bequiet Dark Rock Pro 3 Review

bequiet Dark Rock Pro 3 Review

Introduction

It’s been quite a while since we’ve looked at a bequiet product, all the way back to March 2012 in fact when we put the shadow Rock top flow through it’s paces.  This apparent hiatus doesn’t mean the German based company have been resting up and taking things easy though, far from it, as the suffix of this Dark Rock cooler would imply, they’re now onto their third generation of coolers.

With the CPU cooling world increasingly gravitating towards AIO solutions there’s something quite refreshing about getting your hands on a good chunk of tower cooler and the Pro 3 is certainly a beefy bugger, measuring as it does 137x163x150mm (WxHxD) it looks and feels substantial.  Throw in the twin stack and twin fan configuration, combined with seven 6mm heat pipes and we should have the right ingredients for an epic air cooler.  All being well, with a hint from the name of the firm and fingers crossed it’ll go about its business without creating to much racket thus completing the holy cooler trinity of effective, quiet and attractive.  Let’s stick it on the grill and turn up the heat.  Oh we do love torturing coolers here at OC3D.

 

Technical Specification

 Name  Dark Rock Pro 3
 Dimensions  137x163x150mm (WxHxD)
 Socket

 Intel:  775, 1150, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011

 AMD:  754, 939, 940, AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, FM2

 TDP  250W
 Material

 Base Plate:  Copper

 Het Pipes:  Copper

 Fins:  Aluminium

 Surface Treatment  Dark Nickel Plating
 Weight  1.197kg
 Fans

 1x 120mm Silent wings 1400-1700rpm

 1x 135mm Silent wings 1400-1700rpm

 Noise  13.2, 19.5, 26.1dB(A) @ 50, 75, 100% of 1700rpm
Heat pipes 7x6mm

 

Features

  • Improved dynamic wave-contour cooling fins with small dots on the surface increase air circulation and contribute to high convection efficiency without raising overall noise
  • Enhanced double-tower layout offers reduced weight and enables high cooling power
  • Support of additional 120mm fan for extreme cooling performance (free fan clips are included in the scope of delivery)
  • Seven high-performance heat pipes with copper lining and aluminum caps carry heat to the optimal location on the cooling fins, maximizing heat conductance
  • The immensely high cooling capacity of 250W TDP offers low temperature even at peak performance
  • New arrangement of heat pipes enhances the cooling capability
    • Two SilentWings® PWM fans (front: 120mm, inner: 135mm) with advanced copper core fluid dynamic bearing and dynamically-balanced impeller provide optimal cooling with deep serenity
    • Inner 135mm SilentWings® PWM fan features nine airflow-optimized fan blades and an innovative 6-pole motor for smoother operation and less vibration
    • Decoupled fan mount with vibration-isolating elements on the heat sink
    • Noise is at scant 26.1dB(A) even at 100% PWM functionÂ