In the quest for higher performance and higher overclocks, processors keep heating up our cases, and hardware manufacturers are always looking for new methods to keeping their products cool. And, with motherboard partners helping enthusiasts overclock so easily today, companies like be quiet! have their work seriously cut out for them. Their previous Dark Rock Pro and Pro 2 CPU coolers were very good contenders given their excellent quality. But like the reigning Noctua NH-D14 (and its successor, the NH-D15), their size can be intimidating for both installation and cost. The only evolutionary course of action is to focus completely on engineering better solutions, within the same or smaller spaces.

The be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 sheds a couple inches, adds some new curves, and reveals a hidden, polished, sexy side that increases TDP dissipation up to 250 Watts. Is this new cooler just a pretty face or does it really have some dark magic? Our many hours of testing with one of Intel's 6-core processors shall reveal that answer!