Finished Looks

With its simple black and silver design that goes well with just about any system, be quiet!'s Shadow Rock LP is a good-looking cooler. The lack of nickel-plating in comparison to be quiet!'s Dark Rock series allows for that nice bit of contrast, which makes it stand out all the more.


The aluminum top-plate, heatpipe caps, and solid black fan wires give the Shadow Rock LP a boost in terms of perceived quality. These additions certainly won't make it perform any better compared to the competition; however, such differences do make the Shadow Rock LP seem more like a premium product.


Clearance around the socket is decent due in part to the ability to change the heatsink's orientation. Users won't have any issues plugging the EPS 8-pin connector in, that is for certain.


Clearance for tall memory sticks in the default orientation is less than stellar, making standard memory a must. However, the cooler does not interfere with the primary expansion slot, which is nice.


The Shadow Rock LP's design thankfully allows users to improve clearance by altering its orientation. Flipping the cooler around has the heatsink sit above the motherboard's VRM section. The cooler will absorb some heat due to it, which will influence performance to some extent; however, the fan itself will offer some active cooling to the motherboard's heatsinks. The other options allow for the cooler to be rotated 90°, which causes interference with the first expansion slot or has the heatsink get very close to the EPS-8 pin connector. Memory clearance may not be perfect depending on the orientation you pick, so keep that in mind. While complete clearance may be possible on one board, it may not happen on another, so makes sure to stick with standard-height memory sticks.

The ability to change the cooler's orientation is a nice extra even if the manual makes no mention of it. Again, while having the heatsink loom over a motherboard VRM heatsink may result in less performance, it is still an option for those who need it, especially for lower TDP CPUs, which increases the Shadow Rock LP's overall appeal.