Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1 CPU cooler review

[siopao1984]

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Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1 CPU cooler review

Introduction

During the past few months we brought you the reviews of several power supply units from Be-Quiet, a German manufacturer. The company produces more than just power supplies though, offering a wide range of cooling products as well. Today we have yet another product from Be-Quiet to test and review but it is no power supply this time; it is the Dark Rock Advanced C1, a high performance CPU cooler.


Manufacturer features and specifications

• For gaming, multimedia and CAD systems even at maximum processing power.
• Suitable for overclocking operation.
• Extremely efficient up to more than 180 watt.
• Maximum cooling efficiency, Delta T 10.9 @ 100 watt.
• Quiet operation with 1× Silent Wings PWM fan, 6.6–18.8 dB(A).
• High-quality materials with dark nickel surfaces.

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Product Packaging and Bundle



Be Quiet supplies the Dark Rock Advanced C1 cooler inside a simple, black cardboard box. The artwork on the box is limited to a basic schematic of the cooler but the product’s features and specifications are all printed on the sides and rear of the box. Inside the box, the cooler is well protected by thick Styrofoam pieces.



Bundled with the cooler you will also receive the main backplate and the necessary aluminum retention brackets needed for the installation of the cooler, a small syringe of thermal compound, metallic retention brackets for an extra cooling fan and a basic black and white manual.

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The Cooler



The Dark Rock Advanced C1 is a tower-style cooler, as most high performance coolers nowadays are. For a tower cooler using a 120mm cooling fan and utilizing 6 heatpipes, the Dark Rock Advanced C1 is relatively compact. A thick black aluminum plate is installed at the top of the cooler, serving mostly as an aesthetic enhancement and covers the heatpipes and asymmetric cooling fins. The cooling fan is one of Be-Quiet’s best 120mm fans, a SilentWings PWM controlled fan. The SilentWings PWM is a high quality fluid dynamic bearing fan with an innovative fins design for optimum airflow performance and a maximum rotational speed of 1500RPM but without any lighting or other aesthetic enhancements.



The fins of the Dark Rock Advanced C1 cooler are nickel plated and their fan-facing side is cut to a V shape, minimizing the noise created by turbulence beneath the fan’s motor. Their edges are also following a wave shaped pattern to reduce turbulence noise even further. The fan is held into place with rubber studs which absorb any movement vibrations.



Unlike their complex design of their fan-facing side, the back side of the fins is perfectly straight. The fins are also well cut and rounded, eliminating sharp edges and minimizing the risk of physical injury while handling the cooler.



Although the base of the cooler is nickel plated, it is actually made out of pure copper. The six 6mm heatpipes move through the base and do not come in direct contact with the CPU; the heat is first absorbed by the base of the cooler and then transferred to the heatpipes, which in turn transfer the heat to the aluminum fins.



The base of the Dark Rock Advanced C1 is well machined and almost a perfect mirror. It could be better but its quality is on par with the high class of the cooler.

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Installation



The installation of the Dark Rock Advanced C1 cooler is not very complex but it requires tools and some time. To begin with, you need to screw the correct retention brackets for your CPU slot onto the base of the cooler.



You will not have to remove your motherboard from your case if the motherboard tray is cut open behind the CPU area but it might prove to be difficult for one person alone to hold both the backplate and the cooler while securing the cooler by screwing it down. Unfortunately the universal backplate cannot be secured on the motherboard prior to securing the cooler; both parts are being held in place by the same screws.



The Dark Rock Advanced C1 cooler looks surprisingly compact when installed on a motherboard; however it can still cause problems with tall RAM modules installed on the first two RAM slots if the slots are close to the CPU area.

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Testing equipment and performance

In order to provide you with the most professional and accurate reviews, we are using the following equipment to test the performance of coolers. The system automatically calculates the Delta T temperature, which is the difference between the ambient temperature and the temperature at the top of the thermal core.

• Custom copper thermal core with automatic power controls
• Watlow heat generation rods
• PT100 temperature sensors
• Lutron DW-6091 Power Analyzer
• SL-5868P digital sound level meter
• CompuLAB interface
• MyPClab thermal interface
• Custom calibration box
• Custom software

More information about our testing equipment and methodology can be found in this article. CPU and GPU Coolers Testing Methodology



The thermal performance of the Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1 cooler is just above average, especially when considering the retail price of the cooler. On the other hand, the acoustics performance is nothing short of exceptional. The SilentWings PWM fan is barely audible even while spinning at maximum speed, generating considerably less dB(A) for the same cooling effect.

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Final words and conclusion

Quality (30% of the total score)

It appears that Be Quiet placed the majority of their attention on the quality of the Dark Rock Advanced C1 cooler rather than on its raw thermal performance. The cooler is a remarkably well designed and sturdy product, very carefully manufactured and without the slightest of defects to comment about.

Quality Score 10/10



Performance (40% of the total score)

The greatest feature of the Dark Rock Advanced C1 is its astonishing acoustics performance, with the cooler’s fan being barely audible while running at maximum speed. We suspect that it will never become audible while controlled by a PWM compatible motherboard. Unfortunately the thermal performance of the Dark Rock Advanced C1 is not as good as most enthusiasts would expect from a cooler this expensive, which might drive users who care only about thermal performance away from purchasing it.

Performance Score 7.5/10



Aesthetics (20% of the total score)

Users who care about aesthetics will not be disappointed by the appearance of the Dark Rock Advanced C1 cooler. The cooler lacks fancy features such as lighting but it has a very classy, clean design which is perfect for tidy, professionally looking systems.

Aesthetics Score 9.0/10



Value (10% of the total score)

While the high quality and excellent acoustics performance help with the overall long-term value of the Dark Rock Advanced C1 CPU cooler, we feel that its current retail price is high. A reduction of its current retail price (about 50€ which converts to about 75USD/90SGD at the time of this review) would increase this cooler’s value significantly.

Value Score 7.0/10

[Cabzjr20]

nice pd boss siop 12 heatpipes and karon pq ka dungog ani na brand be quite..

[siopao1984]

mao ni ila website Google Translate

ako ra gi google translate

they have products ranging from

ATX PSUs, CPU coolers, PC fans and notebook power supplies

[Cabzjr20]

aw naa man d i website.. hehe im sure la pani na brand sa pinas...

[regilsolon]

marketed only in European countries..

silent and efficient power supplies