Dark rock pro 4 benchmark: Benchmarks, Installation, and Build [2022]

13 марта, 2023

Benchmarks, Installation, and Build [2022]

We’re all aware of the fact that properly cooling your processor is important. The CPU handles millions of instructions per second. That’s already a lot of work it’s putting on. On top of that, if you are someone who is a hardware enthusiast, then you are likely pushing that processor to its limit. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. Obviously, you want to get the most out of what you paid for.

Dark Rock Pro 4 Cooler Review

PRODUCT INFO
Dark Rock Pro 4
Manufacture be quiet!
Available at View at Amazon

While that makes sense, you can’t truly achieve maximum performance without adequate cooling. That’s where high-end air coolers come in. Budget CPU coolers might offer good value but they can’t quite match the raw performance of these coolers. Now we’re all familiar with the big names. A few worth mentioning are Noctua, Cryorig and of course, be Quiet! We’re talking about the last one today. In this review, we’re looking at a cooler that quickly got rave reviews and critical acclaim. Be Quiet! has already impressed us once before, as can be seen in our be Quiet! Pure Loop 240mm AiO Review. Today, we’re making an in-depth be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU Cooler Review.

So, be quiet! made quite a name for themselves when they first burst onto the realm of CPU coolers. Much of that popularity lies in the name itself. Recently, their coolers have gained popularity for their sleek aesthetic, incredible performance, and unobtrusive acoustic performance. The Dark Rock Pro 4 checks all of those boxes and more.

With all of that said, if you’re looking for one of the best CPU coolers, we recommend reading this in-depth Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU Cooler review to the end – we will consider all things, as such Compatibility, Size, Design, Benchmarks, Comparison to Noctua, and overall value, so Let us get to it.

Unboxing Experience

be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 arrives in the excellent packaging we all know and love. As usual, the company pushes the dark theme quite heavily. Even the box is attractive, the sort you can put on your desk or on a shelf. On the front, we have a profile shot of the cooler itself. This pairs nicely with the branding and short description.

Packaging of the Dark Rock Pro 4

One of the sides tells us about the excellent performance and features of this cooler. The other one lists all of the specifications. Finally, around back, we have a breakdown of all of the specs in detail. Inside, we have a cardboard box that contains the accessories. The cooler itself sits snugly between the cardboard and styrofoam.

Other than that, there is not much to it. The front fan is already attached, but the other one sits inside a cardboard sleeve. This sleeve is cleverly placed between the stack of fans. You’ll notice that these fans are different in size. We’ll get to that later. We’re not done here, as this box contains a lot of accessories.

You might also want to check out our picks for the best CPU Coolers For 10th Gen Intel Processors if you’re building a relatively modern Intel system.

The backside of the packaging with product description

These accessories range from mounting hardware to a magnetic screwdriver. Of course, we have a thermal compound, brackets, a PWM splitter, and installation manuals. The addition of a sturdy Phillips screwdriver is a good one. It’s also good to see that they contain installation manuals in six different languages. Not a bad touch at all.

Box Contents

The accessories box for the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 includes the following:

Contents of Dark Rock Pro 4 box

  • Magnetic screwdriver
  • Two-way PWM splitter
  • Mounting hardware for Intel
  • Mounting hardware for AMD
  • Thermal Compound
  • 2x Silent Wings 3 Fans
  • Fan Clips
  • Installation Manuals
  • Design and Closer Look

Dark Rock Pro 4 Design

The be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU cooler.

The predecessor to the Dark Rock Pro 4 Size was quite a beefy cooler. Not much has changed here since the previous Dark Rock Pro 3. Except, of course, the performance. The Dark Rock Pro 4 falls right in line with the company’s design aesthetic. This entire sleek black look is quite popular among many enthusiasts. The flagship Dark Rock Pro 4 is the ultimate version of that, as it is quite a good-looking product.

This design is very similar to the Noctua NH-D15design, which we took a deep look at in our Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black Review.

The extensive fin stack.

Straight from the get-go, this cooler means business. Everything from the design to the performance reflects that this is a no-nonsense cooler. If you were to describe it in three words they would be heavy, performance, and powerful.

The CPU contact plate is connected to the heatsink via 7 heatpipes on each side

The cooler has seven copper heat pipes that are attached to the base itself. These fins protrude from the top of the cooler, and the ends are covered with aluminum caps. This gives the entire cooler an industrial look as well.

Of course, this means that this CPU cooler is not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for compact builds. You might want to check out our picks for the best Low Profile CPU Coolers if you want to go down that route.

