Introduction

be quiet! continues to adapt and release silence-focused PC products for enthusiasts the world over. Be it cases, power supplies, fans, air coolers, and even all-in-one liquid coolers. The company continues to innovate and deliver products that perform exceptionally well but remain silent. Then again, that is to be expected when the company philosophy is "no compromise silence and performance."


In today's review, I will be taking a look at be quiet!'s newest offering, the Dark Rock TF 2. Like the Dark Rock TF that came before it, the TF 2 is a dual-fan, top-flow design that features six Ø6 mm heat pipes and two Silent Wings 3 fans along with a 230-watt TDP rating. On the surface, be quiet! has made minor visual changes, giving the cooler a more refined appearance, but they didn't stop there. They also made some changes to the base and fans, which, along with changes you can't see at first glance, will hopefully result in a new high-end, low-noise top-flow cooler. But like any review, let's take a closer look before passing judgment!

Packaging

As is normal for be quiet!, the packaging is black with the front panel showing off the cooler in all its glory; otherwise, there isn't much to see here. Moving to the left side, you will find a large QR code you can scan for information on the cooler, but nothing else. Turning to the back, this is where you will start to find actual information, and in this case, it pertains to the cooler's various features, such as the funnel-shaped 135 mm Silent Wings 3 fan used as the top fan to further improve airflow. The company also makes sure to mention the Dark Rock TF 2's 230-watt TDP, high-performance copper heat pipes, and black coating with ceramic particles.


The right side has the specifications of the Dark Rock TF 2, including the dimensions, fan RPM, weight, heat pipes, noise levels, etc. However, the fans' CFM ratings are missing. Finally, the top of the box has the product name, company logo, and rated TDP.

Contents

The heatsink comes in a foam insert to protect it, with the mounting hardware placed in a separate box in the center. Meanwhile, the fans are packaged in separate small boxes. Overall, the packaging is quite good, but a bit of space for some foam to protect the fan sitting on top would have been nice, just as a precautionary measure.


Socket support is the same as for the recently reviewed Shadow Rock Slim 2, meaning Intel's LGA115x, LGA1200, LGA2011, and LGA2066 are supported, as are AMD's AM4 and AM3+. Older sockets are not listed, which is not really a big deal considering their age.

Common parts supplied for mounting include:

• 4x Fan clips
• 4x AMD backplate screws
• 4x AM3+ washers
• 4x Mounting bracket screws
• 4x Plastic standoffs
• 4x Intel spacer nuts
• 4x LGA2011/2066 spacer nuts
• 4x Intel backplate O-rings
• 4x Intel backplate screws
• 2x Intel mounting plates
• 2x AMD mounting plates
• 1x Intel backplate
• 1x Heatsink
• 2x 135 mm fans
• 1x Tube of thermal paste
• 1x Instruction manual
• 1x PWM fan splitter