Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler

Submitted by jwhitakr on Tue, 09/27/2011 - 13:40

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler - Review

4.0 Star Rating (4.0 star rating)
Written by: Kirk Jones

Today Cooler Master has released a new version of their popular Hyper 212 cooler that is designed to meet all your budget-conscious CPU cooling needs - the Hyper 212 EVO. With universal socket mounting and a tower-style design height of 158mm, it's not likely to conflict with your motherboard components and shouldn't have trouble fitting in traditional cases. It is even compatible with the upcoming AMD FX series of processors.

Of course, none of this matters if it doesn't perform well. So the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo features 4 Continuous Direct Contact Heat Pipes feeding a 120mm radiator. How will this compare to other CPU cooling options? Let's take a look.

Design

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is a fairly simple design featuring copper heatpipes and aluminum radiator fins with the Cooler Master logo stamped into the middle of them. The cooler itself is perfectly symmetrical and can be mounted in any orientation. One fan is included, and mounting brackets for a second fan are also included. These snap onto the cooler with plastic clips, making fan changing simple. This isn't a particuarly flashy cooler if you're looking for something to show off at a LAN party.

The mounting bracket is proprietary to the cooler, and the backplate must be replaced. As long as your case has an accessible backplate, this is a pretty simple process. They even included a socket adapter to allow you to tighten the nuts with a screwdriver, so no tools aside from the common philips head screwdriver are required. The retention plate on the cooler is truly universal. One rotatable X shaped bracket is included, and it snaps to 2 different positions for AMD / Intel mounting.

GELID Tranquillo rev. 2 CPU Cooler - Box GELID Tranquillo rev. 2 CPU Cooler - Accessories
What's In the Box   Front view

 

Features and Specifications

  • 4 Continuous Direct Contact™ Heatpipes
  • Optional second fan. Brackets included.
  • Wide-range PWM fan with unique blade design.
  • Versatile all-in-one mounting solution for Intel and AMD sockets.
  • Socket Compatibility Intel LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA775 AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1
  • Height 158.5mm
  • Width 116mm (without fan), 120mm (with fan)
  • Depth 51mm (without fan), 77mm (with fan)
  • Weight 465g (without fan), 569g (with fan)
  • Material 4 Copper direct contact heatpipes. Aluminum fins.
  • Heat Pipe Dimensions 06mm
  • Fan specs:
  • Dimensions 120 x 25mm
  • RPM 600-2000 RPM (PWM) +/- 10%
  • Airflow 24.9-82.9 CFM +/- 10%
  • Noise 9-36 dBA
  • Bearing Type Long Life Sleeve
  • Bearing Connector 4-Pin

Installation

Installation was pretty simple. Replacing the backplate was pretty straightforward. If you have an accessible backplate, this takes about 5 minutes to change out. Without an accessible backplate, you will have to remove your motherboard.

On an AMD design it is easier to install without the fan. Fortunately the clip design of the mounting brackets makes them fairly simple to remove, and quite simple to install after mounting the cooler. I think this was easier than the common wire clips, and definitely simpler than screwing the fans directly to the cooler. The screws are already attached the retention plate and spring tensioned, which helps a LOT when you're born without that helpful third hand. The instructions were very detailed with many illustrations of “right” vs “wrong”.

The only complaint I have with the mounting process is that the retention plate is in no way attached to the cooler itself. This is a pretty minor complaint. It simply means you have to hold that in place while attaching the cooler. If you lay your system on its side for installation, gravity will do most of the work here. There is a hole on the cooler base that the joint of the X sits in. I left my machine upright during the installation, and I simply wrapped my hand around the cooler bottom and used one finger to hold it against the base. Once two opposite corners are started, it will pretty well hold itself in place. After installation is complete, simply snap the fan onto the cooler and you are ready to rock.

GELID Tranquillo rev. 2 CPU Cooler - Front view GELID Tranquillo rev. 2 CPU Cooler - Side view
Side view   View of heat pipes

 

Next up is the cooling performance testing and conclusion of the review.

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