The intricate design on the underside of the cooler.

This is a dual-tower CPU cooler. So, this means that it has two pairs of aluminum-fin towers to disperse the heat. As for the fans, we have two be quiet! Silent Wings 3 fans. One of these fans is 135mm in size, and the other one is 120mm. It’s quite a hefty cooler as well, as it weighs around 2.5 pounds.

be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 is one giant cooler with uncountable heatsink fins!

The cooler uses its seven copper heat pipes to offload the heat. Separation of these heat pipes and dissipation over a larger area gives better performance. The front 120mm is smaller than the rear one to help with RAM clearance.

Dark Rock Pro 4 assembled front view

On the front, the fan has a funnel-style frame which does a good job of pushing air through. This means that air moves quite effectively between the two fin-stacks.

You can appreciate the fin density in this shot.

Moving on, the seven heat pipes connect between the fan straight into the base. The top side of this base is raised and resembles a heatsink itself. Overall, the Dark Rock Pro 4 remains true to the original idea. It’s powerful, cleverly designed, and looks great while cooling your processor.

If you’re interested in more CPU cooling products, be sure to check out our picks for the best passive CPU coolers as well.

Fans

The Dark Rock Pro 4 uses the company’s own Silent Wings 3 fans. These are some of the best fans you can buy on the market right now. They are nearly inaudible and perform excellently. These fans feature a six-pole motor, advanced fluid bearing, and airflow-optimized blade design. The balance between performance and noise here is excellent. They also don’t rattle while inside the case, which is always a good thing.

2 PWM fans included with the cooler

These fans use advanced fluid dynamic bearings that give them a longer overall life. Other than that, the fans use a rubberized frame that prevents vibrations when you are really pushing them. Overall, these are some of the best stock fans you’ll find on any cooler. The front fan is smaller so that RAM clearance won’t be an issue in the near future.

If you are interested in more CPU cooling products, be sure to check out our Deepcool Castle 360RGB v2 AiO Review as well.

Compatibility

At the end of the day, the Dark Rock Pro 4 is an enthusiast product. It reflects that idea with every facet, and that Dark Rock Pro 4 also includes compatibility. The Dark Rock Pro 4’s mounting system is compatible with Intel’s LGA115x, LGA 1200, LGA 2011, and LGA 2066 sockets. On the AMD side, sockets such as the AM4, AM3(+), AM2(+), and FM2(+) are all compatible. The AM4 Installation is as followed.

The cooler is installed inside a build.

So, this cooler is compatible with nearly every modern CPU out there. Sure, this doesn’t include AMD’s Threadripper lineup, but that’s not a major issue. People who are running Threadrippers aren’t your average gamers. So, those people most likely have an even stronger cooling setup than the one we have here. That’s not the say that the Dark Rock Pro 4 Compatibility would not handle Threadripper well, it just doesn’t have the compatibility.

Dark Rock Pro 4 Ram Clearance

On a related note, be sure to check out our selection of the best CPU coolers for Ryzen 3rd Gen if you plan to build a modern AMD system.

The cooler looks aesthetically clean inside any PC build

We’re also happy to report that RAM clearance is not an issue here in the slightest. The cooler provides just enough space so that it doesn’t touch the memory module. The front 120mm fan is also a bit higher, which means that installing taller RAM won’t be an issue. Since a lot of RGB memory sticks have tall heatsinks these days, this is a welcome addition.

If you are interested in a bit more compact CPU cooler, you can check out our in-depth Noctua NH-U9S CPU Cooler Review.

Installation

Installation for the be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 is quite simple at the end of the day. The mounting system is intuitive, even if you are new to the world PC building. The entire process isn’t difficult, whether you are an AMD or Intel user. However, for the sake of simplicity, we’ll go over the process once.

Starting with Intel, you’ll need to attach the backplate included in the box. This backplate attaches to the back of the motherboard. Afterward, install the plastic spacers and Intel mounting hardware on top of this backplate. Once you’re done, apply a dab of thermal paste, line up the cooler, and start attaching the screws.

The CPU being used in our test system.

Note that you’ll need to attach the screws with the middle fan removed. This is so that you can easily access the screws with the provided screwdriver. Once the cooler sits firmly on the mounting hardware, you can attach the fan with the retention clips. Finally, just plug in the PWM connector and we are good to go.

