be quiet! are a brand known for exactly that, being quiet. We can happily tell you that they’ve delivered on that front with the quietest results we’ve seen so far, hitting an incredibly quiet 34dB @ full load. Temperature doesn’t take a hit while attaining those audible results either, you’ll be glad to know, topping out at 64.5°C with a considerable overclock applied to the i7-3930K CPU. Our Intel CPU pulls around 180W of power when overclocked to 4.4GHz, this can be seen as a worst case scenario in any consumer environment.
Aesthetically, the Dark Rock Pro 4 is quite the lump, for lack of a better word, but to achieve those low temperatures while remaining quiet requires surface area; the dimples on the surface of each fin increases area as well as interference with the moving air helping to dissipate heat.
Despite the huge size, be quiet! have done a decent job of designing the cooler, with the brushed aluminium lid and black ceramic-particle coating. They’ve even gone as far as braiding the fan cables to retain that stealthy appearance throughout.
The trimmed fins on either side, to aid installation with memory modules nearby worked out great for us, however, we are using low profile Corsair Vengeance sticks, measuring only 30mm tall. We found that the fan only gave around 4mm of clearance to the modules, meaning anything taller would foul the front fan. Something to bear in mind when considering your purchase.
Installation was a breeze, though as mentioned on the associated page, we’re using a Corsair 760T, which is certainly on the larger end of the scale, which made this possible while the motherboard was in situ. If you’re using a smaller case, you will likely need to remove the motherboard from the chassis.
The thin metal fan-clips, unfortunately, scraped the black ceramic coating off the edges of some of the fins far too easily, leaving a bright, silver metal underneath which was far-too-obvious to the eye. Perhaps more care could be taken while applying the coating in future revisions.
Being a German product, undergoing its conception, design and quality control in Germany, the build quality is exactly what you’d expect – solid.
be quiet! shows that air coolers can still trade blows with all-in-one cooling solutions, especially from an acoustics point of view.
If you’re seeking a quiet air cooling solution that doesn’t sacrifice ability, the Dark Rock Pro 4 will be incredibly difficult to beat
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
Stay connected with the Vortez Social Media pages:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Aesthetically, the Dark Rock Pro 4 is quite the lump, for lack of a better word, but to achieve those low temperatures while remaining quiet requires surface area; the dimples on the surface of each fin increases area as well as interference with the moving air helping to dissipate heat.
Despite the huge size, be quiet! have done a decent job of designing the cooler, with the brushed aluminium lid and black ceramic-particle coating. They’ve even gone as far as braiding the fan cables to retain that stealthy appearance throughout.
The trimmed fins on either side, to aid installation with memory modules nearby worked out great for us, however, we are using low profile Corsair Vengeance sticks, measuring only 30mm tall. We found that the fan only gave around 4mm of clearance to the modules, meaning anything taller would foul the front fan. Something to bear in mind when considering your purchase.
Installation was a breeze, though as mentioned on the associated page, we’re using a Corsair 760T, which is certainly on the larger end of the scale, which made this possible while the motherboard was in situ. If you’re using a smaller case, you will likely need to remove the motherboard from the chassis.
The thin metal fan-clips, unfortunately, scraped the black ceramic coating off the edges of some of the fins far too easily, leaving a bright, silver metal underneath which was far-too-obvious to the eye. Perhaps more care could be taken while applying the coating in future revisions.
Being a German product, undergoing its conception, design and quality control in Germany, the build quality is exactly what you’d expect – solid.
be quiet! shows that air coolers can still trade blows with all-in-one cooling solutions, especially from an acoustics point of view.
If you’re seeking a quiet air cooling solution that doesn’t sacrifice ability, the Dark Rock Pro 4 will be incredibly difficult to beat
Pros
+ Black, stealthy design
+ Easy to install
+ Excellent cooling ability
+ Insanely quiet
+ German build quality
+ Free screwdriver
Cons
- Will foul taller memory modules
- Ceramic coating scraped off very easily
+ Black, stealthy design
+ Easy to install
+ Excellent cooling ability
+ Insanely quiet
+ German build quality
+ Free screwdriver
Cons
- Will foul taller memory modules
- Ceramic coating scraped off very easily
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
Stay connected with the Vortez Social Media pages:
