Cooler Master has been making enthusiast CPU coolers ever since the first AMD Athlon Socket A/462 CPUs were overclockable. Since then they have been releasing products that outperformed the competition or provided excellent value for money. Of course there were sometimes products which were not really that good at cooling, but looked fancy when placed inside a case with window panel. The Hyper product series however is definitely one of their high performance coolers; their first Hyper 48 was a top down copper cooler with heatpipes which gave the best Thermalright heatsinks a run for their money. When they released a 1kg copper monster for the fragile Socket A CPUs we were treated by the first tower cooler AND performance monster which held the performance crown on Socket A for years to come.

Fast forward several years and we see their Hyper series evolving into tower coolers which feature excellent platform compatibility, good price and recommendable performance. Today we take a look at the latest instalments in the series, the "I support up to 2x120mm fans" Hyper 212 Plus and more compact Hyper TX3. The new feature of these coolers is the base, where now the heatpipes are directly exposed to the IHS of the CPU.

Before we delve into details, here are the specs sheets of today's contestants

Features and Specifications

Hyper 212 Plus (product page)

* Well-balanced cooling performance:
         1. Computer aided heatsink design provides fin optimization with perfect balance between high and low speed operation.
         2. 4 x Direct Contact heat-pipes for seamless contact between CPU surface and cooler.
         3. Wide-range PWM fan with unique blade design for excellent airflow.
         4. Upgradable to dual fans and swapping of fans with extra fan-clips included.

* Fan mounting using clips for easy installation and swapping.
* Versatile all-in-one mounting solution for Intel Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775 and AMD Socket AM3/AM2+/AM2.
* Silent operation with minimal noise level at 13 dBA.
* Excellent airflow design with compact heatsink dimension.

Hyper TX3 (product page)

* Flexible mountings for Intel Socket LGA 1156/1155/775 and AMD Socket AM3/AM2/940/939/754.
* Maximum compatible CPU wattage: over 130W TDP.
* 3 x Direct Contact heat-pipes with aluminum fins to provide excellent heat dissipation.
* Option for adding 2nd fan to increase cooling performance.
* New 92mm PWM fan with wide RPM range and anti-vibration rubber pads.
* Silent CPU cooler at only17 dBA (at minimum speed).
* Easy swappable fan by clips (clips for 2nd fan included).
* Excellent airflow design with compact heatsink dimension.