Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK Review

Introduction to the features of the Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK

He Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK It is a conventional tower design cooler with a fairly compact size and therefore easy to install in almost any computer, including many with low cubic capacity. It has the advantage of being easy to install, it offers a very suitable performance for mid-range processors, and it doesn’t give any assembly problems when it comes to leaving space for other components such as graphics cards or memory.

Its tower design has evolved with each generation, in this variant we see higher quality finishes and two anodizing and enamel treatments, on the one hand, the black version that we tested today and another white variant, the two fashionable colors for custom mounts. Cooler Master also takes the opportunity to assemble one of its most cutting-edge fans with a very striking lighting system and a careful motor and blade design.

Technical characteristics of the Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK

• Dimensions: 124 x 73 x 154mm
• Materials: aluminum and copper
• Weight: 500 grams with fan
• Supported Intel Sockets: LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1150, LGA1155, LGA1156
• Supported AMD sockets: AM4 and AM5
• TDP Design: Processors up to 170w TDP
• Fan: 1x MASTERFAN MF120 HALO²
• Maximum fan rotation (120mm): 2050rpm
• Minimum fan rotation: 650rpm
• Noise levels: 15-28 dBA
• Fan connection: PWM 4 pin
• Input current: 0.28A
• Supported voltages: 12v

Technical specifications of the Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK

He Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK It is a conventional compact tower-shaped heatsink with light dimensions of 124x73x153mm (with the fan installed) and a weight of 500 grams with the fan. It consists of a main aluminum tower that is fed from a contact base formed by four direct contact copper heatpipes. A very simple and effective design in a slim cooler that is easy to mount in any environment.

The tower design allows you to mount up to two 120mm fans, they come with all the necessary braces for their installation and Cooler Master sells the necessary fan separately, although we could install any other without further problem. With a single fan, it can take care, with adequate sound behavior, of cooling a processor of up to 170W without further problem. This includes the latest Intel and AMD processors including Ryzen 7000 and 13th generation Intel Core, plus anything older.

Precisely Cooler Master has redesigned the anchoring system to maintain compatibility with old and modern processors, making it easier to mount on any of them. In fact, in our tests I have taken advantage of this heatsink to give some spectacularity and improve the noise of one of my most compact computers based on an open ITX case.

Its compact design, barely 2mm longer than the fan itself on each side, makes it especially effective in compact assemblies and its price, quite adequate, allows us to enjoy all its features for a price of around 45 euros. Now let’s get into the details.

Like any other tower design heatsink, this Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK It is made up of a main body that acts as a radiator made up of aluminum sheets connected to each other by four heatpipes that start at the base of contact with the processor. It is a very effective design that quickly transports heat from the processor, allows contact with the processor to be removed in height, and can have large fans that improve ventilation.

Cooler Master uses in this series a design of four copper heatpipes that make direct contact with the processor through a process of recessing the heatpipe wall in the area of ​​contact with the processor. This design allows, despite having a zone of irregular contact, a very effective heat transport between the processor and the radiation zone of the aluminum main body.

The base has a universal docking design that allows Cooler Master to offer compatibility with sockets: LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1151, LGA1150, LGA1155, LGA1156 from Intel and AM5, AM4 from AMD. This includes all processors from the last 10 years.

In this edition, even within the most economical range of the brand, Cooler Master has worked a lot on the finishes with a black anodizing for the entire aluminum dissipation block and an enamel treatment also in black for the heatpipes. The heatsink is finished off with a cover, also made of aluminum, with the Cooler Master logo that perfectly hides the terminations of the heatpipes. We can find a similar version, completely in white, including the fan that comes as standard.

Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK MF120 HALO² fan

Cooler master includes in the Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK one of their most recent fans designed both to be mounted as a case fan as a fan for conventional heatsinks like this one or also for radiators in all-in-one liquid cooling systems.

It is a fan that greatly enhances the quality of ARGB Gen2 lighting (also compatible with Gen1) with a double loop system with two rings that can be perfectly seen in both inlet and outlet mounts and that expand the lighting capacity of the fan. up to 50% compared to previous generations.

The blades also have a powerful LED system and have been enlarged in size to improve airflow and static pressure at low revs. The blades are also finished in a diffusing material to enhance the hue of the fan lighting.

The motor has a rifle-type bearing system with up to 160,000 hours of operation without failures and has a wide operating frequency range, specifically between 650 and 2000rpm, which allows us to perfectly regulate its operation to achieve the best balance. between performance and noise. Motor control is via a PWM connector and the lighting has its own 3-pin 5v ARGB connector. Cooler Master has also improved its controller IC affecting both motor and lighting operation.

Cooler Master has also redesigned the frame, reducing its size, and maintaining both front and rear anti-vibration protections. This allows the size of the seven blades that make up the rotor to be increased by up to 10%. This improves airflow by 10%, static pressure by 50% and reduces noise by 10% with a maximum of 27dBA according to the manufacturer’s own data.

The rotor has a working frequency between 650 and 2050 and 5-12v. It consumes a maximum of 3.4W and generates up to 52CFM of airflow at its maximum frequency. Static pressure also reaches 2.9mm-h2O at its 2050rpm max frequency. These are interesting data for a 120mm fan, with an average and adequate behavior for its maximum rotation speed.

The objective, without a doubt, is to achieve quality results while maintaining a low noise level that allows this set to work pleasantly and effectively with mid-range processors.

Assembly of the Cooler Master HYPER 212 HALO BLACK

Cooler Master has changed its anchoring system, especially for Intel processors, with a preconfigured socket backplate that can be quickly adapted to any Intel LGA15xx and 17xx socket by simply moving the screws on the base. Then it is enough to choose the anchor plates, place them in the holes in the base of the heatsink and screw everything in place. We can take less than 5 minutes to assemble it.

The set, including the fan, takes up little space, so it is very rare that we find a motherboard, even in ITX formats, that does not allow us to mount this heatsink and its memory fan with an oversized heatsink. It is very compact, but despite its size it offers a very balanced performance. In AMD processors we can use the anchor plate of the motherboard itself, that makes things even easier.

Noise, temperature and results

Within the limitations of its size and its fan configuration, the truth is that this heatsink is one of the best we have tested in this size. It equals the best in performance and the noise is somewhat lower than direct models of its competition such as the NZXT T120 that we tested just a few months ago.

It has the virtue of achieving these good results with very low noise levels. Cooler Master specifies around 27dBA for this fan, we have detected something more in our tests, close to 32dBA, but it is certainly quieter than other competitive coolers.

The best thing is that it has sleep modes, with rotation speeds of 650rpm and very light noise, below 25dBA, which allows us to enjoy completely silent computing. Combined with a modern graphics, with fan stop, we can have almost zero levels of noise at rest with mid-range processors, around 130W of consumption.

Testing machine:

Noise

heatsink temperature

Processor temperature

fan frequency

Analysis and conclusion

With high quality finishes, and a fan with surprising light output, this new edition of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 series achieves new levels of finishes while maintaining the essence of the series, with controlled prices, reduced noise and adequate performance for processors. mid-range.

Cooler Master has also improved its anchoring system, now preconfigured, achieving fast and safe mounting on all types of processors. It is compatible with any recent processor and is perfect for those mid-ranges from AMD and Intel that give such good results with their moderate consumption. It is also a good option to silence any slightly older computer where we want to enjoy the advantages of heatsinks armed with the latest generation fans.

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