Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1 review

This CPU cooler looks better than it performs

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Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C
A well built CPU cooler with some nice touches, but better chip chillers are available

TechRadar Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Build quality

  • +

    Quietness

Cons

  • -

    Slightly disappointing performance

  • -

    Fitting could be better

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As with the Dark Rock PRO C1, the first thing that strikes you about the Advanced C1 is the build quality and finish, which is superb. Even the end of the heatpipes have little black caps on them and the cooling fan includes rubber mounts to cut down any vibration.

Fitting the Advanced C1 is an adventure to find out how many new swear words you can come up with in the time it takes to stick on your motherboard. Admittedly it's not quite as bad as the PRO C1, mainly because it doesn't weigh anywhere near as much, but it's still a pain.

You have to hold on to both the cooler and the motherboard as you try and make sure that the mounting screws stay in the right holes as you manoeuvre the cooler into place.

Although the Advanced C1 weighs in at just over a kilo, it's still quite compact for a cooler equipped with six heatpipes. Each of the 6mm diameter pipes passes through the nickel-plated copper contact plate before passing through the nickelplated cooling fin array.

Performance wise the Advanced C1 is okay, but we just couldn't shake the feeling that with a build quality like the Advanced C1 has, its performance should be a lot better.

TechRadar Labs

tech labs

CPU standard clock (2600K @3.4GHz)

CPU Idle load performance
Degrees Centigrade: Lower is better

Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1: 24
Cooler Master GeminII M4: 25
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO: 22
Gelid GX-7: 22
Enermax ETS-T40-TA: 21

CPU full load performance
Degrees Centigrade: Lower is better

Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1: 52
Cooler Master GeminII M4: 61
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO: 63
Gelid GX-7: 55
Enermax ETS-T40-TA: 50

CPU Overclocked (2600K @ 4.6GHz)

CPU Idle load performance
Degrees Centigrade: Lower is better

Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1: 25
Cooler Master GeminII M4: 26
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO: 24
Gelid GX-7: 22
Enermax ETS-T40-TA: 22

CPU full load performance
Degrees Centigrade: Lower is better

Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1: 72
Cooler Master GeminII M4: 83
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO: 85
Gelid GX-7: 78
Enermax ETS-T40-TA: 70

The one thing that does impress however is just how quiet the cooler is even when the CPU is being overclocked. The rubber-mounted 120mm SilentWings fan certainly lives up to its name, it may not be truly silent but it's dam close.

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PC Format