be quiet! Pure Rock
review by
jedson3614
CPU coolers are constantly changing due to either CPU socket changes, or power efficiency improvements. Its more important than ever to keep these high end overclockable CPUs in check with their heat generation. A great CPU cooler will dissipate heat at a high rate. With AIO liquid coolers on the market it makes cooling your CPU even easier, but what if you have super tight budget ? Liquid cooling doesn't always mean better, unless your working with custom components and working with high end liquid cooling parts. I have seen some after market coolers even outperform the best AIO liquid cooling kits. I'm going to be looking at one solution from
be quiet! for better cooling on a budget. The
Pure Rock CPU cooler looks fantastic and was designed to give you better cooling for a great price. Lets see how this CPU cooler stands out among top contenders like the famous
Cooler Master 212 EVO.
The specifications are as follows:
General
Model
PURE ROCK
Main Specification
Overall dimensions without mounting material (L x W x H), (mm)
87.5 x 121 x 155
Total weight (kg)
0.66
TDP (W)
150
Socket compatibility
Intel: LGA 775 / 115x / 1366 / LGA2011(-3) Square ILM
AMD: AM2(+) / AM3 (+) / FM1 / FM2 (+)
Backplate Mounting
?
Fan model, number
silence-optimized be quiet! fan
Decoupled fan mounting
-
Overall noise level (dB(A)) @ 50/75/100% (rpm)
19.1 / 22.1 / 26.8
Heatsink specifications
Dimensions (L x W x H), (mm)
62.5 x 121 x 155
Number of fins
48
Fin material
Aluminum
Base material
Copper
CPU contact surface
CNC machined
Heatpipe number / Diameter (mm)
4 / 6
Surface treatment
-
General fan specifications
Fan dimensions (mm)
120 x 120 x 25
+SilentWings
-
Speed @ 100% PWM (rpm)
1,500
Air flow @ 12V (cfm / m3/h)
51.4 / 87
Air pressure @ 12V (mm H2O)
1.25
Bearing type
Sleeve
Motor technology
4-pole fan motor
Rated voltage (V)
12
Input current (A)
0.12
Input power (W)
1.44
Connector
4-pin PWM
Cable length (mm)
220
Lifespan (h / 25?C)
80.000
Accessories
Thermal grease (g)
- (already applied)
Backplate mounting set Intel & AMD
?
Y-Cable
-
User manual languages
EN, DE, FR, PL, ES, RU
Service
Warranty (Years)
3
International hotline / free of charge
? / DE, FR
Logistics data, RRP
Article number
BK009
Range
PURE ROCK
EAN Code
4260052183915
Dimensions, package (L x W x H), (mm)
180 x 130 x 180
Gross weight, package (kg)
0.78
Pieces per packaging unit
16
Dimensions, shipping box (L x W x H), (mm)
542 x 375 x 380
Gross weight, shipping box (kg)
16.70
MSRP
34.99
Shipping
The packaging was decent for the product. It showcases whats important and how effective the cooler is at 150W TDP. This is decent performance for some basic overclocking.
The accessories included:
- Pure Rock CPU cooler (Thermal grease was pre applied) Nice touch be quiet!
- Backplate mounting for Intel and AMD
- 4 pin 120mm be quiet! silent base fan
- User manual
- Retention fan clips
I really like that the PWM fan cable was sleeved, this is a small notable feature that makes products stand out. Great job be quiet! for sleeving your cables.
Design
The Pure Rock be quiet! cooler is aimed at quiet and effective cooling. This cooler brings be quiets! award winning technology to entry level computing. This cooler will deliver exceptional price-to-performance ratio. The compact design is compatible with all current Intel and AMD sockets and fits well into tight spaces. If you are seeking the best possible mix of performance and price then the Pure Rock is a the perfect choice.
Pure Rocks best features:
Excellent Cooling Efficiency
High cooling capacity for this category, at 150W TDP
Four 6mm heat pipes with aluminum caps carry heat to cooling fins for high performance
Convenient, Highly Compatible Compact Design
Compact design saves space, making cooler compatible with a vast array of equipment and possible installation configurations
Design supports mounting from atop the mainboard, greatly increasing convenience
Compatibility with all current Intel? and AMD? sockets
Low-Noise Operation
Nine blade silence-optimized 120mm be quiet! PWM fan with high-quality sleeve bearing is optimized for quietness and supports the best balance of cooling performance and silent operation
Fan blades are airflow-optimized to reduce noise-generating turbulence
Even at 100% PWM function, noise is a scant 26.8dB(A)
Product Conception, Design and Quality Control in Germany
3-year warranty
Aluminum finish on top cover and aluminum heat pipe caps
Quick support is available via our international hotline, Mondays to Fridays from 9:00am to 5:30pm (CET): +49 (0) 40-736 76 86 - 98
Installation
Installation of this cooler was really easy, especially if you have done after market cooler installations before. For new comers it may take a bit of time to go over each instruction, but shouldn't run into many issues. The only real problem I had was with the fan retention clip.
