CONCLUSION

   Both the Dark Rock 4 and Dark Rock Pro 4 continue the very successful path paved by their predecessors and although that was expected right from the get go the performance gap is slightly larger than what we were expecting. You see based on their specifications sheets there was a big chance both the Dark Rock 4 and Dark Rock Pro 4 would perform exactly the same if not worse compared to their predecessors (identical sizes and weights and lower RPM fans in the case of the Dark Rock Pro 4) something which is of course not reflected in our charts. We still don’t know if this is due to the black ceramic coating or the new and robust mounting mechanism (my bet is on that) but the results are clear and so the Dark Rock Pro 4 clearly lands between the NH-D15 and the NH-D15S by Noctua. As a matter of fact the fans used in the NH-D15 and NH-D15S produce slightly higher noise levels so overall the Dark Rock Pro 4 seems like the more complete choice (at least until Noctua strikes back). As for the Dark Rock 4 just like its predecessor it offers good cooling efficiency without of course as expected coming close to its larger brother the Dark Rock Pro 4.

   Both the Dark Rock 4 and Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU Coolers by be quiet! were released yesterday and currently retail for USD74.90 and USD89.90 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and for 67.42Euros and 87.71Euros in the EU (Amazon.de). So although in terms of price both models retail for as much as their predecessors did at launch (actually the Dark Rock Pro 4 is priced roughly 15% over its predecessor) they offer both higher cooling efficiency and look much better thanks to the redesigned top covers and the black ceramic coating and so they are both worth our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Looks
- Excellent Cooling Efficiency
- Improved Mounting Mechanism
- Ability to Add Extra Fan
- Noise Levels

CONS

- Price (Dark Rock Pro 4)