INTRODUCTION

   Our summer vacation timeout is almost upon us and although it will roughly be just 5-6 days long that doesn't mean that it will be solely fun and pleasure. So during these 3 days all of us will be testing several compact electronic devices (obviously we can't really test PC hardware while on vacations) such as portable battery packs, portable speakers, Wi-Fi sharing drives/devices, action cameras, Bluetooth wireless headsets and of course normal wired headsets since we really don't want to fall back on our review schedule (if we did that would mean more work for us once we get back). However until we take our short leave (should be the 12th of August if all goes according to plan) there are quite a few hardware reviews left to share with all of you including the one regarding the latest CPU Cooler by be quiet! the Shadow Rock 2.

   be quiet! is a premium brand manufacturer of power supplies and cooling solutions for your desktop PC. be quiet! products are convincing which is proved by reaching and defending the market leadership in PSU business in Germany for five consecutive years *. This is validated and accompanied by numerous awards for both power supplies and cooling solutions. be quiet! is awarded for five times in a row as manufacturer of the year in the power supply category by the readers of the well-known German hardware magazine PC Games Hardware. Another first and second rank in the categories “fans” and “cooler” underline the high acceptance of our products. be quiet! sticks to its name: Ten years’ experience in the field of noise reduction and silence make be quiet! products probably the most silent one on the market. Undoubted fans have a large impact of the noise levels of be quiet! products. Due we are using our specially developed Silent Wings fans in nearly all of our range. They are equipped with various noise reducing features. Thanks to these we ensure a really silent operation - our products reach the best balance between cooling performance and a virtually inaudible operation. If you choose be quiet! you can be sure to get premium quality and second to none silent operation from the quietness experts.

   Just like the Dark Rock Pro 2 which we tested a long time ago the Shadow Rock 2 is also a tower-design CPU Air Cooler (however unlike the first it's a single heatsink design and not a dual/sandwich one) with a T.D.P of 180W (Thermal Design Power) that focuses on the sweet spot between performance and low noise levels with the help of an 120mm Pure-Wings 2 PWM fan and a rather large main body featuring a total of 51 aluminum fins and four 8mm heatpipes. The design of the main body also allows for the end user to place a second 120mm fan on the opposite side in push & pull configuration for even better performance levels but unfortunately as you will see later on in order to do so you will need to purchase a separate set of mounting clips directly from be quiet! since these are not included in the bundle. As always however it's the cooling performance of a CPU Cooler that we care about mostly so let's see exactly how the Shadow Rock 2 does in that area.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large picture along with the thermal design power and the main features of the unit are placed at the front of the box.

On both sides be quiet! talks about all the possible ways to use the Shadow Rock 2.

Over at the rear we see a wireframe of the unit used to point out its features and the specifications table for both the heatsink and fan.

In the box be quiet! has placed the Shadow Rock 2 (complete with the 120mm pure-wings fan mounted), a thermal paste tube, instruction manual, backplate and all the necessary mounts to install on Intel LGA 775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011 and AMD 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2 mainboards.

THE SHADOW ROCK 2

The main heatsink body of the Shadow Rock 2 measures 160mm in height, 147mm in width and 122mm in depth and weighs a total of 974g. With the 120mm fan installed the Shadow Rock 2 becomes 25mm thicker (147mm in total) and weighs 1105g (always according to out digital scale).

Although i was expecting a 140mm fan (for better cooling efficiency) be quiet! opted for an 120mm PWM Pure-Wings 2 instead that can spin up to 1600RPM to produce airflow of 51CFM at just 24.9dBA.

The heatsink of the Shadow Rock 2 is made by a total of 51 aluminum fins. According to be quiet! the wave-design of the fins offers improved cooling performance while at the same time reduces noise.

What steals the show is the brushed aluminum plate at the top with the company logo on it (unfortunately on our photo bench with over 800W of cold white lights this was not recorded very well).

A total of four 8mm thick all-copper heatpipes leave the base of the cooler and pass through all of the 51 aluminum fins.

The base of the Shadow Rock 2 features our favorite mirror-like plating.

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. 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 Arctic Silver 5 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 Intel Core i7-3930k 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 takes a lot more time 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

   Be Quiet! currently has all of their CPU Cooler models divided into two product lines the Shadow Rock which is aimed towards people who want performance with low noise levels and at a rather affordable price tag and the Dark Rock one which is their high end line aimed towards serious gamers, enthusiasts and overclockers. With this in mind we obviously never expected for the Shadow Rock 2 to surpass the performance of the quite older Dark Rock Pro 2 model and in the end it didn't. However on one hand the difference between those two models is quite small while on the other the Shadow Rock 2 is currently the 7th most silent CPU Cooler in our charts (out of 23 models in total) so i think that once again be quiet! has managed to hit the sweet spot between performance and low noise levels. So if i had to point out to a single issue with the Shadow Rock 2 that would be the lack of an extra set of mounting clips for a second fan (for push & pull) since now you have no choice but to go to extra lengths in order to find and purchase it separately.

   Price is also an very important factor when choosing the right CPU Cooler for your needs and that's one of the areas the Shadow Rock line excels. So currently the Shadow Rock 2 CPU Cooler by be quiet! retails for 43.68Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) but unfortunately since it was launched roughly a month ago it's yet not available everywhere but that should change soon according to be quiet! (MSRP for the USA is set at USD49.90). Very good cooling efficiency, low noise levels, medium-size, appearance, CPU Compatibility, 4 different directions to mount the fan, dual fan solution and covered with a 3 year warranty, what more can we ask from a CPU Cooler? Because of all of the above the Shadow Rock 2 by be quiet! takes our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Size
- Very Good Cooling Efficiency
- Low Noise Levels
- Dual Fan Solution
- Four-Directional Fan Mounting
- Socket Compatibility
- 3 Years Warranty
- Price (For Some) 

CONS

- Current Availability
- Lack of Extra Fan Mounting Clips