Cooler Master has set out to update the Hyper series of coolers with the Hyper 212X and in many ways they succeeded. Compared to the Hyper 212 EVO, it offers slightly better overall performance while being a bit quieter. This gives the 212X the edge versus its older counterpart. Performance was solid. In fact, the Hyper 212X had no issues keeping the Intel i7 6700K cool even with the CPU overclocked. Build quality is decent, and while not on par with Noctua, it is still very solid. Users won't have any issues with expansion-slot clearance when it comes to their graphics card or other add-on cards. The mounting system is also pretty easy to work with. It may not be the best available, but its universal nature keeps it simple. Overall, there is a great deal to like about the Cooler Master Hyper 212X, but the biggest would be its price-to-performance ratio. It may not be the best in the charts, but it is easy to find and usually in stock, which makes it an attractive option for those looking for an upgrade over the stock-cooling option. It also has extra fan clips included for those who want to squeeze a bit more performance out of the cooler sometime down the road.

A few issues are apparent, and the biggest is the fact that it is boring to look at. Granted, that's better than something flashy that performs abysmally, but still. The likes of be quiet!'s Pure Rock with the aluminum top plate and heatpipe caps have a nice premium feel to them, but cost about as much. The Hyper 212X also looms over a single DIMM slot, which limits users to standard-height memory modules with four sticks. To be blunt, with the number of coolers now available with perfect memory clearance, I am sad to see the Hyper 212X fall short in that regard. The fan wire is also an eyesore. While a minor issue, you would think Cooler Master could have used black wires with the fan getting an upgrade in quality over the previous version. Finally, the packaging barely offers enough protection.

While I do feel the Hyper 212X is an improvement over the older 212 EVO, Cooler Master could have done a bit more. Instead, this offering, while better than what came before it, still feels too much like the same thing in a different package. That is not always a bad thing, but in this case, with prices going up, it just makes the 212 EVO look better since it is regularly on sale. Don't get me wrong, I may seem overly critical, but the entry level market is choke full of coolers, which means it takes more to stand out. The Hyper 212X from Cooler Master, while solid and dependable, gets lost in a sea of similar products.

If you are looking for good performance and low noise levels and do not need flashy features, the Cooler Master Hyper 212X is a new spin on a solid, time-tested design that gets the job done.