BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 – A suitable successor to a legend

Pavel Sekerka

4 days ago

Key features

BeQuiet!, which I don’t need to introduce here, launched its top-end Dark Rock Elite cooler early this year. Along with it, the Dark Rock Pro 5 was also released, but it has remained somewhat in the shadow of its elite sibling, which I would like to correct today. I firmly believe that the fifth gen of the Dark Rock Pro will successfully build on the previous versions, which have always been known for their uncompromising cooling performance and quiet operation.

Build, design and key features

If you read my February review of the Dark Rock Elite cooler, the following text will look very familiar to you. The main difference with the Dark Rock Pro 5 is the fan used on the front tower, which has now been replaced by a 120mm model from the Silent Wings 4 series. So you’ll find two dense bundles of aluminum fins intersected by a total of seven 6mm copper heatpipes. These provide heat dissipation from the large copper base of the cooler to the aluminum fins of the cooler. The coldplate is coated with a thin layer of nickel to protect against oxidation and is also the only area of the cooler that is not coated with a layer of matte black paint with ceramic particles that ensure the high thermal conductivity of this finish.

BeQuiet! also states that this cooler is also fully compatible with liquid metal, that is if you are skillful and brave enough to use this material as a medium between the cooler and the CPU heat spreader. Personally, however, I would recommend most users to stick with a paste of sufficient quality and, most importantly, non-conductive one.

Another minor difference from the Elite version is the design of the top surface of the cooler. You will no longer find a strip with ARGB backlighting, but an industrial-looking perforated cover with the manufacturer’s logo in the middle. This cover is attached to the cooler with small magnets and by removing it, you can access the middle fan, after which you can access a pair of mounting system screws. These screws are fitted with springs for optimal downforce, but due to their position on the cooler they are harder to access and it is for this reason that you will also find a long shank Phillips head screwdriver in the cooler accessories, as is a good habit with Dark Rock coolers.

The top surface of the base is designed as another small passive cooler. The total heat transfer surface of the fins is quite negligible compared to the rest of the cooler, but every watt of dissipated waste heat from the CPU counts.

Under the top cover, similar to the Elite version, there is also a maximum fan speed limiter. Q(uiet) mode limits the maximum speed of both fans, while P(erformance) mode lets the fans run at full speed.

This means that, unfortunately, both fans used have proprietary terminals for connection to the integrated splitter/limiter. The middle fan is also attached to the cooler in an atypical way and does not have a standard frame. This makes the eventual replacement of the fans seem difficult and you will have no choice but to contact BeQuiet! support.

The included accessories of the Dark Rock Pro 5 cooler are virtually identical to what you can find with the Elite version. The workmanship of the mounting system fits nicely with BeQuiet’s philosophy of never indulging in fads or superfluities. But there’s nothing missing here, including the aforementioned popular screwdriver, which you’ll appreciate when installing the cooler, as you have to get inside the cooler to secure the heatsink to the mounting system’s crossbars. The system is fortunately robust enough considering the considerable weight of the cooler, the installation of which is fortunately very straightforward and so you shouldn’t encounter any snags.

Cooler and fan parameters

The BeQuiet!Dark Rock Pro 5’s physical dimensions are virtually indistinguishable from its elite brother. The dimensions are identical and the weight difference is only due to the presence of a slightly lighter fan on the front tower. However, it is still a bulky cooler with a not insignificant height of almost seventeen centimeters, and that’s only assuming that you won’t have to adjust the position of the front fan due to tall RAM modules. Low-profile RAM modules, fortunately, pose no problem. What’s more, the price has been reduced slightly compared to the Elite version, making the Dark Rock Pro 5 a high-end cooler for 100 EUR, which combined with the three-year warranty is an attractive offer.


Cooler	BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 5	BeQuiet! Dark Rock Elite	Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black
Supported sockets	Intel LGA 115x, 1200, 1700, 20xx; AMD AM4/AM5
Height	168 mm	168 mm	165 mm
Width	136 mm	136 mm	150 mm
Depth with fan	145 mm	145 mm	161 mm
Weight	1290 g	1332 g	1320 g
Maximum RAM height	acc. to front fan position (keep in mind the cooler's total height)
MSRP	115 €	119 €	109 €

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The fans used are modified versions from the Silent Wings 4 series and thanks to the integrated splitter/controller under the top cover of the cooler you can reduce the maximum fan speed to 1500 or 1300 RPM. Also, thanks to the aforementioned splitter, you can get by with a single PWM header on the motherboard. When testing the Dark Rock Elite I was very happy with the overall acoustics of the cooler, so I kind of expect that the acoustic profile of the cooler has been optimized here as well.


