Final words and conclusion
Final words and conclusion
The Pure Rock 2 is far from being a performance cooler, but it is incredibly silent and if you do not plan any overclocking, any CPU up-to ~100W would run fine with this cooler, which costs just 35 bucks in retail right now. Though we tested the all-aluminum version, there is a getter black powder-coated version available as well, that one looks much better. Then again, with a closed chassis, who'd care? It's aluminum and copper heat pipes that's it. That said it's not the worst looking product either, granted.
Cooling performance
The cooler performs good enough for any modern mainstream processor, actually up-to a Core i9 9700K / Ryzen 7 3700X you will be fine as long as you do not need to get into tweaking. We test our system (deliberately) with the still difficult to cool Core i7 4790K, on purpose. It's an 88W processor, and realistically this CPU produces roughly as much heat as a modern 9900KS. While I know it is an old processor, thermally wise it doesn't make much of a difference what you use as proc as TDP is TDP (Thermal Design Power). At a default clock frequency performance is good, nothing more, nothing less. Overclocking based on voltage generally with a more modern CPU like the 9900K, 10700K, 10900K is ill-advised as heat levels will quickly jump up. Intel these days bypass their given TDP almost double for roughly aq minute under load. E.g. a 125 Watt TDP processor can even run 250 Watts for 60 seconds. This is why we always say, get a cooler with at least double the capacity of the TDP of your processor. In this case with the Pure Rock 2 best suited are 65 Watt TDP processors.
Acoustics
Brilliant, we can stop there. For noise levels, at defaults (not overclocked) this is an incredible silent product, on our motherboard we simply leave the default fan profile for what it is, and yeah we reached ~31 DBa, mind you that is at full processor load, even up-to 1.30~1.35 Volts (tweaked) the noise levels remain very acceptable, after 1.35v we simply don't have cooling performance left. Overall, and especially at defaults, this is a silent product.
Pricing
The kit as tested today will cost €39 / $39 / £33.99 (Silver) or €44 / $44 / £38.99 (Black) you will hit 'mainstream' levels of cooling at best. You will, however, reach a very premium acoustic experience. be quiet! does offer a 3-year manufacturer’s warranty, but aside from the fan we'd have no idea would/could break down either :)
Final Words
Decent, and about just enough for most processors are the words that come to mind after reviewing the Pure Rock 2. At default clock frequencies any CPU up-to say 65W will be cooled sufficiently with AMD procs maybe even 90 Watts. For the new Comet Lake, Intel processors things are a bit more complicated due to the extended PL2 Watt stages. But there I'd recommend LCs anyway. There is a fraction capacity left for a mild tweak on your mainstream CPU, but we'd advise not to push it too far voltages wise, which makes sense for a product like this. At 35 bucks you will receive a product that lives up to the brand name as once again, the cooler is exceptionally silent under regular operation. Recommended by Guru3D.com, if you take our precautionary advice in mind.
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