| Cooler Master Hyper 612 PWM Heatsink |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cooling | |
| Written by David Ramsey | |
| Wednesday, 27 July 2011 | |
|
Page 6 of 6
CPU Cooler Final ThoughtsThe choice of fan is critical in getting the best performance from a CPU cooler (even a water cooling system). Size, noise, airflow, and even static pressure are all things that must be taken into account. The fan Cooler Master uses strikes an excellent balance between noise and airflow, and as you can see from the test results provides excellent performance with this cooler. I have no doubt that adding a second similar fan would provide even better performance than the single Delta high-speed fan.
I've been saying in my last few CPU cooler reviews that the need for expensive, high performance coolers will fade as newer, lower-power processors such as Intel's Sandy Bridge become more common. A processor with a maximum TDP of 95 watts simply doesn't need the amount of cooling that a 140W CPU does. Sure, power consumption will go up significantly with overclocking, but newer processor will still put out less heat than older ones. That said, I've started noticing another trend: lower-priced coolers that perform at the level of higher-priced coolers. The Cooler Master Hyper 612 PWM performs at the level of the Thermalright Silver Arrow or Cooler Master's own V6 GT with stock fans, but costs almost 33% less than either. Given the exceptional cooling provided by its single fan, adding another quiet PWM fan would probably make this equal to the very best air coolers out there. How it can achieve these results without features like Prolimatech's massive mounting system is a mystery. Perhaps there's some magic sauce in the heat pipes. Cooler Master Hyper 612 PWM ConclusionPlease remember that these test results reflect our experience with each cooler on a specific motherboard, with a specific processor, BIOS revision, BCLK and voltage settings, and test programs. The results of this test cannot be directly compared to other tests since many factors will have changed. There's nothing special about the appearance of the Cooler Master Hyper 612 PWM: it's a standard multi-heat pipe design with a copper base. The small extra fin array on top of the base is unusual, but it won't be visible even in a windowed case. The orientation of the heat pipes-- running from the front to the back of the cooler, rather than from side to side-- is a little unusual although not unprecedented: the Thermalright Silver Arrow uses the same design. Given its performance, the shock-and-awe appearance of the Thermalright Silver Arrow or the LED bling of the V6 GT would be the only real reasons to prefer these more expensive products. Overall, the construction quality is very good. It doesn't have the "hewn from a block of steel" feel of a Prolimatech heat sink, but everything's there and fits well. I was surprised to see the residue the protective sticker left on the heat sink base. I've never run across this in any of my other cooler testing, and it's definitely something Cooler Master should look into. The accessories package was standard, and it was nice of Cooler Master to use re-sealable plastic bags to make it easier to keep track of the screws and bits you don't use. The extra fan mounts make adding a second fan at a later time easy. The mounting mechanism, especially the spring-loaded screws, seemed a little "lightweight", but you can't argue with the results. The performance of this cooler was excellent, almost unprecedented at this price level ($49.99 at Newegg). Which brings us to the value aspect: not everyone needs a cooler that can handle the very hottest processors, and those who don't overclock, or have Sandy Bridge CPUs, can save some money on a less expensive cooler. But if you are one of the few whose rig dims the house lights when it's turned on, you can save a bit of coin with the Hyper 612 PWM over its more expensive competition. Pros:
|
|
Comments
I'm pretty amazed that they get such good performance out of this unit, with the low mounting pressure they designed in.
A hint on the acetone - look for nail polish remover, which is frequently stocked by the female residents of the house.
I'm pretty sure that's wrong. Per Intel, accuracy of thermal measurements is greatest as you approach the Tcontrol point.
#download.intel.com/design/intarch/papers/322683.pdf
"PECI is most accurate near the maximum temperature (PROCHOT#) and it is
accurate enough for fan speed control in the TCONTROL range but it can be very inaccurate at low temperatures." pg 19
Same also applies for DTS. See page calibration and variance graphs on pg 8 and 9 of the document.
Given this, the thermal measurements are MORE accurate as you approach Tcontrol and less accurate and temps get lower. Therefor, the degree of accuracy is not constant, but rather temperature dependent.
"Although each processors DTS is factory calibrated, the accuracy of the DTS will vary from part to part and may also vary slightly with temperature and voltage."
#download.intel.com/design/processor/designex/324644.pdf
I was a little put off by all that. So many people said oh it runs cool it runs cool .. you can hit 4.4G with the stock fan. Sure.. you can but it certainly won't run cool.
Anyway.. overall a great review.