Page 4 - Conclusion
While there are many CPU coolers available at different price points, the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 makes several appealing reasons for why it can be considered a necessity. For one, its visual appeal and build quality is apparent. The all-black finish is consistent in the product and should look great in most systems. The mesh plate at the top integrates well while keeping the exterior clean. With its aluminum fins, copper pipes and base, and nickel-plated bottom, everything looks to be materially sound. Accompanying this heatsink are two Silent Wings fans with a built-in mode selector to choose between performance or quiet operation. Furthermore, the installation is straightforward and easy to do. The inclusion of a long screwdriver is a bonus. In performance, the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 was able to show off its capabilities. It may not have been able to match our top performing air coolers, but the delta was not too big. The truly impressive thing was its ability to be near noiseless while still putting up these results. There are still some things you should keep in mind when it comes to the Dark Rock Pro 5. For one, in order to have the integrated fan speed switch, the two Silent Wings fans connect to each other with a proprietary connector, which means replacing the fans might get tricky. Secondly, the front-facing fan hangs over some of the memory slots, which could be problematic if you have taller sticks of RAM. At the time of the review, this cooler is available for $100, which puts it in a top-tier pricing category for a CPU air cooler. Even with this in mind, I am quite impressed by the balance of noise-to-performance achieved by the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5, making it an excellent option for a cool and quiet build.
be quiet! provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.7/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 CPU cooler hits a sweet spot of solid performance and a near silent output.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
