers (had previously had a Scythe cooler during my Phenom II days). But upon searching, I happened upon the Fuma 2. It had no reviews when I bought it, but I watched some YouTube previews of it, and it looked promising (Dual Tower air cooler with a slim front fan for max RAM compatibility).THE REAL REVIEW:The Packaging:Everything was packaged together nicely. Nothing was loose and all the parts that are listed were included. The cooler came with many brackets for Intel and AMD, but I can only vouch for AM4 since that is what I was using it for. The even included a very nice screwdriver (pic included), one that is long enough to reach the screws on the mount plate to screw it into the brackets on the motherboard.Installation:My case is the Corsair Air 740, so there was plenty of room for installation. I was able to keep the motherboard in the case and install the cooler. It utilizes the stock AMD rear bracket, so make sure you still have that if you're using this for an AMD build. Once you screw the mounts with the spacers and screws onto the AMD rear bracket, the next part is installing the Fuma 2 on the CPU. The Fuma 2 came with a generic TIM (Thermal Interface Material); however, I opted to use my trusty old Arctic MX4. Once the TIM is on, the Fuma 2 mounts on top of the CPU. Now the toughest part was screwing the cooler's mount plate onto the mounts on the motherboard. If the motherboard was out of the case, then it would have been much simpler, but I am lazy and was able to screw the mount in with some trial and error and some patience. Once the cooler is mounted, you can mount the 2 included fans (1x 120mm and 1x thin 120mm) with the included fan clips. Pay attention, because one of the fan clips is specifically meant for the thinner 120mm (it is made apparent with stickers). They do include an extra set of fan clips in the case you would either like to add a separate rear fan or install a regular sized 120mm in the front instead of the thin one that is included. Once the fans are mounted and plugged into the motherboard, the installation is done. There is an included 4pin fan splitter in case your motherboard only has 1 CPU fan header (my motherboard had 2, so I did not have to use it). Now on to the good stuff...Results:The Fuma 2 exceeded my expectations. I had stated in my prologue that I had to rule out some coolers due to RAM compatibility (the Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro has some of the tallest heatsinks around). With the thinner 120mm front fan, and the offset the cooler has, it clears the RAM slots and the PCIe slots perfectly fine (pics included). With the black top on the cooler, it blends into my case pretty well.Thermals are great as well. I had stated my previous temps with the Wraith Spire cooler on my Ryzen 2700 was idle at 39-40C (22C Ambient) and peak at 65-70C where the fans would be full speed and would make itself known with its loudness. With the Fuma 2, my idle temps are 30C-33C and my peaks are 55-57C. Those peaks temps are great, if I wanted to overclock more, I could. But I chose the 2700 for its lower power draw. So at stock volts, I am able to get to 3.7GHz on all cores. I'm sure I could probably go over 4.0GHz if I upped the voltage, but I will leave that to someone else. The thermals improvements are beyond great; however, the best thing about it, is the near silent operation, even during those peak temps. I set a very low fan curve, so unless it goes above 65C it will never reach full speed. I have tested the fans at full tilt, and it is audible, but not as loud as the Wraith Spire cooler.Conclusion:If you have an AM4 CPU and are still utilizing the stock cooler, the Scythe Fuma 2 is a great option. The price does pit it against some comparable Noctuas and beQuiet coolers. But the form factor, color scheme, design, and compatibility were perfect for me. And the results match it's quality. I am impressed again by Scythe. I hope that they will get more attention from more of the YouTube reviewers, but unless you are one of the big cats, great coolers like this go under the radar.

