Be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler

Installed in an NZXT H500 with 1x Arctic p12 and 1x Arctic p14 for exhaust. No intakes. CPU idles after boot at around 40°C (around 20°C∆). Under load, when playing more cpu-intense games such as Total War Warhammer 3, it can reach around 70-75°C.It's always very quiet. Any speaking or even whispering is louder than this fan. The sound profile would best be described as a 'whir' - no whining noise.The method of connecting the fans could and should be better. Also, although I don't think I have installed the fan incorrectly, it is possible, and I mention this because I already use low profile RAM (Crucial Ballistix), the first RAM slot is obstructed by this cooler. It is possible that the Corsair LPX might be able to fit, though I don't know for certain.All in ... MoreInstalled in an NZXT H500 with 1x Arctic p12 and 1x Arctic p14 for exhaust. No intakes. CPU idles after boot at around 40°C (around 20°C∆). Under load, when playing more cpu-intense games such as Total War Warhammer 3, it can reach around 70-75°C.It's always very quiet. Any speaking or even whispering is louder than this fan. The sound profile would best be described as a 'whir' - no whining noise.The method of connecting the fans could and should be better. Also, although I don't think I have installed the fan incorrectly, it is possible, and I mention this because I already use low profile RAM (Crucial Ballistix), the first RAM slot is obstructed by this cooler. It is possible that the Corsair LPX might be able to fit, though I don't know for certain.All in all, great fan, glad I got it.

Annoyingly fiddly to install

I installed this after my second Noctua fan failed in 3 months. I don’t like noisy fans and have a BeQuiet case which I love as it’s so well designed.This isn’t.I had to watch a YouTube video on how to install as I found the instructions very hard to follow. The back plate is very fiddly to get right as there are two slots for screws for different socket factors, but they have a tendency to slip between the two so the holes don’t line up. All held in place by weird rubber grommets.The worst part is installing the cooler itself. You have to remove memory and your GPU to get at the screws, and then I discovered when installed it covers two of four DIMM slots! Terrible design flaw.You have to then attach the fan after install as it covers the screws so you ... MoreI installed this after my second Noctua fan failed in 3 months. I don’t like noisy fans and have a BeQuiet case which I love as it’s so well designed.This isn’t.I had to watch a YouTube video on how to install as I found the instructions very hard to follow. The back plate is very fiddly to get right as there are two slots for screws for different socket factors, but they have a tendency to slip between the two so the holes don’t line up. All held in place by weird rubber grommets.The worst part is installing the cooler itself. You have to remove memory and your GPU to get at the screws, and then I discovered when installed it covers two of four DIMM slots! Terrible design flaw.You have to then attach the fan after install as it covers the screws so you can’t pre-install it. It uses flimsy fiddly wires to secure it that immediately scrape the paint off the cooler fins. An unbelievably stupid design. Remember, you have to do this with it installed in the case, almost blind, with very little room to clip them on.Best parts? Keeps CPU cool and is fairly quiet. Comes with a screwdriver too.However there are better designs on the market. Be warned!

Dark Rock 4 Rocks

So, I noticed my CPU temps hitting 96c when playing Baldur's Gate 3 over last few days.Was running a stock wraith cooler on Ryzen 5 3600, Gigabyte B550M DS3H Mobo, 32GB GSkill 3200 RAM, Asus Dual 3600Ti (all from PC Case Gear previously).Interestingly the temps had not hit so high on other games I usually play (Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 4, Heavily modded Skyrim, Elite Dangerous, etc...)So, had a good hard look at my system and realised I needed to upgrade 2 things... but can only afford 1 now and 1 in a few months, so I went with the cooler first and chose the Dark Rock 4 based on my needs of efficient cooling quietly, and reviews.Thanks heas to PCCG for under 48 hr from ordering to delivery in Echuca... very impressed!(The case upgrade will be ASAP going ... MoreSo, I noticed my CPU temps hitting 96c when playing Baldur's Gate 3 over last few days.Was running a stock wraith cooler on Ryzen 5 3600, Gigabyte B550M DS3H Mobo, 32GB GSkill 3200 RAM, Asus Dual 3600Ti (all from PC Case Gear previously).Interestingly the temps had not hit so high on other games I usually play (Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 4, Heavily modded Skyrim, Elite Dangerous, etc...)So, had a good hard look at my system and realised I needed to upgrade 2 things... but can only afford 1 now and 1 in a few months, so I went with the cooler first and chose the Dark Rock 4 based on my needs of efficient cooling quietly, and reviews.Thanks heas to PCCG for under 48 hr from ordering to delivery in Echuca... very impressed!(The case upgrade will be ASAP going from the current SilverStone Precision PS16 mATX Case to PROBABLY a Cooler Master Elite 300 Mini-Tower Case - I need the single front bay but better cooling options with way more fans, plus the 3x3.5" HDD cage will be very useful).So the install went carefully and slowly (mATX cases are difficult to work in but worth the effort if everything is done properly and neatly with cable ties). Took total of 90 min as I took everything out and redid from start with hidden cable routing and all done securely again.I'm now rocking (pun intended) 65c to 68c on load in Baldur's Gate 3, a roughly 30c improvement...One VERY happy customer (as always), I'll be back soon for that case upgrade, thank you PCCG....

