be quiet! Pure Rock Slim CPU Cooler Review




/ 8 years ago

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Introduction


be quiet! Pure Rock Slim CPU Cooler Review

be quiet! is a brand we often associate with high-end products that offer best in class performance and often come with premium price tags. So imagine my surprise when this tiny beast turned up at eTeknix HQ, the Pure Rock Slim, a tiny little CPU cooler with a budget-friendly price tag. I’m really eager to see what this little cooler can do, given the experts at be quiet! make many of the best air coolers on the market, we’re confident that they can do the same for the budget market as they’ve done for the enthusiast market.

  • High 120W TDP cooling efficiency
  • Full configuration of RAM memory banks in PC cases with limited space
  • Three high-performance 6mm heat pipes with aluminum caps
  • A silence-optimized, seven blade 92mm be quiet! fan (max. 25.4dB(A))
  • PWM variable speed operation to help balance cooling and quietness
  • Compact and asymmetrical design for easier and more convenient installation
  • Compatibility with Intel® and AMDTM sockets
  • Brushed aluminum finish
  • 3-year manufacturer’s warranty
  • Product conception, design and quality control in Germany

Quiet and efficient cooling thanks to 6mm heat pipes and PWM fan

“The Pure Rock Slim is equipped with a finned coil block, which has three high-performance heat pipes. These have a diameter of 6 millimeters and are fitted with aluminum caps. The Pure Rock Slim is also equipped with a 92-millimeter fan so this compact cooler is capable of dissipating a TDP of 120 watts. The seven airflow-optimized fan blades produce a maximum volume of 25.4 decibels. Thanks to the PWM connection, the speed can vary in order to achieve an optimal balance between cooling and quiet operating noise.” – be quiet!

Maximum performance even in small PC cases

“Due to its compact design, you can install the Pure Rock Slim even in tight spaces and with fully occupied memory banks. The dimensions of only 81.8 x 97.0 x 124.8 mm (L x W x H) and the asymmetric structure of the cooler ensures that neither the fan nor the fins block the RAM memory slots. The installation of the cooler is kept simple so it can easily be mounted even with minimal available space.” – be quiet!

Packaging & Accessories

The Pure Rock Slim comes packaged with the usual be quiet! colour scheme, and down the side of the box you can see the word “essential” which is basically the moniker for their entry-level products.

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be quiet! has always prided themselves on being quite technical, and you’ll find all the hardcore information you could ever ask for detailed on the back of the box.

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In the box, there really isn’t a lot extra, just the user guide, AMD retention clip and two fan mounts. This should give you some idea how simplistic and easy to work with this cooler is going to be.

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A Closer Look


The cooler comes bundled with this cute little 92mm fan, but don’t be fooled, this isn’t some cheap little fan, this is one of be quiet!’s own designs, and part of their very popular and super quiet Silent Wings 2 series, so we’re expecting great things from it despite its size. It comes fitted with a 4-pin PWM header, all black cables and it looks pretty smart too.

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Around the back, you can see that it operates up to 2000RPM, although it’s unlikely you’ll need to push it that hard, unless you’re trying to OC on a tiny cooler, which isn’t usually advised.

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The compact cooling tower has a good amount of fins, giving it a decent surface area for heat dissipation, and there are three U-shaped heat pipes that pass through the block and tower, which is a lot of heat pipe for a cooler of this size.

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The cooler uses the basic Intel mounting clips you often find on stock coolers, which aren’t the most durable, but when it comes to a quick and easy installation, they simply cannot be beaten. Just pop it over the CPU and push the clips down, simple. Don’t worry AMD users, just unscrew those mounting arms and use the included retention arm and you’re good to go.

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A cut-away on this side will help ensure compatibility with larger RAM or VRM coolers.

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Thermal paste isn’t included in the box, but there is already a layer pre-applied to the block, meaning you can take it out of the box and it’s ready to use, although that does mean you’ll need to buy more should you with to remount it in the future.

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The best part of this cooler, however, is the aesthetics. This may be a small and affordable cooler, but be quiet! has not forgotten the importance of design. The top plate looks stunning with a brushed metal finish and aluminium caps over the heat pipes, giving it a premium look and feel.

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Installation


As I said before, there isn’t really much “installation” to do with this cooler. It uses those simple push-click Intel stock cooler clips, so just put it over the motherboard and push them down to fit the cooler, it takes literally a few seconds. Thanks to the pre-applied paste, you don’t need to worry about that either.

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The fan mounts using the two included clips, and that also only takes a few seconds to do. You can mount the fan on either side of the cooler as you see fit, just make sure you get the airflow going in the right direction for your system; we’re using an open air test bench, so it’s not important here.

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Test System and Methodology


We always use the same test system and tests with CPU coolers that we compare against each other. The full specifications of our test system are as follows:

Test system:

  • ASUS P8Z77-V, LGA 1155 socket, Z77 chipset
  • Intel Core i5 3570K with Gelid GC-Extreme under the IHS
  • 16GB Kingston 1866Mhz DDR3
  • 128GB Kingston HyperX SSD
  • Antec High Current Gamer 620W
  • Cooler Master Test Bench v1.0

We’d like to say a big thank you to ASUSAntecKingstonCooler Master and Intel for providing components that make this testing possible.

