Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus & TX3 Heatsinks

Installation
 
To test the two coolers they were both installed on to the same testbed that consisted of the following components:
 
CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720
Motherboard: MSI 790FX-G70
Memory: 2GB OCZ Platinum PC3-12800
Graphics: Sapphire 4850X2
 
We’ll start by looking at the TX3’s installation, and it has to be said that there couldn’t really be a simpler way to install it. The cooler uses AMD’s standard mounting bracket to attach itself to the test hardware. The long retention arm sliding through two cut grooves in the base, and the clip for the other side slipping over that and into two grooves in the bracket. Pushing the leaver down then secures the whole assembly in place. For Intel mounting, there were four brackets, each screw on to the corner of the base and each possessed one of Intel’s push fittings. These do make installation easy, but I still maintain they are inferior to a bolt or bracket based mounting system and was a little disappointed to find them used here.
 
The 212’s installation was a more complex procedure compared to the TX3, being slightly similar to the Hyper N520 reviewed earlier on OC3D. The system for the 212 involved Cooler Master’s own universal backplate, coupled with a very clever scissor style retention bracket that fits all the sockets supported by the cooler. The stand off’s bolt the motherboard and backplate in place using the supplied nuts and then the screws attached to the scissor like bracket secure into the stand-off’s to hold the cooler in place. Installation was the same for every socket supported by the 212, only difference being the positioning of the scissor bracket and the screws on that.
 
Something I will mention is mounting the fans to both coolers. They use rubber pads to protect the fins from harm as well as dampening vibrations, and thusly the rubber needs to sandwich between the fan and sink. Now the tricky bit, the clips used to hold the fans in place. These need to be oriented correctly to fit properly. the hooks go into the back side of the mounting holes of the fan, closest to the cooler, with the angles facing in top and bottom. The clips will then fit into the grooves in the fins without bending any out of place.
 
 
Test Methodology
 
The first test conducted was the tried and tested ‘strap the cooler to a chip and see how it fairs’ method. The coolers was tested using a Phenom II 720 X3 mentioned above, in both stock and overclocked states. The system was left to undisturbed for 30mins after boot and the temperature then recorded for the idle reading. This was followed by a 30 minute Prime95 romp to take the loaded reading. Ambient throughout was 20° (+/- 0.5°).
 
The next test conducted was a simulated load test. The cooler was set to work finding it’s equilibrium temperature when exposed to the heat generated by a certain amount of power. The cooler was tested at points of 50w, 100w, 150w and 200w to see how it would cope under various levels. Once again ambient was 20° (+/- 0.5°). The test was performed using a custom built load tester. This device uses two 200w cartridge heaters to warm up a small block of copper, allowing a flat surface for the heat sink being tested to be mounted on. The majority of the block is then insulated to minimise heat escaping via anything other than the side that the sink is mounted in. The heat dissipated by the twin cartridges is regulated via a variac, and the power between the variac and the cartridges is measured to ensure that the correct amount of power is being drawn. The temperature of the block is taken via a digital thermometer and k-type probe, from a small hole drilled into the copper between the two cartridges.
 
The noise levels emitted from the cooler are extremely hard to ascertain without some very expensive equipment, therefore you will have to rely on my fair ear for judgement in this department.
 
And on the next page we we’ll browse the test results…