The Dark Rock 5 is another little brother of the two dual tower coolers Dark Rock Elite and Dark Rock Pro 5. We have already presented the latter in a test article. For our be quiet! Dark Rock 5 review, we took a closer look at the update to the Dark Rock product line in terms of design, performance and quality. For a rough classification of its performance, we compared it with another tower cooler.
Like the two larger models, the more compact Dark Rock 5 is already suitable for Intel’s Core i9 and AMD’s Ryzen 9 series. It has 6 heatpipes, is equipped with a single Silent Wings 4 120mm PWM fan and can be retrofitted with an additional fan on the opposite side.
An asymmetrical design and cut-outs on the heat sink should also enable a high level of compatibility with RAM and VRM coolers. The upper end of the heatsink and the ends of the heatpipes are concealed by a magnetic mesh cover. Unlike the Dark Rock Elite, the Dark Rock 5 has no lighting.
Specifications
| Model | Dark Rock 5 |
| Maximum cooling capacity (W TDP) | 210 |
| Color selection | Black color |
| Overall dimensions without mounting material (L x W x H), (mm) | 101 x 136 x 161 |
| Total weight (kg) | 1.03 |
| Socket compatibility Intel | 1700 / 1200 / 1150 / 1151 / 1155 |
| Socket compatibility AMD | AM5 / AM4 |
| Total volume @ 50/75/100% (rpm) | 11.9 / 23.2 / 29.8 |
| Number of fans | 1 |
| Lighting connection | – |
| Price | € 61.90 * |
Packaging and scope of delivery
- Simple outer packaging with essential contents
- Well-stocked accessories, everything you need is included
As usual for be quiet!, the outer packaging of the Dark Rock 5 is kept simple with predominantly black surfaces. Only relevant information and product images adorn the 6 sides of the box.
Inside, and each individually packed, are the Silent Wings 4 120mm PWM fan, mounting instructions, four fan clips, a small tube of thermal paste, a long Phillips screwdriver and the mounting kits for Intel and AMD. The latter are each sorted again in their own labeled bags.
The heat sink is enclosed in a two-part foam pad, in which the Phillips screwdriver is also embedded. The contact surface of the heat sink and the silver manufacturer’s logo on the mesh cover are covered with a protective film.
Design
- Round edges, dark colors and mesh cover dominate the look
- Shape of the heat sink ensures high memory compatibility
- Alignment on the AMD system is limited to one axis
Compared to its predecessor, the Dark Rock 4, the rounded edges of the Dark Rock 5 tower cooler are particularly striking. The mesh cover, which conceals the heatpipes at the upper end, also contributes to an overall rounder appearance than its predecessor.
The cooler is made of aluminum and coated with black ceramic particles. This gives it a metallic-matt appearance and is also intended to improve heat transfer to the air. Cut-outs in the heat sink and the asymmetrical design are intended to enable a theoretically unlimited storage height.
Regardless of the CPU socket used, the heat sink itself is attached to the mainboard with 2 screws, which are already pre-mounted in the mounting bridge at the lower end of the cooler. One of the two screws can only be fastened through the heat sink. A sufficiently long Phillips screwdriver is included with the Dark Rock 5 for this purpose. The necessary access is gained by removing the magnetic mesh cover made of brushed aluminum.
120mm Silent Wings 4 PWM fan
The Silent Wings 4 120mm PWM fan included with the Dark Rock 5 is attached to the heatsink in the classic way with two thin retaining clips. Another fan can be installed on the opposite side using the two extra brackets. The transmission of vibrations from the fan is reduced by a rubberized frame at several contact points.
As far as the choice of color is concerned, the newer models in the Dark Rock series have always been largely inconspicuous. Now the orange part of the logo on the Silent Wings 4 fan has also been omitted. For their part, the fans stand out visually with airflow-optimized blades according to the manufacturer and fit in well with the dense fins of the heat sink.
It is worth mentioning that the heat sink of the Dark Rock 5 can only be aligned towards the external mainboard connections on an AMD system. Depending on how the fan is mounted, only the direction of the airflow can be influenced.
Processing
- Overall very good workmanship with only one minor complaint
- Fluid Dynamic bearings for very long fan life expectancy
- 6-pole motors for efficiency, longevity and quiet running
Overall, the build quality of all parts in our be quiet! Dark Rock 5 test is very satisfactory and of high quality. The edges and corners of the metal elements, such as the aluminum heat sink, feel smooth and pleasant. Only under the magnetic mesh cover do some edges of the grille protrude sharply. Normally, the underside of the cover is only visible during assembly, so an unsightly finish at this point is not an issue.
As expected, the contact surface of the cooling plate with the CPU appears flawless. The nickel-plated cooling plate of the Dark Rock 5 should also make it compatible with liquid metal thermal pastes and thus enable high-end CPUs to achieve higher performance.
There are also no unsightly burrs or blemishes on the components of the Silent Wings 4 fan, i.e. the plastic frame and rubberized contact surfaces. The shrink sleeves enclose the cable of the 4-pin PWM connection perfectly. The fan blades appear to rotate smoothly.
A fluid-dynamic bearing is said to have a long life expectancy of 300,000 hours thanks to friction-free operation. As with its predecessors Silent Wings 3, the Silent Wings 4 fans once again use 6-pole motors, which should contribute to quiet operation in addition to efficiency, durability and reliability.
Installation
- Installation is carried out on an AMD system with AM4 socket
- Attaching the 2 retaining clips to the AMD backplate was the hardest part
- The rest of the assembly was pleasantly easy
For this test, the Dark Rock 5 was installed on an AMD system with an AM4 socket using the enclosed AMD mounting kit, consisting of 2 brackets, 4 screws and 4 spacers.
