Methodology
Cooling an AMD Ryzen 9 3950X at various levels of power consumption, joined by 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport (2x8GB) DDR4 memory on an MSI B550 Tomahawk (BIOS 7C91vAB). The Asus ROG Strix GTX 1060 6GB runs in zero-fan mode for the CPU stress tests only, and a Fractal Design Ion Gold 750W serves as the power source. The whole thing is housed in the Thermaltake Core P3 as an open benchtable.
The test system runs Windows 10 Pro 22H2 (build 19045.2251). All data sets are captured with HWInfo64 v7.34-4930 – 5000ms logging, the specified temperature is derived from the sensor CPU Die (Average). Since I don’t have air conditioning, the values in the graphs are the delta between room temperature and CPU temperature. This allows a fair comparison of all cooling systems, even if the ambient temperature is different. The thermal paste included with the cooler or pre-applied is used in each case.
I determine the sound level with a Voltcraft SL-200 meter at a distance of 40cm, which operates in 125ms cycles in Lo mode. The room was measured at 33.2 dB(A), an external sample table helps with the breakdown.
Benchmarks
In the first test run, a loudness of 40 dB(A) was set at 40cm from the center of the front, in my setup that’s 80% PWM with both fans installed:
And after that, this cooler still gets to show what it can do in terms of cooling performance at maximum speed regardless of the loudness. A maximum of 44.9 dB(A) was achieved at 100% PWM and 40cm distance.
A full comparison to other coolers can be seen here:
Roundup and re-measurement of all tested CPU air and water coolers
Summary and conclusion
I think the results speak for themselves, at the time of publishing the Dark Rock ELITE can take the crown in our ranking for air coolers. The two 135mm Silent Wing fans paired with the dual tower design and quite impressive size delivered well. The optional aRGB lighting is elegantly incorporated, so even those who can’t do without it will be picked up. By the way, the fan can be moved in height so that there is always enough space for the RAM.
Personally, I think the small switch for limiting the maximum fan speed is more of a gimmick than a useful function. Firstly, the fans are anything but loud at maximum speed, secondly, an appropriately set fan curve in the BIOS can also lead to the goal and thirdly, the additional complexity including magnets is certainly also reflected in the price.
By the way, this was around 115 € shortly before release and has dropped to 109€ in the meantime. A premium price for premium results, and the only thing that bothers me about this overall package is the somewhat short 3-year warranty. If meanwhile even AIO water coolers with three fans and a pump get the double period, I am then surprised here the lack of confidence in the own product.
The test sample was provided by be quiet! without obligation. There was and is no influence on the tests and results. There was also no compensation for expenses and there was also no obligation to publish.
be quiet! Dark Rock Elite (BK037)
Zentrallager: 5 Stück lagernd, Lieferung 1-3 WerktageFiliale Wilhelmshaven: 5 Stück lagerndStand: 17.05.24 10:49 | 89,89 €*Stand: 17.05.24 10:53 | |
Sofort lieferbar, Lieferzeit max. 1-3 Werktage | 98,90 €*Stand: 17.05.24 10:54 | |
Sofort verfügbar, Lieferzeit max. 1-3 Werktage | 98,90 €*Stand: 17.05.24 10:29 |
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