On a modern AMD motherboard, including the ASRock B550M Steel Legend we're using for this guide, surrounding the CPU socket should be 2 black brackets that are held in place by 4 screws on each corner.
Before removing the board from your PC remember to first turn off and unplug your PC at the wall, and ground yourself before reaching into your PC and touching anything (by either wearing an anti-static wrist strap or touching a metal object). If you're not building an entire PC from scratch, and are instead just adding the Hyper 212 cooler to an existing PC, you'll need to first remove your motherboard from its case since you need access to the backside of the board in order to install the Hyper 212.
If you're building an entire PC from scratch and following this guide in conjunction with our full PC assembly guide, you'll know that sitting your motherboard on its cardboard box is a handy way to work on the board as it can protect the underneath of the board and also prevent it from sliding around when working on it. What you need to mount the Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition on AMD motherboards
So, besides those 3 optional pieces for the RGB cable (set them aside in case you need them later), below is everything you need for now for an AMD install, including a screwdriver and of course your motherboard which I recommend you have sitting on top of its cardboard box: We'll explain all this later in detail, but you have the option to connect the RGB cable either to the power supply or directly to the motherboard (and if you do the latter, you won't need those 3 pieces). If you bought the RGB Black Edition too (not the standard Black Edition or another model) you will also need the pieces 'O', 'P', and 'Q' if you'll be connecting the cooler's RGB fan cable directly to the power supply. You'll also need the tub of thermal paste labeled 'K' - note in the picture above it's not listed as needed for AM4 installs since it's a piece needed for both Intel and AMD installations. Go ahead and gather the listed pieces for AMD (AM4) motherboards which is piece C, D, E, F, H, and M. Oh and if you have any feedback on this guide, do let me know in the comments. Alright, let's get straight into the steps using an AMD motherboard as the example the installation steps for Intel motherboards will be slightly different in a couple areas, but a huge chunk of this guide will still apply.
You should also have the cooler's manual on hand as you still want to refer to it during installation, even while reading this guide. Oh, and a motherboard with an already- installed CPU would be nice too. All you need is a screwdriver, and some patience, and you're good to go.
But that's why you're here, right? I've written this guide in as simple terms as possible, with clear photos and my own diagrams to hopefully make this a breeze. It's also not that hard to install, despite what some people may say in customer reviews you see around the 'net - however, if you only rely on the diagrams from the cooler's manual for installation, I can imagine it being difficult for a beginner. It's also a regular inclusion in our quarterly best gaming PC builds for the money series, and would work well to effectively cool any type of Ryzen 5, 7, and even 9, or an Intel i5, i7, or i9. So if you're still on the fence about buying one and are here reading this assembly guide as a tire-kicker to see what installation is like, having used this cooler in multiple builds I can personally highly recommended it for any mid to high-end gaming PC.
See Also: How to Install a Stock AMD Cooler
Installing the Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black CPU cooler is quite a straightforward process, but if you're a beginner perhaps building your first PC or you've just never installed an aftermarket CPU cooler before, the assembly diagrams that come included with the cooler's manual ( which you can download here) may not provide you enough information during certain aspects of installation and can even be a little confusing or unclear.Īll you get in the manual are some basic little diagrams which may be enough for some people to figure out - especially if you're naturally good at manual labor and assembling things - but the lack of any detailed instructions makes it easy to get a little stuck or frustrated. In this beginner friendly installation guide we'll slowly take your hand through each and every single one of the steps in as basic, layman's terms as possible, along with many accompanying photos to help make the process as frustration-free as possible.