Hyper 212+ Hardware Review

Before I purchase anything on the internet I like to read a ton of reviews first. Hopefully the other unsung heroes of internet consumerism shop the same way. If so then maybe this review will help you in your decision to purchase Cooler Master's Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler.

This unit is a boss hog compared to the stock cooling that came with my Intel Core i7 920. At first I was reaching the point of no return in temperatures. My chip should have fried but it was made of strong stuff. I like the Cooler Master brand a lot but it's not why I purchased this CPU cooler. I wanted to get something on my processor that was going to be air cooled and light on my budget. This thing is $29.99 from TigerDirect.com. Considering that it lowered my CPU temperature from high 60's Celcius to high 50's (and after HOURS of high end play low 60's) Celcius that is a damn good deal.

You're basically paying $3 per Celcius which is almost a dollar per Fahrenheit. Ok, so maybe I don't know my conversions but I do know that it's probably the most bang for your buck and especially at such a low cost. There are sites that allow you to map out cost per cooling and if I remember correctly this one was leading the pack by a long shot.

I am putting this unit in a HAF932 case so it has a leg up in air flow over the competition already. I mounted it to the ASUS P6T Deluxe (v2) motherboard. The processor it was cooling was a Intel Core i7 920. It has dedicated heat pipes and plenty of fins for heat dissipation. The thing is definitely massive ( 120 x 79.7 x 158.5 mm ) and it supports more than 1 fan if you want to set up a push/pull. I personally passed on the push pull because it meant I would have to remove my Northbridge fan/heatsink.

Assembly was very involved and I would not recommend purchasing this aftermarket if you have no clue at all how to install a processor or processor heatsink. Thank god that there was a rear access port on the HAF932 case for installing aftermarket CPU Coolers. I complained about not having a motherboard tray but the only time I needed one was during the initial setup and installation. After that the only time it would have been nice is when I installed this unit. Because the rear access was there I found myself cursing CoolerMaster a whole hell of a lot less than I normally would have. You may not have gotten that HAF case perfect but you got damn near.

I really can't blow the whistle loud enough in trying to get your attention turned to this Hyper 212. It lowered my CPU temp more than MOST water cooling alternatives. This 29$ piece of hardware out performed $200 coolers. That's something worth bringing to light.