Cooler Master Hyper 212: Looking for a Winner
by Wesley Fink on October 31, 2007 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
CPU Cooling Test Configuration
Cooling tests are run using our new cooling test bed. This consists of a Rosewill R604-P-SL case sold by Newegg without a power supply. The Rosewill is typical of a moderately priced mid-tower case our readers might own. It was chosen because it is a Newegg top seller and includes a variable front intake louver and a quiet 120mm exhaust fan at the rear of the case. The case is also screw-less with components held in place by plastic holders instead of metal to metal connections. This appears to reduce case vibration and noise.
The power supply is a Corsair HX620W, which has proven in benchmarks to be an exceptionally quiet unit. The HX620W features a variable speed exhaust fan and a down-facing intake fan mounted just above the CPU space in the case. To eliminate the video card as a source of noise we have moved to a fanless card. Since the move will be made to Vista and DX10 in the very near future, the test bed runs an MSI NX8600GTS which supports DX10 and cools with heatsinks and heatpipes. The reduced noise power supply and fanless video card have the potential to dramatically lower system noise in the test bed.
The motherboard is the ASUS P5K Deluxe. This P35 chipset motherboard has exhibited outstanding overclocking capabilities in our testing. It can also mount the newest 1333 FSB Intel Core processors and can handle our existing high-speed DDR2 memory. The P5K3 uses heatsinks and heatpipes to cool board components so all motherboard cooling is passive. There are no active cooling fans to generate unwanted noise during testing.
The 120mm exhaust fan mounted to the rear of the case is below the system noise floor. We run that fan during performance and overclocking tests. However, system noise can be cumulative, so the exhaust fan is turned off during noise testing.
All cooling tests are run with the components mounted in the standard mid-tower case. The idle and stress temperature tests are run with the case closed and standing as it would in most home setups. Room temperature is measured before beginning the cooler tests and is maintained in the 20 to 22C (68F to 72F) range for all testing.
For consistency of test results we use a standard premium silver-colored thermal compound. In our experience the thermal compound used makes little to no difference in cooling test results. This is particularly true now that processors ship with a large manufacturer-installed heatspreader. Our current test procedure uses this standard high-quality silver-colored thermal paste for all cooler reviews.
For comparison, we first tested the stock Intel air cooler at standard X6800 speeds and measured the CPU temperature at idle. The CPU was then stressed by running continuous loops of the Far Cry River demo. The same tests were repeated at the highest stable overclock we could achieve with the stock cooler. "Stable" in this case is the ability to handle our Far Cry looping for at least 30 minutes without crashing.
The same benchmarks are then run on the review cooler(s) at stock speed, 3.33GHz (10x333) at stock voltage, highest stock cooler OC speed (3.73GHz), and the highest OC that could be achieved in the same setup with the cooler being tested. This allows measurement of the cooling efficiency of the test unit compared to stock and the improvement in overclocking capabilities, if any, from using the test cooler.
The cooling test results are compared to a representative sample of air and water cooling results that were measured with CoreTemp. TAT provides a similar core measurement, but test results with CoreTemp were more consistent over a wide range of test conditions than the results reported by TAT. Coolers previously reviewed were retested with CoreTemp under idle and load conditions.
In benchmarks where the new test bed makes no apparent difference, like maximum overclock, results are reported for all coolers tested this year.
Noise Levels
In addition to cooling efficiency and overclocking abilities, users shopping for CPU cooling solutions may also be interested in the noise levels of the cooling devices they are considering. Noise levels are measured with the case on its side using a C.E.M. DT-8850 Sound Level meter. This meter allows accurate sound level measurements from 35b dB to 130 dB with a resolution of 0.1 dB and an accuracy of 1.5 dB. This is sufficient for our needs in these tests, as measurement starts at the level of a relatively quiet room. Our own test room, with all computers and fans turned off, has a room noise level that has been reduced slightly to 35.0 dB(A) compared to the previous 36.4 dB(A). With the new test bed, the system noise at idle is 36.5 dB(A) at 24" and 37.8 dB(A) at 6". This is better than our previous system noise floor of 38.3 dB(A) at 24". The noise reduction at the 6" distance is dramatically lower than the previous test bed floor of 47 dB(A).
