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Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R1)

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#1 ·
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R1)

Description:
Cooler Master, an industry leading chassis, thermal solution, peripheral, and accessory manufacturer, signals the rebirth of a household name in computing, the Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler. It comes packed with an improved tower fin design, heat pipe layout, and upgraded fans and fan brackets that provide an even more extreme value for end-users of all types.

Details:
DetailValue
BindingPersonal Computers
BrandCooler Master
EAN0884102012921
FeatureVersatile all-in-one mounting solution supporting the latest Intel LGA 1366 /1155 and AMD FM1 / AM3+.
Height3.5 inches
Length6.2 inches
Weight1.3 pounds
Width9 inches
LabelCooler Master
List Price$34.99
ManufacturerCooler Master
ModelRR-212E-20PK-R1
MPNRR-212E-20PK-R1
Package Quantity1
Product GroupCE
Product Type NameCOMPUTER_COOLING_DEVICE
PublisherCooler Master
SKUDH-RR212E20PKR1
StudioCooler Master
TitleCooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R1)
UPC884102012921
Warranty12 months
 

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#2 ·
GREAT

review by akbisw

To be honest, say no to water cooling. I can probably push my cpu to 5ghz and I will be excited to do so. You do not need water cooling for this kind of overclock. For the price it is the best thing money can buy
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K. Temps is as follows:
Idle: load(After playing BF3 @4.2GHz)
31C 54C
28C 53C
30C 54C
32C 55C

ProsCons
It is QUIET. I hear nothing at all. 4.7ghz 2500Krather large. But for my case its perfect

Ratings
Overall5
 
#8 ·
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

review by snipekill2445

This is a very good cooler from Cooler Master, it's is priced remarkably well and performs very well.

This cooler is pretty straight forward. It has 4 direct touch copper heatpipes that aids greatly in moving heat from the processor to the heatsink fins. The fin count is a rough medium so slightly higher speed static pressure oriented fans will likely be best. Using low speed fans however is fine too.

Mounting the cooler was somewhat straight forward. Having used other Cooler master coolers in the past, I've grown accustomed to their general mounting procedure. However if this is the first Cooler master product you've used it can be tricky to do alone so you may want an extra pair of hands to help. The instructions are fairly clear and useful and definitely aid in mounting the cooler. Cooler master use all in one mounting hardware for both AMD and Intel sockets. It also ships with Intel LGA 2011 mounting hardware as well. It comes with a single pwm 120mm fan and includes necessary clips to mount a secondary 120mm fan for a push/pull configuration.

The cooler is fairly tall so it may not fit in every thinner case out there, but should have no trouble inside higher end mid towers and full tower cases. Depending on your motherboard having a fan installed on the DIMM side of the motherboard may interfere with memory with tall heatsinks. I found with both fans installed and mounted to my P8Z77 motherboard that there was no clearance issues for the memory, as the fan didn't protrude over and of the DIMM slots.

The cooler performs very well, and is among the best for the price range. Running it in push/pull helped performance alot, and allowed for lower fan speed and less overall noise.
It was capable of keeping my 3570k cool at 4.5ghz, although I'm sure on processors that aren't restricted by their IHS cooling, this cooler could achieve even higher speeds while maintaining acceptable temperatures. Very cool stuff.

I had a small problem with the included fan, running far too low a speed, I'm not sure if this was to do with the fan or user error.

Overall I am very impressed with this cooler. It offers excellent cooling performance at a tidy price.





ProsCons
Excellent Cooling, Very well pricedCan be confusing to install

Ratings
Overall4
 
#9 ·
Great budget cooler

review by stalwart

i5-2500K running @ 4.5Ghz with ease.
Stress-tested for 8 hours using Prime95.

Idles @ 20C
Full load @ 55C

It runs cool and relatively silent. Make sure you have a full tower to be certain it fits. If you've been thinking of buying the 212 Evo, stop hesitating. It costs less half the price of the higher-end coolers and is worth every dollar.
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ProsCons
inexpensive, cools the CPU effectivelyinstructions could be more detailed

Ratings
Overall5
 
#10 ·
Build quality resulted in inferior mounting of this HSF

review by castaa

I was initially excited by the reviews this EVO CPU cooler was receiving. One of the best CPU coolers for the price on the market. Sadly, when I received my cooler, I was met with multiple issues upon installation with my AMD Socket AM3+ motherboard.

