Conclusion
In this review, we strapped the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black to our test bench to see how it performed against other air coolers that we’ve tested. With its blacked-out look and socket compatibility refreshed to work with current chippery, the Hyper 212 family lives on with this new refresh. So, let’s recap the performance below and see how the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black stood up!
Summary of Temperatures
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black With AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black was able to operate at its quietest configuration of 1100 RPM and maintain a temperature of 61.75 degrees Celsius with our test bench running at stock clocks. Increasing through to its maximum of 2300 RPM, the stock temperatures dropped down to 57.13 degrees Celsius. On the overclocking side of things, we saw temperatures of 75.38 – 76.75 degrees Celsius between 1500 and 2300 RPM.
Overall, the temperature performance was competitive with the other similar coolers (the AK400 and Hyper 212 EVO) and was outpaced by a cooler from a price bracket above it.
Summary of Sound Levels
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Sound Levels with AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black really showed off its chops when it came to the sound level testing. It was consistently quieter than all of the other coolers using its 120mm Sickleflow Edge fan. It maxed out at 44.1 dB(A) that we were certainly able to hear but it was not subjectively annoying, but as the fan speed dropped it blended quickly into the background.
Final Points
Cooler Master’s Hyper 212 line spans over 16 years at this point and what seems like countless variants with the Hyper 212 Black being the latest addition to support LGA 1700 and AM4/5 sockets and utilize one of Cooler Master’s latest fan designs. At the time of the review, we saw it in etail for around $40 (check our pricing widget for current pricing) which represents a $5 premium over the DeepCool AK400 that we compared it to. The Iceberg Thermal G6 Stealth is in a different class costing $25 more and utilizing a larger fan with 6 heat pipes, but it’s always interesting to see what an incremental few dollars will do.
From a performance perspective, the Hyper 212 Black was the quietest cooler and delivered reasonable cooling performance compared to one of its ancestors, the Hyper 212 EVO as well as the AK400. If you are in the market for a small, inexpensive, quiet, and sleek-looking 120mm cooled HSF that will handle stock clocks along with some overclocking that is going to be very quiet the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black should be on your shortlist.