Cooling tests are run using our new cooling test bed. This consists of a Rosewill R604-P-SL case sold by Newegg without a power supply. The Rosewill is typical of a moderately priced mid-tower case our readers might own. It was chosen because it is a Newegg top seller and includes a variable front intake louver and a quiet 120mm exhaust fan at the rear of the case. The case is also screw-less with components held in place by plastic holders instead of metal to metal connections. This appears to reduce case vibration and noise.
The power supply is a Corsair HX620W, which has proven in benchmarks to be an exceptionally quiet unit. The HX620W features a variable speed exhaust fan and a down-facing intake fan mounted just above the CPU space in the case. To eliminate the video card as a source of noise we have moved to a fanless card. Since the move will be made to Vista and DX10 in the very near future, the test bed runs an MSI NX8600GTS which supports DX10 and cools with heatsinks and heatpipes. The reduced noise power supply and fanless video card have the potential to dramatically lower system noise in the test bed.
The motherboard is the ASUS P5K Deluxe. This P35 chipset motherboard has exhibited outstanding overclocking capabilities in our testing. It can also mount the newest 1333 FSB Intel Core processors and can handle our existing high-speed DDR2 memory. The P5K3 uses heatsinks and heatpipes to cool board components so all motherboard cooling is passive. There are no active cooling fans to generate unwanted noise during testing.
The 120mm exhaust fan mounted to the rear of the case is below the system noise floor. We run that fan during performance and overclocking tests. However, system noise can be cumulative, so the exhaust fan is turned off during noise testing.
| Cooling Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo X6800 (x2, 2.93GHz, 4MB Unified Cache) |
| RAM | 2x1GB Corsair Dominator PC2-8888 (DDR2-1111) |
| Hard Drive | Hitachi 250GB SATA2 enabled, 16MB Buffer |
| Video Card | MSI NX8600GTS (fanless) - All Standard Tests |
| Intel TAT | Version 2.05.2006.0427 |
| CoreTemp | Version 0.95 |
| Video Drivers | NVIDIA 163.71 |
| CPU Cooling | Cooler Master Hyper 212 OCZ Vendetta Scythe Kama Cross Swiftech H2O-120 Compact Corsair Nautilus 500 Thermalright Ultima-90 Zerotherm BTF90 Xigmatek AIO (AIO-S800P) Evercool Silver Knight Enzotech Ultra-X 3RSystem iCEAGE Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX Thermaltake MaxOrb Scythe Andy Samurai Master Cooler Master Gemini II Noctua NH-U12F ASUS Silent Square Pro Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B OCZ Vindicator Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme Thermalright Ultra 120 Scythe Infinity Zalman CNS9700 Zalman CNS9500 Cooler Master Hyper 6+ Vigor Monsoon II Lite Thermalright MST-9775 Scythe Katana Tuniq Tower 120 Intel Stock HSF for X6800 |
| Power Supply | Corsair HX620W |
| Motherboard | ASUS P5K Deluxe (Intel P35) |
| Operating System | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| BIOS | ASUS AMI 0501 (06/26/2007) |
All cooling tests are run with the components mounted in the standard mid-tower case. The idle and stress temperature tests are run with the case closed and standing as it would in most home setups. Room temperature is measured before beginning the cooler tests and is maintained in the 20 to 22C (68F to 72F) range for all testing.
For consistency of test results we use a standard premium silver-colored thermal compound. In our experience the thermal compound used makes little to no difference in cooling test results. This is particularly true now that processors ship with a large manufacturer-installed heatspreader. Our current test procedure uses this standard high-quality silver-colored thermal paste for all cooler reviews.
For comparison, we first tested the stock Intel air cooler at standard X6800 speeds and measured the CPU temperature at idle. The CPU was then stressed by running continuous loops of the Far Cry River demo. The same tests were repeated at the highest stable overclock we could achieve with the stock cooler. "Stable" in this case is the ability to handle our Far Cry looping for at least 30 minutes without crashing.
