Scythe Kabuto 3 CPU Cooler Review

Installation
We will be installing the Kabuto 3 in our Intel Z97 system. When I first took the mounting hardware out of the box I was not happy to see the plastic push-pin system. This is the same type of mounting system Intel uses on their stock coolers and I am not a fan of it at all. Being plastic the pins can be easily broken and I just don’t like the idea of something plastic securing a cooler that is cooling my CPU. Scythe likely is using this design to make it easier for users who are used to the Intel mounting system. Because they are using this mounting system for Intel this cooler is not compatible with LGA2011 and LGA2011v3 sockets.

To start off installation find the Intel clips and the mounting bar. Install one of the Intel clips to the mounting bar like you see in the photo below.

Scythe Kabuto 3 CPU Cooler

Now take the mounting bar with the single attached Intel clip and slide it through the bottom of the cooler lining it up with the grooves in the base of the cooler. Once you have it in there attach the second Intel clip. Your cooler should look like this when you are done.

Scythe Kabuto 3 CPU Cooler

No go ahead and apply your thermal paste, and place the cooler on your CPU lining up the clips with the holes in your motherboard. Now press down each clip so they “click” and lock into place securing the cooler. It is a bit tight under the cooler, which makes it a little hard to press the clips down. I was however able to install this cooler in my system with the motherboard in the case. I just had to remove my graphics card to get to the bottom two clips. If you are having troubles with installation I would suggest removing your motherboard from your case to complete installation.

Scythe Kabuto 3 CPU Cooler

You can see I installed the cooler with the heatpipes coming out of the right side. You can install the cooler either way. This way shows you that the heatpipes do not cause any issues with our memory. Even the other way the heatsink would go over our memory and not cause an issue.

Scythe Kabuto 3 CPU Cooler

About Author