NEGATIVES:

First, this model does not use the standard retention harness for AMD CPUs. The installation of this cooler required me to completely disassemble and remove my motherboard from my computer case to install a back plate on the bottom side of the motherboard. A two hour process to disassemble, install the cooler and reassemble my computer. Where if Cooler Master had simply used the standard AMD harness it would have taken about all of 5 minutes to install.

Upon having to remove the standard mount points on my motherboard and installing the back plate, I then discovered that the top half the retention harness bracket screws did not line up exactly with the back plate screw holes. I tried adjusting the screw holes on the back plate but there wasn't enough give to properly align the screw holes. Meaning the quality control of the retention harness was not exacting enough. As a result of this, after much effort, only 3 of the cooler's 4 screws are threaded properly into their screw sockets. The 4th is so off that even after applying great force the final screw will not line up to be fully screwed in. Thus the cooler is not applying as much down force onto the CPU's surface as designed, for what I can only surmise as giving me non-optimal cooling due to inferior Cooler Master quality control of its parts.

POSITIVES:

The cooler's installation instructions were clear and helpful. My overclocked quad-core AMD Phenom II X4 955 CPU runs at least 8-10C cooler at full load compared to my previous older Arctic Freezer 64 Pro cooler. Though I can't help but wonder how much better the cooling would be if the cooler was mounted 100% properly. Included with this cooler are additional anti-vibration rubber feet, installation brackets for a second 120mm fan in push-pull configuration (which I am using) and a small tube of CPU thermal paste. Though absent is a power splitter cable so that both CPU cooler fans can utilize a motherboard's temperature based dynamic fan RPM control via the same CPU fan power header.

ProsCons
Good cooling for the price, extra fan brackets includedI couldn't mount the HSF 100% properly due to bad part

Ratings
Overall2
 
#11 ·
Build quality resulted in inferior mounting of this HSF

review by castaa
You must have done something wrong, i have installed this cooler many MANY time's and its easy to instal on intel and AMD sockets IMO.

That you have to remove your motherboard from the case to instal a backplate is very common with cpu coolers and its also better then Intels and AMD's standard frame's.

I would give this cooler a 4 or 5 flame rating myself
 
#17 ·
Great Heat Sink

review by boxwunder13

This Heat Sink is cooling my 965 BE @ 3.8mhz w/ 1.51v under 58C at 100% load in Prime95. It idles between 30-36C depending on how high I have the fans turned up. I have a push/pull configuration on it, which in my opinion, is the only way to go. The fans are just simple blue LED Cooler Master fans, but I am sure with better fans I would be able to drop at least another 2C all around. I would recommend this Heat Sink to anyone. It is inexpensive and extremely efficient, what is there to dislike?

ProsCons
Easy to install, Cools well, inexpensiveFan that comes with it is mediocre

Ratings
Overall4
 
#22 ·
Overal amazing

review by narwhal_revenge

I WOULD recommend this to many of my friends

ProsCons
Cheap and efficient. keeps my CPU coolCan be loud at times and was a pain to get in

Ratings
Overall4
 
#24 ·
Great cooler when installed, but impossible to install

review by rabidz7

After spending 3.5 hours trying to put the cooler on an AMD 8150 I gave up and used the stock one. This had over 35 screws and 2 backplates.

I gave the cooler to a friend, the friend replied and said the cooler was great.

ProsCons
Great cooler, looks goodIncredibly difficult to put on CPU

Ratings
Overall2
 
#25 ·
Great cooler when installed, but impossible to install

review by rabidz7
Did you read the directions? it is pretty easy to put on the CPU.....
 
#33 ·
Performance is very surprising.

review by rainbowpee

Got my 3570k to 4.5 Ghz with 1.2 V. It only peaks at high 60^oC on Prime95.

Get it if you want something the actually works. Easy to install too, the idiots that don't know how to install it can't read the manual and have no logic.

ProsCons
Keeps my CPU cool.I don't know, it's mediocre.

Ratings
Overall4
 
#34 ·
Great for the money

review by aldyer

All in all great cooler for the money and has always worked reliably. Excellent for a backup cooling system or for low-cost budget computers, while still being able to overclock.

