be quiet! Dark Rock SLIM review

Cooling 189 Page 2 of 10 Published by

teaser

Product Showcase CPU Cooler

Img_8329

 

The cooler is packaged in the traditional black/white/orange be quiet! design box. As you can see, bundled is a Silent Wings fan rev3 120mm fan, these are running a fairly low RPM, but above anything, really silent. You could add another fan if you wanted too, for a bit of push-pull fun.

 

Img_8330

Once unboxed you'll spot the cooling unit consisting of the heatsink assembly, fan, and brackets + back plate that supports a very wide range of AMD and Intel processors. This dark matter weighs 730gr with dimensions of 74 x 137 x 161mm (LxWxH).

 

Img_0219

 

Anything Intel is supported and AMD up to and including AM4 Ryzen, but not SP3 Threadripper which I find to be a bit of a miss really. But supported are Intel: LGA 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011-v3, and 2066 for Intel, and AM2(+), AM3(+), AM4, FM1, and FM2(+) for AMD. A little thermal paste is included well. This cooler is rated at 180W (which relates directly towards the TDP of your processor (e.g. 95 Watts) in thermal dissipation.

 

  

Img_8336

 
Above, the cooler placed on its side. It uses four copper based heat pipes arranged in a U-shaped design with the fan located at the opposing side in at the top. The fins effectively disperse heat away from the CPU via composite heat pipes towards the radiator unit. The fin stack itself is moved back slightly in order to bring the fan closer to the center of the cooler, and helping with RAM compatibility. The entire product as you can see is painted black, and that certainly brings in a great aesthetic feel and look. 
That powder coating on the alu fins, however, is fragile, you can easily scratch that black coating. For example, securing the fans with the retention clips will quickly result in a bit of paint damage.  The top of the cooler has been reinforced with a top side plate.

Share this content
Twitter Facebook Reddit WhatsApp Email Print