Fan	BeQuiet! Silent Wings 4 (120/135 mm)	BeQuiet! Silent Wings 4 (135 mm)	Noctua NF-A15 PWM
Bearing	FDB	FDB	LDB
Speed range	400–2000/1700 rpm	400–2000 rpm	300–1500 rpm
Max. airflow	68.7/116.6 m³/h	136.2 m³/h	140.2 m³/h
Max. static pressure	2.41/1.82 mm H₂O	2.41 mm H₂O	2.08 mm H₂O

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BeQuiet!, which I probably don’t need to introduce here, launched the top-of-the-line Dark Rock Elite cooler early this year. Along with it, the Dark Rock Pro 5 was also released, but it has remained somewhat hidden in the shadow of its elite sibling, which I would like to correct today. I firmly believe that the fifth gen of the Dark Rock Pro will successfully build on the previous versions, which have always been renowned for their uncompromising cooling performance and quiet operation.

Testing methodology

As a test processor and heat generator I use the Intel Core i7-11700K on the Asus TUF Gaming Z590-Plus WIFI motherboard. I always use the thermal paste that comes in the package because it is also part of the equation for the efficiency of the cooler. So each cooler is tested as supplied by the manufacturer. The entire build is mounted on a Streacom BC1 frame with no fans to provide airflow. Acoustic shielding (acoustic foam on OSB boards) is installed around the test rig to eliminate ambient noise. The Voltcraft SL-100 calibrated noise meter is placed perpendicular to the cooler in a fixed position relative to the motherboard at a distance of approximately 35 cm from the processor socket.

Stress tests are performed using Prime95 with a duration of 30–35 minutes. Coolers are tested at four standardized noise levels (39, 42, 45 and 48 dBA) and at maximum speed. I did not measure the data for the 45 and 48 dBA noise levels initially, they were only incorporated into the methodology later. Because of this, results for these noise levels are only available for some (usually newer) coolers. The tests are run in two sets corresponding to the thermal output of the processor.

The first set of tests is at 125 W, the forced PL1 limit of the processor. The second set is then at a power draw of about 210 W (4500 MHz at 1.285 V). However, this level represents a very high heat concentration given the overall small die area. Thus, not all coolers can be expected to pass this set of tests at all noise levels.

The highest temperature reached is always recorded after the test. All data regarding temperatures and thermal output of the processor are obtained from HWiNFO64. The measured values are then adjusted against the temperature in the room as the resulting Delta T. The test success limit is set to 75 °C. Any higher value means a risk of processor temperature above 95–100 °C and a risk of thermal throttling. Therefore, if the cooler does not pass the load with a Delta T value below 75 °C, such a test is marked as a failure.

Results – 39 dBA

Why is there a missing value in the cooler chart? Either because the cooler could no longer handle the load in the specified mode, or because the fan could not be slowed down to the required level, typically the mode with the lowest noise level. Then there are cases for which we did not test the cooler at 125 W at all (and the graphs only show the results of the higher thermal load, 210 W). This refers to “optional” cooler configurations with a modified fan setup that is different from the factory one (for example, having one fan instead of two, or having completely different fans mounted on the heatsink of the cooler).

Results – 42 dBA

Results – 45 dBA

Results – 48 dBA

Results – maximum speed

Spectral analysis of noise

A spectral analysis of the noise cannot be missing either. This is a simple analysis at noise levels of 39 dBA, 45 dBA and at maximum speed of the cooler. For the analysis I use the UMIK-1 microphone from miniDPS in conjunction with True Audio’s TrueRTA application. The resolution of the analysis is 1/24 of an octave and the shape of the spectrogram is an average of 100 samples acquired over 20–30 seconds.

Conclusion and evaluation

Testing premium air coolers and watching the technological limits being pushed has been a joy for the last two years. The Dark Rock Pro 5 certainly doesn’t have to be ashamed of its results and can proudly take its place among the top coolers on the market. It easily surpasses its previous version and overall ranks just slightly below the absolute top in the form of Dark Rock Elite, MasterAir MA824 or NH-D15 G2 coolers. Compared to them, however, the Dark Rock Pro 5 offers a better price/performance ratio, as well as slightly higher compatibility in terms of RAM module height. There is nothing to complain about in terms of workmanship, but for a cooler of this class I would appreciate a longer warranty than just three years.

In terms of acoustics, this cooler is slightly worse than its elite variant, but it is still an extremely quiet cooler, especially when limiting the maximum fan speed. I just encountered some rumbling phenomena at certain speeds, which is reflected by peaks in the lower frequencies on the spectrograms. There also remains a potential snag regarding the proprietary fan connector, or mounting of the middle fan to the cooler, where both are handled non-standardly. If you need to replace the fans, you have no choice but to contact the manufacturer’s support. In conclusion, however, you can’t go wrong with the Dark Rock Pro 5 cooler, it is an awesome cooler and it narrowly missed out on the highest possible award. I highly recommend it!

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš


BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 5
+ High cooling performance
+ Excellent acoustics
+ Top-quality workmanship
+ Attractive design
+ Integrated splitter/speed limiter
- Not possible to replace fans

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Continue: Measurement methodology