Testing Methodology:

  • We always use Gelid GC-Extreme thermal paste to make sure testing reveals the efficiency of the tested coolers not the efficiency of the bundled thermal paste.
  • Prime 95 is run for 10 minutes and then the average maximum temperatures as recorded by CPUID HWMonitor are noted
  • The average temperature across the four cores is taken on our quad-core processor
  • Fans are mostly left to operate at default PWM profile speeds and with maximum fan speed for reference.If PWM functions are not supported then fixed fan speeds are used and sometimes a low noise adapter if appropriate/provided. If fixed fan speeds or low noise adapters are used it will be clearly pointed out either on the graphs or in the write-up.
  • All default result entries on graphs are for PWM performance unless otherwise specified. A variety of fan speed results are done for a particular product review and then removed from the graphs in future reviews of other products to avoid clutter. If you would like to see more fan speed results for a particular product please check its individual review.
  • For water cooling tests, all pumps have been operated at 12 volts directly from the power supply
  • Delta temperatures are always used (Observed temperature minus ambient temperature) and we keep the ambient at 22 (+/- 1) degrees for all testing. Delta temperatures should correct for any marginal ambient differences between 21-23 degrees.
  • Acoustic measurements are taken 10cm horizontally away from the CPU cooler with the VGA fan disabled, the hard drive in idle and power supply isolated. These are taken at desktop idle and Prime95 load.
  • The cooling performance tests are run at stock 3.4GHz (with Intel Turbo up to 3.8GHz) and overclocked 4.5GHz (1.35v) settings. Voltages are fixed to prevent inaccuracy between comparisons.
  • All other coolers in the graphs have been tested under identical settings so are fully comparable.
  • Each test is repeated 3 times with 3 remounts for consistency of results
  • There is approximately a 1-degree celsius margin of error in our temperature recording software CPUID HW Monitor
  • There is approximately a 1.5dBA margin of error with our Benetech GM1351 decibel meter

Software Used

In all these graphs we may have a few “reference” results of particular products that do not fit into that category for comparative purposes.

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Performance


This isn’t the biggest cooler in the world, in fact, it’s pretty tiny, so to expect big performance would be ambitious, to say the least. However, given that it kept the CPU at just +29c over ambient is very impressive, beating out both compact coolers from Noctua, Silverstone, Cooler Master’s popular 212X and more.

slim stock temps

This is not an overclocking CPU cooler, but again it beat out the compact and affordable solutions from SilverStone and Noctua, which is certainly something to be proud of. These temps are still too high for these clocks though, but for mild overclocks and boost clocks, it’s certainly capable. It looses out to the 212X here, but as you’ll see in a moment, be quiet! takes the lead for acoustics.

slim oc temps

This is where be quiet! show their worth, clocking in at just 36dBa, it’s in our super-quiet category. The fan barely broke past 500RPM, which meant it was virtually inaudible even at close range on an open-air test bench.

slim stock acoustics

Pushing the heat did cause the fan to spin up, in fact, it topped out at 2000RPM quite quickly while at full load. However, even at full speed, this fan was quieter than we expected given its compact size, and only reached 42dBA.

slim oc acoustics

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Final Thoughts


Price

be quiet! is taking no chances with the Pure Rock Slim, giving it a fantastic MSRP of just €28 / $24.90 / ‎£23.99. That makes it cheaper than all its main competitors, such as the 212X, AR09, and NH-D9L. The Pure Rock Slim is a bargain for those who have a non-overclocking CPU, or only using mild-OC.

Overview

be quiet! are the creators of many of the best-performing CPU air coolers on the market today, not only do they deliver high-end cooling performance that makes them suitable for overclocking, but also some of the quietest performance you’ll find. Now it looks like they’ve cornered the market for budget-friendly coolers too.

The Pure Rock Slim is one of the best coolers on the market today, offering fantastic cooling performance for non-overclocked CPUs, beating out many long-standing market favourites such as the 212X, and doing it for a lower price, a much quieter fan, and better aesthetics; that’s something no system builder could ignore.

When it comes to overclocking, the cooler was running a bit hot for full-time use, but dial back those volts and you’ll find the Pure Rock Slim has enough grunt to handle overclocks on high-end CPUs, or even just overclocks on CPUs with a lower TDP than what we tested today. What did surprise us is that even when the fan was pushed past its 2000RPM rating (we got it to 2100RPM), it was still noticeably quieter than what we’ve heard from similar sized coolers in the past; very impressive indeed.

Pros

  • Sleek top panel and heat pipe caps
  • Easy to install
  • AMD bracket included
  • Pre-applied thermal paste for quick installation
  • Very competitive price
  • Great build quality
  • Super quiet fan
  • Exceptional cooling performance at stock clocks

Cons

  • No tube of thermal paste in box, only pre-applied

“If you’re on the market for a compact, stylish, affordable, silent and great performing CPU cooler for your next build, the Pure Rock Slim from be quiet! needs to be the first thing on your list. Highly recommended!”

be quiet! Pure Rock Slim CPU Cooler Review

be quiet! Pure Rock Slim CPU Cooler Review

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