Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo Black CPU Cooler

Not gonna lie, I thought this Dual-Fan CPU Air Cooler wasn’t going to fit my PC case at first (got an older Zalman Z11-Plus case), but not only does it fit, but the rainbow-colored lights looks pretty good and it keeps my CPU running cool. I will admit, that it was a little bit frustrating trying to put the screws in place, but it worked!!!!

I purchased this cooler on a build I was doing for a friend. This cooler set up (622 model) is definitely not for the inexperienced or impatient builder! Now that that is cleared up….The instructions are pretty vague at best on this cooler but I have built many PC’s in my time so I was able to wing it. Things to note; you will definitely need extra low profile ram such as the Corsair lpx series like I had to buy because the fan will bottom out with standard profile. Also, when you begin assembling the bracket for the fan on an AMD board you will notice that it seems loose in the stand offs, DON’T WORRY! this is by design and once you fight the cooler screws into place, yes, I said Fight! Everything with snug right up. I didn’t use the thermal paste in the box since I prefer Arctic mx4 for every build and once I got everything up and running I was highly impressed with it’s cooling ability. Without any thermal cycles right out of the gate my idle temps were in the low 30c range with the Ryzen 9 3900x I ran Ryzen master to overclock and stress test and this baby worked like a charm. The argb looks great too!

 Bajaron bastante las temperaturas de mi procesador, si se puede controlar el RGB ya sea que lo conectes directamente al puerto RGB de tu PC o si ya lo estás ocupando con splitter de RGB todo se soluciona, es muy silencioso

This is a MUCH-improved update to the CM Hyper 212. It’s significantly easier to mount (at least for AM4 AMD) and finally uses the stock metal mounting plate instead of a custom mounting bracket and bolt system like the old 212s and puts significantly less pressure on your motherboard as a result. You still do have to apply a fair amount of force to get the screws to start to thread and it’s always a little bit scary to have to bare down on your motherboard but thankfully they bite pretty fast as long as you follow the recommended tightening order. This is a huge improvement over the old board-scarring bolts you had to tighten down and then try to thread.

In terms of performance this is an excellent air cooler for the price you pay; the tower has a smaller footprint than the old 212 so is less likely to have clearance issues with your RAM; it can be installed in half the time; it seems to be about as quiet as the previous models which are nearly silent even at 75% RPM; it’s way less likely to put too much / uneven mounting pressure on your CPU; the ARGB also looks way better than the regular RGB and works well with most ARGB control softwares (I used MSI Mystic Lights, no issues at all).

In terms of performance it dropped my temps under full load in Cinebench R23 from max 63 degrees on the old Hyper 212 Black Ed to just 54 max with a Ryzen 7 5700X. Keep in mind that’s a 65W CPU so it’s easy to cool but at those temps I’d expect some decent room to overclock. The stock Wraith Prism would let my full load temps climb all the way up to the high 70s just to give you an idea.

The tower is also a lot shorter than some so you’re much less likely to have clearance issues with it hitting your case panel than say the Noctua NH-15. Even with the reduced footprint of the tower though you may still need to adjust your fan placement slightly if you plan on populating your first DIMM slot but that’s pretty par for the course for any tower cooler worth having and thankfully that’s very easily done with the fan clips and doesn’t really seem to affect performance at all.

The included Master Cool thermal paste is also a great performer and you get a big enough tube for several applications.

The only real complaints I have are they only include one set of fan clips so you won’t be able to set up a push-pull dual fan config out of the box but there is likely not a lot of performance gain anyway with a tower this thin. I suppose also the tower is just a little high (though much shorter than many aftermarket coolers) and you may need an extra long screwdriver which you might not have on hand and they don’t include in the box so you may want to make sure you have 7″ or longer screwdriver on hand to really get straight down on the screws so you don’t cross thread. Also, as big of an improvement as this is over the old Hyper 212, the hard pressure to get the screws started still is a little nerve-wracking even when you’ve done it before. Not sure how they would fix it but be aware you’ll need to put some force into it to mount.

Overall this is a fantastic air cooler for up to 125W processors if you can get it for around $50, just stay away if the price starts to drift up too much. It’s no AIO and might not be too great for a 5800X & above or the higher end AM5 processors but you’ll never get a good liquid cooler for a sub $100 price and the rad fans will run louder at max load anyway!

The cooler was straightforward to install, with clear instructions and all necessary mounting hardware included. It fits perfectly in my mid-tower case without any issues. Considering the high-quality materials, superb cooling performance, and stunning ARGB features, this cooler is priced very competitively. It offers great value for anyone looking to upgrade their CPU cooling solution without breaking the bank.

Intel CPU cooler that came with the I3-12100F was beyond loud when the CPU was under load. Bought this cooler on sale for under $30 and it is a remarkable difference in both sound and runs 7-10 degrees Celsius cooler. The lights are an added bonus that didn’t really matter to me. Easy to install. Exceeded all expectations.

The fan seems to be doing its job, there is a noticeable temp difference for when the fan is on and when it’s not. Easy to set up, very quiet as well. You can adjust the settings for what temps you want the fan on and to what power. I’m using it to cool the AMD Ryzen 7 5800x which runs pretty hot. So far it’s keeping it in check, even overclocked. Make sure you know which way the fan is facing. You want it to blow out the back of the case. I’m not color coordinating everything in my case, but it runs a rainbow rgb as default.