ProsCons
Cools effectively for its price, low price, easy installation, reliableMight be hard for some people to keep it steady while installing, isn't quite as good as the best and more expensive coolers

Ratings
Overall4
 
#35 ·
It was great I replaced my stock cooler,

review by junhawng

I honestly love this cooler, but I think I'm gonna move on to another one soon, it just looks... A bit to bland compared to other flaming red (literally) coolers on the market.

ProsCons
It cools great lets me overclock my 8320. I was also on a budget!Its a bit big and sometimes a bit too hard to install. Heat sink + fan might be to thick so make sure to get low clearance ram!

Ratings
Overall4
 
#38 ·
Nothing Better, but a little tricky installation w/ 2011 socket

review by oliver1234

This is a great cooler. Keep a 3820 for me at an idle 29 C., and at load never got over 47 C. It is average size for a single tower air cooler of it's type. The fan is sightly transparent, and moves a lot of air with little noise. I installed it in the LGA 2011 socket, and it took me a while to realize that I wasn't suppose to use the back-plate that came with the EVO, which would explain why it didn't fit, and that I was supposed to use the back-plate included on my motherboard. Once I had that concept, the bracket that the cooler is clamped on with wouldn't reach the screw holes on the motherboard which again stumped me for a while. Eventually I realized that you had to pull the screws out through the bracket, and then they would reach. After the installation was done, everything was fine from there. I would recommend this product to an 1155 user, but would warn the 2011 user that installation takes a little time and frustration.

ProsCons
Keeps CPU cool, low noise, unbelievable price, fits in most cases (no pun intended)A little big, Heavy, tricky insallation, fairly unclear instructions

Ratings
Overall4
 
#39 ·
Solid performer/Excellent value for the money!

review by roaches

This was my first aftermarket heatsink on my primary rig. I've owned this little monsta for about 6 months now and I loved it, even though its no longer installed in my main rig. Paired with my i5-3570K it did a good job at keeping temps at bay at 4.0Ghz and above. Now retired from my Intel rig, it now resides on my AMD HTPC, replacing its smaller CM TX3 cousin and still does a good job at preventing housefires.

Installation was a breeze for both 1155 sockets and AM3, the manual was very straight forward from the images that I didn't even had to read it. Comes with a sturdy backplate and spring loaded mounting bracket with extra plastic fan clips for a optional second fan installation. The kit also comes with its own thermal paste that seems to be on par with some good TIM such as MX-2 on temperature ratings. maintenance is hassle free as its easy to take fans off for dusting or remove the entire heatsink for deep cleaning with water, etc.

If someone is looking for a good cooler with little money to burn, This heatsink would be the first I'd recommend.
thumb.gif

Just make sure your case can fit it as It can be a tad too tall for some Micro-ATX cases to fit in since its about 160mm tall.

ProsCons
Silent, Powerful, Prevents Housefires from overclocking, very very easy to install.Can be too tall to fit in some cases (mATX cases), No retail provisions for a second stock fan unless buying from OEM CMstore.

Ratings
Overall5
 
#40 ·
Better than I expected!

review by chooofoojoo

Bought 4 of these to be used as temporary coolers for my 4p Opteron 6386 SE build. Figured they'd do alright at keeping the 140w TDP chips in line at stock 2.8GHz speeds. Eventual plan was to go water, and clock the chips up to their 3.2GHz turbo.

Was I ever pleasantly surprised! These coolers were not only more than able to cope with the heat of the beastly chips folding 24/7, they could even handle them at 3.2!

The included fan is actually quite a nice unit, with ample flow, great static pressure, and an agreeable noise output. I picked up some more of the same fan to do push-pull config, however they really didn't perform any better, just noisier. One fan seems to do just alright!

I'll likely hold on to these and use them in various 'small' builds over the years where a simple and effective cooler is just what the doctor ordered!
thumb.gif


ProsCons
Quiet, compact, good cooling 'capacity', excellent mounting mechanism.Poor included TIM, but who uses that anyways?

Ratings
Overall4
 
#41 ·
Bad mount, Bad hardware, OK heatsink, Bad fan, MOSTLY BAD

review by dmfree88

I have never seen so much hype over a cooler that is so horrible. Somehow cooler master convinced everyone this thing was awesome when in reality its BAD!

