Introduction
The Cooler Master 212 series has long been regarded as one of the best CPU coolers on the market, making it an extremely popular choice for system builders. Is it the best performing cooler on the market? No, not really, but it’s been hard to compete with the kind of performance improvements it gives over stock CPU coolers, and it does it for a very reasonable price. Now, Cooler Master have taken their most popular cooler and made it better than ever, by improving the hardware, they’ve managed to give it a performance boost and reduce the noise from the cooler, and that’s obviously a very welcome improvement on a cooler that was already doing rather well.
“The latest in the extremely popular Hyper 212 series, Cooler Master’s Hyper 212X is based on the same patented CDC Quad heatpipe array as the 212 EVO but features several improvements that boost performance and further reduce noise. Thanks to our brand new Smart Engine and POM bearing, the 212X is incredibly durable and will virtually last a lifetime.” said Cooler Master
Equipped with four direct touch heat pipes, an aluminium fin array, improved fan blades, a new bearing and more, the 212 cooler has never been so good. So let’s jump in and take a closer look at what it has to offer.
- High-performance Copper heatpipes with a fusion bonded copper powder wick.
- Patented CDC™ technology – 4 direct touch heatpipes creating a gap-less contact surface
- Aluminum Fin Array with New Tunnel Effect layout for improved heat dissipation.
- 4th Generation Bearing – MTBF of 160,000 hours thanks to highly durable POM components.
- Redesigned Fan-blades that create vortices to boost airflow without creating more noise.
- Smart Fan engine – stops the fan when blocked to prevent damage, and automatically restarts the fan when it has been cleared.
- Universal mounting system for all Intel and AMD platforms.
The packaging is nicely designed, with a clear image of the cooler and some of the main features detailed at the bottom.
Around the back, a quick run down of some of the main specifications, but nothing we don’t already know.
In the box, you’ll find the cooler, the universal backplate and a small box of components.
The component box is really nicely laid out, with the user manual, some extra fan brackets, the mounting support and a handy pack for all the screws.
This little sorter box makes it super easy to see the components you need and even comes with a full tube of thermal paste, allowing for multiple applications of the cooler.
