Introduction

A big thank you to Cooler Master for supplying the review sample.

In the PC enthusiast market, Cooler Master continues to be a juggernaut. They offer a vast assortment of peripherals, heatsinks, fans, cases, power supplies, all-in-one liquid coolers, desks, chairs, and so much more. With products in just about every conceivable category and price range, Cooler Master provides just about all you could need to finish off your perfect PC build. With a demonstrated drive to continuously improve, it's no wonder they are one of the world's leading DIY PC components manufacturers.


Cooler Master's Hyper 212 has been a stalwart entry-level cooler for ages, to the point any enthusiast who has been around a few years knows of it and its near-legendary status. When it comes to single-tower coolers, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 range is probably among the best-known and best-selling coolers to ever be released. As such, it is no surprise to see Cooler Master continues to release updated versions to support newer systems as time goes on, which leads to today's review, where I will cover the recently released Hyper 212 Halo Black. While the base design can be traced back to the first Hyper 212, the truth is much has changed. To improve visual appeal, the latest update features a black aluminium top cover, jet black heat pipes, an ARGB 120 mm fan, and improved mounting hardware, along with a plethora of minor changes to further improve performance and appeal.

Packaging

Cooler Master certainly has colorful packaging with its purple and teal color scheme. The front of the box shows off the Hyper 212 Halo Black with its ARGB fan in its full glory. Meanwhile, the left side lists the specifications of the cooler, supported sockets, and certified compatibility with all major motherboard vendors' ARGB software. On the back of the box, Cooler Master opted to showcase the cooler's various features, such as the brushed aluminium top cover, redesigned Halo fan, and clean black finish, as well as other features.


On the right side, the box shows off the top cover and a side shot of the cooler, while the top has the product name and Cooler Master logo. The bottom of the box shows a small mechanical drawing detailing the cooler's height and memory clearance.

Contents

The internal packaging makes use of cardboard and foam to protect the cooler, and while I would like to see a bit more foam, especially around the fan, but the fact is everything arrived safe and sound.


Socket support is good, with All Intel and AMD mainstream sockets supported. HEDT sockets from Intel and AMD have been omitted along with older sockets such as LGA1366 and LGA775. As for the hardware itself, it's straightforward by design, but it may be more challenging to work with than it looks.

Common parts supplied for mounting include:

• 2x Fan clips
• 2x Mounting bracket screws
• 4x AMD standoffs
• 2x AMD mounting brackets
• 2x Intel mounting brackets
• 1x 120 mm ARGB fan
• 1x Intel backplate
• 1x Heatsink
• 1x Tube thermal paste
• 1x Installation manual