Final Thoughts
We here at ThinkComputers are big fans of be quiet! products. You know you are getting a quality product when you purchase something from be quiet!. With that said the Dark Rock 3 is a quality product, you can tell that as soon as you take it out of the box. The sleek design really shows right off the bat. Also unlike most CPU coolers we see these days be quiet! tops theirs off with a cool brushed aluminum top that will be seen if you have a side panel window on your case.
With a name like be quiet! you expect this cooler to be nice and quiet and it is! The included 135mm Silent Wings fan is pretty much inaudible even at its highest speeds. If you have this cooler inside of a case you are going to barely hear it at all. This is actually one of the more quiet CPU coolers we have reviewed in sometime.
Now of course we have to talk about the performance. The Dark Rock 3 did not do the best in our tests. It did however keep our Intel Core i7-4960X extreme processor within its temperature limits. I would honestly say if you have a mid-range processor like a Core i5 or even a lower Core i7 this cooler will do just fine. You can of course add another fan to the Dark Rock 3, which should improve performance.
Installation of the Dark Rock 3 took a little bit of time, but not that long. I really wish be quiet! would come up with an easier method to secure the cooler rather than use a wrench and bolts. This is what takes up the most time and can be quite hard in a confined space.
Right now the Dark Rock 3 can be found for around $79 online, which is a little high given its performance. If the price was a little lower I could totally recommend this cooler since it is extremely quiet and well built. Overall ThinkComputers gives the be quiet! Dark Rock 3 CPU Cooler an 8 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Sleek and stylish design
– Quality made
– Almost silent
– Ability to add a second fan
Cons:
– Performance could be better
– Installation can be annoying
