Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo Black CPU Air Cooler Review

Roughly a year ago, we looked at what we feel is the basis of the new cooler's design when we saw the MasterAir MA624 Stealth. Within that design, we got a pair of fans to cool a dual-tower fin array, and with the name stealth applied, you can guess it was murdered out with all-black attire, and the noise was also kept to a minimum. However, there were a couple more things to add to that mix. A high-end, thick aluminum cover made it look fantastic, added a ton of weight, and drove the price higher than expected. All told, to get what we saw from the MasterAir MA624 Stealth, you had to shell out almost $120.

While scoring well, we did hammer them for the size, weight, and cost of the aforementioned cooler, and it appears that our comment that cost would keep customers away may have been partially true. Why else would we be here with something very similar, yet with enough of its own flavor to stand alone within the newer CPU coolers being added to the Hyper Series of Cooler Master coolers? Nonetheless, what we have in hand now, is a much better overall solution to the masses, and with a much smaller dent to your bank account involved.

If this newer Hyper 622 Halo Black CPU air cooler is anything like the cooler, we think it's a kid brother to; Cooler Master should have very little to worry about. With all of the styling afforded to this cooler in the way of fin array covers and the dual-loop ARGB fans leaving us with four rings of light to adore. We would assume that the 624 may perform slightly better than this new 622 Halo, as the first is a top-tier premium solution, but if the Hyper 622 Halo can finish anywhere close to it, Cooler Master will have quite the package deal for you in this CPU air cooler.

The Hyper 622 Halo Black CPU cooler we have is black, but a white version is available. This cooler is shipped with hardware compatible with Intel LGA1200 1700 and 115X sockets while also accommodating AM4 and AM5 sockets for AMD. Dimensionally, the tower is 125mm wide, 137mm deep, and 157mm tall, but we are not offered a weight. However, we dug into the downloads and saw a net weight measurement of 1260 grams. Slightly lighter than the 624 but still a heavyweight. Next is a mention of the six 6mm diameter heat pipes used in the design but no word of the fifty aluminum fins in each array.

The 120mm fans cooling the tower are a pair of Halo² ARGB, dual-loop, black fans with the part number 202003540-GP. These fans are shown to reach 2050 RPM at max speed, pushing 51.88 CFM each through the towers. Static pressure is said to be 2.89 mmH2O. These fans are shown to last more than 160,000 hours and should only touch 27 dB(A). These fans are 4-pin powered and have short ARGB cables that use an adapter cable on these 6-pole, rifle-bearing supported solutions.

Like many other Cooler Master CPU air cooling offerings, this one has two years of warranty support. That said, we still have the glari9ng hole in this section yet to discuss, price. Where the MA624 wanted AIO money to get that level of style and performance, this time around, things are much different. Almost half, actually. Whether Amazon or Newegg is your home store, you will find the Hypewr 622 Halo Black being sold for $64.99. Currently, Newegg has a $5-off promo code, meaning the Hyper 622 Halo Black can be had for half of what the MA624 sells for, and with what you are about to see, it will be hard to come out of this disappointed.

With their typical purple as the backdrop, the front of the packaging highlights the image of the cooler in the center, all lit up and looking great. Hyper 66 Halo Black is the text at the bottom, with the Cooler Master name and logo next to it.

The box's right side offers the cooler's name at the top of the panel. Below are two images, one is a top view of the Hyper 622 Halo, and the second is a side view.

The back of the box highlights the clean black finish, wide range compatibility, the inclusion of six pipes and a nickel-plated base, the dual-tower design, and intuitive ARGB detection. The pink section below reiterates these features in various languages.

The remaining panel is where the specifications chart is provided and is nearly identical to what we showed earlier. Above it is where we see all of the sync software compatibility, generation of ARGB support, and the number of colors you can see.

Inside the box was something different from what we typically find. Rather than foam, Cooler Master chose folding plastic sections to envelope the tower and fans while keeping it centered and safe. On top is where the literature and hardware are contained, away from the tower, leaving it in perfect condition for the following images.

Most of what is in view from the front is the 120mm intake fan. However, we can see the thick top cover and some of the fins, and we can also see the wide spread of those six black pipes below the fan.

