Hyper 212 Plus Universal CPU Cooler : Anything I should know?

[t.o.]

Thinking about picking this up in a couple of hours. Hyper 212 Plus Universal CPU Cooler . Is this any good? Reviews have been positive across the board. I want to do a little overclocking of my i5 3570K but I don't want to go nuts with it like 5Ghz or anything, mid-low 4's would be good enough for me.

Also what's the difference with this one Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan?

Also some people say to ditch the included thermal paste and pick up some Artic Silver 5. Is there really any big difference or is it just a "l33t" thing? Is it going to net me 10 more degrees of cooling or anything or just a nice bulletin point when talking about system specs?

Also with Artic Silver I see you have a long curing process to tend with , 200 hours run-time hours according to the instructions. Does this mean no overclocking during this period?

 

[94JZA80]

the 212 EVO is essentially a "new and improved" 212+...the only real difference i know of is in the base itself (where it makes contact w/ the CPU). you'll note that the heatpipes of the 212+ are distinct as they run through the base plate, leaving unwanted grooves where air pockets can form and hurt cooling performance. the heatpipes on the 212 EVO on the other hand meet and blend together at the base plate, eliminating those potentially performance hurting grooves. i suppose the 212+ might not come w/ a PWM fan since it isn't specified on Amazon's product page, but i'm not 100% sure.

i don't know that there will be a significant difference between the OE paste and Arctic Silver 5 at stock clocks, but i would recommend it over the OE stuff since you're planning on OCing (albeit mildly). while it probably won't make a 10°C difference, it could very well drop temps an additional 3-5°C beyond what the OE paste can achieve. as far as the curing process goes, i've never had a problem OCing straight away when using AS5. in fact, i never even noticed a difference in the temps before and after the curing phase...and i've used AS5 on several CPUs and GPUs.

long story short, either the 212+ or the 212 EVO will be more than sufficient for a mildly OC'ed 3570K.

 

[t.o.]

Thanks for the answer. Now I'm getting even more fouled up as researching around Arctic MX-4 has now been thrown in the mix. I guess I could just use the stock stuff and if I feel I need those few degrees then go out and buy the Arctic stuff later. I read reviews going from "Now that I use Arctic Silver my wife and I have no need for a refrigerator" to "It only amounts to a 2degree or less from the best paste on the market to the worse if they are applied correctly". Don't know which way to turn now.

 

[94JZA80]

Thanks for the answer. Now I'm getting even more fouled up as researching around Arctic MX-4 has now been thrown in the mix. I guess I could just use the stock stuff and if I feel I need those few degrees then go out and buy the Arctic stuff later. I read reviews going from "Now that I use Arctic Silver my wife and I have no need for a refrigerator" to "It only amounts to a 2degree or less from the best paste on the market to the worse if they are applied correctly". Don't know which way to turn now.

you have to remember that these testimonials are coming from different people w/ differing priorities, differing hardware configurations, differing ambient room temps, etc. if you were an extreme/hardcore OC'er, then perhaps every little bit of help you can get would make a difference. but for a mildly OC'ed CPU that already runs quite cool, you're only going to give yourslef a headache trying to figure out which thermal paste to go with. just go with one of the top recommended thermal pastes (like Arctic Silver 5, Noctua NT-H1, etc.) and you'll be set...or just do what you suggested and stick with the OE paste, see how it works, and get something else if the OE stuff doesn't run cool enough for you...

 

[t.o.]

you have to remember that these testimonials are coming from different people w/ differing priorities, differing hardware configurations, differing ambient room temps, etc. if you were an extreme/hardcore OC'er, then perhaps every little bit of help you can get would make a difference. but for a mildly OC'ed CPU that already runs quite cool, you're only going to give yourslef a headache trying to figure out which thermal paste to go with. just go with one of the top recommended thermal pastes (like Arctic Silver 5, Noctua NT-H1, etc.) and you'll be set...or just do what you suggested and stick with the OE paste, see how it works, and get something else if the OE stuff doesn't run cool enough for you...

Cool, sounds like good advice. I guess I'll make up my mind which to get on the way there.