Final thoughts and rating
We've come full circle, so which cooler should you buy for under £40?
For most users, we believe that either Intel's or AMD's reference coolers should be perfectly adequate. Purchased a cooler-less OEM CPU? Well, providing you've a chassis with decent airflow, there's really no harm in opting for a budget CPU cooler such as the Akasa AK-965. You'd be getting adequate cooling, and a saving of £20-£30 that could be invested in an upgrade elsewhere.
Then again, there are users who want a little more. Even if you're not planning to overclock, lower temperatures are always welcome, and there's always the matter of less noise and greater style, too.
Cooler Master's Hyper N520 offers very decent cooling performance for its sub-£30 price tag, but it's the noisiest of the bunch and consequently doesn't warrant an outright recommendation. If performance-per-pound matters most, it's an obvious choice. If, however, you enjoy silence, there are quieter alternatives.
Scythe's Mugen 2 almost ticks all the right boxes. It cools very well - indeed, better than our other two challengers - and it's finished with a formidable design. Yet, our recommendation must once again be delivered with a few provisos. The Mugen 2 is big and heavy, fiddly to install, and you may consequently struggle to fit it in.
Then there's Xigmatek's Achilles S1284C. We've found that the implementation of HDT. technology is improved, and the cooler's thermal performance is now able to compete with its immediate challengers. It's relatively small, lightweight, and finished with a touch of panache. Unfortunately, it finds itself let down by a lack of out-the-box support for all of the latest CPU sockets - namely LGA1366 for Intel's Core i7.
All three coolers, it seems, are for the most part adequate, but sprinkled with a selection of noteworthy flaws.
HEXUS Ratings
We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
The rating is given in relation to the category the component competes in, therefore the coolers are evaluated with respect to our 'mid-range components' criteria.
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Cooler Master
Hyper N520
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Scythe Mugen 2
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Xigmatek Achilles
S1284C
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HEXUS Where2Buy
The Cooler Master Hyper N520 can be purchased from SCAN.co.uk*
at a cost of £28.16
The Scythe Mugen 2 can be purchased from SCAN.co.uk* at a cost of £37.94
The Xigmatek Achilles S1284C can be purchased from SCAN.co.uk* at a
cost of £36.79
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
