Conclusion:

I couldn't believe it when I first realized this, but the Hyper TX is the first Cooler Master air cooled processor solution we have reviewed at Bigbruin.com. Although perhaps well overdue, our introduction to Cooler Master's air cooling performance was a good one.

The Cooler Master Hyper TX offers just about everything you would want in a processor cooler; easy installation, minimal noise, respectable cooling performance, and the secondary benefit of cooling motherboard components near the processor. Unique features such as the vibration isolating rubber fan mounts, easily removable fan/shroud, and the lip that guides the air down on to the motherboard components are welcome innovations and things I hope to see more of on future coolers.

Despite its compact size and light weight, the Hyper TX did quite well when it came to thermal testing. It doesn't provide the best results, but it does better than many coolers on the market, and can provide people still using the stock Intel cooler a nice upgrade.


The list of positives for the Cooler Master Hyper TX is impressive, and the price is just another item to include. Most heatpipe coolers will set you back something like $45-$55 (US) these days, and the Hyper TX is nowhere close to that range. A search of PriceGrabber shows that the Hyper TX can be yours for under $30. Very nice!

There really are no negatives to list for the Hyper TX, but better temperatures would obviously be welcome. Getting the temperatures down another 5 degrees Celsius or so would put it at the top of the list of all the coolers I have tested, and would make it the absolute must have cooler. Ditching the stock thermal paste for some of the high performance pastes on the market may get you there, but then again, they would help the other coolers on the market, too. I did't think I would ever say this, but the pre-applied thermal paste is worth keeping! It allowed the cooler to perform well, and switching for typical white paste provided no cooling improvement.

Given everything the Cooler Master Hyper TX has going for it, giving it the "Highly Recommended" award is easy.


Pros:

» Respectable cooling performance
» Super simple installation
» Compact, should work in systems of many sizes
» Provides secondary cooling for other motherboard features
» Pre-applied thermal paste is worth keeping
» Nearly silent due to fan design and rubber fan mounts
» Very reasonable pricing

Cons:

» Not much, but better cooling would be great!

Special thanks to Cooler Master for providing the Cooler Master Hyper TX Socket 775 CPU Cooler to Bigbruin.com for review!