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Shadow Rock 3 arrives packaged in a black cardboard box that has an understated yet premium appearance, typical of be quiet! products. On the front of the box is a large image of the cooler with be quiet! and Shadow Rock 3 graphics. On the rear of the box are two smaller images and a brief introduction to the cooler.
Inside the box, the Shadow Rock 3 cooler is further protected by some foam and additional cardboard. The contents of the packaging include two smaller cardboard boxes with mounting hardware in one and a Silent Wings 2 fan inside that other, as well as the cooler itself.
Once we open the other two smaller boxes and pull all the contents out, we can clearly see what has been included. There are two zip-lock plastic bags that are filled with mounting hardware for both AMD and Intel platforms, along with retaining spring clips for mounting the Silent Wings 2 fan, a Philips screwdriver, a small tube of thermal compound and an installation manual.
be quiet! has equipped the top of the heatsink with a black/brushed aluminium cover that hides the top of the heat pipes and provides a smoother and sleeker appearance to the top of the cooler. There is a hole in the top cover to allow access to the rear mounting screw during installation.
The wider spacing and reduction of heatsink fins is noticeable compared to previous Shadow Rock coolers. However, the fins look sturdy and very well manufactured with no sharp edges, they are all perfectly aligned and seem to be made from high-quality aluminium with a premium-looking brushed finish.
The same can be said for the heat pipes, the nickel plating looks very smooth with even coverage over all the heat pipes. Further down we can see the heat pipe copper exposed where it contacts the CPU heat spreader. The base of the thermal transfer plate has an evenly machined surface which should provide excellent contact with the CPU to aid thermal transfer.
As usual with be quiet! the included Silent Wing 2 fans look great and are manufactured to a high standard. When rotated, the bearing runs very smooth with little resistance and the fan mountings have rubber anti-vibration dampers to reduce noise. The Silent Wings 2 fan features PWM speed control via a standard 4-pin fan header cable.
Overall, the build quality of the Shadow Rock 3 looks to be of a very high standard and is manufactured from high-quality materials. The cooler also has an aesthetically pleasing appearance and the neutral colour scheme should integrate well in almost any kind of system. There is a noticeable lack of any RGB lighting which may not be to everyone’s taste. However, this is common of a be quiet! products and is expected.
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