Good performance for the price and looks great!

I bought this to use with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU. The all black design looks very classy and the single fan is nice and quiet. Installation was fairly straightforward but the fan clips are a little fiddly, especially if you need to remove them. The fan also covers the first RAM slot on my Gigabyte Aorus X570 Pro motherboard but I was expecting this and it's not an issue for me. Compared to my previous cooler (Scythe Fuma 2 version 1) temps are actually a degree or two cooler which was a nice surprise as I was expecting equal performance. I do prefer the look of the Dark Rock 4.and it's very well made too. Definitely a good purchase and I recommend it for anyone with a midrange CPU who (like me) would rather avoid liquid cooling. The only reasons I didn't give it ... MoreI bought this to use with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU. The all black design looks very classy and the single fan is nice and quiet. Installation was fairly straightforward but the fan clips are a little fiddly, especially if you need to remove them. The fan also covers the first RAM slot on my Gigabyte Aorus X570 Pro motherboard but I was expecting this and it's not an issue for me. Compared to my previous cooler (Scythe Fuma 2 version 1) temps are actually a degree or two cooler which was a nice surprise as I was expecting equal performance. I do prefer the look of the Dark Rock 4.and it's very well made too. Definitely a good purchase and I recommend it for anyone with a midrange CPU who (like me) would rather avoid liquid cooling. The only reasons I didn't give it five stars are the fiddly fan clips and the fact that it covers one RAM slot on my motherboard. These are minor niggles and the positives definitely make up for them!

Great Looking Cooler, Great Performance

The title says it all. This cooler works very well on a 9700K, both stock and OC'd, as used in a Phanteks Evolv X with 3 140mm front intake fans, 1 140mm rear exhaust, and 3 120mm top exhausts. I used kryonaught thermal paste instead of the included paste though.Install was easy. My only complaint is that removing the fan, should you need to do so, is incredibly difficult, particularly if you're trying to do so without bending any of the heatsink fins or scratching the black coating off of them. I was able to successfully do it with the help of a second person. I pressed down firmly on both sides of the fan retaining wire to unseat it from the notch in the fin stack that it sits in while the second person used a paint scraper to gently pry it up away from the fin ... MoreThe title says it all. This cooler works very well on a 9700K, both stock and OC'd, as used in a Phanteks Evolv X with 3 140mm front intake fans, 1 140mm rear exhaust, and 3 120mm top exhausts. I used kryonaught thermal paste instead of the included paste though.Install was easy. My only complaint is that removing the fan, should you need to do so, is incredibly difficult, particularly if you're trying to do so without bending any of the heatsink fins or scratching the black coating off of them. I was able to successfully do it with the help of a second person. I pressed down firmly on both sides of the fan retaining wire to unseat it from the notch in the fin stack that it sits in while the second person used a paint scraper to gently pry it up away from the fin stack. This wasn't hard to do, but did require help and a little bit of thinking. I am not deducting a star for this because of how infrequently one would need to remove the fan.Note that you do need to remove the fan in order to remove the heatsink from the socket, so if you frequently remove your cooler, this might not be a good product for you.Overall, I would highly recommend this, despite its flaws. It works very well, is easy to install, looks good, and should be perfectly suitable for the average to enthusiast user.

NOT GOOD FOR INTEL LGA1700

At first this looked great and well made in all respects. Bought it for my lga1700 motherboard yet wish I hadn't. It was a little tricky to sort out the various parts to suit my lga1700 but the real fun came when I tried to fit it to my processor. IT HITS THE TOP VRM HEATSINK !, took some right fiddling to get it to sit flush and tight on the processor. Then came the fan fitting, THE FAN COVERS THE FIRST DIMM SLOT AND PRESSES AGAINST A CARD IN THE SECOND !!. I had to remove the fan mount rubber strips to get the fan away from the dimm in the second slot !, hence the fan is not tight against the heatsink now and it would be impossible to fit 4 memory cards in the future. The fan sits just below the hight of the memory cards making the first slot unusable !!!. Not ... MoreAt first this looked great and well made in all respects. Bought it for my lga1700 motherboard yet wish I hadn't. It was a little tricky to sort out the various parts to suit my lga1700 but the real fun came when I tried to fit it to my processor. IT HITS THE TOP VRM HEATSINK !, took some right fiddling to get it to sit flush and tight on the processor. Then came the fan fitting, THE FAN COVERS THE FIRST DIMM SLOT AND PRESSES AGAINST A CARD IN THE SECOND !!. I had to remove the fan mount rubber strips to get the fan away from the dimm in the second slot !, hence the fan is not tight against the heatsink now and it would be impossible to fit 4 memory cards in the future. The fan sits just below the hight of the memory cards making the first slot unusable !!!. Not impressed. BEWARE IF BUYING FOR INTEL LGA1700

