Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED CPU Air Cooler,  4 CDC Heatpipes, 120mm PWM Fan, Quiet Spin Technology , Red LEDs

This T2 is one of the newest versions from Cooler Master. Everyone raves about the Hyper 212 EVO but seeing that this was a compact size cooler I decided to give the T2 a go. Bottom Line: It works very well. Definitely better than the stock intel CPU cooler and I could fit it facing up toward the top fan of my case (Above my graphics card on a ASUS 87-Plus motherboard) or I could fit it as it is now with the CPU fan blowing out toward the rear case fan (And this includes having 2 sticks of high profile RAM in the first two RAM slots; If you have 4 sticks of high profile RAM it's not going to fit but it might be possible with low profile RAM I have no way of testing it out). Anyway, my CPU runs about 3 degrees Celsius cooler in idle and doesn't make the loud fan noise on initial startup of my computer as my stock fan did. Airflow is a definite improvement since I now have air flowing from front to back continuously. I have not run stress tests on my CPU such as Prime95 but don't think it's necessary given that I only occasionally game on my computer for short periods of time. I'm sure it will hold up just fine in stress tests; I mean really all you need to make sure of with any type of CPU cooler is that you apply just the right amount of thermal paste and have a good connection between the copper and CPU so heat can conduct. I just didn't like my stock intel because it was louder and the airflow was less than optimal. This is a great fan. Simple. But it works. The pins that insert into the motherboard are also very durable. I accidentally bent a few of the white plastic pins on the CPU clip when trying to insert them into the motherboard. You would definitely think they would break how much I pressure I put on the thing not realizing it wasn't going in, but they didn't break! It was just severely bent but I could bend them back to shape to insert into the board for a secure fit! Just be aware of this when inserting this push-in and click type CPU attachment and make sure the holes line up! I was impressed with how durable the clip was and the way it attaches to the board is a big selling point for a lot of aftermarket CPU buyers. Worked fine for me just be patient when installing!

OK, so it's kind of stupid to review something the day you install it, so take this with a grain of salt.My review will simply be about the installation process.Cooler Master's "instructions" for installing this fan are basically a bunch of pictures... not photos, just diagrams / drawings. If you have NO experience in dealing with or installing motherboards, then you probably will need help installing this fan onto the motherboard. Thankfully, there's Google and Youtube.I have installed mothboards / built computers three or four times, so I was pretty confident I could do the job. However, I'd never upgraded a CPU fan before, certainly not with one this massive.At one point, while following the instructions, I was confused by a photo. It seemed to suggest I should be using 4 screws to screw a bracket onto the board. The screws were supposed to come up from below the board, but it did not indicate which included screws those were. They didn't seem to be included at all. I thought perhaps they came from the current / old bracket that the old fan connected to on the motherboard, since I'd had to remove that earlier.It was only when I googled for instructions that I realized that a nearby photo that I thought I understood and kind of ignored.... showed that I was supposed to be installing a different bracket on the BACK of the motherboard first and I needed to attach that piece with the four screws I already had associated with it. So, it was partly my own fault, but it was also the fact that one or two drawings were unclear. A few words would have helped.But once I got past that hurdle, there was another one that had me scared at first: Would the RAM I was using "be in the way" of the fan, when I tried to install this fan inside my new Cooler Master Mastercase 5 on an MSI AM3 motherboard? I had asked questions here on Amazon about this. It was suggested that I measure the available space inside my case carefully. Well, I would have had to use a caliper to measure in order to predict how close this was going to be!First, I removed my RAM and finished adding the fan to the front of the heat sink. Then, I tried putting the first / closest RAM chip back. And, honestly, it was such a tight squeeze, I wasn't certain that the chip would be able to go into the slot. It seemed like I would need to bend the chip away during installation... that the fan was jutting out that far. However, with a bit of care, the chip went in. But, literally, THERE WAS NO WIGGLE ROOM. The RAM chip is basically AGAINST the front of the fan. I'm slightly concerned that if the fan ever starts vibrating, for whatever reason, the RAM will be vibrating too. But honestly, I don't see big odds of that happening.I'm including some photos of just how close the fan is to the RAM. Note that my RAM is a bit taller than most, because it seems like the RAM manufacturers put some sort of fins on it, probably to help with heat dispersion.Anyways, despite these minor issues, I'm still giving this fan a 5 star rating... because I'm very pleased with the price vs. value that I believe I am receiving. Initial stats suggest my PC is running about 10 degree Celsius cooler than before. And I've got a pretty LED too to go with my new Cooler Master Case (which, by the way, also came with drawings / diagrams-only instructions.)Thank you to all previous purchasers and their reviews! It's nice to buy with confidence!