Precise Air Flow - Stacked fin array ensure least airflow resistance which allows cooler air flow into the heatsink. With most cases not having cut-outs on the motherboard trays, back-plate based mounting mechanisms are still superior and my personal preference. Direct Contact Technology - 4 heat pipes with Exclusive Direct Contact Technology effectively provide excellent heat dissipation. The only other qualm is that it does take a bit of pressure to push the push pins securely into the motherboard and doing so inside a case can induce headaches depending on your patience.
![cooler master hyper 212 evo install 1151 cooler master hyper 212 evo install 1151](https://www.build-gaming-computers.com/images/required-parts-hyper-212-install-on-amd.jpg)
My main complaint is that screwing the retention plates can be time-consuming, but perhaps not as much as removing the motherboard. Because first you put the grub screw through the Intel hole. For the Intel LGA 1200 installation, we need the included retention module, but we have to modify it a bit beforehand. We are going to be using a Noctua NH-U12S as a baseline for higher-end air coolers, there is also going to be a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition, just to give us an idea of where the 212 Evo should be aligning. We mounted the new Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo V2 on several motherboards for testing, including this recent ASRock Z490 Steel Legend Intel LGA 1200 motherboard. The push-pins were surprisingly easily to operate and removing the cooler simply requires the push pins to be rotated anti-clockwise as indicated by the arrows on them. The competition is going to be pretty straightforward because we haven’t received a huge catalog of entry-level coolers yet. The push-pin mechanism, whilst not as robust as methods requiring back plates, is adequate for such a lightweight cooler. The method literally takes two steps so there is little to go wrong. Place the heatsink on top and push the push-pins in a diagonal fashion for an even mounting pressure until you hear a click.
![cooler master hyper 212 evo install 1151 cooler master hyper 212 evo install 1151](https://www.hardwareasylum.com/images/hyper212evo/mounting_hardware.jpg)
After applying thermal paste to the CPU, remove the protective cover from the base of the cooler and rotate the push-pins clock wise such that the small indents on each face inwards.