We find two towers of fifty fins from the side, both of which have a fan actively cooling them. We can also see that the need for height in the aluminum covers is due to the protruding heat pipes. Lastly, the mounting hardware limits the center fan to its lowest position.

After fan removal, we looked at all of the fin surfaces, and they match what is seen here, except some edges do not have the RAM clearance sections cut away. Most of the surface is at the same height across each fin, with eight grooves added to help disturb the airflow.

We can see the notches front and back for RAM, and we can also see the grooves for the wire fan clips, but we also see tabs. These will help keep fin spacing even and grab slightly more air from the fan than if it were open.

It wasn't easy to show the design laid out on both covers in the booth, but they matched what we saw on the box. With the play of textured black and matte black as the design, the design can be hidden if not in the perfect light. Either way, we like the look of the covers and appreciate this over having to see the pipe tips.

At the other end of the Hyper 622 Halo, we run into the aluminum portion of the base. It is designed as a pre-cooler with fins in the center and drilled to support the mounting screws.

The copper portion of the base sandwiches the copper pipes in place and is machined circularly. The center is slightly higher than the edges, and once the copper is machined, it also gets a nickel coating.

We grab the main hardware bits from the bag and run into the AMD mounting brackets on the left. The universal Intel backplate with adjustable threads at the ends is in the middle. That leaves the Intel mounting brackets on the right of the backplate.

Next, we grabbed the accompanying bits to go with the previous gear. At the left are the four knurled nuts that secure both AMD and Intel mounting brackets. In the center are the Intel standoffs, and to the right, with the larger threads, are the AMD standoffs.

We also get an extension cable for the ARGB lighting, as the leads on the fans are short. Cooler Master also sends a tube of CryoFuse thermal paste and a y-splitter cable to power both fans from a single PWM fan header.

The manual has few words, and many are used for the titles of each section. We get a parts list that is lettered. Once you find the proper section for your motherboard, follow the renderings closely and follow the letters in the guide to have the Hyper 622 Halo up and running in a few moments. The warranty information covers the length of time and the points of what is and is not covered.

The black fans that cool the Hyper 622 Halo Black are these Halo² dual-loop ARGB fans. Each has rubber pads on the corners, a pair of LED rings, and LEDs in the hubs to add ARGB glow all around the cooler. The 4-pin PWM cables are sleeved, and while hard to see, under the white sticker on the right fan power lead is the short 5V ARGB 3-pin connection, and this is the reason for the extension cable.

As instructed, we removed the screws and plastic bits from the top of our AMD motherboard, leaving the factory backplate in place. Once there, we screwed the standoffs into the backplate. We could install the mounting brackets above and below the socket and secure them with the knurled nuts.

After applying thermal paste and with the tower stripped of its fans, we can mount the Hyper 622 Halo to the board. Access to the screws is done through the tower's center, and we alternated screws with a few turns each until we ran out of threads.

We then reinstalled the fans, and looking at the Hyper 622 Halo black on the motherboard is similar to what we saw out of the box, but this time the RAM is blocking the view of the heat pipes.

The notch provided in the fins will help those with tall RAM with cooler fitment, but it has a downside. The taller the RAM, the higher the intake fan has to sit. There is a point where the cooler's height will increase due to this. Even so, in our arrangement, the cooler is free and clear of the sticks, and we rested the fan on top of ours.

Moving back to take it all in, it is easy to see that the Hyper 622 Halo is a big-boy product. As it sits, access to the 8-pin is limited due to the proximity of the cooler, and if you have plans of adding a third fan somehow, it can complicate things even more.

Now installed on the testbench, we can see the rear IO cover, a whole lot of CPU cooler, and our power button and 24-pin cable. Everything else is out of sight. We have no issues with card clearance, but if you liked the look of your RAM, sorry, they will be hidden.

We were not going to finish with that straight-on angle on the test bench; we had to show it powered. With all four rings glowing and the fan hube emitting more light, everything around the Hyper 622 Halo is awash in its glow. We also ensured to get the pattern on the covers in this shot to see the Hyper 622 Halo black in all its glory.

