be quiet! Dark Rock Slim Review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. The Installation Process4. Testing Methodology5. Performance and Comparisons6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Overall, with the be quiet! Dark Rock Slim unboxed and in the hand, it's a pretty impressive piece of kit. There’s no corners cut when it comes to build quality, and it feels just as good as other be quiet! coolers like the Dark Rock Pro. It's clearly well built and looks very premium, and this is helped by the ‘blacked out' aesthetic. Little perks like the inclusion of a second set of fan mounts, and the included high-quality Silent Wings 3 fan, are also great to see.

The main thing with the Dark Rock Slim is its size, as it's the smallest standard air tower from the Dark Rock range. Previously if you wanted a Dark Rock, you'd either have to get the beefy Dark Rock 4/Dark Rock Pro 4, or go for something a bit different with the the ‘Top Flow' Dark Rock TF. With the Dark Rock Slim, be quiet! is offering a middle ground.

It's safe to say it's not a groundbreaking performer, but relative to other single 120mm fan coolers its performance is pretty much as expected. Where the Dark Rock Slim really shines though is in its audible noise, where it’s the quietest cooler tested to date – it's barely audible even when at full load.

The be quiet! Dark Rock Slim is a little dearer than other 120mm coolers you may have come across at £49.99, but for those who don't need a massive Dark Rock Pro, the Slim offers top build quality, no hassle compatibility, and most importantly very quiet operation – making it well worth buying.

The be quiet! Dark Rock Slim is currently available to from Overclockers UK for £49.99 inc. VAT HERE.

Pros

• Almost silent in operation, even at full load.
• The clean, all black aesthetic looks great.
• Additional accessories like extra fan mounts are always welcome.
• Great support for even high profile memory modules.

Cons

• Not the best in terms of raw thermal performance at this price point.
• Installation is a little fiddly.

KitGuru says: If you're looking for a high quality, highly compatible air cooler with almost silent operation – the be quiet! Dark Rock Slim is definitely one to check out.

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