The process is entirely the same for AMD as well. The only difference is that you don’t need to remove the stock AMD backplate. Just remove the retention modules on the front. Install the AMD mounting hardware, and the rest of it is the same process from there. If you still run into any trouble, the box includes an excellent installation guide in the manual as well. They also have easy installation videos on their YouTube channel.

Dark Rock Pro 4 Benchmarks

Testing a cooler might seem easier than it actually is these days. However, since Ryzen is gaining popularity these days, it’s only natural for us to go with that. An interesting thing about Ryzen is that overclocking aspect is a bit confusing. You really have to manually fine-tune things to get what you want. Even then, temperatures don’t exactly represent 90% of what people use their PCs for.

So, we want to mimic the way any CPU cooler would be used in the average user’s PC build. We test all of our CPU coolers inside of a PC case with positive airflow. For our load tests, we run Cinebench R20 on a constant loop to put the CPU in full stress thus imitating the real-world workloads of an end-user. We also test our Overclocks’ (if OC’d) stability through Prime95’s extended tests with AVX Enabled for Ryzen CPUs for at least 10 hours and more.

Idle test results are taken at least 10 minutes after the system has booted up with a handful of day-to-day programs opened up in the background, again simulating the real-world idle state of a PC. The same testing methodology is used in our other CPU cooler reviews as well such as the Cryorig R1 CPU Cooler Review, to maintain consistency.

The Dark Rock Pro 4 size is absolutely huge.

For noise tests, we place our RISEPRO Decibel Meter very close to the PC case in order to gain accurate idle and load results. In every test, the CPU fan curves are set to default for accurate measurements. Lastly, we test all of our CPU coolers at a controlled ambient room temperature of 26 °C.

Note: Our ambient noise levels (52dBA) were a bit higher than usual due to our testing environment’s ventilation system. Thus making the noise tests of the cooler seem higher than usual.

Benchmarks System

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte B450 AORUS PRO WIFI
  • Thermal Paste: Noctua NT-h2
  • RAM: TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 3200MHz CL16
  • GPU: Gigabyte AMD RX 570 4GB
  • Storage: Kingston A2000 NVMe PCIe SSD 512GB M.2
  • Power Supply: Corsair RM750x
  • Case: NZXT H510i

Dark Rock Pro 4 vs Noctua NH-D15

The Dark Rock Pro 4 has been around for quite a while. However, once you finally get the chance to compare it with other coolers side by side that’s where things get interesting. The Dark Rock Pro 4 can hold its own with all of the three coolers we tested. In this test of four coolers, it was also the quietest one.

The temps on the Dark Rock Pro 4 are a bit higher than others but let’s see why.

We’re testing within Cinebench here, and the Ryzen 5 3600 is pushing 4.3 GHz with ease. We left Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) on. In this scenario, the 3600 can draw up to 70 or 80 watts because the core voltages hover around 1.347v. The Ryzen 5 3600 is a chip of TDP at 60W according to AMD but due to the way how AMD’s PBO works, the chip was running well above its manufacturer’s limits, things were a bit toasty. Still, the Dark Rock Pro 4 shined through the benchmarks with ease.

Ultimately, the Dark Rock Pro 4 is a strong performer. As you can see, it holds up with the Noctua NHD15, which is no minor feat. When Considering Dark Rock Pro 4 vs Aio, Even more impressive is the fact that it competes with both of the AIO liquid coolers as well. The Dark Rock Pro 4 keeps up with both the Pure Loop 240 and Fractal Design S24+ Prisma in the benchmark attached above.

We can also see that the Dark Rock Pro 4 holds up really well against the Cryorig options. We have already tested the Cryorig R5 in our in-depth Cryorig R5 review, and the two coolers seem to be neck and neck in thermal performance.

Acoustic Performance

Some would say that the name “be quiet” comes off a bit strong. Well, that’s what the brand is all about. They are confident with their products, and the results reflect that. By far, the Dark Rock Pro is the quietest CPU cooler when put against the latter. This means that not only does it perform well, it does that while staying relatively quiet.

Comparing temperatures and noise, the Dark Pro 4 performs exceptionally well.

We’re sticking with the default fan curve of the B450 Aorus Pro WIFI as per our testing methodology. Surprisingly, the liquid coolers were a bit audible, even if they were not annoying. Of course, we have to consider the pump noise and the fact that they use 2 x 120mm fans.

