Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler Review

Attaching the universal backplate to our LGA 1155 motherboard was slightly more frustrating than usual. The method forces you to insert stand-offs from the CPU side through the mounting holes and then on through the backplate before securing them with a nut. This doesn’t sound particularly challenging, but the fact that the stand-offs would barely pass through the backplate’s seemingly mis-shaped holes made it difficult.

Once the retention plate is pushed through the cooler’s central gap and configured for the correct socket, you simply screw its spring-loaded screws into the 4 stand-offs.

Security isn’t a particularly strong point for the Hyper 212 EVO’s installation. The cooler is able to rotate by quite a large degree due to the minimalistic ‘clamping’ method Cooler Master use which loosely secures the retention plate in place.

The overall installation process was very quick, provided you are able to overcome the irritating backplate installation procedure. Cooler Master attach 2 frustratingly large labels to the black fan cable which can easily ruin the appearance of a system’s internals. Hopefully Cooler Master will discontinue these labels on their future coolers as they are little more than an eye-sore.

RAM compatibility with the Hyper 212 EVO is, as expected, limited. The Corsair XMS3 modules we used are slightly taller than a bare PCB but do have a few millimetres of clearance above them. If you own tall modules such as Corsair Vengeance or Mushkin Ridgeback, you aren’t going to fit them under the fan without being forced to mount it further up the heatsink.

The fairly compact design of the Hyper 212 EVO minimizes interference when installed inside a case. Our NZXT Phantom gave it plenty of room to work in, but users with a smaller mid-tower chassis shouldn’t run into any problems other than the 158.5mm height.