The same benchmarks are then run on the review cooler(s) at stock speed, 3.33GHz (10x333) at stock voltage, highest stock cooler OC speed (3.73GHz), and the highest OC that could be achieved in the same setup with the cooler being tested. This allows measurement of the cooling efficiency of the test unit compared to stock and the improvement in overclocking capabilities, if any, from using the test cooler.
The cooling test results are compared to a representative sample of air and water cooling results that were measured with CoreTemp. TAT provides a similar core measurement, but test results with CoreTemp were more consistent over a wide range of test conditions than the results reported by TAT. Coolers previously reviewed were retested with CoreTemp under idle and load conditions.
In benchmarks where the new test bed makes no apparent difference, like maximum overclock, results are reported for all coolers tested this year.
Noise Levels
In addition to cooling efficiency and overclocking abilities, users shopping for CPU cooling solutions may also be interested in the noise levels of the cooling devices they are considering. Noise levels are measured with the case on its side using a C.E.M. DT-8850 Sound Level meter. This meter allows accurate sound level measurements from 35b dB to 130 dB with a resolution of 0.1 dB and an accuracy of 1.5 dB. This is sufficient for our needs in these tests, as measurement starts at the level of a relatively quiet room. Our own test room, with all computers and fans turned off, has a room noise level that has been reduced slightly to 35.0 dB(A) compared to the previous 36.4 dB(A). With the new test bed, the system noise at idle is 36.5 dB(A) at 24" and 37.8 dB(A) at 6". This is better than our previous system noise floor of 38.3 dB(A) at 24". The noise reduction at the 6" distance is dramatically lower than the previous test bed floor of 47 dB(A).
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pc007 - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - link
True, but assuming the fan is ducted correctly, i.e the heat sink has some 'walls' forcing the air to be sucked in from the opposite side? Cooling the edges of a heatsink well should still produce the desired result, similar to the way a heat pipe configuration works.I am aware that it is much more efficient to push a fluid/gas than 'pull' it for any reasonable distance, But on something as small as a heatsink would this still be the case?... and besides the movement of the cooling medium (air) is not the goal, rather the cooling effect on the heat sink.
Could anyone point me at some research with regard to PC cooling that would explain this?
Chuckles - Friday, November 2, 2007 - link
If the fan is ducted well, you will get a similar heat transfer. However, ducting adds material and thus cost. A buck of material for ducting may not seem like much, but the multiplier to get to retail price is on the order of 3-5. So for 2 similar performing heatsinks, one an open push, the other a ducted pull, the ducted pull configuration will cost about $4 more, for no gain. On a $40 heatsink...As for your second question, a 3" long heatsink is still "macroscale". The fluid properties aren't changing drastically, so the scaling relationships and equations would still be valid.
Also, "movement of the cooling medium" is a crucial aspect of a heatsink. Coeffiecients of heat transfer (h) are strongly dependent on the Reynolds number of the fluid flow. In a given fluid, the easiest way to up the Reynolds number is to raise the velocity term.
assafb - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - link
Thanks!EODetroit - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - link
See title.Also you said you would review the new Razor mouse. Haven't seen that yet either.
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - link
We are working on several NDAs right now, but we do plan a dual-radiator water cooling review in the near future.Margalus - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - link
One thing I always wonder about these heatsink tests. How are they tested? On a test platform with the motherboard laying flat? Or, like most users have it? In an upright motherboard with the heatsink parallel to the ground?With the advent of all these heatpipes that makes a big difference. If they are being tested on a testbed laying flat on a table the cooling results may be markedly better a real life setup in a tower case with a vertical motherboard. With the heatpipes lying sideways in a tower setup they would not seem to work like they were designed to since the fluid that is supposed to cool off and flow down to the top of the heatsink would lay trapped in the tubes that are laying on their sides..
strikeback03 - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - link
from page 3:IIRC the heatpipes supposedly contain a mesh inside designed to help the fluid return to the base through capillary action.
CrystalBay - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - link
They stil rule in casesThankx for the review Wes,
Eight years ago I paid 300 for the first ACTS aluminum removable MB Tray.IT came with 4x80 CM Fans . It was good but too loud for my P3 700 @ 966...
