The German hardware manufacturer be quiet! has become known worldwide primarily for its high-quality and particularly quiet power supply units. However, be quiet! has also been a major player in the CPU cooler and case segment for many years and has already won a number of awards with products from the “Dark Base”, “Silent Base” and “Pure Base” series. In August 2022, be quiet! added another product, the Pure Loop 2 FX, to the AiO water cooling segment. In October 2023, be quiet! presented the Pure Loop 2, which we are testing today, without much advance notice.
The difference between the Pure Loop 2 and Pure Loop 2 FX is quite simple. The be quiet! Pure Loop 2 uses fans without ARGB lighting, which reduces the price of the compact water cooling system by around €10 to €20 to € 93.90 *. However, the new fans are still unknown. They are the new Pure Wings 3 with “Closed-Loop-Motor” function, which should prevent strong speed fluctuations even with long running times and high air resistance. Other features of the Pure Loop 2 include a double-decoupled PWM pump, a refillable tank and a sleek look including subtle RGB lighting on the cooling block.
be quiet! Pure Loop 2 test: Technical details
General specifications
| Weight | 1103 g |
| Compatibility AMD | AM5 / AM4 |
| Intel compatibility | LGA 115X / 1366 / 1200 / 1700 |
| Cooling capacity |
N/A |
| Price |
€ 93.90 * |
Radiator specifications/heatsink specifications
| Type | Soldered radiator |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 277 x 120 x 27 mm |
| Material | Aluminum alloy |
Cooling block specifications
| Type | Cooling block without pump |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 94.5 x 83 x 42 mm |
| Material | Copper (radiator base plate), plastic (housing) |
| Tube length | 400 mm |
| Lighting connection | 3-pin 5V ARGB |
Fan specifications
| Number of fans | 2 |
| Fan designation | be quiet! Pure Wings 3 |
| Bearing type | Rifle-Bearing |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 120 x 120 x 25 mm |
| Max. Fan speed | 2100 rpm |
| Max. Noise development | 34.9 db(A) |
| Max. Volume flow | N/A |
| Max. Air pressure | N/A |
| Nominal voltage (fan) | 12 V |
| Nominal current (fan) | 0.45 A |
| Nominal power (fan) | 5.4 W |
| Fan connection | 4-pin PWM |
| Cable length | 500 mm |
Pump specifications
| Pump speed | 4000 ~ 5500 rpm |
| Nominal voltage (pump) | 12 V |
| Pump connection | 4-pin PWM |
| Special features | Pump is located between the hoses and not in the cooling block |
Packaging & scope of delivery
Typical for a be quiet! product, the manufacturer packs the Pure Loop 2 in a box made of black-printed cardboard. The typical accents of white and orange have also been used. In addition to a few product images, the packaging also contains a list of the most important features and a summary of all the technical data in the form of a table. All texts were written in English.
Inside the box, be quiet! wraps the compact water cooling system in a mold made from recycled cardboard. In addition, the radiator, cooling block and hoses are packed in a cardboard or plastic sleeve. The accessories are placed by be quiet! in a small box. This contains several bags with all the mounting material for various sockets, a metal backplate, mounting instructions, a PWM splitter cable and a small tube of thermal paste. The scope of delivery also includes a bottle of coolant for refilling the compact water cooling system.
Design & workmanship
be quiet! designed the radiator simply and made it entirely from aluminum. The fins and the frame are soldered and painted black. The lettering “PURE LOOP 2” can also be found on the side. With a height of 27 millimeters, it is in line with the average height of many commercially available compact water cooling systems. A special feature can also be seen on one of the short sides. be quiet! has placed a screw here, under which there is an opening through which the radiator can be refilled if necessary.
With a length of 400 millimeters, the water hoses are long enough to accommodate the radiator anywhere in a conventional midi tower. The rotating joints on the sides of the cooling block also contribute to this. The textile-coated hoses are pressed into metal sleeves on both the radiator and the pump. This makes the solution a closed system in which the cooling circuit cannot be expanded.
