Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black is a standard looking cooler, similar to the Hyper 212 EVO V2 and Hyper 212 Halo White, which I previously reviewed. We actually covered one model of the series, the Hyper 212 EVO , as far back as 2012. Like all renditions in the past, the Hyper 212 Black utilizes a single tower design with aluminum fins. Cooler Master’s logo can be found in the middle on a plate covering the fins, hiding away the copper heatpipes. This makes for a very clean appearance, especially with the black color scheme. The fan shares a similar color scheme to the heatsink, making for a simple and clean appearance.
This is a single stack 120mm tower, meaning the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black will have similar proportions to other 120mm sized coolers. Being a standard size, it will fit in most mid-tower ATX cases. The fins have little notches on the side to help hook the fan in place. There is a total of fifty fins on the stack. The spacing between the fins is about 2mm, and they are generally evenly spaced out with some variance. When it comes to the actual size, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black is 125mm in length, 74mm in width, and 152mm in height, including the fan. The SickleFlow 120 Edge's 25mm thickness is already included in the width of the heatsink. The Hyper 212 Black weighs 642g including the fan according to my scale. This weight is within range of other 120mm coolers, meaning there will be an average amount of stress on the motherboard.
Taking a look at the side, you can see how the thickness of each fin is constant throughout the entirety of the heatsink. These thin fins are used to keep the cooler light while maximizing surface area. The fins are made out of aluminum likewise to many other coolers. The reason behind most fins being made from aluminum rather than copper is because aluminum is a lighter and cheaper metal. Although copper has better thermal conductivity at 401 W/mK compared to aluminum at 237 W/mK, the trade-off between weight, price, and performance is typically not worth it for a budget model, as the gain in weight and price is much higher than the gain in performance.
Moving on, the material used to build the heatsink is not the only factor in lowering temperatures, but the fan used is another essential aspect of this cooling solution. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black uses a SickleFlow 120 Edge. The maximum rated airflow of the SickleFlow 120 Edge is 70.7 CFM and the maximum rated air pressure is 3.61 mmH2O. Note that CFM stands for cubic feet per minute. On paper, the CFM does not seem high, but let us see how this fan will actually perform in the testing performance on the next page.
In regard to the noise level, the SickleFlow 120 Edge is specified at 32.8 dBA at the loudest, which is acceptable. Cooler Master actually uses loop dynamic bearings in these fans, which is different from the Hyper 212 predecessors. These bearings are similar to regular fluid bearings, but have a system Cooler Master calls Oil Reflow to help the oil flow continuously and keep the lubrication more constant. This achieves an increased life span and keeps the noise levels low. Regarding RAM clearance, there were no issues during installation as I was able to install the fan with all sticks of RAM installed. You will not need to worry about clearance between the heatsink and the motherboard either.
Looking at the base of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black, the base uses a direct contact heatpipe design. The heatpipes are not electroplated with nickel, potentially allowing them to oxidize over time. I personally would have preferred to have the heatpipes electroplated with nickel, as it will protect against oxidization. Nickel is highly resistant to corrosion, making it perfect for sustaining copper surfaces. I also personally prefer the shiny silver look over the look of copper. That said, the lack of electroplated nickel simplifies the manufacturing process to lower the cost, which is justifiable as the Hyper 212 Black is a budget option. The Hyper 212 Black comes with a tube of CryoFuze thermal paste, aiding with the transfer of heat from the CPU to the rest of the cooler. All four continuous heatpipes are soldered to the base. The fins are also attached to the heatpipes quite firmly. The whole build is overall pretty decent.
For the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black, the orientation of the heatpipes is parallel with the fan mounting surface of the heatsink. The heatpipes are staggered throughout the radiator fins. The layout of the heatpipes of the Hyper 212 Black is used to optimally dissipate heat. The fins attach to the heatsink by the included fan clips. The process of removing and reattaching the fan was quite simple.
The installation of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black was fairly simple. The manual fairly simple to follow along and somewhat necessary in understanding which clips to use for each processor. The installation process is fairly standard after screwing the mounting clips into the heatsink. For AMD, you will use the stock backplate. This method is good, as the installation process is very linear and simple given you can screw the cooler onto the backplate directly.
After placing the backplate in place and installing the mounting clips to the heatsink, you will be ready to install the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black. There are several ways to install the brackets, as the cooler is compatible with both AM4, AM5, and LGA socket CPUs. The fan must be installed after the heatsink in all cases, as the fan will get in the way of screwing down the heatsink. I experienced no issues with RAM clearance.
Overall, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black is made quite well. As mentioned earlier, the top fin has a plate to protect the top of the heatsink from bending. The installation process was extremely simple, as you can simply install the mounting clips to the heatsink, then screw it down to the stock backplate. The overall experience was quite good with the linear and simple process. Now, we can continue to the part that really matters, the cooling performance. Let us take a look at the results on the next page.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
