Test System & Temperature Results

Test System

Testing Procedure

All testing is done at a room temperature of 23°C (73°F), with a 1°C margin of error. The coolers are tested with Turbo, EIST, and C1E enabled, which will allow the CPU to clock down to a low 1.6 GHz while idle, or clock up to proper speeds under stock and overclocked conditions. The retail Intel Core i7-4770K I use for testing at stock is set to load-optimized defaults with the CPU's voltage at a static 1.15 V. Overclocked, the processor is running at 4.2 GHz on the CPU and 3.9 GHz on cache, with respective voltages set to 1.20 V and 1.15 V. During all these tests, fans are set to run at 100% in the BIOS, with temperatures being recorded by AIDA64.

The idle test will consist of the CPU sitting idle at the desktop for 15 minutes. This will allow for a stable temperature reading that will be recorded at the end of those 15 minutes.

Wprime and AIDA64's CPU-stability test represent typical multi-threaded loads. Both offer consistent results, with one being a benchmarking application and the other a stability test. Both are run for 15 minutes before the peak reading during the test is recorded and taken as the result. This test lets enthusiasts know what temperatures they can expect to see with games and applications. Wprime is set to eight threads while AIDA64 is configured to stress the CPU, FPU, cache, and system memory.

AIDA64 offers maximum heat generation when set to stress just the FPU in the stability test, which will really push the CPU. This test represents extreme loads much like LinX, Prime95, and other extreme stress tests many users are familiar with.

Idle Temperatures

be quiet!'s Dark Rock 3 does exceptionally well in our idle test. At 28°C at stock, it tops the charts by tying the Shadow Rock 2, Noctua NH-U12, and others. With the CPU overclock applied, it places third on the chart, 1°C behind the Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister and Phanteks PH-TC12DX.

Typical Load Temperatures

Under a typical user load and with the CPU running at stock speeds, the Dark Rock 3 manages to latch onto second place in our charts, with 57°C, which puts it 2°C behind the Corsair H110. At 4.2 GHz, it falls back into fourth place, 4°C behind the Corsair H110 at the top. And while fourth place may not seem amazing, it is still amazing for a single-tower, single-fan cooler as it goes toe to toe with the much larger Phanteks PH-TC14PE and is only 1°C behind the Dark Rock Pro 2.


The AIDA64 CPU stability benchmark has be quiet!'s Dark Rock 3 drop down the list, although it still places within the upper thirty-three percent of all the coolers tested, with its CPU temperature only 2°C higher than the Corsair H110 that still firmly holds onto the first spot at both stock and overclocked.

Max Load Temperatures

The be quiet! Dark Rock 3 impresses at stock clocks by again coming in just 2°C behind the Corsair H110. However, once the CPU has been overclocked, the AIDA64 FPU test proves its worth as the Dark Rock 3 falls back into the middle of the pack with a temperature reading of 89°C. While not terrible, it is a full 5°C behind the top performer and 3°C behind the Dark Rock Pro 2 and Phanteks PH-TC14PE. Still, at 89°C, the Dark Rock 3 is the best-performing single-fan heatsink I have tested to date.