The only thing it had going for it is the fan looks cool and the price tag is nice, this alone can make a decent buy for a budget build on a lower end processor to overclock.

Although I didn't expect massive results I was hoping for a little better then I got. Was able to overclock my 8350 to 4.3ghz 100% stable. Could push 4.4-4.5ghz but wasn't able to get good temps and 100% stable. So not able to get alot out of higher powered processor, I have heard from many with i5 and i7 processors with the same issue, the 212 just doesn't cut it anymore.

Although its not extremely loud the fan gets louder then both my noctua fans combined and now after about 6 months has started to make a slight grind/click type noise which is hardly noticeable but irritating to me. I have also learned that upgrading the fan would be useless as many have tried and seen minimal improvements. Due to the fact that the fins are spaced so far apart in order to use a low pressure "quiet" cheap fan. an upgrade cant cool any faster then the heatsink can dissipate

The worst part about this whole thing is the mounting system. Not only was it abnormally difficult but the hardware is crap, even the backing plate is thinner then the stock amd plate. Just all around nothing special. But worst thing is when all said and done no matter how tight or which way you do it the heatsink rotates. Not alot but just enough to cause friction which no matter what anyone says is not good for thermal paste, especially as it starts to dry out. Ontop of that everytime you put the fan on or take it off it makes you rotate it back and forth like 5 times. It seems like it would be easy to put on and take off the fan but it was suprisingly difficult. Also the ram clearance is not very good either, Noctua NH-D14 has much better ram clearance which didn't seem right to me.

For a cheap overclock on something like a phenom or a i3/i5 processor this may be the way to go (if your desperate), but if your looking to seriously overclock at all or plan on pushing a i7 or fx processor then id highly recommend getting a double tower cooler, or even a better single tower option quality wise I am sure you can find something. There is nothing special about this cooler, dont let the hype fool you.

Also the reality is with all the people who get i5 processors to 4.5ghz no problem is that almost any decent upgraded heatsink would have done this. Just because its significantly better then stock doesnt make it a great heatsink. You can get any similar sized heatsink with better quality parts that will perform similar. Theres absolutely nothing here special, they managed to part together a bunch of mediocre parts that managed to have decent results. Just because the results are decent doesn't make it a good heatsink. There are better options out there. Again dont let the hype fool you!
thumb.gif


ProsCons
Cheap, Decent heatsinkLoud weak fan, mounting hardware is BAD, heatsink could have had tighter fins to benefit from a fan upgrade

Ratings
Overall2
 
#42 ·
Bad mount, Bad hardware, OK heatsink, Bad fan, MOSTLY BAD

review by dmfree88
I have this cooler on my 6300, i get temps of around 55 @ a stable 4.4GHz. I think the stock fan is good it's quite, and looks the part. Although the mounting system is awful, it is tolerable. It does spin on the top of the CPU though which is very annoying.
 
#47 ·
Good Price, OK performance.

review by himwhoscalledim

My first build I took the meanest looking heat sink I could grab that wouldn't break the bank. This does its job alright and looks pretty good doing it. On the other hand instructions are a little lacking and its a very loud fan even spinning at 600 rpm.

ProsCons
Got it for a steal, and cools better then stock cpu fan.Loud, and somewhat cheap fan.

Ratings
Overall4
 
#48 ·
Good Price, OK performance.

review by himwhoscalledim
Hmm I have always had great results with these. My current 212 Evo keeps my 4.5Ghz 6300 and +1 or 2c over ambient and around 50c 24 hour prime load. Granted that is lapped, AS5 and push pull with 2 sickleflows lol.
 
#49 ·
Great Cooler Gets the job done

review by buttermilk

I reviewed this cooler a while ago and it has been one of myu most popular videos on youtube. Despite the controversy of the thermal paste application I thought it was a good video for showing the mounting hardware.

ProsCons
Price/PerformanceA little cheap on the aluminium fins

Ratings
Overall4
 
#51 ·
Probably the best budget cooler

review by gorbazthedragon

Not really much to say, it does what it is supposed to do, cools your CPU...

Running a stock cooled i5-4440 at 3.3GHz with IGPU at 1500MHz@1.15v, p95+furmark (on the IGPU) got 98C on the highest core and the iGPU throttled to ~1200MHz (100c)

Swapped to the H212Evo and temps are ~65C on the cores and ~75C on the GPU, no throttling. Runs CPU only at ~55-60C

Fan is relatively quiet and pushes quite a decent amount of air.

