Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro C1 Dual Tower CPU Cooler Review

When we observe the facts these cooling ‘big boys’ are eating the 4.4GHz overclock for breakfast (albeit while getting heartburn by lunch), we decided that there was need for an even higher overclock to separate the men from boys, the high end from the extreme, the coolers from the refrigerators.

With our goal being to provide realistic results of what end users are likely to be able to achieve and successfully run with their processors, we decided a dynamic 4.7GHz overclock was a great frequency to aim for. Upping the 2600K CPU’s core voltage to a BIOS set 1.340V which peaked at 1.40V under load conditions, would be perfect for testing the overclocking headroom available with these heat dissipation monsters. The idle temperature will remain low due to the dynamic overclock’s ability to decrease the multiplier under low CPU load condition. This is different to our static 4.4GHz overclock.

Note: Unfortunately, we are unable to show the Corsair H80 CPU cooler’s results at this CPU frequency due to an absence of the required data.

For the third time running the Dark Rock Pro manages to outperform Noctua’s well-respected NH-D14 and Alpenföhn’s competitive K2. Thermalright’s performance lead over the Dark Rock Pro which their Silver Arrow previously held has disintegrated and the deficit between Be Quiet!’s option and Phanteks’ PH-TC14PE has narrowed.  There is clear daylight between the Phanteks, Thermalright and Be Quiet! coolers and the rest of the chasing pack.