How to Install the Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB CPU Cooler

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB is a popular choice among PC builders and enthusiasts, known for its excellent cooling performance and sleek design. However, installing it can be a bit of a challenge, especially if you're dealing with a socket that requires specific retention plates.

In this article, we'll walk you through the installation process of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB CPU cooler, highlighting some potential issues and design flaws that you should be aware of.

Physical Appearance

The Hyper 212 RGB features a nickel-plated jet-black finish, which looks great in any build. Our testbed uses a Lian Li PC-50R case, but the cooler is compatible with most standard ATX cases.

Installing the Heatsink

Removing the heatsink will be equally troublesome due to the limited space around the motherboard socket after installing the V6GT. In our case, we had to remove the entire motherboard out of the chassis to change the processor. If you don't have a removable motherboard tray or a feature that allows access to the bottom of the board, you'll need to do the same.

One thing to note is that you'll need to remove the two 120mm fans from the cooler before installing it and again when removing the heatsink fan. This can be a bit tedious, but it's necessary for proper installation.

Retention Plates

The retention plates are an essential part of the installation process, as they help secure the heatsink to the motherboard socket. However, we encountered a design issue with our Socket LGA1366 board, where one of the retention plates interfered with the LGA1366 release catch for the processor. This made it impossible to remove the processor once the plates were installed.

Mounting the Retention Plates

To mount the retention plates, you'll need to find the Intel-specific retention plates and adjust them to fit your test system. The installation guide is reasonably useful in answering

Installing cooler master cpu cooler