To see our testing methodology and to find out what goes into making our charts, please refer to our 2020 CPU Cooler Testing and Methodology article for more information.

Out of the gate, with our stock settings used, the 58.4°C result is impressive and less than five degrees from the top of the chart. If our eyes work properly, that is the fifth best of all air-cooled submissions.

Applying the overclocked settings, we find the Hyper 622 Halo within five degrees of the top of the chart again. At 65.1°C, the Hyper 622 Halo keeps fifth place within air-cooled options.

With the fans allowed to do their best, we had a performance gap of only 2.3°C in the tank. While the noise level to do this is not ear-splitting, it is quite loud. We looked more closely for giggles, and the Hyper 622 Halo held on to that same fifth place it's been getting all along.

As we kicked up the stock testing and waited, we found the fans to get to 1271 RPM in the run. When at that speed, we find them to register at 32 dB. While it appears to be a tad loud, most say that 30 dB is the human threshold at a set distance.

After applying the overclock, we again waited to see the test results and found the fans spinning at 1414 RPM, delivering 36 dB of noise. Furthermore, while audible, it is not all that bad of a result. Something in the 40-50 dB range, sure, but we had no issue with the noise coming from the tower three feet from our head.

On the grand scale of the chart, the 51 dB doesn't seem all that bad, and the reality is that it isn't that bad at all. However, for a little more than two degrees of performance gain, we will gladly take what we got at 36 dB instead and leave PWM in control of the fans.

We kept mentioning fifth place, so let's compare the first four. The SE-207-XT Advanced is a similar solution, but not as fancy and has no lighting, but it comes in at $64. Then the Assassin IV, again, similar, plain, no lighting, and gets $98 for them. The AK620 is also a dual-tower answer, but less stylish and without illumination, requiring $70 to get. The last is an anomaly with the SE-225-XT Black at $45, with its thick single tower and dual fans, but again has no LEDs either. Bucking that trend of simplistic styling and brute force without flare is the Cooler Master Hyper 622 Halo Black. It is priced right in the middle of the competition, has more styling than any of them, and possibly if all were combined. On top of that, you get the latest gen ARGB support and loads of places that this glow will emanate from.

The hardware isn't the best out there in appearance, but we can say that it is solidly made and, while easy to use, will stand the test of time. However, there are a couple of considerations to think about. While, as tested, we had little issue with fitment, we can see some instances where fitment could snowball. While there are notches cut for the RAM, if you have taller sticks, you will need to raise the fan to allow them under it. Two things stem from this. The fan quickly will increase the cooler's overall height, which means case width can also come into play. You could fix this by using a huge chassis or investing in a smaller intake fan, but performance results will also vary. You will be good to go if you know this fact and plan to grab a low-profile kit.

We also have to touch on the thermal and audio results. Thermally, unless the submission cleanly sweeps the charts with first-place entries, we cannot recall a cooler that stood its ground as the Hyper 622 Halo Black has. It started in fifth of all the air-cooled options, and it ends thermally in that same place, never wavering, never giving an inch. That in itself is impressive, and to do it and compete with the top resulting submissions in the chart says a lot about what Cooler Master has achieved with the entire ensemble, that is, the Hyper 622 Halo Black. Audibly, sure, there is room for improvement, but with all things considered, to get the level of performance we obtained with only 36 dB of noise from PWM control is alright in our book.

Another thing that makes the Hyper 622 Halo Black very appealing, beyond being the only one in the top five with any lighting thrown into the feature set, is the minimal cost to obtain this level of performance. As said, you can choose any of the more affordable options that surpass the Hyper 622 Halo Black's performance, but for what comes down to a $15 premium over the cost of the SE-207 that precedes it, and you get a metric crapton of lighting for such a small investment. With all things considered, we cannot knock the $64.99 price point, and we would gladly pay for one out of our pockets for personal future builds.

Performance

94%

Quality

95%

Features

100%

Value

98%

Overall

97%

The most feature rich solution in its league, the Hyper 622 Halo black comes out smelling like roses while putting on quite the light and performance show. Priced where it should be, if you have the room to house it, we thoroughly recommend this Cooler Master solution.