be quiet! Pure Rock 3 Black Cooler – A good value product
Introduction
be quiet! has released mainstream, budget segment air coolers for modern CPUs, ensuring ample cooling while costing less. These coolers fall under the Pure Rock series. These are Pure Rock 3 and Pure Rock Pro 3. I am taking a look at Pure Rock 3 in this content. This cooler has the following variants:
- Pure Rock 3 [SI Only]
- Pure Rock 3 Black MSRP USD 29.90 | € 29.90
- Pure Rock 3 LX MSRP USD 34.90 | € 34.90
The silver or standard version is only for the System Integrators and will not be available for the regular market. It is expected to have MSRP of €24.90 though I suspect it would be costing less to the SI parties depending on the BOQ.
The salient features include:
- High Cooling Capacity for Modern CPUs
- 6mm 4x Heat Pipes with HDT technology
- Optimized Pure Wings 3 120mm PWM or LX 120mm PWM Fans depending on the variant
- Compact Design for high RAM and Motherboard clearance
- AMD Offset Mounting
Specifications
| Dimension with Fan | 71x124x154mm (LxWxH) |
| Total Weight | 570g |
| Socket Compatibility | Intel: LGA115x/1200/1700/1851 AMD: AM4/AM5 |
| TDP | 190W |
| Fan Model | Pure Wings 3 120mm PWM |
| Fan Dimension | 120x120x25mm |
| Maximum Speed | 2000 RPM |
| Maximum Airflow | 59.6 CFM |
| Maximum Air Pressure | 2.41 mmH₂O |
| Maximum Noise Level | 31.2 dB(A) |
| Connector | 4-pin PWM |
| Lifespan | 80,000 hours |
Packing and Unboxing
The product is shipped inside a cardboard box in a black color theme. This is be quiet! typical or standard design. Specifications, TDP rating, and features highlight are printed all around on the box.
The following are provided in the box:
- 1x Intel Backplate
- 2x Intel Mounting Brackets
- 4x Intel Screws
- 4x Intel Screw Fasteners
- 2x AMD Mounting Brackets
- 4x AMD Screws
- 4x thumb Nuts
- 4x Black Spacers
- 1x Set of Fan Metal Clips
- User Manual
- Safety Page
There is no thermal paste in the box. I can’t complain in this price range, but budget users who have to service their system in the long run would benefit with additional thermal paste.
Closer Look
Let’s take a look at the cooler and see its design and layout.
The dimension of the cooler is 71x124x154mm. Here 154mm is the height of this unit with the fan. This cooler has a weight of 570g. The cooler is compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/1851 and AMD AM4/AM5 sockets. There is no support for Intel LGA20xx. The complete assembly is black ceramic color spray painted.
There is a stylish plastic shroud on the top. It has a be quiet! branding in the center. It is not removable. This means you can install this heatsink in one orientation or direction only. Pay attention to this, otherwise you could end up with be quiet! text upside down.
The front side of the heatsink has a simple layout. There are 55 fins in total per my count. These are also black. There is a wave pattern near the edges. Other than that, the fins are in a straight line pattern. The fins are rounded on the edge. This is a wise design providing safety for the user. Sharp edges could result in hand injury.
The rear has the same design, hence I am not covering it here.
The fins interlocking is done on the side of the heatsink. This is a wise design. There are insets to catch the hands of metal clips for the fans. There is no offset design.
The cooler comes with the mounting plate or cross bar pre-installed on top of the base. This bar is secured using a screw. I am not sure how to access this screw since the top cover is not removable. The base area also has aluminum heatsink design to provide maximum heat dissipation coverage. Two sping loaded screws are pre-installed on the cross bar.
This cooler has 4 heat pipes with each having a thickness of 6mm. Each heat pipe is also ceramic black color spray coated. They make contact in a group of two with the fin stack. You can see a protective transparent cover over the base.
This cooler comes with a white thermal paste pre-applied. The copper portion of the heat pipes is exposed, meaning this cooler is making a direct contact with the heat source. This provides faster thermal convection. The base measures approximately 39x36mm.
This cooler comes with a Pure Wings 3 120mm PWM fan. This fan has 9x blades with striped layers for increased airflow. There is an inner circular border that encapsulates the fan blade assembly. This design provides no leak when installed over the radiator. There is no anti-vibration pad over the mounting corners.
I am not sure if this optimized version retains the closed loop motor design that is on the regular Pure Wings 3 fans. We did a dedicated review on these fans and you can find it here.
There is a slope down design on the rear assembly. The arms have an angular layout as well. This directs the airflow. The power ratings are printed on the center. The fan is made in China. These fans use rifle bearings with life lifespan of 80,000 hours.