Unlike many other manufacturers, be quiet! does not install the pump in the cooling block, but places it at the upper end between the water hoses. This placement has one major advantage: the pump is automatically decoupled and cannot transmit any disturbing vibrations to the mainboard. However, from our point of view at least, the overall appearance of the compact water cooling system suffers somewhat from this type of implementation.
The cooling block of the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 has not changed compared to the FX version. It consists of a simple black plastic frame that tapers at the top and bottom. A screw for connection to the mounting frame has been pre-installed in each of the two tips at the factory. A cover plate made of brushed aluminum with the manufacturer’s logo printed on it can be seen on the top of the cooling block. All around the cover plate, be quiet! has implemented a slightly transparent plastic frame, behind which the ARGB LEDs have been placed. The connection to the mainboard is made via a standardized 3-pin 5V ARGB cable.
The supplied “Pure Wings 3” fans are made of black plastic and have a maximum speed of 2100 revolutions per minute. They are connected directly to the mainboard via a 4-pin PWM connector with the included Y-switch. A special feature is the use of the new “closed-loop motor” technology. This technology can be compared to cruise control in a car. The controller in the fan constantly compares the target speed with the actual speed and adjusts the power consumption accordingly to ensure the desired speed and a constant and stable performance of the fan.
If you combine the radiator and fan into a complete package, the combination is 52 millimeters high and weighs approx. 1.1 kilograms. This means that the compact water cooling system should also fit into cases that do not offer as much space for water cooling components. In terms of build quality, we were unable to detect any processing or paint defects on the fans, radiator or pump unit. There were also no bent fins or unsightly scratches.
be quiet! Pure Loop 2 test: Assembly
A test system on a benchtable is used for the review. This allows us to rule out factors such as heat build-up in the case. The test system consists of the following components
- AMD Ryzen 5 1400 @ 3.8 GHz at 1.25V*
- ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus*
- Crucial Ballistix Sport LT gray 32 GB DDR4-3000*
- Corsair Force Series MP510 960GB Nvme*
- Gigabyte AORUS GTX 1060 6G*
- LC-Power LC550 V2.31 Platinum Series 550W*
be quiet! includes detailed assembly instructions with the Pure Loop 2, in which all the essential assembly steps are explained clearly and comprehensibly with text and pictures. In the first step, it is advisable to connect the radiator to the case or benchtable. Now the front mounting brackets of the AMD retention module on the front of the mainboard must be removed.
The retention module is replaced by four black plastic spacers, four screws and two horizontally oriented mounting brackets. These have also been painted black by be quiet! In the final step, the thermal paste is applied, the cooling block is placed on the CPU and screwed to the mounting brackets. Assembly completed.
Installation is similar for an Intel system. Here, however, the supplied metal backplate is used, which, equipped with mounting pins, is placed behind the mainboard and screwed to the front with spacers or two mounting brackets.
be quiet! has designed the mounting system to be solid, but keeps the process as simple as possible. The pre-installed mounting screws on the cooling block in particular shorten the preparation time. Should there still be any doubts when installing the compact water cooling system, these should be quickly resolved by taking a look at the detailed instructions.
Volume and cooling capacity
As already shown in the previous chapter, we use an AM4 system based on the Ryzen 5 1400 and the ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus as test hardware. The Ryzen runs at 3.8 GHz at 1.175V. To heat up the processor, it was loaded with Prime95 for 15 minutes. The temperature of the CPU was then read out with the CPUID hardware monitor and the room temperature was approx. 20 °C during the measurements.