One detail shy of perfect

When my 240mm AIO hit the dust I decided I wanted to give an air cooler a try. I wanted to go with a Noctua DH-15 but it wouldn’t fit on my mobo/with the memory I had so I decided to go with this given it’s smaller (comparatively) form factor and whisper quiet 24db cap. The installation process was perfect until it came time to put on the fan with those stupid clips. Not a fan (pun intended) of the tension fan clip method they chose to go with. Would’ve preferred screws tbh. But I forgot about all of that when I fired my PC up and ran cinebench. after 7 straight minutes my i9-9900k never got about 78c and my clocks never dipped below 4.95-5 GHz (the max boost clock, I don’t really OC at all). Put performed my old AIO. All in all very happy with my purchase.

Perfect for overclocked Intel systems

This is a no compromise CPU air cooler that impresses in every way. The build quality is meticulous, the provided fan is quiet and effective, the fit for typical Intel sockets is perfect, the mounting hardware is solid and well designed, and the cooler looks great mounted on your motherboard. It's not the most compact cooler, but it's not the largest either. Clearances for height and width of the cooler may be tight, and will be on an individual basis. For my system, with an ATX motherboard and full size tower case, the 135mm fan barely clears the system RAM (position can be adjusted), and there is 1/4 to 1/2 inch clearance between the top of the cooler and the side of the tower case. I have a second fan on the cooler, 120mm, which fits easily with no clearance ... MoreThis is a no compromise CPU air cooler that impresses in every way. The build quality is meticulous, the provided fan is quiet and effective, the fit for typical Intel sockets is perfect, the mounting hardware is solid and well designed, and the cooler looks great mounted on your motherboard. It's not the most compact cooler, but it's not the largest either. Clearances for height and width of the cooler may be tight, and will be on an individual basis. For my system, with an ATX motherboard and full size tower case, the 135mm fan barely clears the system RAM (position can be adjusted), and there is 1/4 to 1/2 inch clearance between the top of the cooler and the side of the tower case. I have a second fan on the cooler, 120mm, which fits easily with no clearance issues. The cooler can be rotated when mounting to point in any direction (left, right, up, down) since the base is essentially a square shape. The fan(s) can be flipped or swapped if needed to find clearance on your system.That's all awesome but the cooler first has to get the job done. This one gets the job done with no excuses. I have it mounted to an i9-9900K overclocked to 5GHz and with no limit on turbo boost power. The socket sees typical power peaks of 130 watts intermittently with the system running at 100%. Average power was 95 to 100 watts at 100%. This cooler is able to maintain CPU temperatures around 65 degrees C indefinitely under those load conditions. That's extremely impressive performance, and that's why I highly recommend the Dark Rock 4 Air Cooler.

SOLID like a (dark) rock.

Super sturdy cooler. Not too hard to mount if you know what you're doing or have an easy time following instructions. Cools older CPUs well enough to do so passively, and newer ones well with the fan(s) running.Chonky, but that's a good thing.Just make sure to use the right size fan mounts when you put the fans on the cooler tower. You can easily confuse the thicker ones for the smaller ones and have an annoying time with that. But once the cooler is on, you're set.

The Name Be Quiet says it all

I just retired from a long career as a lawyer and I wanted to do something completely different and relaxing for my first week off of full time work. I do a lot of photography as a hobby and I have many tens of thousands of high resolution photographs. I had been using the same computer for about 10 years, but it was getting very slow, I was running out of storage and various parts were showing their age.Therefore, I decided to spend my first week building a new computer myself for the first time. After doing a lot of research I chose this cooler to cool a Ryzen 3900X because it was easy to install, works well and is very quiet. Everything was as advertised!Long story short, much to my joy and amazement the computer has run flawlessly from the instant I plugged ... MoreI just retired from a long career as a lawyer and I wanted to do something completely different and relaxing for my first week off of full time work. I do a lot of photography as a hobby and I have many tens of thousands of high resolution photographs. I had been using the same computer for about 10 years, but it was getting very slow, I was running out of storage and various parts were showing their age.Therefore, I decided to spend my first week building a new computer myself for the first time. After doing a lot of research I chose this cooler to cool a Ryzen 3900X because it was easy to install, works well and is very quiet. Everything was as advertised!Long story short, much to my joy and amazement the computer has run flawlessly from the instant I plugged it in and pushed the on button. I could not be happier. The system was fun to build, I learned a lot about building and setting up my own system. The computer tower is next to me on my desk and the fan noise level is imperceptible. The processor temperatures are stable and run lower than I was originally expecting. I would definitely recommend this cooler to anyone.Also, I have to say thank you to the people at B&H. They patiently answered my questions when I was deciding what components to purchase. The folks that I talked to were very knowledgeable and helpful. They promptly helped me to swap out a couple of components which were delayed due to back ordering, so all of the parts were ready when I was to finish the project. THANK YOU.