Installation is a bit fiddly, especially if you have a lot of large VRM heatsinks, I recommend taking out RAM modules before installing this. Because it's only single tower and single fan there is a huge amount of clearance for fancy RAM heatsinks/fans and the heatpipes are not too obtrusive. Instructions for installation are clear.

Also contains necessary equipment to mount a second fan for push-pull. but I doubt it will increase performance much due to the low fin density.

For the price it's great, but I'd think that with more powerful (FX/LGA2011) CPUs you'll want to get something bigger.

ProsCons
Decent cooling performance, relatively quiet fan, good PWM range, small compared to certain other coolers (NH-D14 i'm looking at you), good clearanceCan be a bit annoying to install (like all tower coolers)

Ratings
Overall5
 
#52 ·
Probably the best budget cooler

review by gorbazthedragon
Please note to anyone buying this on the intel socket on many motherboards it's not 100% secure....it can actually "wiggle" on the socket. This is apparently "within specs" but I returned mine for a better mounting solution as after 15 years I know a cooler should NEVER move after it's mounted.
 
#53 ·
Best value, quite capable.

review by gavush

This is a great, no frills, get down and get the job done cooler at a great price. It kept my AMD Phenom x4 965BE under 50c and with push/pull keeps my new FX-8350 under 60c at stock settings. I will be getting something with more cooling capacity for overclocking. It looks great with the top fin painted - mine's black. You just pop it off by carefully levering it off with a CD on each side between the first fin and second fin. To re-install I used a socket that just fit over the heat pipes to gently press it a little at a time in an X pattern. The mounting hardware is nice and easy to use (AMD) and it includes a second bracket to add an additional fan if you like. I found the included fan was a little loud and switched it out for something else but mostly to match my other case-fans (white LED)

ProsCons
easy to install, great cooling to $ rationewer processors may need a little more capacity.

Ratings
Overall5
 
#54 ·
Best value, quite capable.

review by gavush
Just wondering, is there a noticeable difference in temps with 2 fans on this? I'm overclocking, and even though 80 is fine, it'd be nice to push it down a little during summer.
 
#57 ·
Budget friendly but not performance friendly

review by skye12977

The Cooler Master 212 isn't what I'd suggest to someone that is building their first computer (unless they have the patience to put this heat-sink on).
At times it feels like you almost need two people to put one of these on.
It does support two 120mm fans (which I would suggest replacing if you are able to).
The 212 is a budget heat-sink by all means (the price ranges from 15-35$ at times).
Unless you don't have more than 50$ to spend (at which times an AIO or quite a few Noctua heat-sinks would be a much better solution) I would suggest this CPU heat-sink with the possibility of buying better fans to go along with it (that you could then use for your possible future heat-sink)

If this heat-sink were always 20$ then I would give it 4 stars, but seeing as it goes for about ~30 I'm going to have to give it 3.5
I would mainly suggest the Cooler Master 212 as a temporary heat-sink (something that you have spare around the house, instead of the stock Intel or AMD heat-sinks).

ProsCons
Dual 120mm fan supportNot that easy to work with, even if the heat-sink is mounted properly it will still move around with very little effort,

Ratings
Overall4
 
#58 ·
Budget friendly but not performance friendly

review by skye12977
I have had no issues installing mine, even with a broken shoulder at the time, my complaint is, it doesn't do that great a job at removing heat, even with 2 fans in a well ventilated case.
 
#63 ·
This is a great CPU cooler !

review by revere04

Hello All,

I have this cpu cooler and I want to say this thing rocks! Its affordable and allows you to overclock your rig for under 100.00.

My suggestion is to watch a quick youtube video before installing. I have an LGA 1150 and the screws on the spring plate matched the screws for the mobo perfectly. I didn't need to change anything!

Here are some tips

1: Immediately take the fan off the heat sink - this will give you room to install inside the case.

2: Watch a quick 3 minute youtube vide to get familiar with the installation

3: The back plate is important, make sure you mount that correctly. The manual shows with processor setup gets mounted screwed into

4: I recommend Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste instead of the paste provided by Cooler Master. Worth the investment.

ProsCons
Price, Performance, and quality Assembly

Ratings
Overall5
 
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