For complete transparency, I ordered this CPU cooler twice, after a porch pirate stole the first one while I was at work. So shoutout to Amazon for helping me get another cooler to replace the stolen one.*So ya probably wondering what that asterisk on this review's headline is for. Simple: I am NOT a computer expert. I am not constantly finding the ins and outs of how to build the next super computer for our future robot overlords. I'm just a gamer/video editor who Google'd "How to build a PC on a budget" one day and eventually came here. If you're looking for the right cooler for your PC build, take what I say with a grain of salt and do your own research like I did. That being said, I bought this fan half a year ago on a budget and wanted to test it out before I wrote this review. My PC specs are as followed:Motherboard: ROG Strix Gaming B550-FCPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X.Cooling: Scythe Fuma 2 + two additional 120mm fans in the PC case.RAM: 32 GBGPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XTHere are my findings:APPEARANCE: This is definitely one of the better looking CPU fans on the market. A nice sleek design with the company's logo etched into the fans and top of the radiators, with various what look like rivets on top to give it even more of an edgy look. A very cool (no pun intended) design that doesn't stand out. One obvious lack of a feature is the RGB. If that's what you care about, stay away. If you do not (like me) then this is a bonus.NOISE: This cooler, despite having two fans attached to it, is surprisingly quiet. I stream and record videos as a hobby and the old CPU fans I used could be picked up on my mic, despite placing my Pcs in various locations. It was annoying. With this cooler, no longer a problem. Its not completely quiet, if ya listen hard enough you'll hear it easily but its so minimal so who cares...if you're a casual PC user. If you are someone who overclocks your PC (we'll get more into that later), ya gonna need this fan to pick up speed, and that's where the sound goes from an afterthought to noticeable, and it's still not as bad as my old CPU coolers running on minimal speeds.PERFORMANCE: Ok now for what's really important: Does it work? Short answer: Yes. Long answer: If you are someone who does not overclock your PC, this fan works wonders. Ive tested its performance by leaving my PC on for a while, casually watching videos, playing video games ranging from League of Legends to Apex Legends, using various programs for times ranging from a few hrs to all nighters and I can feel the fan constantly blowing cold air out of my PC. That part I was never worried about. Overclocking is a slightly different story. From an eye and feel test, I can tell it does the job well. I looked up some actual specs and while the Fuma 2 does keep an overclocking CPU in a reasonable safe zone, ya gotta remember we are talking about overclocking here. You are pushing your CPU beyond its normal limits and you run the risk of permanent damage to your PC if your cooler isn't up to the task. Sometimes reasonable isn't good enough. Now the Scythe Fuma 2 is build so you can add a 3rd fan to help out at the cost of noise, so it does have flexibility. However if you're willing to spend extra on a fan, ya might as well save up for a higher end CPU cooler. But on its own, it gets the job done and that added flexibility of a 3rd fan can still be useful down the road if ya don't need it upon initial buying but don't want to spend extra on a new cooler.Side note: I bought the Scythe Fuma 2 around late October and I live in the Southwest United States. I have yet to see how this CPU will perform with the summer heat. That will be the true test. I will update this review around October for the results.VERDICT: I categorize the Scythe Fuma 2 CPU Cooler as a mid-tier option with a lot of upside. Its miles ahead of any low-tier options but not quite as high as the more higher-end fans out there like Noctua or any custom water cooling system. That being said, if you look up the specs, it does occasionally rub shoulders with the big boys so on paper, its a great CPU cooler and personal experience so far can back that up as well. And at $60 USD (at this time) that is an insane value!If you are on a budget for building a PC for gaming, editing, drawing, etc. but you know how important a good CPU cooler is for what you are gonna do, the Scythe Fuma 2 is an absolute steal, with its performance, noise and flexibility! I highly recommend it!

I decided to give this cpu cooler a try because the AIO I thought I wanted was out of stock. I was having trouble finding parts to fit my build (most was already purchased) and this was compatible with the parts I had. I am SO HAPPY with this cooler that I decided to stick with it! It's great quality, whisper quiet, and keeps my cpu cool. Here's my build:- Fractal Pop Mini Air (medium form factor case)- MSI mag b650m (mATX)- Ryzen 7 7800X3D- T Force 32GB GDDR5 6000MHz (tall ram!)- EVGA 3080ti ftw (undervolted, runs hot)Case clearance was tough due to the tall ram and smaller case, but this cpu cooler fit easily and was easy to install. It was clearly boxed with care and came with a great screw driver with a magnetic tip, too. I had more fun unboxing this than anything else. Installation was easy and straightforward, the instructions were good, and it worked right away. When I stress tested my cpu, this was the quietest air cooler I've ever had and far exceeded my expectations for cooling, too. I've been using it for months and am still happy! I can't say enough how impressed I am with it and pleased with my purchase, scythe did a great job. I'd absolutely buy this again and highly recommend it.