Final words and conclusion

be quiet! is amongst the most reputable players in the CPU cooling market, with excellent-looking products that have been tough through well. A while ago we however moved towards an Alder Lake 12900K processor in the test setup, which demands far more cooling capacity similar to the 13900K and 14900K that is recently released. Our 12900K is setup to utilize 215~241W under load depending on how we configure it in the sBIOS, and at a rated 280W for the tested cooler, we're barely in balance. Basically, at defaults the cooler will manage fine, a slight tweak is possible as well. However, if you really want to check out all-core overclocking, you're poised to move to LCS (all-in-one liquid cooling) to keep these beasts under control. Mind you that the 12900K, 13900K and 14900K CPUs are designed to run up-to 100 Degrees C before they thermally throttle and shift to different power states. 

Aesthetics & Design

The sleek black finish and simple design make for an appealing final product. It's a nice touch that the factory-installed fans are daisy-chained, with only a single cable running from the radiator to the motherboard for the fan. A second cable attributed towards the top side aRGB functions which does look nice. Indeed, the neater the wire routing, the better it looks. Our only complaint is that the fan cable seems a little short. The design is satisfactory overall.

Installation

The assembly process of this kit is simple and efficient, similar to other models. To install the kit, simply place the backplate and standoff screws, position the cooler, and secure it with the provided hardware. With a minimal time investment of only ten minutes, even those without advanced technical skills can easily assemble the kit. Overall, the performance of the kit is what may be expected of its cooling capacity. 

One note we do need to make is that DRAM height can pose an issue with the cooler, regular Kingston Fury Dimms with a height of 43mm just about did fit. be quiet! is proclaiming about two cm more in their specs, for the first DIMM slot that is right, but the following slots would be blocked.

Pricing

Here's where things take a side-track, the new Dark Rock Pro 5 is far more exciting in its design with latches and an easy removable middle fan. That takes it toll on pricing big time. You'll be looking at $114.90 USD for the Dark Rock Elite, and $99.90 USD for the Dark Rock Pro 5. For that money, these days you can purchase excellent LCS kits with will offer you more cooling capacity. 

Conclusion

The efficiency of a heatpipe cooling system, when applied to our 215-241W / 12900K processor, is challenging (we know), especially given Intel's recommendation for utilizing liquid cooling solutions for this chip. However, it's essential to consider that this cooler is designed for 270W thermal draw. While its silent mode performance might be slightly underwhelming, when switched to performance mode, it tends to produce audible noise under all-core stress tests. Such limitations hinder the substantial overclocking potential of the CPU. Cooling the 12900K is inherently challenging. The fifth revision of the cooling system, despite its gorgeous design, seems to have a price point, making its value proposition at $100 questionable and for this kind of money, there are better and more affordable heatpipe based coolers available as even the AK500 from Deepcool at $70 did a better job. At $115 we feel the Elite might be priced too uncomfortably for most people. However, it can cool down a default clocked 12900K/13900K/14900K even at silent mode (albeit it will not remain totally silent). That's commendable for people that like a nice looking cooler and who are afraid to install an LCS unit. 

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