Arrow markers are showing the direction of airflow through the fan and direction in which blades spin.
The power cable uses a 4-pin PWM connector.
Installation
We are not covering the installation of the coolers any longer. Please refer to the user manual. I have installed this cooler on AMD AM5 platform and did not observe any issue. The overall installation was quick and simple. This cooler supports AMD offset mounting for Ryzen 7000 and above CPUs. Noctua’s idea has gained popularity for sure!
Clearance
This cooler has universal clearance for the RAM.
There is no obstruction for the PCIe slot.
The cooler provides an ample clearance for the motherboard areas including the massive heatsinks over the VRM area.
The height of this cooler is 154mm. You would need a minimum 158mm clearance in your PC Case. Leaving some margin is always wise.
Testing
I have used below mentioned configuration: –
- AMD Ryzen 7950X
- GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER
- Kingston Renegade Fury 32GB 6400MHz CL32 DDR5 kit
- ASRock Phantom Gaming RX 7600 Graphics Card for Display
- Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVME SSD
- be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
- Open-Air Test Bench
Here is the settings table for testing:
| Clock (MHz) | Auto |
| Voltage (V) | Auto |
| PBO | Advanced |
| PPT | 165000 and 200000mW |
| TDC | 480000 |
| EDC | 640000 |
| Boost Clock Override | Auto |
| Platform Thermal Throttle Limit | Auto |
| Thermal Paste | Pre-Applied |
| Thermal Paste Application | Spread |
| Test Run Time | 30 minutes |
| Idling Time | 10 minutes |
| All Fans Speed | 100% PWM Duty Cycle |
| Stress Software | CINEBENCH R23.2 |
| Monitoring Software | HWINFO64 |
The testing is done on an open air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.
Result
Our main test is testing AMD Ryzen 9 7950X with 205W package power. This cooler like the others could not handle this load. This cooler has done a good job with 170W package power on 7950X. This goes to show where this cooler can give you a better result. Even on stock with gaming load only, this cooler will serve you quite well. The cooler was not loud at full speed.
Conclusion
be Quiet! has launched a budget segment air coolers named Pure Rock 3 and Pure Rock Pro 3. I have tested the Pure Rock 3 Black cooler this time. be quiet! is aiming at two markets with this cooler; system integrators/OEMs and the mainstream consumer market. This cooler is available in three configurations:
- Pure Rock 3 for SI
- Pure Rock 3 Black
- Pure Rock 3 LX
The later two versions are for the mainstream market. be quiet! uses Pure Wings 3 120mm and LX 120mm PWM fans depending on the configuration.
The Pure Rock 3 Black is a single tower configuration that comes with an optimized Pure Wings 3 120mm HS PWM fan. I am not sure what is covered under this optimization but I hope they have provided the closed loop motor design. This cooler is compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/1851 and AMD AM4/AM5 sockets. Its TDP rating is 190W. The cooler has a dimension of 71x124x154mm (LxWxH). It uses ceramic black color spray coating on the assembly for better heat transfer. The complete assembly is black in color including the heat pipes except on the base.
The fin stack has 55 black fins joined in a simple straight line manner. The heatsink comprises fins and 4x 6mm heat pipes. There is no offset design. The top has a stylish plastic cover that is not removable. The interlocking mechanism is on the side of the heatsink.
This cooler uses HDT technology meaning the exposed copper on almost straight-lined heat pipes at base make a direct contact with the CPU to provide a better and faster heat transfer.
This cooler comes with Pure Wings 3 PWM fan. It is rated for 2000 RPM at 12VDC. The air flow rating is 59.6 CFM. The air pressure is rated at 2.41 mmH₂O and maximum noise level is 31.2 dB(A). This fan uses rifle bearing and is rated for 80,000 hours life span.
be quiet! has streamlined the mounting hardware on these coolers which is a appreciated. I have tested this cooler on AMD AM5 socket for which 10 items are required to set up the mounting hardware. Installing cooler on this socket requires 5 steps. The cooler has a pre-applied thermal paste.
This cooler has MSRP of USD29.90/€29.90 and comes with a 3-year warranty. The Lux version can be have at USD34.90/€34.90. That version comes with Lux 120mm PWM ARGB fan. This cooler like ARCTIC Freezer 36 A-RGB Black cooler could not handle the 205W load on the 7950X but its performance is competitive on 170W package power.
Pros:
- Decent Thermal Performance
- AMD AM5 and Intel LGA1700/1851 Socket Support
- Pure Wings 3 120mm PWM Fan
- Noise Performance
- Price
- Standard PWM Connector
- Good value for Gaming Load
- Warranty
Cons:
- Not designed for heavy load
