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Hyper 212+ push-pull

deff

2[H]4U
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
2,512
My wife finally gave in and let me buy a i5 setup today. I bought a Cooler Master 212+ to replace the stocker and while it does a pretty decent job (the hottest core reaches 33-35 while idling), I was wonder if adding a second 120mm Blade Master fan (puller) is worth the extra $10 + shipping?

Also, say I do go with a second fan, would it be best to purchase a PWM Y splitter or just run the second fan off a 3-pin fan connector?
 
My thoughts.

The second fan (IMO) depends on if you are going to OC beyond a easy medium OC. If yes, then yes. (review below says you have to pull the MB to mount a second fan, so me personally, I would do it now to avoid the massisve PITA later. The $10+ shipping you could easily justify just on personal time to tear it all apart 2 months from now.

I would go with the pwm splitter, you really want both fans matched for cfm and running at the same rpm. If not matched the faster/higher cfm running fan should be the exhaust/puller one. What I am trying to say is that I believe if the pusher was higher airflow during operation the puller with lower airflow would actually act as a restriction/impediment to total CFM across the fins. Reverse the situation the the puller would just suck air through the pusher or from the sides of the HS without a major impact on airflow across the fins. Then again it may not be that big of a deal.

And if you were going to use the motherboards fan speed control I would want it controlling both fans otherwise I do not really see the point.

I must admit this is all just conjecture from mentally modeling the configurations. Easy enough to switch around the fans and see what works best if they are not matched.

Little info on 2 fan setup here, unfortunatly they did not do temp numbers for one vs two fans but instead just looked at max OC where a 2nd fan helped. I was hoping they would mention what they used for a second fan but did not see it. Does contain specs for the original fan.
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3141&p=8
 
My thoughts.

The second fan (IMO) depends on if you are going to OC beyond a easy medium OC. If yes, then yes. (review below says you have to pull the MB to mount a second fan, so me personally, I would do it now to avoid the massive PITA later. The $10+ shipping you could easily justify just on personal time to tear it all apart 2 months from now.
snip.

The Hyper 212+ doesn't need to be removed from the motherboard to add a second fan. It uses wire fan clips like most tower coolers as opposed to the original Hyper 212. I replaced the pwm fan with a pair of S-Flex F (1600rpm) fans and dropped about 3-5C load temps while at the same time reducing noise. At the max 2000rpm's of the stock fan it can get a little louder than I like.

Ambient temp 22C

Load

64nomis.jpg
 
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I should have mentioned this in my initial post. I do plan on doing a mild oc, somewhere around the 3.2-3.4ghz range.

The hottest it got, from what I noticed after running 3DMark (I didn't have CoreTemps' logger running) was 45, but thats at stock speeds.

Also, I did a quick search for Y-splitters and came across one by Gelid (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812718001). But if you notice in the product pic, one of the Y's only has 3 pins. Does the Y even need a fourth pin? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the mobo just need one RPM signal since both fans are identical?
 
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Have you tried load testing with prime95 or IBT? I'm sure you'd get higher temps than just with 3Dmark. Another observation, I got better temps by spreading a thin layer of thermal paste on the ihs vs. line or drop on the ihs. The tim didn't spread as well as I liked using the other methods. I shaved a few degrees of load temps spreading it myself.
 
Have you tried load testing with prime95 or IBT? I'm sure you'd get higher temps than just with 3Dmark. Another observation, I got better temps by spreading a thin layer of thermal paste on the ihs vs. line or drop on the ihs. The tim didn't spread as well as I liked using the other methods. I shaved a few degrees of load temps spreading it myself.

I didnt think of using Prime, but I'll give it a go later today.

As for TIM, that's process I generally use. I wasn't too sure if the application processes would be different for this HSF because of the exposed heat pipes.
 
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I've seen and tried a few different methods, but the thin spread layer worked best for me. Although most cpu's will never be loaded to the point prime95, IBT, or occt takes it, you get a better idea of what max load temps would be. I don't know if temps around where you live are dropping like they are here, but stress loading the cpu can give you an idea of how high temps could get in the dog days of summer.
 
I found that TX-3 works best with Hyper 212+ but it is pain in the @#%^ to apply.
 
I mildly overclocked my i5 to 3ghz and hit it with Prime95 for 20 minutes. Temps never went over 49 degrees and averaged 47. Not bad for a $30 cooler, right? That's with a room temp of 74 degrees F.

UPDATE: Reapplied TIM and reseated the cooler. Got better temps. Idles at 32 -- Loaded at 49
 
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I've always found promising results of using dual fans with CPU coolers when overclocking heavily, I have a hyper 212+ lying around here and it definitely benefits from the 2nd fan
 
With the Hyper 212+ you'll need to apply like 3x the normal amount of thermal paste. What I did for a friend when helping him with his was using the 5 dice method on the heatsink base, then applying a drop to each heatpipe. The 212+ is designed with a channel inbetween the heatpipes that is designed to hold the excess thermal grease. You have to fill those channels so the thermal grease will be even in application. Once you see the base you will be able to figure it out completely.
 
With the Hyper 212+ you'll need to apply like 3x the normal amount of thermal paste. What I did for a friend when helping him with his was using the 5 dice method on the heatsink base, then applying a drop to each heatpipe. The 212+ is designed with a channel inbetween the heatpipes that is designed to hold the excess thermal grease. You have to fill those channels so the thermal grease will be even in application. Once you see the base you will be able to figure it out completely.

That's actually what I did when I reapplied the thermal paste. When I took the HS off, I noticed that the outside pipes weren't making complete contact. So I did the method you described, applied the TIM directly to the pipes, and reseated it. So far I'm getting better temps. I'm just glad I bought 2 2-packs of AS5.

I'm hoping that once I get a second fan from Newegg (currently out till September 29th) my temps will drop a little bit more.
 
@ deff. It looks like your temperatures are great and once the as5 cures they might go down 2-3 degrees more. Its kinda a shame that AS5 isn't as good as modern thermal compounds like Artic Cooling MX-2 or Thermalfusion 400. My favorite is Thermalfusion 400 personally since it is non curing and gets pretty much the best temps out there.
 
So, I got impatient waiting for the Blade Master fans to get back in stock and purchased two Thermaltake IGSC 120mm fans instead. I have to say I'm a bit underwhelmed as the temps only drop 2 degrees.

Oh well, its a bit quieter now, which I wasn't expecting. And my HSF is now 2-fan-cool.
 
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