At idle, the noise was around 52dBA which is almost inaudible. For comparison, both of our liquid coolers were noisier, even if by a small bit. This was seen clearly in our detailed Fractal Design Celsius+ S24 Prisma CPU Cooler Review as well. However, you can really start to tell the difference when the Ryzen processor is put under load. Even then, the Dark Rock Pro 4 refuses to get near 60dBA. 58.5dBA was the highest that we noticed. So, it is quite safe to say that they achieved what they set out to accomplish here.

Is Dark Rock Pro 4 Worth It?

Overall, be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 is quite an impressive cooler. It appeals to a wide audience thanks to its matte black design. The entire look of the cooler is sleek and modern, and it can fit into any build with ease. Furthermore, it directly competes with coolers that cost nearly double in price. It’s not just a pretty-looking face either, as it performs admirably well.

You’ll have no problem with running a high-end PC with this thing installed. It’s great for workstations and especially great for overclocking. There’s a reason why the Dark Rock Pro 4 has a legendary status among hardware enthusiasts. Everything from the looks to the performance and even the unboxing experience is top-notch. If we’re really nitpicking, the installation could have been a tad easier.

Apart from that, there are no major flaws with this cooler. If you are looking for a high-end option, this is the one to go for. In our be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU Cooler review we found it to be an excellent air cooling option for CPUs.

Review Score

A Silent Killer

Pros
  • Impressive industrial design
  • Sleek and minimal black aesthetic
  • High performance fans
  • A tonne of included accessories
  • Significantly silent under load
Cons
  • Installation process could be better

13,740 Reviews

TDP: 250 W+ | Heat pipes: 6mm heatpipe x 7 units | Dimensions: 5.7 x 5.35 x 6.40 inch (L x W x H) | Dark Rock Pro 4 Motherboard Compatibility: 2066, 2011(-3), 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 1200 FM1, FM2/+, AM2/+, AM3/+, AM4

VERDICT:The Dark Rock Pro 4 is just as good as it looks, if not better. It combines aesthetic value, impeccable build quality, low noise levels, and pure performance in one complete package. It also helps that the cooler looks as good as it does. Recommending the Dark Rock Pro 4 is an easy choice for us.

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be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 Review: Return to the Dark Side — Tom’s Hardware

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Early Verdict

The Dark Rock Pro 4 provides strong cooling and style in market full of air-cooler choices. We’d just like to see the price drop a smidge.

Pros
  • +

    Great cooling ability

  • +

    Excellent build quality and design

  • +

    Silent operation at all speeds

  • +

    Supports most CPU sockets

Cons
  • —

    High price

  • —

    Cooling potential slightly lower than prior version’s

  • —

    Large and heavy

  • —

    No Threadripper support

Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware
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The Dark Rock series from be quiet! represents the apex of the company’s air cooling line. The Dark Rocks are stunningly handsome CPU coolers swathed in no-nonsense, deep-black aesthetics. The Dark Rock Pro 4 is the latest flagship of this family, developed for power users and overclockers looking for every available watt of cooling power that they can squeeze from a performance-minded, heatpipe-based tower cooler.

Sporting both 135mm and 120mm fans, the Dark Rock Pro 4 manages to sandwich an extra cooling fan between its twin pair of aluminum-fin cooling towers. Out front, the 120 x 25mm SilentWings fan moves air through the first tower, where it meets the 135 x 22mm SilentWings fan. That second fan, in turn, motivates the air stream through the second tower, and out the rear of the cooler.

  • be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 at Amazon for $89.90

The cooling fins feature an open design to minimize airflow restriction and allow heat to escape out all sides of the cooler, while the dual fans work in unison using push/pull airflow.

Inside the very detail-oriented retail packaging lies a common assortment of mounting hardware, thermal compound, brackets, and even a two-way PWM splitter. Another welcome addition is the inclusion of a long-necked magnetic Phillips screwdriver, which will come in handy during installation. Also included are six different installation manuals (in English, Spanish, Polish, French, Russian, and German), each with highly detailed mounting steps for the vast majority of both Intel and AMD processors. (The big exception is AMD’s Threadripper.)

A massive air cooler can prove to be a challenge for users who tend to move their PC cases often, especially when transporting the chassis to LAN or other gaming events. The be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 falls into this category—you’ll want to watch its weight.

The top of the Dark Rock Pro 4 features a contoured, brushed-aluminum top plate with caps covering each end of the 6mm-diameter copper heatpipes that poke through.

Contained within the Dark Rock Pro 4 are seven copper heatpipes, which the cooler uses to offload thermal energy into the twin cooling towers. By providing separation of the heatpipes and heat dissipation over more surface area, the dual fans can work together to move air more effectively through the two fin stacks in the Pro 4. That’s more desirable than a single fan forcing air through one large cooling-fin tower. The heatpipes collect directly below the center 135mm fan, capped by an aluminum mounting base that is polished to a near-mirror finish.

