Final Thoughts on the Scythe Shuriken 3 CPU Cooler
A cooler like the Scythe Shuriken 3 is really designed for a small form factor system. Not just any small form factor system either, but a very, very small one. I would say something under 13-liters in volume like the Fractal Design Terra. Small cases like this really do not offer much room, especially vertical room for cooling solutions and that is where the Shuriken 3 shines. It is only 39mm tall, which means it is going to be even smaller than most all-in-one liquid CPU coolers pump blocks. On top of that you do not have any parts that are going to say overhang your memory, M.2 heatsinks, or VRM heatsinks.
Being so small does mean that you do sacrifice performance. While this cooler did keep our Ryzen 5 9600X under its max operating temperature, I wouldn’t suggest it for anything over a 5-class processor from either AMD or Intel. The performance just is not there. Now Scythe does provide screws so you can mount a 25mm fan on the cooler instead of the included 16mm fan.
Installation of this cooler is quite easy and I can see anyone installing this cooler with their motherboard mounted inside their system as long as they have access to the rear of their motherboard. I would have liked to have seen the thermal paste come in a syringe rather than a packet though.
Right now you can pick this cooler up at our favorite online retailer for $39.99. If you are limited on space this cooler is definitely one of the smallest coolers out there, but if you moved up to something slightly larger you would see better performance. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Scythe Shuriken 3 CPU cooler a 7 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– One of the smallest coolers out there
– Easy installation
– Comes with screws for a 25mm fan
– Fan is pretty quiet
Cons:
– Just passable performance on a Ryzen 5 9600X
– Thermal paste comes in a packet rather than a syringe
