Scythe really did a phenomenal job on the Shuriken 2 as this ultra-compact cooler manages to just barely edge out both the Cryorig C7 and C7 Cu along with the SilverStone AR11. While its margin of victory is so minimal I would consider it within margin of the error, it still held a slight lead of about 1°C. Even so, it managed that level of performance while being 4–5 dBA quieter. In terms of performance and noise levels, the other Mini-ITX coolers just cannot compete. The Shuriken 2 is, without a doubt, one of the best-performing coolers of this size.

While it adds cost and I don't consider it an effective option, you can squeeze some more performance out of the Shuriken 2 by swapping to a standard 25 mm thick fan. As noted in the charts, doing so dropped temperatures by about 2°C, but this improvement came at the expense of a bit more noise, which crept up 2 dBA for a maximum of 45 dBA. That said, Scythe is one of a few companies offering a 92 mm RGB fan, so you could opt for their Kaze Flex 92 mm RGB fan and get a slight improvement in performance along with the RGB lighting. But again, I don't see swapping the fan as a truly valid option unless you're desperate, be it for more performance or RGB lighting.

In regards to the cooler's build quality, I can say it is quite good. I found no bent fins or other truly troublesome issues with only some very faint machining marks on the base, which is me being picky. But even then, they are not as noticeable as on numerous other coolers, not to mention that the nearly mirror-finished base does a good job hiding these marks. Thus, overall fit and finish of the cooler is certainly not an area of concern, and neither is the mounting system as Scythe stuck with their H.P.M.S. III mounting hardware, which makes for a very quick and painless install.

Overall, if a small form factor system is what you desire and you are not looking for some absurd overclocks, the Scythe Shuriken 2 is a great option. Not only does it deliver top-tier performance in its class, but it does so while being nearly silent as well.