be quiet! Dark Rock Elite – 280W TDP-CPU-Luftkühler mit ARGB

BE QUIET! · DARK ROCK ELITE · 280 W TDP · AM5 / LGA1851

High-end air cooling for AM5 workstations.

be quiet! calls the Dark Rock Elite its strongest air cooler: seven 6 mm copper heat pipes, two Silent Wings 135 mm PWM fans, a Quiet/Performance speed switch and an ARGB-lit top cover, rated by be quiet! for 280 W TDP.

280 W TDP · 145 × 136 × 168 mm · 2 × 135 mm PWM fans · 3-year warranty

Where it fits

An air cooler suits builds where you prefer no pump, tubes or radiator to plan around. be quiet! lists demanding workstations, overclocked air-cooled systems and high-end gaming PCs among the Dark Rock Elite’s ideal applications.

Our OEM AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (170 W default TDP) and 9900X (120 W default TDP) are supplied without a cooler; be quiet! rates the Dark Rock Elite at 280 W TDP. Manufacturers define TDP differently, so treat the rating as a guide rather than a temperature promise: sustained all-core loads, case airflow and room temperature decide the result.

A hardware speed switch under the magnetic top cover selects Quiet mode (fans up to 1,500 rpm) or Performance mode (up to 2,000 rpm).

Compatibility before checkout

Sockets: Intel LGA1851, 1700, 1200, 1150, 1151 and 1155; AMD AM5 and AM4. On AM5 the plastic retention-module holders are removed and the motherboard’s factory-mounted backplate is reused: the short AMD brackets sit on four spacer nuts and are fixed with the AMD backplate screws, as described in be quiet!’s manual.

Height: be quiet! lists an overall height of 168 mm. Lian Li specifies air coolers up to 185 mm for the Lancool III (its specification table lists 187 mm).

Memory clearance: be quiet! states that the heatsink clears the first RAM slot by 63.3 mm and that the front fan can be moved up a five-step rail to a maximum of 69 mm above the second slot. Raising the front fan also increases the cooler’s total height beyond 168 mm, and be quiet! does not publish the clearance under the front fan in its lowest position. Check your memory height (our Kingston FURY Beast kit is 34.9 mm tall, our Patriot Viper Venom kit 43 mm), the fan position it needs and your case’s cooler limit together.

be quiet! says cut-outs on the edges of the heatsink improve compatibility with motherboard VRM heatsinks.

Fans, noise and lighting

be quiet!’s manual connects both 135 mm Silent Wings PWM fans with the supplied Y-cable to a 4-pin PWM fan header. be quiet! lists 11 / 19.5 / 25.8 dB(A) at 50 / 75 / 100 % PWM in Quiet mode and 18.4 / 28.3 / 35.4 dB(A) in Performance mode.

The ARGB top cover connects to a 5 V ARGB motherboard header and is then controlled by the motherboard’s software; be quiet! warns that the connector may only be used on a 5 V ARGB header. All three motherboards in our range have 5 V addressable RGB headers. No separate lighting controller is included.

The nickel-plated copper base is compatible with liquid-metal thermal compound, according to be quiet!.

Technical specifications

What is included

One be quiet! Dark Rock Elite CPU cooler (BK037) with its two Silent Wings 135 mm PWM fans (centre fan and height-adjustable front fan), the Intel backplate and two Intel mounting brackets, two short AMD mounting brackets, Intel and AMD spacer nuts, mounting and backplate screws, four O-rings, a tube of thermal paste (about one or two applications, according to be quiet!), a cross-tip screwdriver and the manual. be quiet! also lists a Y-cable so both fans run from one header.

No ARGB controller and no AMD backplate are included: on AM5 the cooler uses the motherboard’s factory-mounted backplate. CPU, motherboard, memory and case are not included.

Frequently asked questions

Is it powerful enough for a Ryzen 9 9950X?

be quiet! rates the Dark Rock Elite at 280 W TDP, above the 9950X’s 170 W default TDP. TDP figures are a guide rather than a temperature guarantee: sustained all-core loads, case airflow and room temperature all affect the result.

Will it clear tall memory modules?

be quiet! states 63.3 mm of clearance under the heatsink over the first RAM slot and up to 69 mm over the second slot with the front fan raised. Raising the fan increases the total height, so check the result against your case limit.

Does it fit in the Lian Li Lancool III?

be quiet! lists an overall height of 168 mm, within Lian Li’s 185 mm air-cooler limit for the Lancool III. Raising the front fan for taller memory increases the total height, so recheck it against the limit.

How do I switch between Quiet and Performance mode?

Remove the magnetic top cover and set the speed switch: Quiet mode limits the fans to 1,500 rpm, Performance mode allows 2,000 rpm.

Can I sync the lighting with my motherboard?

Yes. Connect the ARGB connector to a 5 V ARGB header and control it with the motherboard’s software. Do not connect it to a 12 V RGB header.

Plan your complete build

Pair it with an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X or Ryzen 9 9900X on an AM5 board such as the ASUS ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi, MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi or ASRock X870 Pro RS WiFi, and check memory and case clearance as described above. Browse our CPU coolers, computer components and AI workstation range.

Read be quiet!’s official Dark Rock Elite page for current specifications and downloads.