Be Quiet! Shadow Rock TopFlow CPU Cooler

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. The Be Quiet! Shadow Rock TopFlow4. Installing the Be Quiet! Shadow Rock TopFlow5. Testing Methodology and Performance6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Our overall impressions of the Be Quiet! Shadow Rock TopFlow are very positive. The build quality of the cooler is up to the excellent standard that we've come to expect from Be Quiet! and the entirely nickel-plated finish should complement other components aesthetically.

The most impressive feature of the Shadow Rock TopFlow has to be the near silent fan which makes the cooler perfect for use in an HTPC. The low profile design also makes it perfect for this application.

We were very impressed by the performance of the Shadow Rock TopFlow as we were able to achieve an impressive 4.7 GHz overclock with the i7-3770K without reaching temperatures that we'd considering unacceptable for 24/7 operation.

While the temperatures were slightly higher that those we recorded with the Phanteks PH-TC14CS, we didn't manage to achieve a better overclock with the Phanteks cooler and we don't feel that they would affect the longevity of our CPU by much at all in the long run.

The only disappointing aspect of the Shadow Rock TopFlow for us is the mounting mechanism. Compared to the mechanism used by Noctua for the NH-C12P SE14, it's noticeably more complicated and we feel that Be Quiet! should be looking at alternatives for future products.

We were pleasantly surprised when we discovered that the Be Quiet Shadow Rock TopFlow can be yours for a price of £33.59 inc vat from ARIA. This is significantly cheaper than other low profile alternatives and the performance is good enough for a moderate overclock.

Pros

• Low profile design
• Inaudible fan
• High RAM clearance
• Great value

Cons

• Complicated mounting mechanism

KitGuru says: Look no further than the Be Quiet! Shadow Rock TopFlow if you need an extremely quiet, compact cooler.

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