Be Quiet Shadow Rock 2 CPU Cooler Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. The Be Quiet! Shadow Rock 24. Installing the Be Quiet! Shadow Rock 25. Testing Methodology6. Thermal Performance7. Acoustic Performance8. Closing Thoughts9. View All Pages

Be Quiet! supply a well executed installation guide with the Shadow Rock 2 which is easy to follow for those who know their way round a computer.  We will be documenting the installation procedure on an Intel Socket 2011 motherboard.

Firstly, we are instructed to attach the appropriate retention brackets to either side of the CPU block.

Then, we can install the four retention screws into the holes surrounding the CPU socket.

Next, the thermal paste must be applied.  We tested the cooler both with our usual Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal paste and Be Quiet!'s latest DC1 thermal paste.  The latter is supplied in a 4g syringe and comes with a spreader included.

Then we can place the cooler down on top of the motherboard and secure it down into place using the small nuts (and spanner) provided.  We found this to be a little fiddly and it would be a very difficult task if the motherboard is already installed inside a case.

Once the fan had been attached, we found that the cooler obstructed access to some of the memory slots.  Thankfully, the fan can be moved up and down to allow room for tall memory heatspreaders.  We wouldn't recommend using really tall RAM, though, as this could negatively impact cooling performance.

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