The be quiet! Pure Loop 280 will not set the world on fire in terms of performance; however, it still does quite well. It typically traded blows with the Deepcool Castle 280EX, Corsair H115i Platinum, and Fractal Design Celsius+ S28 Prisma, while being a tiny bit quieter at maximum RPM. It should be noted that the pump is mounted on the tubing, meaning there was little to no pump noise with this model. Instead, the noise users will hear is entirely related to the fan's airflow. This did give it a more pleasing noise profile, at least subjectively.

The cooler's biggest draw will be its price to performance, at least when it comes to all-in-one liquid coolers. At an MSRP of $104.90 or $105, it comes in at $20-25 less than many AIOs on the market. In some cases, it can be up to $65 cheaper than its direct competition in the 280 mm radiator segment. Thus, the Pure Loop 280 is a knockout value if you are looking specifically at 280 mm liquid coolers and don't want to spend absurd amounts. Still it's also worth noting that some of the more prominent 240 mm liquid coolers can steal be quiet!'s thunder, if only by a little bit. Coolers like the Lian Li Galahad 240 are smaller and deliver better performance, but at a slight price premium, which is worth keeping in mind.

In regards to the build quality, be quiet! did a good job. My review sample had no bent fins, and installation was quite easy with no problems in regards to the graphics card or memory clearances. They also offer a decent middle of the road warranty at 3 years, which doesn't hurt. The only head-scratcher is the company's use of white LEDs on the CPU block. They do look nice, but if you are going to incorporate LEDs, it would make more sense to go all in with ARGB and maybe set the default to white. Instead, you will likely leave that feature disabled unless your build specifically calls for white lighting. This is a shame as the lighting is uniform, bright, and nicely done if it fits your build theme.

The only other thought that comes to mind is low noise performance. With the cooler set to operate at 45 dBA, temperatures in the AIDA64 OC FPU test saw the CPU climb up to 90°C. That result may not be stellar, but it is still respectable. Thankfully, this release should make a good base upon which be quiet! can continue to improve.

Overall, the be quiet! Pure Loop 280 is a solid offering that proves to be a middle of the road closed loop cooler. It may not be the quietest, but is also not the loudest, just as it is not the best or worst performer. However, where it does excel is in price to performance, and in that regard it's one of the better options available, especially for 280 mm closed loop coolers.