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 Shadow Rock 2 does exceptionally well at stock speeds, taking the top spot in the chart with a temperature of 28°C. Once the CPU is overclocked, the cooler falls back toward the middle of the pack.

Typical Load Temperatures

In the first load test using Wprime, the Shadow Rock 2 does well, tying the Noctua NH-U12S and falling behind the Phanteks PH-TC14PE by just 1°C. Once the CPU is overclocked, be quiet!'s cooler plummets down the charts, only making third from last by beating the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO by just 2°C and Silverstone's Argon AR03 by 1°C.


The Shadow Rock 2's average performance continues in the AIDA64 CPU benchmark. At stock, the cooler ends up directly behind the Silverstone Argon AR03, beaten by 1°C, and is again ahead of the Noctua NH-U12S by, this time, 1°C, but be quiet!'s Shadow Rock 2 falls behind again once the system is overclocked. This time, it is beaten handily by the much cheaper Raijintek Themis and Ereboss. However, there is some good news as the Argon AR03 from Silverstone falls behind the Shadow Rock 2 by 1°C, but both are roughly the same price, making this a minor victory only.

Max Load Temperatures

The be quiet! Shadow Rock 2 redeems itself in the stock test, climbing the charts to be the best-performing cooler for the price, just 2°C behind the Cooler Master Seidon 120XL. That said, the overclocked results are terrible again, with the Shadow Rock 2 falling to third from last, beating out the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO and the NZXT Respire T40 that failed the test. When it comes to extreme loads, be quiet!'s cooler has a hard time being competitive against cheaper products cooling Intel's Haswell i7 4770K in my test bench.