IT is for sale ...inquire within...
choppergirl - Sunday, April 4, 2010 - link
I respectfully TOTALLY disagree. :-)Compare these two examples.
Start with two enclosed metal buildings consisting of a single room.
In both, you put a a space heater operating on HIGH to represent the heat coming off the CPU. That's all a CPU is really, generating waste heat the equivalent of a light bulb, a space heater in effect.
You are in one building, and you put a fan blowing directly blowing on the space heater. No air is being sucked in from the outside, it is simply a fan blowing straight on the heater. There are various little holes around the building, but no appreciable net amount of air is traveling into or out of them.
I am in the second building. The same fan is turned around backwards, sucking the heat into the fan at the base of the heater, instead of blowing at it, and through a venturi duct this hot air is being shot out and shunted to the outside of the building. Other small holes around the building are allowing air pressure to come in because of the negative pressure caused by the fan sucking and venting air to the outside of the building at its heat source.
Further, if I were to break down one of the walls of my building (take off the side of the PC case and leave it off) I would stay even more cool, darn near close to the temperature outside the building even.
In the first building, the space heater will be cooler, because the violent air at the exit of the fan is more turbulent that air being sucked into the fan. But very quickly over time the heat in the building is going to rise and rise and rise, because all your fan is doing is blowing it right off the space heater and churning it up. The air being sucked into the fan is getting hotter and hotter and will lose its effect to cool the space heater down. You will end up dying of heat exhaustion, because the heat will continue to rise and stay at a high equiliberium level, only limited by the metal buildings ability to shed heat.
In the second building, the air around me won't be violently turbulent, but most of the heat off the space heater is being sucked into the fan and shunted out the building. I can sit there all day and watch the space heater and stay nice and cool.
If you don't believe me, set up two PCs and try it. One has enclosed case blowing the fan on CPU, stirring up the heat. The other has fan reversed, with venturi on it sucking like a vacuum the heat at the source of the heater, and directing it out of the case. Leave off the side panel.
Put two thermometers in both.
After a few hours running on a hot summer day, open up both cases and look at the thermometers, and feel with your hand. The enclosed case with the fan blowing on the CPU is going to be hot as hell, the open case will be near room temperature.
And when you're using nothing but air cooling, being as close to air temperature as possible is as good as you are going to get. You can't go below that just by blowing a fan at soemthing.
You see super expensive cases with tons of fans blowing out, etc. And a fan inside blowing on the CPU pushing the heat around. You're using lots of electricity, making more noise, etc. Much better to do away with them all, and just leave the side panel off, period.
I repeat, I repeat, the only thing the side panel is there for is to keep RATS (and cats and children and idiots) out of the PC, that is it, period. It contributes nothing to proper air suction or flow for fans designed to suck air out. RATS love to chew on IDE ribbon cables, it keeps their teeth from growing to long, they have to do it like hamsters, cockateils, and other critters.
I see a lot of PCs built with this idiot idea, esp. the minitower cases. One fan inside blowing on CPU, everything locked up as tight as a ship for air flow, And only the power supply fan to suck any air out. And the hot air its sucking into the PC power supply is from inside the case.
If these manufacturers would reverse the cpu fanon the CPU heatsink, and put a duct straight out of a hole in the middle of the side panel, you'd have two fans working to suck heat out right at the source like vacuum cleaners. Air will come in via ll the little openings all around the case.
CHOPPERGIRL
http://choppergirl.air-war.org
choppergirl - Sunday, April 4, 2010 - link
In short, take the side panel off your case, and leave it off, if you have no kid, rat, or idiot problems.Reverse the fan on your CPU heatsink (assuming its a traditional one).
Make a duct out of paper and tape to put around the exit of the fan like a tube, so that the CPU fan is sucking air in at the CPU heatsink like a vacuum cleaner, and shooting it outward past the boundaries of the case. If you don't fully understand what I'm talking about for making a venturi duct outward (even though its simple), just skip this step. Your cpu fan will still be shooting the heat outwards towards the missing side panel and out of your PC case.