Be Quiet Shadow Rock 2 CPU Cooler Review

Today we are going to look at the Shadow Rock 2 CPU Cooler from Be Quiet!. It is the first model we have looked at from the second generation of the 'Shadow Rock' series of products. We are excited to see how it fares in our tests as previous models in this series were very impressive. The 'Shadow Rock' range of coolers from Be Quiet! are designed specifically to optimize acoustic performance, placing less of a focus on cooling performance. This makes them ideal for those users who are more concerned with having a whisper-quiet system than a system which is overclocked to the absolute maximum achievable frequency, without regard for noisy high-performance fans. We will also be taking a brief look at Be Quiet!'s new DC1 thermal paste. Features: Very high cooling benchmarks complement its high cooling capacity of 180W TDP Four high-performance 8mm heatpipes carry heat to optimal location on the cooling fins Turbulence-reducing wave design on cooling fins reduces noise generation from airflow Optimized 120mm be quiet! fan with PWM function supports the best balance of cooling performance and quiet operation Even at 100% PWM function, noise is at scant 25.4dB(A) The packaging of the Shadow Rock 2 is very similar to what we've seen before from Be Quiet, consisting of a medium-sized cardboard box decorated in a minimalist black and white livery. The front of the box features a large image of the cooler which gives us an idea of what to expect inside. Turning the box around reveals a detailed breakdown of the features and specifications of the cooler. We were happy with the quality of the box and expect that it will provide a decent level of protection for the cooler within during transit. Inside, we find the usual selection of mounting accessories for the cooler, alongside an easy-to-follow user guide. The Shadow Rock 2 utilises a traditional cooler design and features a single tower of fins, arranged across a series of four U-shaped copper heatpipes. The tower itself is pretty large in size, providing a generous surface area for heat transfer. Be Quiet! only supplies a single Shadow Wings fan with the cooler which fits on one side of the heatsink. There are brackets supplied for mounting an additional fan on the other side of the cooler so that you can use a push-pull configuration if desired. The heatpipes themselves are 8mm thick and, due to their U-shaped design, each pass through the heatsink stack twice. The CPU block is nickel plated and has a smooth mirror-like finish. This is similar to what we've seen on Be Quiet! coolers in the past. On the top of the cooler there is a substantial brushed aluminium plate which gives the cooler an attractive visage. This is fairly similar to those found on the old Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro cooler. The included fan is a 120mm Be Quiet! Shadow Wings model which is PWM controlled and spins at a maximum of 1600 RPM. The claimed TDP of this particular model is 180W. Be Quiet! supply a well executed installation guide with the Shadow Rock 2 which is easy to follow for those who know their way round a computer. We will be documenting the installation procedure on an Intel Socket 2011 motherboard. Firstly, we are instructed to attach the appropriate retention brackets to either side of the CPU block. Then, we can install the four retention screws into the holes surrounding the CPU socket. Next, the thermal paste must be applied. We tested the cooler both with our usual Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal paste and Be Quiet!'s latest DC1 thermal paste. The latter is supplied in a 4g syringe and comes with a spreader included. Then we can place the cooler down on top of the motherboard and secure it down into place using the small nuts (and spanner) provided. We found this to be a little fiddly and it would be a very difficult task if the motherboard is already installed inside a case. Once the fan had been attached, we found that the cooler obstructed access to some of the memory slots. Thankfully, the fan can be moved up and down to allow room for tall memory heatspreaders. We wouldn't recommend using really tall RAM, though, as this could negatively impact cooling performance. To test the performance of the Be Quiet! Shadow Rock 2 we built a powerful X79 based system on an open test bench to push the cooler to it’s limits. As we were testing on an open test bench, we directed a Be Quiet! Shadow Wings 120 mm fan at the VRM circuitry to better simulate the airflow generated in a case. Test System Processor: Intel Core i7-3930K Motherboard: Asus P9X79 Memory: 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) Mushkin Blackline 1600 MHz Thermal Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-2 Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 7950 Graphics Card (noise tests): HIS Radeon HD 5550 Silence Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum P1000W Software Prime 95 (64-bit) CPUID Hardware Monitor Overclocking We manually overclocked the i7-3930K to 4.3 GHz by increasing the multiplier to 43x, leaving the baseclock set at 100 MHz. We set the voltage to 1.35V. For our temperature tests we loaded the system for 10 minutes using Prime 95 and recorded the CPU temperature using CPUID HWMonitor. We then restarted the system and left it idling at the desktop for 10 minutes before measuring temperatures. The temperatures recorded are based on an ambient temperature of 20 degrees C. Here we can see the thermal performance of the Shadow Rock 2 isn't amazing compared to the Noctua models, however it is designed with acoustics in mind. The Be Quiet! DC1 thermal paste offered pretty good performance, coming close to the Arctic Cooling MX-2 used in the standard test. In our noise level tests we switched off all the case fans and replaced the AMD Radeon HD 7950 graphics card with a HD 5550 passive model so were just taking into account the noise generated by the cooler fans themselves. We measured the noise level with a Digital Noise Level meter at a distance of 1 m from the front of the system. From above we can deduce that all five configurations are very quiet, with three registering under the minimum 30 dBA sensitivity on our equipment. Out of the five, we would say that the Dark Rock 2 was the quietest. In fact we would quite happily describe it as silent. From a stylistic point of view, the BeQuiet! Shadow Rock 2 is superb. The brushed aluminium fascia on the top of the cooler gives it a svelte appearance that is sure to look great inside a windowed system build. The black and silver colour scheme is neutral and should compliment most component choices well. This model is designed specifically for those users who demand class leading acoustic performance above everything else. In our tests, the thermal performance wasn't ground breaking however the Shadow Rock 2 could be classed as silent, even when the fan is running at full speed. This is quite an impressive feat considering the fan can spin at 1,600 rpm. Unfortunately the installation process is quite fiddly and will not be ideal if you are installing the cooler onto the motherboard which is already fitted into a case. The Be Quiet! DC1 thermal paste performed well too. In terms of performance it fell slightly behind our reference Arctic Cooling MX-2 paste, however it is less viscous and more easily spreadable across the processor lid. At a price of £45 inc. VAT from Ebuyer, the Shadow Rock 2 can certainly be classed as an expensive cooler and there are better options if you just want to push your processor to the limits and have little concern about noise levels. Considering the incredibly low noise emissions however many people should consider the Shadow Rock 2, especially when trying to reduce the overall noise emissions of a noisy, distracting system. Pros Sleek aluminium fascia. Very quiet. Cons Tricky installation procedure. Not the greatest thermal performance. Kitguru says: An excellent choice for those looking to maintain low noise levels in a new system build.

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Be Quiet Shadow Rock 2 CPU Cooler Review

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