Why are people still recommending CM 212 Evo?

[dopemoney]

When I finally seen the first thorough review that showed an AIO low-end cooler holding an overclocked 4th gen i7 consistently under 70 degrees even while overclocked, I was sold. I still see air cooler fans still preaching that the EVO is still a better choice, but it simply isn't true. Am I missing something or is liquid cooling not taking off as well as it should simply because so many people refuse to move forward toward progress? Many low-end LCs go for under $50 and perform as much as 3x better than their high-end AC counter-parts.

 

[tachi1247]

How about you provide some links? Most of the reviews I've seen show high end air coolers are on par or better than a lot of the AIO coolers. Definitely better than the cheap ones.

To answer your original question, the 212 Evo will take a lot of chips as far as the average person is capable of or needs and it only costs $30. Plus no need to worry about leaks or any other liquid cooling issues which may be an even greater concern if you're going with a "cheap" AIO.

 

[MunkyTOS]

Out of curiosity which under $50 all in ones are you talking about? From what I've seen in reviews/tests, the CM 212 evo performs extremely well for its price range.

 

[Janus67]

The CM212+ EVO is generally found at or under $30 pretty consistently. I haven't found a reputable and reliable AIO at that price.

 

[dopemoney]

well since the only responses both prompted me to dig a bit deeper, seems you both have points. for the price and performance, the 212 evo is not a bad choice.

i did not find any "noteworthy" links, but i know that my $50 aio keeps temps lower than the evo, i know because i had one and for me anyways, with my setup, my temps average 9 degrees lower at idle and 13 degrees lower under load. i know that all setups are not alike, but it seems like a safe bet that most people will see lower temps for not much more money invested.

there is something to be said about the inherent risk of leaks, but there is a warranty

 

[satrow]

60 minutes between the OP and your reply yet you bring up "since the only responses... "?!

So, what is your $50 AIO that outperforms the 212 Evo by 9-13 degrees (are these C or F?) ?

 

[dopemoney]

60 minutes between the OP and your reply yet you bring up "since the only responses... "?!

So, what is your $50 AIO that outperforms the 212 Evo by 9-13 degrees (are these C or F?) ?

Yeah, well i figured since the first couple responses came pretty quick and both in defense of the CM, i knew what time it was. I cant change peoples perception of what works and what doesn't. I have "cheap" asetek 550 albeit with custom fan. 9-13 degrees F, not C.

 

[freakdiablo]

60 minutes between the OP and your reply yet you bring up "since the only responses... "?!

So, what is your $50 AIO that outperforms the 212 Evo by 9-13 degrees (are these C or F?) ?

Probably the Asetek 550LC, helps to check the sig (Edit: sorry, dopemonkey got back first)

As for the warranty, does it also cover other parts killed by liquid damage? Honest question. Because that would be my biggest fear. A $50 AIO is one thing, the $50 AIO taking a $400 CPU or GPU down with it is another...

 

[satrow]

What about the noise quality/level differences between them?

 

[HankB]

Probably the Asetek 550LC, helps to check the sig (Edit: sorry, dopemonkey got back first)

As for the warranty, does it also cover other parts killed by liquid damage? Honest question. Because that would be my biggest fear. A $50 AIO is one thing, the $50 AIO taking a $400 CPU or GPU down with it is another...

One review at the Egg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4RMV_t9MawLldtY2XkTcMaAsZc8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds and not particularly favorable.

This cooler worked really well for a couple of years, however despite the claims of the manufacturer it eventually started leaking.

My motherboard is horizontal so any leaks wold just sit there. I guess the ideal situation would be to mount the motherboard upside down so any leaks would be less likely to result in damage.

I can pretty much guarantee that the warranty will not cover consequential damage.

I've considered water cooling. Two things keep me from moving ahead. First is the cost. Even that $50 cooler ($55 at the Egg) comes w/out a fan so the costs start to add up. Higher end AIO setups run into the hundreds of dollars.

Second concern is maintenance. I need to blow the dust out of my cases at least 1/year. Would I add to that the need to change fluid?

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Not sure how you think AIOs are better than all air because its "liquid cooling". Its a sealed loop with limited hardware. Nothing more.

