be quiet! Pure Rock Pro 3 Air Cooler Review
Introduction
be quiet! has released a new 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 Pro 3 in this content. This cooler has the following variants:
- Pure Rock Pro 3 MSRP USD44.90|€44.90
- Pure Rock 3 Black MSRP USD49.90|€49.90
- Pure Rock 3 LX MSRP USD54.90|€54.90
Find Pure Rock 3 Coolers on Amazon
The standard version uses silver finish that is more industrial till today. The black version has black ceramic coating and LX version is black heatsink with LX 120mm PWM ARGB fan.
The salient features include:
- High Cooling Capacity for Modern CPUs
- 6mm 6x 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 using offset design
- AMD Offset Mounting
Specifications
| Dimension with Fan | 134x124x155mm (LxWxH) |
| Total Weight | 1077g |
| Socket Compatibility | Intel: LGA115x/1200/1700/1851 AMD: AM4/AM5 |
| TDP | 250W |
| 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
Like the Pure Rock 3, this cooler comes inside a black color packing box which is reminiscent of be quiet! theme. 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
Since this is a silver version, the mounting kit is also in silver. Like Pure Rock 3, this cooler does not have 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 from 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 134x124x155mm. Here 155mm is the height of this unit with the fans. This is just 1mm taller than the single tower Pure Rock 3 cooler. This cooler has a weight of 1077g. 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 has no coating.
Like Pure Rock 3, this cooler has stylish plastic shrouds on the top of each tower. Each 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.
The front side of the heatsink has a simple layout. There are 51 fins on each tower with 102 fins in total per my count. The layout is similar to what I saw on Pure Rock 3. The area near the edge has a wave pattern. Other than that, the fins are in a straight line pattern. These fins are rounded on the edge. This is a wise design preventing hand injury.
The front side of the rear tower has a different layout. It has a step design unlike the wave pattern. The center portion is extended and it represents the deepest inset area.
The fins interlocking is done on the side of the heatsink. There are insets to catch the fans’ metal clips.
This cooler has an offset design. The front tower has heat pipes closer to each other and provides better clearance.
The cooler comes with the mounting plate or cross bar pre-installed on top of the base. This bar is secured using a screw. The base area also has an aluminum heatsink design to provide maximum heat dissipation coverage. Two spring loaded screws are pre-installed on the cross bar.
This cooler has 6 heat pipes with each having a thickness of 6mm. They make contact with the fin stack at a regular interval with respect to each other. You can see a protective transparent cover over the base.
This cooler comes with a white thermal paste pre-applied. This is not HDT design. Hence, a nickel plate copper base contacts the CPU unlike the HDT on Pure Rock 3. The base measures approximately 39x36mm.
Like Pure Rock 3 Black, this cooler comes with Pure Wings 3 120mm PWM fan. The difference is that this one has two fans. Each fan has 9x blades with striped layers for increased airflow. There is an inner circle 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. 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 a life span 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
This cooler uses offset mounting as well as regular mounting. The mounting brackets have double holes on each corner. 0 and 8 are labeled on these holes. 0 indicates no offset or standard mounting whereas 8 indicates offset mounting by -8mm.
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.
Clearance
The heatsink provides good clearance for the RAM as it does not overhang the DIMM slots.
The stock fan position supports 42mm or so. You would need to adjust the height of the front fan for any taller kit. This will increase the overall height of the cooler from 155mm.
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 155mm. You would need a minimum 158mm or 160mm clearance in your PC Case. Leaving some margin is always wise.
Testing
I have used the following 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 which is bit surprising given its 250W TDP rating. This cooler has done a good job with 170W package power on 7950X. It will serve your gaming needs easily. 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 Pro 3 Silver cooler this time. be quiet! is aiming at the mainstream consumer market. This cooler is available in three configurations:
- Pure Rock Pro 3 [Silver]
- Pure Rock Pro 3 Black
- Pure Rock Pro 3 LX
be quiet! uses Pure Wings 3 120mm and LX 120mm PWM fans depending on the configuration. These are 120mm size coolers with dual tower configuration.
This cooler is compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/1851 and AMD AM4/AM5 sockets. Its TDP rating is 250W. The cooler has a dimension of 134x124x155mm (LxWxH). It is 1mm taller than a single tower Pure Rock 3. The cooler has industrial finish hence Silver in naming nomenclature.
Each tower has 51 fins with a combined count of 102. The front tower has a linear design fin stack. The front of the rear tower has a step design. The heatsink comprises 102 fins and 12x 6mm heat pipes. This cooler has an offset design for better RAM and motherboard clearance. The top has a stylish plastic cover that is not removable. The interlocking mechanism is on the side of the heatsink. The base is nickel-plated copper. It is not HDT design, unlike Pure Rock 3 Black.
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 an 80,000-hour life span.
be quiet! has streamlined the mounting hardware on these coolers, which is 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. There is no extra thermal paste tube.
This cooler has MSRP of USD49.90/€49.90 and comes with a 3-year warranty. The Lux version can be purchased at USD54.90/€54.90. That version comes with Lux 120mm PWM ARGB fan. This cooler could not handle the 205W load on the 7950X. I was expecting it to cover it for good given 250W TDP rating! On the other hand, its performance is quite good at 170W load. When it comes to gaming, this cooler is more than capable of handling the task.
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:
- No extra thermal paste
