Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus

Jan 28th, 2010 | By Jared

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Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus


Date
: 01/28/10 – 04:09:33 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling


Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Cooler Master

We know Cooler Master as the maker of some of our favorite cases and other hardware here at Overclockers Online. Today they return to our lab today with a new and improved version of one of their previous CPU coolers.

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As the name suggests the Hyper 212 Plus builds upon the original Hyper 212 bringing compatibility for the latest Intel sockets along with some performance related improvements. Follow along as we find out if the improvements make the Hyper 212 Plus a contender.

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Page 2 : Package and Accessories

By now we are all familiar with the purple and white color scheme from Cooler Master that makes their company easily recognizable. The front of the package features an image of the cooler and prominently displays the compatibility with the latest sockets from AMD and Intel. The backside shows some features and gives you a few small pictures and diagrams.

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The sides of the package list out the specifications and point you to the Cooler Master website if you want further information about the cooler.

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Inside the box the Hyper 212 Plus and accessories are protected inside a plastic shell

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Accessories include a user manual, warranty statement, extra fan clips, universal mounting hardware and a small tube of thermal grease.

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Page 3 : Features and Specifications

I grabbed the specifications straight from Cooler Master's product page here.

Features:

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Specifications:

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Page 4 : The Heatsink

Once the Hyper 212 Plus is removed, at first glance it looks like a lot of tower style heatsinks on the market. With the fan removed you get a clearer view of the copper heatpipes.

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From the side the heatsink shows a clear path through and the plastic fan clips are one of my favorite parts of the Hyper 212 Plus. Much easier to take on and off than the wire clips used on most tower style heatsinks.

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You can see the four heatpipes poking up through the top. The Cooler Master name is imprinted on the top.

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The bottom is where we see the biggest change in things in what Cooler Master calls Direct Contact heatpipes. With this method the heat should transfer much more efficiently since there is no additional material that needs to transfer heat in between the heatpipes and the CPU. Next we'll see how the installation process goes for the Hyper 212 Plus.

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Page 5 : Installation

First off I'll say that the installation instructions are somewhat hard to follow as certain holes go with certain sockets. However, it's not difficult to figure out with the backplate as they line right up.

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The retention bracket that holds the heatsink down has to be oriented a certain way, so it is best to do a dry run of sorts before adding any thermal material to make sure you have it situated right.

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You can expect to probably use a little more of your favorite thermal material due to the gaps that are located on the each side of the Direct Contact Heatpipes (dark gray areas).

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As you can see the Hyper 212 Plus comes close to the northbridge heatsink on this P35-DS3R board. Of course if there was an issue with fitment in that orientation you can easily move the fan to the other side or even rotate the entire heatsink around.

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Here is a shot from a little farther back on the Biostar TPower I45 to show you the size.

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Now let's fire things up to see how the Hyper 212 Plus performs.


Page 6 : Testing

The following system was installed and used to gather temperatures:

CPU: Intel E8400
MB: Biostar TPower I45
RAM: G.Skill PI Black PC6400
Video: XFX HD4890 1GB
PSU: Ultra X3 1000W
HD: WD 80GB SATA
DVD-Rom: Lite-On 18x DVD Burner – SATA
OS: Microsoft Windows XP w SP3
Ambient Temperature: 22-24C

Comparison Coolers:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus

Stock Intel HSF
Zalman CNPS9900LED

For idle temperatures, the system was allowed to stand at idle for 3 hours before temperatures were taken. To achieve load temps, two instances of Orthos blend were run for three hours and the average peak temperature was recorded. Voltage readings were taken from the BIOS and temperature readings were taken using Everest Ultimate.

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Under stock settings on the E8400, the Hyper 212 Plus matches the performance of the Zalman CNPS9900LED. Right out of the gate I am impressed with the performance.

Next I upped the voltage a little to 1.28v to see how the Hyper 212 Plus fares with a little more heat.

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Here we see identical results as we did under stock settings, the Hyper 212 Plus matches the performance of the larger and pricier Zalman CNPS9900LED.

Now all of the testing was done with the fans set on high and while different people will have different opinions on noise, I didn't find the Hyper 212 Plus to be bothersome. The good thing is that you also easily have the option to swap out the stock fan with your own or adjust the PWM settings.


Page 7 : Conclusion

Whenever I see a product that uses the same name but has a 'plus' or a 'II' used, I usually assume there are some minor changes made to the original. This really isn't the case with the Hyper 212 Plus, as the changes made are rather substantial. Performance of the Hyper 212 Plus is quite impressive and I think a lot of it has to do with the Direct Contact heatpipes and the ability out of the box to add an additional fan should satisfy enthusiasts as well. Add in the fact that a universal mounting system supports all of the latest sockets from both camps and can be currently found for around $40 US makes the Hyper 212 Plus look even better.

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If there is anything that I could say as a disadvantage about the Hyper 212 Plus is the installation instructions, they are just not very clear and could be confusing to someone new to hardware tinkering. Quite honestly this is a small complaint as it isn't too difficult to figure out and is really simple once you do.

When I received the Hyper 212 Plus I really was not all that enthused due to its rather uninspiring packaging and rather plain looks. Those feelings quickly disappeared once the Hyper 212 Plus was installed and I saw its performance. If you are looking at getting great cooling at a low cost the Hyper 212 Plus is well worth a look.

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Advantages

  • Good performance

  • AMD and Intel Compatibility
  • Brackets for second fan

Disadvantages

  • Instructions/installation not very clear

Overclockers Online would like to thank Cooler Master for supplying the Hyper 212 Plus for review.

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