The 212 EVO performs just fine in my other folding rig. I would say it holds its own against similar single and not too thick AIO rad setups. If I were to slap some better fans and another fan for push and pull instead of one or the other, I'm sure it would beat a 120.1 AIO configuration. If your temps were that lousy, its quite possible you could have had bad contact to the CPU, too much TIM used or too little, etc. Too many variables to assume the 212 can't hold its own. Not trying to sound like a fan boy or anything but there's ample of data out there to hold it up.

Best budget air cooler verdict (Personally) - 212 EVO bar none.

End of story.

As far as warranties on AIOs are concerned, IIRC, they have a cap on how much they can dish out. I remember someone was getting an RMA done a while back and something to the tune of $250 was given to the person who lost his PC to a leak. The policies were obviously horrible but I think they might have changed since than but not sure. But I will say on Corsair's end from experience in other areas, they are flexible, even going outside of their policy.

 

[tachi1247]

When I finally seen the first thorough review that showed an AIO low-end cooler holding an overclocked 4th gen i7 consistently under 70 degrees even while overclocked, I was sold. I still see air cooler fans still preaching that the EVO is still a better choice, but it simply isn't true. Am I missing something or is liquid cooling not taking off as well as it should simply because so many people refuse to move forward toward progress? Many low-end LCs go for under $50 and perform as much as 3x better than their high-end AC counter-parts.

i did not find any "noteworthy" links, but i know that my $50 aio keeps temps lower than the evo

Your original post mentioned a specific review you read. Post up a link.

9 degrees Fahrenheit could very easily be the result of getting a better mount when you put the aio on. TIM used could also be a part of that as well depending on if your used the same stuff both times.

 

[Kenrou]

If you want a decent example of how good the EVO is, with 2xSP120 it ran my FX-8370 at 4.5ghz ~55c 2 hours Prime95 Blend+small FFT (forgot what voltage). Do you know any other cooler that can pull it off for the EVO's price

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Do you know any other cooler that can pull it off for the EVO's price

Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, usually $15-20 on used market and outperforms the Hyper 212 Evo. It's an older heatsink, but has mounting hardware available for many different socket types. But it's also a much heavier heatsink with more heat pipes and more fins on the heatsink, and so performs better.

There is also the Prolimatech Megahalems, which also outperforms the Hyper 212 Evo, and can sometimes be found for $20-30 on the used market.

 

[Kenrou]

Had never heard of it, but the testing looks nice, head to head with the NH-D14. Too bad he doesn't seem to be able to dual fan.

 

[tachi1247]

Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, usually $15-20 on used market and outperforms the Hyper 212 Evo. It's an older heatsink, but has mounting hardware available for many different socket types. But it's also a much heavier heatsink with more heat pipes and more fins on the heatsink, and so performs better.

There is also the Prolimatech Megahalems, which also outperforms the Hyper 212 Evo, and can sometimes be found for $20-30 on the used market.

Used market is a totally different ball game. You can't always get what you're looking for when you need it at the price you think it should be.

 

[Kenrou]

In reply to OP, I suppose people keep referring the EVO because it's the "tried and true" of the budget coolers, single tower, light, fairly easy to assemble, single/dual fan and very good performance/price for its bracket.

Passed the test of time so to speak ?

 

[caddi daddi]

good air has lots of goodness over light water.
cheaper aio water units fail a lot, pumps dying and such, big air does not have this issue.
big air is easier to install for the new person than water.
big air is less work over the course of a year than water, you have to open up the case to check a pump, you just have to listen to know weather a fan is running or not.
big air will get most of the buyers all they can or need out of the cpu.
good, big air costs less than good water.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Used market is a totally different ball game. You can't always get what you're looking for when you need it at the price you think it should be.

good air has lots of goodness over light water.
cheaper aio water units fail a lot, pumps dying and such, big air does not have this issue.
big air is easier to install for the new person than water.
big air is less work over the course of a year than water, you have to open up the case to check a pump, you just have to listen to know weather a fan is running or not.
big air will get most of the buyers all they can or need out of the cpu.
good, big air costs less than good water.

+1 Agree