Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White review

Our Verdict

Smart-looking and simple to install, the 212 Halo White is a nice CPU cooler but it isn't the cheapest and can't cope with high-end CPUs.

Reasons to buy

• Very compact
• Excellent RGB lighting
• Easy to install

Reasons to avoid

• Can’t handle high-end CPUs
• Aesthetics and lighting cost more
• More expensive than similarly-performing coolers

If you have around $45 to spend on a CPU cooler then you have countless options to choose from, but the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White might tempt you with its compact design, snazzy RGB lighting, and the fact it’s available in black or white to match your PC’s color scheme. It’s also compatible with Intel’s LGA1700 socket and AMD’s Socket AM5 out of the box and its height of just 154mm means it will fit in nearly any case designed to house tower coolers too. But is it one of the best CPU coolers?

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White specs

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White specs:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White design and dimensions

If you prefer small simple coolers to multi-fan monsters like the Noctua NH-D15, or liquid coolers like the Corsair H100i, the Hyper 212 Halo White should be right up your street. There are hardly any parts in the box thanks to it using mounting plates for Intel or AMD sockets that come pre-fitted with springs and screws. All you need to do is secure these to the cooler to start with and, with Intel systems, use an included backplate. Apply some of the included thermal paste and away you go.

For AMD systems, you need to remove the stock cooler mounting brackets and then secure the cooler to the stock backplate. It’s super-easy and idiot-proof. Connecting the single 120mm fan is also simple and the 4-pin PWM cable can power the RGB lighting on its own so you don’t need to use the included 3-pin ARGB cable to power the lighting.

Using only the fan cable means the lighting does its own thing, resulting in the usual rainbow color cycling mode, but the extra 3-pin cable allows you to control the lighting using your motherboard or RGB controller. As well as being very compact, Hyper 212 Halo White also doesn’t overhang any memory slots so you can use any modules without fear of them being incompatible with this cooler.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White Intel LGA1700 temperature

Things got toasty dealing with our Core i7-13700K, but it held on, just, reaching 99°C after a ten-minute multi-threaded stress test. This is a worst-case scenario and in games, your CPU would be much cooler. However, we’d suggest not using this cooler with this CPU or anything more powerful such as a Core i9-13900K but it will be capable of taming Core i5 and Core i3 models such as the Core i5-13600K or Core i5-13400.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White AMD Socket AM5 temperature

AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPUs run hot and this was certainly true with our Ryzen 9 7900X, which proved a little too much for the Hyper 212 Halo White. The CPU temperature topped 95°C within seconds and in a minute the CPU began reducing frequency to compensate ending up a few hundred megahertz below where it should be and can be with more powerful coolers. As a result, we’d suggest only using it with AMD CPUs with TDPs of 150W or less, such as the Ryzen 5 7600X.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White noise level

With a small heatsink, the single 120mm fan needs to pack a punch and as a result, it can spin at up to 2,000rpm. Thankfully, this doesn’t result in hideous amounts of noise when the CPU is getting toasty. Larger coolers will be quieter and you won’t want to sit next to its fan at full speed for hours, but it’s acceptable for short periods and very quiet at low and medium speeds.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White price

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White price is $44 (£40), making it more expensive than entry-level coolers. However, it’s well-built, looks great, and is nice and quiet.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White review conclusion

What impressed us most about the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Halo White was its blissfully simple installation with minimal parts despite supporting all current and some previous AMD and Intel mainstream desktop CPU sockets. Secondly, it looks fantastic with its white color scheme and vibrant RGB fan.

There are some downsides, though, mostly with its price, which sits above similar-sized coolers due to these positive features. In addition, its small size means that high-end CPUs are out of reach so you’ll need to pair it with modern Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 CPUs or below.