BeQuiet! Shadow Rock 3 – In the name of silence

Conclusion and evaluation

Shadow Rock 3 was introduced this year as the new top model among the mid-range coolers from BeQuiet!. This German manufacturer, as the name suggests, focuses on the production of components with very quiet operation. The Shadow Rock 3 cooler boasts of very quiet specifications even at a high TDP value of 190 W. However, marketing slogans will never replace real tests which is why we’re bringing you a review of this cooler today.

Key properties of the cooler

Shadow Rock 3 is a cooler with a slightly different approach to heat transfer than most of its competitors. Instead of a dense set of thin aluminum fins, its heatsink is constructed around a smaller number of thicker fins. These fins have larger gaps between them, so that the whole set does not put so much resistance to airflow. Theoretically, this concept allows the use of lower fan rpm that should lead to a lower noise level. In the photo below, a detail of the Dark Rock 4 heatsink is photographed on the left and Shadow Rock 3 is shown on the right. The density of fins in Dark Rock 4 is almost double, but its heatsink is one-fifth shorter. TDP values are similar for both coolers. The Dark Rock 4 boasts of up to a 200 W rating, while the Shadow Rock 3 offers 10 W less. So we’ll see how the coolers are going to be doing in a direct comparison.

Visually, the Shadow Rock 3 is an A-grade success. Except for the fan and a part of the top cover, the entire cooler is colorless. So it will be no problem to match it with any rig. However, don’t expect any RGB features here. BeQuiet! Shadow Wings 2 fans are known mainly for their quiet operation.

The whole set of fins is joined together by five copper heatpipes with a diameter of 6 millimeters. The surface of these heatpipes is nickel-plated except for a part at the base. The heatsink uses the principle of HDT (heatpipes direct touch), i.e. direct contact with the processor’s heat spreader.

Due to an asymmetrical shape of the heatsink, you won’t have any interference with high RAM modules. This is because the fan does not interfere with the space of the DIMM slots on common motherboards. However, if you are using a HEDT platform with DIMM slots on both sides of the processor socket, then you must respect the 40 mm height limit for RAM modules to the left of the socket.

The cooler is very easy to install. The package also includes a traditional bequiet! screwdriver with a magnetic tip which, after the assembly, will remain as a useful tool for the assembly of the rest of the PC.

The cooler package includes mounting kits for installation on all modern processor sockets except the AMD TR4/sTRX4. In addition to the screwdriver mentioned above, you will also find a second set of clamps there for push-pull configurations with two fans. However, the benefits of a push-pull configuration for coolers with a single set of fins are usually at a level of statistical error, I personally do not recommend such a solution, the result is usually only in a higher noise level without a real reduction in temperature.

Heatsink and fan parameters

As mentioned above, the Shadow Rock 3 offers an asymmetrical design. Therefore, it does not conflict with DIMM slots for RAM. However, the mounting of a possible second fan on the back of the passive may be limited by the height of the heatsink VRM or the height of the motherboard I/O shield. The dimensions of the cooler do not deviate from the normal diameter for this class in any way and the weight is surprisingly low which is probably due to the low density of the fins.

The provided Shadow Wings 2 fan is in a high-speed version and with PWM speed control. The standard Shadow Wings 2 model has a maximum speed of 1100 RPM, but the included fan offers up to 1600 RPM. Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not provide additional information on their website, so airflow or static pressure values are not available.

Shadow Rock 3 was introduced this year as the new top model in the mid-range coolers from BeQuiet!. This German manufacturer, as the name suggests, focuses on the production of components with very quiet operation. The Shadow Rock 3 cooler boasts of very quiet specifications even at a high TDP value of 190 W. However, marketing slogans will never replace real tests, which is why we’re bringing you a review of this cooler today.

Methodology of testing

Based on the readers’ feedback, I expanded the testing methodology. I will now test all coolers in two standard RPM levels, namely 800 RPM and 1200 RPM. This will be complemented by a test for maximum fan speed. Of course, I will record noise at all three levels. I also expanded the set of tests with another (lower) level of generated heat.

As a heat generator for each test I used Intel Core i7-5820K in the ASRock X99 Taichi motherboard. The whole rig is placed on the Streacom BC1 frame without other fans that would provide airflow. Stress tests are performed using the Aida64 Extreme app with a duration of 45 – 60 minutes. I tested the coolers at a CPU frequency of 4200 MHz with a voltage of 1.15 V and then at 4500 MHz with a voltage of 1.35 V. The consumption of the processor at these frequencies was about 140 – 150 W, or about 190 – 200 W. In particular, the second option is already a huge load on most coolers, so none of them can be expected to cool the processor at less than maximum speed.

I measured noise at three fan speed levels (800, 1200 and maximum speed) approx. 50 cm from the cooler using a calibrated Voltcraft SL-100 device in fast measurement mode (125 ms) with a sensitivity range of 30 – 100 dBA. Fan speed control is provided by Noctua NA-FC1. The ambient noise level is usually below 33 dBA. At the end of the test, I always note down the highest reached value of the processor temperature (CPU Max). All data regarding temperatures and CPU consumption are obtained from the HWiNFO64 software. The results are corrected for ambient temperature and reported as Delta T. I chose 75 °C as the test success limit. Any higher Delta T value then usually means a processor temperature close to 100 °C and the risk of throttling. Therefore, if the cooler does not pass the test with a Delta T value below 75 °C, such a test is marked as unsuccessful.

Of course, changing the methodology means retesting some of the coolers from my previous reviews. It is currently out of my time schedule to test all previous coolers, but I will add them over time in the following reviews. So today we compare the Shadow Rock 3 against its bigger brother in the form of BeQuiet! Dark Rock 4 and then we add two Noctua coolers. These are going to be the popular NH-U12S and NH-D15S models.

Tests results

All tested coolers performed very well at medium loads. In normal use, all coolers tested can be expected to run at low speeds without the processor overheating.

It can already be seen here that the high amount of waste heat in combination with the low speed means that most coolers are not able to prevent the processor from overheating which is then followed by throttling. This is not unexpected, it is simply the physical limit of the given cooler and does not mean that the cooler is of poor quality.

Shadow Rock 3 was introduced this year as the new top model in the mid-range coolers from BeQuiet!. This German manufacturer, as the name suggests, focuses on the production of components with very quiet operation. The Shadow Rock 3 cooler boasts of very quiet specifications even at a high TDP value of 190 W. However, marketing slogans will never replace real tests, which is why we’re bringing you a review of this cooler today.

Conclusion and evaluation

Shadow Rock 3 pleasantly surprised me. This cooler also handled a high amount of waste heat well with a pleasantly low noise level. The cooler supports all current desktop processor sockets. Compatibility with RAM modules of bigger heights is also not a problem. In terms of appearance, the Shadow Rock 3 is suitable for any rig.

The application of the cooler itself is easy and as a bonus you also get a practical screwdriver with a magnetic tip. Overall, this is a very capable cooler. Only its price could perhaps be slightly lower.

English translation and edit by Lukáš Terényi

• Contents
• Key properties
• Methodology of testing and tests results
• Conclusion and evaluation