INTRODUCTION

   One of the early "challenges" PC case manufacturers faced when they began the design and manufacture of the very first Micro ATX and Mini ITX cases was the size of the then available CPU air coolers. Sure the air coolers bundled with retail CPUs were small enough to fit inside such cases but people looking to equip their new systems with something less noisy and with higher cooling efficiency numbers had no other options. Top down CPU coolers (C-type) came to the rescue and although at first they couldn't directly compete with tower CPU coolers (U-type) due to their reduced sizes today and after many design and size revisions things have changed and so reduced performance (when compared to tower models) is no longer an issue. Be quiet! has a long history when it comes to top down CPU air coolers and today we're testing the latest Shadow Rock TF 2 model.

   be quiet! is a premium brand of power supplies, PC cases and cooling solutions for desktop PCs. Consistently the leader in the German PC power supply market since 2007*, be quiet! is one of the most successful PSU brands in Europe. This enduring success is largely thanks to the typical German passion for quality and precision. All product conception, design and quality control is performed in Germany. German expertise is evident the moment an idea is born and throughout the entire design and production process. be quiet! never releases a product until it meets the highest expectations. All materials used – from the smallest screws to the metals in the cases – are tested to rigorous standards. That is why be quiet! power supplies, PC cases, CPU coolers and case fans are among the most silent, powerful and reliable on the market. Innovative engineering concepts coupled with an uncompromising choice of premium materials and world-class manufacturing quality make be quiet! second to none when it comes to noise reduction. With over ten years of experience, be quiet! are truly the quietness experts.

   Just like the Shadow Rock TopFlow SR1 before it the Shadow Rock TF 2 (TF probably stands for TopFlow as well) is far from your average top down CPU air cooler not only in terms of performance but also size. To be more precise although the new Shadow Rock TF 2 is just 112mm tall (87mm without the fan) it's also 165mm long, 137mm wide and weighs just over 680g. To provide cooling to all of its 57 aluminum fins (and the mainboard components surrounding its base) be quiet! paired the Shadow Rock TF 2 with a SilentWings 135mm rifle-bearing fan (silence optimized) which can spin up to 1400RPM to produce airflow levels of up to 67.8CFM with 2.1mmH2O of air pressure and up to 24.4dBA of noise. This combination has given the Shadow Rock TF 2 a TDP (thermal design power) of 160W making it ideal for use even with 2011-3 mainboards. The TopFlow SR1 was a very good performer so let’s see what the TF 2 is truly capable of.