be quiet Dark Rock 6 and Dark Rock 6 Pro CPU cooler Review
Conclusion
Solid coolers at affordable prices
In a world where hardware prices only seem to be going up, it is refreshing to see that be quiet has delivered reasonable pricing with its Dark Rock 6 and Dark Rock 6 Pro coolers. While they lack RGB flair, they deliver dark, elegant designs that would look great inside any system. Overall, both models deliver solid cooling performance, with the Dark Rock 6 Pro surpassing be quiet’s last-generation Dark Rock Elite in all our tests. A solid result considering the Dark Rock Elite launched at a higher price.
The Dark Rock 6 and Dark Rock 6 Pro are solid air coolers, and their “semi-passive” options are great for users who want their PCs to be silent at idle. Their nickel-plated bases and liquid metal TIM support are also a nice touch for users who want to push the limits of air-based CPU coolers.
With the price difference between the Dark Rock 6 and Dark Rock 6 Pro being just £15 in the UK, the Dark Rock 6 is hard to recommend. We’re not saying that it’s a bad cooler, it’s good, but this small price gap pushes us to recommend its bigger brother for lower thermals. If you have space for the larger cooler, spend a little more and get it. After all, that extra cooling performance can be used to run the cooler at lower fan speeds at the same thermals, making your system quieter. Alternatively, you can just enjoy lower thermals.
While the Dark Rock Pro 6 is easier to recommend, the Dark Rock 6 has its place. For many scenarios, the Dark Rock 6 Pro is overkill. Not all PCs are high-end workstations after all. In many scenarios, the Dark Rock 6 is a great cooling option that delivers solid thermals and quiet operation. It’s just that when you move to higher-end/hotter CPUs, the £15 price difference for the Pro model starts to feel small.
Overall, these are both solid CPU coolers. be quiet has proven that you can deliver more performance without a bank-breaking price increase. These are solid generational improvements from be quiet, and its hard to argue with their pricing.
You can join the discussion on be quiet’s new Dark Rock 6 and Dark Rock 6 Pro CPU coolers on the OC3D Forums.
