Hyper 212+ Shroud

[TheyCallMeGunny]

I made a mod today.

 

I have a Hyper 212 Plus CPU cooler, in Push/Pull config with matching fans. They are very high CFM (60-110CFM each) but blow a lot of air at an angle: Allowing it to escape the fins of the heatsink and flow elsewhere.

So I made a shroud for it. Details about shroud are at end, but here's the basic temperature differences:

 

My temperature ranges WITHOUT SHROUD:

36C at completely idle, 49C at max load. (According to motherboard's CPU sensor- internal sensor is locked. But that's in another topic.)

 

My temperature ranges WITH SHROUD:

31C at completely idle, 42C under max load.

 

So it seems the shroud made a big difference, especially under load. Idle is close to my ambient room temperatures (24C room temperature.)

 

I made my shroud out of 2mm thick brushed aluminum with adhesive sealant.

So I basically made an airtight enclosure all the way around my heatsink and fans: With two small holes (shaped like drinking straws) on the bottom (near CPU) to exhaust excess pressure. I had to drill holes for the screwdriver, and reseal them after I screwed it in place with adhesive and small shaped pieces of the same brushed aluminum. I basically "capped the holes" and added sealant to keep with the idea of keeping it airtight.

 

-Edit: Using aluminum also made the cooler silent. I can turn it on silent (~30%) or 100%, and I can't hear a difference anymore. It's quieter than my case fans now. This was an "accidental" effect, I didn't actually consider this when building it.

Edited May 16, 2012 by dragonsdontfly

[Drdeath]

A Shroud would lower temps that much on the 212. The engineering of the heatsink if the fans are installed correctly would have max air flow on the fins. Your High CFM fans may be overkill for the unit so the use without the shroud does not have proper air flow on the 212+ or perhaps you have a better set on the heat sink itself for the test. How do you apply tour tim/

Edited May 16, 2012 by Drdeath

[sticknstone]

The shroud has not only allowed all the cfm from the fan to be directed onto the full width of the heatsink, but it has also stopped the pull fan from taking air through the sides. Now the air flow is from push fan, through the heatsink, through the pull fan. I am interested in seeing a picture of the mod if possible. Two holes the size of a screwdriver would not have an affect on the performance of the air flow. An affect is determined when the area is compared to the inlet area of the fan. In this instance two screwdriver holes area compared to the fan opening area will allow a very small amount of air to escape. Now compare the open space area of the sides of the heatsink to the fan opening area.

I am not making a request to you to remove the pull fan, but I am interested in seeing the temps the push fan and shroud give. In a heatsink fan assembly the fan will have a drop in pressure resulting in an affect on the fan curve chart which will see a drop in cfm flow. Adding another fan will increase the pressure and increase the cfm flow.

Edited May 16, 2012 by sticknstone

[d6bmg]

May be you should remove pull fan from your setup.

[Delaria]

I hate it when my fan is shrouding..so I switched from Hyper 212+ to Freezer 13 already and it stays very quiet even at load

[vandreadstriker]

May I ask how you made the shroud? Seems a decent improvement too me if it's not too hard to make one

[Drdeath]

I have to say, the improvement the OP reports would make the 212 better than the Noctua D 14 and that won't happen. I am not saying temps are not better. have to be realistic on this one.

Edited May 18, 2012 by Drdeath

[TheyCallMeGunny]

May I ask how you made the shroud? Seems a decent improvement too me if it's not too hard to make one

 

Explained in original post. Long explanation first: Simpler way to get a similar effect at end of this response.

 

As for how I applied it: I cut pieces to fit around each side of the heatsink and attached them OUTSIDE of the case (No way to do this internally.) I had both fans on the heatsink when I applied the panels. I cut a piece to match the shape and size of each face of the heatsink+fans just long enough to bend around the outside lip of the fan , and fastened them on with "corner pieces" which were used to glue the adjacent side plates on. I made sure the entire surface area was covered, and at the end decided to put 2 holes in it, as I was worried it might cause too much static pressure without some form of exhaust.

 

Then I just mounted it by putting a screwdriver through the holes and screwing it in, then took a few spare tabs and sealed them back over the screw holes.

 

____

As for DrDeath's response: I don't think mine is better than the Noctua D14, I believe it's more to do with how little air was actually flowing THROUGH the fins originally. Think of a whale tail: Mine have a bend that allows air to escape straight off the end of the blade instead of pushing more through front to back. My fans push as much air at a sideways angle as they do forward: They have "fin" shaped blades that are bent at the end and push air in a 180 degree area. IMO that would explain the difference: Half the air was barely touching my heatsink without a shroud- Now all of it is being forced through it.

 

As for the simple way to make one, I'd assume it'd have the same effect but wouldn't look as nice: They make aluminum tape. It's just thin sheet aluminum with one sided adhesive on a roll of tape. Same material as what I used, just thinner (and therefor pliable.) I'd assume you could just tape all around it if you wanted to. I just wanted mine to stay "flat", so I used actual pieces of aluminum: Cut them with a hacksaw (keeping in line with edge of work bench to avoid bending the edges), drilled holes with a dremel, and bent them in a vice to shape the corners. Then I just sealed each piece by scraping the edges up and applying rubber cement.

Edited May 27, 2012 by dragonsdontfly

[Gorlabeta]

Great move. I think coolermaster would develop a new shroud to enhance the performance of its coolers.

It may be sold as an accessory independently.