be quiet! Pure Rock Slim CPU Cooler Review

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.