O-Sense
INTRODUCTION
Since the very first RGB illuminated PC hardware and peripherals made their industry debut just over half a decade ago it didn't take long for most manufacturers to release products with that feature in exchange for a piece of the market. Unfortunately, however since RGB lighting was (and still is) largely targeted towards gamers some manufacturers ended up trading product performance and quality in the process. For that exact reason up till recently just a handful of manufacturers had yet to fully embrace RGB lighting with be quiet! being one of them. Still the release of their FX line of products earlier this month changed all that and today with me i have their Pure Rock 2 FX CPU Cooler.
be quiet! is a premium brand of power supplies, PC cases and cooling solutions for desktop PCs. The products of be quiet! offer legendary quiet operation and first-class performance thanks the passion for quality and precision. Attention to detail is the key to perfection. Which is why our very own experts lead product conception, design and quality control from our headquarters in Germany. be quiet! sticks to its name: More than 15 years’ experience in the field of noise reduction and silence make be quiet! products probably the most silent ones on the market.
The Pure Rock 2 FX CPU Air Cooler is obviously based on the black Pure Rock 2 model released by be quiet! released back in 2020 (review here). So, both models feature a U-Type tower heatsink (155x121x62mm) that has a grand total of 55 aluminum fins (all black powder coated), four 6mm heatpipes and an heatpipe direct touch (H.D.T) base. The sole thing that basically changed is the 120mm fan since this time over be quiet! has used one of their latest Light Wings 120 models (2000RPM/24.4dBA/ARGB). Thermal design power levels (TDP) seem to have remained the same (150W) so it really does seem that the latest Pure Rock 2 FX CPU Cooler is just an updated version of its predecessor and obviously primarily for people who care about ARGB effects. So, let's see what the brand new Pure Rock 2 FX CPU Cooler is capable of.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
Once again this be quiet! cooler gets shipped inside a black box that has a large product picture at the front next to the company logo.
The specifications table is printed on the right side of the box right over the cooler's TDP and beneath a few words about be quiet!.
For more information about the product just scan the 2D barcode located on the left side of the box with your smart phone or tablet.
At the rear be quiet! has placed 2 pictures used to showcase the main product features in 2 languages.
Packing is very good with the cooler placed between two pieces of foam.
Along with the Pure Rock 2 FX and its Light Wings 120 fan inside the box you'll also find 4 fan clips (2 for the fan and 2 for an extra should you decide to use two), Intel backplate, mounting bar, user manual, warranty information paper and mounting bits for both Intel LGA 1150/1151/1155/1200/1700/2011/2011-3/2066 and AMD AM4/AM5 motherboards.
THE PURE ROCK 2 FX
The tower design heatsink of the Pure Rock 2 FX measures 155mm in height, 121mm in width and 62mm in thickness.
Be quiet! has paired a nice looking brushed aluminum plate with metal heatpipe covers on top of the Pure Rock 2 FX.
Once again, the tower has a total of 55 aluminum fins which are partially closed on the sides to keep air inside (the design offset means this is yet another zero-clearance/interference CPU cooler).
Every single bit on the Pure Rock 2 FX is black coated, including the small heatsink on top of the base.
Four 6mm thick black coated all-copper heatpipes pass from the base and all 55 aluminum fins.
By default, be quiet! has placed a thin layer of thermal conductive material on the H.D.T base.
Since i don't use it i removed it so you can see how the base looks (it's also even so no problems here).
The brand new Light Wings 120 fan features a ring with a total of 18 ARGB LEDs (5V) and can reach speeds of up to 2000RPM.
With the ARGB LED ring as the only white part of the Pure Rock 2 FX does look very nice.
TEST BED
TESTING METHODOLOGY
We always take things quite seriously when it comes to work so just like with the previous LGA1366 database we will not be testing each CPU Cooler on its own and with different ambient temperature levels and thus we can actually have yet another valid CPU Cooler database. Testing a CPU Cooler automatically means that you need to know where it stands against the immediate competition and to accomplish that we have spent both money and time through the years, something that we plan to continue to do so in order to get the most accurate results for the end consumers who read these lines. Every CPU cooler in this database is tested with the bundled 140mm/120mm/92mm/80mm fans while working at both idle speed and 100% of their speeds for all the temperature tests. CPU Coolers that do not come bundled with a fan/s are measured using a Noctua fan (size dependent on the model) to test for the temperature tests but due to the lack of a stock fan dBA level tests are obviously skipped. Single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of our test rig while dual/triple/quad (240/260/280/360/420/480/560mm) solutions with the radiator mounted at the top. For the dBA tests every cooler in the database was measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting (PWM fans do that on their own without our intervention). Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside the room. The Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste is used with every CPU Cooler in our latest LGA2011 database (although initially this was not the plan, we had to change things to get the most accurate results). Finally, it's very important to point out that just because a CPU Cooler is better than another when tested with our test rig that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).
To successfully record the load temperatures, we use the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded, we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure is more time consuming than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here, we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).
TEST RESULTS
CONCLUSION
When the only thing you chance on a cooler is the fan (or fans) cooling efficiency is not about to skyrocket and so it’s evident from today’s review that the sole goal be quiet! had when releasing the Pure Rock 2 FX was looks that stand out. Yes, thanks to the slightly better fan (by better i mean higher air pressure) the Pure Rock 2 FX does get a small boost in performance (also a slight increase in noise) but the 18 ARGB LEDs of the Light Wings 120 fan paired with the black coating of the heatsink are clearly its strongest selling points. Overall performance is not bad either, yes, the Pure Rock 2 FX can’t hit the same cooling results as some other CPU air coolers in my charts (more expensive ones) but for the price I do think be quiet! did very well with it, again.
So how much does the Pure Rock 2 FX CPU cooler by be quiet! currently retails for? Well, the entire FX line was officially released into the market on the 1st of this month and thanks to a promotional discount (up until September 30th) today the Pure Rock 2 FX retails for USD39.90 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and 46.45Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). This means that it’s priced considerably higher on this side of the Atlantic, compared to the Pure Rock 2 model that is. That aside however the Pure Rock 2 FX delivers on both performance and looks and for that it gets the Golden Award.
PROS
- Good Build Quality
- Cooling Efficiency
- Low Noise Levels
- Light Wings 120 ARGB Fan (18 LEDs)
- Size & Weight
- Price (USA)
CONS
- Price (EU)
