{"id":1064816,"date":"2026-01-21T02:53:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T02:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/PKTwyFYSHrrhdmHHnnQ3JU"},"modified":"2026-01-21T02:53:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T02:53:51","slug":"be-quiet-dark-rock-5-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/be-quiet-dark-rock-5-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Being considered an old hand in the CPU cooler market these days, Be Quiet! has a reputation for producing good-performing coolers with minimal fuss, moody aesthetics and great build quality and the Dark Rock 5 seems to continue with that theme. There\u2019s no RGB lighting here, but this single-fan, mid-size model does sport some refinements, compared to previous generations and is one of the best-looking Be Quiet! heatsinks we\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n

Starting with the design, Be Quiet! has introduced a magnetic cap for the Dark Rock 5 that covers the heatpipes and screwdriver hole for mounting the cooler. Its coolers, especially the more premium models, haven\u2019t exactly been ugly in the past, often sporting a black anodized finish.<\/p>\n

However, the cap, which can rotate around depending on the cooler\u2019s orientation, looks even better and definitely makes the cooler stand out from the crowd. That\u2019s just as well because you\u2019re not looking at much change from $70 or \u00a370 from this cooler, which is pretty steep for a single fan heatsink arrangement.<\/p>\n

There are benefits to its compact dimensions and single fan, though, such as the ability to avoid all of your memory slots allowing for unrestricted height memory modules. At 161 mm tall it\u2019s also going to fit in practically any ATX case too. The downside is that it\u2019s a relatively deep heatsink and six heatpipes might benefit from a second fan.<\/p>\n

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Be Quiet! Dark Rock 5 specs<\/div>\n
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Compatibility: <\/strong>LGA 1851, 1700, 1200, 1150, 1151, 1155 AMD Socket AM5, AM4
Dimensions (with fan): <\/strong>136 x 101 x 161 mm
Cold Plate: <\/strong>Nickel-plated <\/strong>aluminum
Fans:<\/strong> 1x Silent Wings 4 120 mm, Fluid Dynamic Bearing, up to 2,100 RPM
Lighting:<\/strong> None
Price: <\/strong>$65<\/a> | \u00a365<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Thankfully, Be Quiet! has included the clips for one in the box, but with a peak speed of 2,100 RPM, the included Silent Wings 4 120 mm PWM fan isn\u2019t the largest or most powerful we\u2019ve seen included with a heatsink so we\u2019ll have to see how it holds up against our toasty Core i7 14700K<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The machined base is nickel-plated rather than bare copper, which means if you want to use liquid metal paste, you won\u2019t run the risk of the paste staining or being absorbed by the copper and drying out as quickly. You won\u2019t need to do any liquid metal paste research, though, as standard thermal paste is included.<\/p>\n

This is in the form of a tube, so you get a couple of applications as opposed to just one when the paste is pre-applied. The base also has two sprung mounting screws fixed in place, while owners of older Be Quiet! coolers will remember a separate fiddly plate had to be used to secure the cooler.<\/p>\n

The mounting mechanism is identical to that on Be Quiet!\u2019s liquid coolers with quite a few pieces to deal with. It\u2019s straightforward, but probably not something you\u2019d want to attempt with your motherboard still mounted in the case.<\/p>\n

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The exception here might be on AMD motherboards, which don\u2019t require the included backplate. Installing the Silent Wings 4 fan is far easier, though, as the clips slot into recesses in the heatsink with minimal fuss. The same definitely can\u2019t be said of some cheaper heatsinks.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Dark Rock 5 wasn\u2019t quite able to tame our Core i7 14700K. For the first few minutes of our various stress tests, the temperatures were acceptable, but would steadily climb and in our torturous x264 and Cinebench stress tests, the CPU ended up coming close to 100\u00b0C and throttling.<\/p>\n

We should emphasise this only happened during extended multi-threaded stress tests and with Intel 14th Gen CPUs, but it seems that handling high loads for long periods with these CPUs is a bit beyond the Dark Rock 5.<\/p>\n