Performance
Cooling a stock-clocked Core i7-4770K processor is no problem for a cooler of this size. What's interesting, however, is that cooling performance is almost identical to a Deepcool Lucifer that costs less than half as much.
High-end coolers such as these are designed for overclocked CPUs. With our Core i7-4770K bumped up to 4.4GHz, heat becomes more of an issue and it's clear to see why overclocking with the Intel reference cooler isn't recommended.
be quiet!'s Dark Rock Pro 3 has no trouble dealing with the extra heat and does really well to deliver sub-65ºC temperatures under maximum load. But that alone doesn't justify the £65 price tag. Budget builders will note that the £29 Deepcool Lucifer offers practically identical results from a performance perspective.
On the other hand, you could argue that you get what you pay for. The Dark Rock Pro 3 offers great cooling potential yet it's in the acoustic department that it really excels. be quiet!'s top-of-the-range cooler is easily the quietest on show and, despite running two fans, does a great job of keeping noise levels to an absolute minimum. It barely gets any louder under load and is very well suited to a quiet, high-performance build.