| wdt_ID | CPU-Kühler | Temperatur 50% PWM (in °C) | Temperatur 100% PWM (in °C) | Minimale Lüftergeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) | Minimale Pumpengeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | Enermax AQUAFUSION ADV 360 | 50,20 | 50,10 | 1.460 | 2.100 | 2.230 | 3.200 | ||
| 78 | DeepCool LS520 SE | 51,40 | 50,00 | 1.460 | 2.200 | 2.100 | 3.020 | ||
| 79 | Alphacool Core Ocean T38 360mm | 52,20 | 49,30 | 1.600 | 2.500 | 1.800 | 3.200 | ||
| 80 | DeepCool Castle 280EX | 53,00 | 52,00 | 1.050 | 1.600 | ||||
| 81 | Raijintek Scylla Elite CA360 ARGB | 54,00 | 51,00 | 850 | 1.000 | 3.200 | 4.000 | ||
| 82 | DeepCool AS500 | 54,00 | 52,00 | 700 | 1.150 | ||||
| 83 | SilentiumPC Fera 5 Dual Fan | 55,00 | 53,00 | 730 | 1.300 | ||||
| 84 | ENDORFY Navis F360 | 55,50 | 49,40 | 1.200 | 1.975 | ||||
| 85 | Thermaltake CNPS10X Performa | 56,00 | 53,00 | 700 | 1.500 | ||||
| 86 | ALSEYE Xtreme X360 | 57,00 | 53,00 | 1.100 | 1.600 | ||||
| CPU-Kühler | Temperatur 50% PWM (in °C) | Temperatur 100% PWM (in °C) | Minimale Lüftergeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) | Minimale Pumpengeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) |
As can be seen from the table and the diagram, the CPU of our test system reaches a maximum of 50.7 °C (at 50% PWM fan and pump speed) and 46.7 °C (at 100% fan and pump speed) under full load. Considering the radiator size, this is a very good value and the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 240mm should also have enough air for stronger CPUs. If the cooling performance is no longer sufficient, the Pure Loop 2 is also available with a larger 360 mm radiator.
In terms of noise, both the fans and the pump are relatively restrained at reduced speeds and the running noise is only minimal or virtually imperceptible. At minimum speed, both the fans and the pump are almost inaudible. At maximum speed, a discreet humming noise can be heard from the pump and the fans can draw attention to themselves with an audible air noise. At 2100 revolutions per minute, however, this is hardly surprising.
be quiet! Pure Loop 2 test: lighting options
The be quiet! Pure Loop 2 has discreet ARGB lighting in the cooling block that surrounds the top plate. It is connected and controlled via a typical 3-pin 5V ARGB connector. Finally, a few impressions of the activated lighting.
Conclusion of the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 test
Overall, the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 can convince in the test. The performance shown is very good and at the same time the compact water cooling system remains quite restrained in operation with slightly reduced fan and pump speeds. This is complemented by the excellent workmanship of the components, a simple but solid mounting system including good installation instructions as well as a timeless and simple look, although you don’t have to completely do without RGB lighting. Compared to the FX version, there is of course less RGB, but this is not necessarily a negative. Finally, the Pure Loop 2 is refillable and be quiet! even includes a bottle of additional coolant with each unit.
As is almost usual for compact water cooling systems, both the pump and the fans are at least noticeable or audible at maximum speed. Furthermore, the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 is priced in the upper mid-range for 240 mm AiO water cooling systems and thus already competes against inexpensive compact water cooling systems with 280 mm or 360 mm radiators. In addition, the identical FX version of the Pure Loop 2 currently only costs around €10 more, but comes with two Light Wings ARGB fans.
Overall, the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 is still a high-quality, high-performance and recommendable compact water cooling system if you want to reduce the RGB factor to a minimum and are prepared to put a little more money on the counter.
be quiet! Pure Loop 2
Design
Workmanship
Mounting
Performance
Value for money
90/100
The be quiet! Pure Loop 2 is a high-performance and high-quality compact water cooling system that is easy to install, has a simple look with a touch of RGB and is also refillable. However, the price difference to the Pure Loop 2 FX with ARGB fans is currently only very small.
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