be quiet! leads the pack in this regard and Dark Rock Elite excels at delivering high-end cooling performance with barely a whisper. Taming an extravagant Core i9 may be a step too far – this much is true of practically every air cooler – yet on a sensible chip, Dark Rock Elite delivers effortless setup, low temps, barely any noise, and a sleek all-black aesthetic adorned with minimalist RGB lighting.
Our editors hand-pick related products using a variety of criteria: direct competitors targeting the same market segment, or devices that are similar in size, performance, or feature sets.
If the Dark Rock Elite wins silver, it’s simply because of its size. Yes, 168 mm in height is substantial, even more so when you have to raise the front fan because the RAM is too high. However, despite rising noise levels at full speed, performance is solid, even more so than the Pro 5, and it really shines on our AMD processor... At least, against the competition!
be quiet! leads the pack in this regard and Dark Rock Elite excels at delivering high-end cooling performance with barely a whisper. Taming an extravagant Core i9 may be a step too far – this much is true of practically every air cooler – yet on a sensible chip, Dark Rock Elite delivers effortless setup, low temps, barely any noise, and a sleek all-black aesthetic adorned with minimalist RGB lighting.
At $115 we feel the Elite might be priced too uncomfortably for most people. However, it can cool down a default clocked 12900K/13900K/14900K even at silent mode (albeit it will not remain totally silent). That's commendable for people that like a nice looking cooler and who are afraid to install an LCS unit.
It is hard to recommend the Dark Rock Pro 5. A $10 saving is not much, and the Elite has slightly more cooling capacity, RGB lighting for those who want it, and a slightly better aesthetic. Honestly, the Dark Rock Pro 5 struggles to justify its existence, with its only major benefit being slightly better compatibility with taller RAM. What we have here from be quiet are two great CPU cooler designs, but in our minds most buyers should simply spend the extra tenner on the Dark Rock Elite.
Performance-wise, and given the 100-dollar price, I expected more from the Dark Rock Pro 5. In my tests, the cooler stays behind other high-end coolers from Noctua and DeepCool, with a notable difference. Please remember that measuring and considering the CPU temperatures alone is not the most accurate way to evaluate a cooling system’s performance. You must also consider CPU Wattage and frequency to have a complete picture.