Cooler Master Hyper N-520 Preview

We just got our hands on Cooler Master’s new Hyper N520 CPU cooler and we are looking forward to testing it.  It has a dual fan design cooling the fins down, each with a speed of up to 1,800 rpm and a noise level up to 19 dB(A).  What is exceptionally cool is that Hyper N520 is compatible with all current CPU sockets including Intel’s Core i7 LGA 1366. With dimensions of 122.3 x 102.5 x 141 millimeter, this cooler weights 688 grams and feels pretty solid. The copper plate at the base of the cooler transfers the heat of the processor to five heat pipes which are connected to its aluminum fins which act as a radiator. The price is reasonable at $49 here.

Here is Hyper N520’s home page:

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=1623&product_id=2879

The twin fans appear to have good free air flow for maximum cooling.  Here is a pic:

Here are the details as found on Cooler Master’s site:

http://www.coolermaster.com/products/product.php?language=en&act=detail&tbcate=1&id=5983

CPU Socket :
Intel Socket (LGA1366 / LGA775)
Socket (LGA 771 Skulltrail only)
AMD Socket (AM2+ / AM2 / 940 / 939 / 754)

CPU Support :
Intel Corei7 / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Duo / Pentium 4 / Pentium D / Celeron / Celeron D
AMD Phenom X4 Quad Core / Phenom X3 Triple Core / Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 / Sempron

Dimensions : 122.35 x 102.5 x 141 mm ( L x W x H )
Weight : 688g
Heat Sink Dimensions : 115 x 62.3 x 141 mm
Material : Cu base, AI fin, 5 heatpipes
Heat Pipes Dimensions : Ø6 mm
Fan Dimension (W / H / D) : 92 x 92 x 25 mm
Fan Speed : 1800 R.P.M.
Fan Airflow : 43.8 CFM (Total)
Air pressure (mmH2O) : 3.24 mmH2O (Total)
Bearing Type :Sleeve
Fan Life Expectancy : 70,000 hours
Fan Noise Level (dB-A) : 19 dBA
Connector 3-pin

Hyper N520 comes in a nice box for shipping and we really like the instructions which are quite detailed and clear:

It has a highly polished copper base to remove the heat from the CPU and five heat pipes as pictured:

What we really want to know is how well does it cool our CPU.   Is it relatively easy to install and how quiet is it?  Good questions. Well, stay tuned for a full review.

This editor is finishing up his GPU Shootout series with 8 sets of drivers – Catalyst 8-9 through 8-12 and Geforce 178.13 through 181.40 – with 4 video card configurations including GTX280 and crossfireX-3.  Immediately following its publication this week, we are going to overclock our e8600 as far as it will stably go and set new benchmarks in preparation for a comparison with Intel’s Q9550 for a dual vs. quadcore battle in PC gaming!  Of course – just before we do this – we plan to upgrade from Vista-32 to Vista-64 to give you the current possible performance differences between them in gaming.

During all of our overclocking, we will test our PC’s current Thermalright/Scythe-120 CPU cooler/fan against Cooler Master’s new Hyper N520 and we will provide its cooling details – each ones maximum stable overclock and temperatures – and also what it is like to live with it.  We should have this review done this weekend.

Of course, in the meantime, always feel free to join our forums and discuss this – or just about anything – in our ABT forums.

Mark Poppin

ABT editor