The very first thing you should do is look over the included
manual, so that you know what parts to use for mounting the cooler. I'm mounting this using the 115x standard. You can begin by placing the back plate on the rear of your motherboard.
For mounting the cooler to the back plate you will need to dig out the inserts and rubber rings. The inserts go through the rubber O-rings for a tight fit.
Once the screw inserts are through the back plate you want to attach the mounting nuts to the screws. They are easily twisted on each corner. once you have each corner secure you can begin mounting the brackets to the mother board.
Be sure to screw down your screws in the 115x slot shown in the manual. Once the brackets are secure in place you can begin mounting the cooler.
The cooler already has per applied thermal paste which is fantastic. Once positioned and placed onto of the CPU, you will need to use the cross-bar to hold the cooler down in place. Once this is screwed down tightly you will have the CPU heatsink mounted.
Probably the hardest part was figuring out how the clips work. The instruction made it hard to see and understand, but looking at the box art showed a picture of how it should look. This was enough for me to figure out. Having a video or better detailed instructions would have been nice here for newcomers.
Once the fan is in place be sure to plug in the fan header to your proper CPU fan header on your motherboard.
I did run into installation issues with my motherboard and ram clearance. I can't really fault be quiet! for this but still wanted to throw that out there. The fan had to be mounted on the other side. Thankfully I'm using an open air test bench, but if your building in a case this is not optimal and would cause issues for airflow. So always think about clearance when figuring out your build process.
Testing
To test the performance of the Pure Rock I will be testing cooling and noise. I will be running
Aida64 Extreme for load performance, and for idle just sitting on my desktop with no application load. The load performance will consist of max RPM of fans, and idle represent lowest RPM setting for fans.
The test bench is as follows:
- Motherboard- MSI Z97-Gaming 5
- CPU: Intel Core I7 4790K
- Network Card- netgear AC 1200 USB
- Cooler- be quiet! Pure Rock
- Memory- Anarchy X 16GB DDR3 2800MHz
- Video Card: PNY GTX 960 4GB
- Storage- PNY CS2210 480GB / Samsung 950 pro m.2 512GB
- Power Supply- be quiet! Pure Power 9 600W
- OS: Windows 10 x64 Pro
- Headphones- HyperX Cloud II
The achieved stable CPU overclock limit for this cooler was 4.5GHz. The idle state for this fan cooler is 297 rpm and with a temperature of 36?C.
At 100 Percent load, and fan speeds (rpm) at max you can see the temp differences above. I added the stock CPU speed labeled as reference clock. This is the non overclocked temp at 100% load. the idle temp was at 36?C and a fan speed of 297 rpm. I still have a bit of headroom to overclock further if my other parts can handle it, but I wasn't able to go above 4.5 due to voltage limitations. The increase required would be too hot for my comfort level.
For noise testing I used a high gain microphone. I want to explain a few things about noise testing.
First: Testing noise levels can be difficult. First don't expect the same levels even with similar hardware. There are too many differences and variables that go into sound testing. You have to account for background noise, and other sounds in the environment.
Second: I am one reviewer, and am not a professional sound studio. I am not testing these items in perfect conditions. I do not have an anechoic sound chamber in my test studio.
The noise levels recorded were the average high and low noise levels for idle and load. Taken into account for background noise these levels are great. The load is just slightly louder than a normal conversation which is rated at 50dB. Even though the levels seems a bit high i want to point out in the video above that this coolers fan is whisper quiet, and provides great temperatures for price. Your going to need to turn up your volume just to even hear anything. The noise level from be quiet! is outstanding, thank you be quiet!.
Conclusion
The Pure Rock cooler from be quiet! is extremely quiet on the lowest rpm setting, even at load its audible but not to the extent I expected. I would say the only real issue I had was during installation with the mounting clips for the fan.
This cooler overall is outstanding and deserves to be in any PC with a budget. The PWM function of the fan correctly adjusts the fan speed (rpm) as needed. I really enjoy the designed look. I want to point out the top of the cooler and how amazing the top covers the heat pipes with the brushed caps. This aesthetically looks industrial and pleasing to the eye. I highly recommend this cooler and you can buy the Pure Rock right now on the be quiet!
NewEgg store for $25.00.
Pros | Cons |
---|
Great budget cooler | Parts of instructions are hard to follow |
Ratings