Apart from the thermal paste and the screwdriver, the backplate of the AMD socket normally supplied with the mainboard is also required for installation on an AMD system.
Before installation, any retaining clips still fitted to the AMD socket should first be removed, but without removing the aforementioned backplate. It is easiest if the backplate is held by a second person, otherwise you will have to make do provisionally.
In addition, any old thermal paste is removed from the CPU with a paper towel.
Spacers are first placed on the four threaded holes of the backplate from the top of the mainboard. The two retaining brackets for the tower cooler are then attached to these with four screws.
The Silent Wings fan can now be connected to the CPU fan connector on the mainboard to make it easier to install later. The direction in which it is installed is shown by the arrow symbols on the frame.
Once the heatsink has been fitted correctly, the new thermal paste is applied, spread a little if necessary and then the heatsink is placed on the CPU as accurately as possible and aligned with the retaining clips.
The only thing left to do now is to tighten the two screws pre-mounted in the mounting bridges of the heat sink alternately, so that the force is distributed as evenly as possible. To do this, the mesh cover of the tower must be removed and the screwdriver inserted into the hole provided until the second screw can be turned.
Finally, attaching the Silent Wings fan, which is already connected to the mainboard, to the heat sink is a pleasantly easy task using two clips.
be quiet! Dark Rock 5 test – the procedure
- The Dark Rock 5 is compared with the Brocken 3 from Alpenföhn
- Temperature results are given as the difference to room temperature
- Tested at maximum speed and uniform volume at reduced speed
As in our other fan and cooler tests, the temperature results in this article on the be quiet! Dark Rock 5 test are given as the difference (delta) to the room temperature, i.e. Kelvin (K).
For classification purposes, the results of the Dark Rock 5 are compared with those of an Alpenföhn Brocken 3. The test was carried out on an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, i.e. the AM4 socket. The well-ventilated REV300 from Sharkoon was used as the case. The thermal paste supplied with the Dark Rock 5 was also applied.
All relevant components of the test system:
- AMD Ryzen 7 3700X (Socket AM4)
- MSI X470 GAMING PLUS MAX
- TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition 8GB GDDR6X
- 2x G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB Black DDR4-3200
- Sharkoon REV300
The 3700X consumed around 15 watts in idle mode and 90 watts under full load in Cinebench 2024. The temperatures were measured when the system was idle and for one minute after an 8-minute warm-up phase in the CPU multicore benchmark of Cinebench 2024. The results were then subtracted from the room temperature in each case.
For comparable, constant results, the case fans of the REV300 were permanently set to a speed of around 500 revolutions per minute (RPM) for the test. The two CPU coolers were tested once at full power and once at a fixed volume of 36db(A).
be quiet! Dark Rock 5 test – the measurement results
- Smaller results are better
| Cooler | be quiet! Dark Rock 5 | Alpenföhn Brocken 3 |
| Idle temperature | 12 K | 13 K |
| Idle temperature 36 dB(A) | 13,5 K | 13,5 K |
| Maximum load | 45 K | 47,5 K |
| Maximum load 36 dB(A) | 47,5 K | 50,5 K |
| Sound level | 39 db(A) | 40 db(A) |
| Speed 36 dB(A) | 1280 RPM | 690 RPM |
In idle mode, both coolers delivered roughly the same results. Under maximum load in Cinebench 2024, be quiet!’s Dark Rock 5 delivered an average of 2.5 to 3 degrees lower temperatures than the Brocken 3 and was slightly quieter. Even at a limited volume of 36db(A), the Dark Rock 5 was still able to cool the 3700X 3 degrees better.
be quiet! Dark Rock 5 test – result analysis
- Dark Rock 5 slightly quieter and cooler than the comparison cooler
- Both fans delivered good results
Both the Dark Rock 5 and the Brocken 3 were able to cool the Ryzen 7 3700X sufficiently well. Objectively speaking, however, the Dark Rock 5 performed better than the Brocken 3 in our be quiet! Dark Rock 5 test in terms of temperature and noise. The latter is larger and is now getting on in years. If you now take into account any design preferences and space requirements, the Dark Rock 5 becomes the more attractive choice thanks to its compact design and more inconspicuous black color.
However, the successor to the comparison cooler, the Alpenföhn Brocken 4, also has a more compact design and black coating. This reduces the differences to the Dark Rock 5, including a similar price level. We have also already tested the Brocken 4.
Conclusion
In this be quiet! Dark Rock 5 test, the Dark Rock 5 beats the comparison cooler in terms of volume and cooling performance. The rounded design of the Dark Rock 5 with concealed heatpipes is a pleasant change from its angular predecessor and thus increasingly appeals to style-conscious desktop hobbyists. Nevertheless, the Dark Rock 4 is a little heavier and slightly larger than its predecessor. According to be quiet! it has also become a little louder. At the same time, the maximum TDP has increased by 10 watts to 210 watts.
The price of between €55 and €60 at the time of testing (currently € 61.90 *) is offset by the very good workmanship, the more elaborate design and durable components. Competitor models such as the successor to the comparison cooler are slightly undercut in terms of price. However, its own big brother, the Dark Rock Pro 5, is not significantly more expensive at €70 to €80 (€ 85.70 *) and could therefore be the more attractive choice. Of course, this only applies if the extra cost is not an issue and there is enough space in the case. Ultimately, the Dark Rock 5 is a very good choice for style-conscious mid-range systems and upwards that are also as quiet as possible.
be quiet! Dark Rock 5
Design
Processing
Assembly
Performance
Price-performance ratio
94/100
The compact Dark Rock 5 from be quiet! is a stylish and low-noise cooling solution for current desktop CPUs from AMD and Intel.