The other side of that mounting base features a raised, almost heatsink-like, toothed formation. It acts as a guide for a mounting crossbar that secures the Dark Rock Pro 4 to the mounting plates during installation. The teeth provide fitment that also aligns with notched sections of the crossbar for stability.

The Dark Rock Pro 4 installation process is quite similar to that of many heatpipe tower coolers. You’ll use threaded standoffs, mounting bars, and a crossbar to complete the process. Because the fans are installed after the cooler is mounted, we still need a way to secure two obstructed screws through the mounting crossbar nestled between the twin banks of cooling fins. The solution lies with the long, narrow screwdriver that be quiet! provides in the box. The magnetic tip helps retain the screws during what is a near-surgical process of guiding the fasteners into place.

Fan installation is straightforward, using the supplied wire clips. They hook through the fan-mounting holes, while the rectangular wire arms slide over the cooling fins and snap into cutouts along the sides. Rubber fan-mounting strips run vertically on both towers where each fan rests; these strips eliminate vibration noise and allow for very snug fitment of the SilentWings PWM fans.

With the cooling fans installed, it is quite easy to see that three of our four memory DIMMs are obstructed, meaning cooler removal is our only hope if we were swapping out the system’s RAM. Also worth noting: If removal of the cooling fans is warranted, needle-nose pliers make easy work of unclipping the wire fan clips.

MORE: Best CPU Cooling

MORE: How To Choose A CPU Cooler

MORE: All Cooling Content

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Garrett Carver is a contributor for Tom’s Hardware, primarily covering thermal compound comparisons and CPU cooling reviews; both air and liquid, including multiple variations of each.

Tom’s Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site .

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be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4: no compromise

April 10, 2018, Tuesday
06:00

#E0

for section
Laboratory

Page 1 of 3

Contents

  • Introduction
  • Overview be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
    • Packaging and contents
    • Appearance and design features
    • Installation and compatibility
    • Brief specifications
  • Test bench
  • Testing
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Products from the German company be quiet! a frequent guest of the laboratory site Overclockers. ru. Cases (Silent Base 600, Dark Base 700, Silent Base 800 and Dark Base Pro 9) have already passed through our tests00), power supplies (Pure Power L8 630W, Straight Power 10 600W, Dark Power Pro 11 650W, Dark Power Pro 11 850W, Straight Power 10 700W CM, Power Zone 1000W and Dark Power Pro 11 1200W), cooling systems (Shadow Rock LP, Shadow Rock TopFlow SR1, Pure Rock and Dark Rock Advanced C1) and fans (Pure Wings 2).


Today we are reviewing the flagship of the line of air cooling systems for central processors — Dark Rock Pro 4, which is quiet! announced earlier this year at CES 2018. Despite the fact that the new cooler is not yet on sale, we had the opportunity to test it now.

Dark Rock Pro 4 is designed to cool the most powerful processors with TDP up to 250W and supports Intel LGA 20XX, LGA 1366, LGA 115X and AMD AM4, AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2, FM2+, FM2, FM1 sockets.

And the first one is not an exaggeration, since we have a huge tower with seven heat pipes and two fans included. It’s time to test the novelty in different modes of operation and along the way evaluate the noise level, ease of installation and compatibility.

recommendations

overview be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4

Packaging and contents

New be quiet! comes in a very large box (210 x 180 x 200 mm), weighing just under one and a half kilograms. The packaging is made of corrugated cardboard with a full-color print, stylish and informative.

The box shows a picture of the cooler and its detailed specifications.

Opening the box reveals that Dark Rock Pro 4 is packed with PE foam retainers.

Here you can also see the cardboard box with the delivery set. It is made of ordinary unpainted cardboard.

The box consists of two parts, one is a pocket containing six copies of the user manual (in English, Russian, Spanish, German, French and Polish).

The second compartment contains a large accessory bag and brackets for two fans.

The package itself contains the following: a cross for fastening to Intel sockets, a syringe tube with branded thermal paste, a Molex splitter for connecting two fans, fasteners and two bags of screws for installing on AMD and Intel processor sockets.

The User’s Guide is a large, multi-fold sheet with a separate sheet printed for each of the six languages. Here is a photo of the variant in Russian:

This model is not yet presented on the manufacturer’s website, so there is no manual in electronic form.