Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 vs. Dark Rock Pro 4

[Olagine]

As the title suggests, I'm currently looking for a cooler and found the Dark Rock Pro 3 and 4 from be quiet! for the same price (just under 70€). 

 

I've looked all over online, including English, German, Polish and even Swedish sites and I cannot find anything at all - no comparison between those two. One says that the Pro 3 is better by 2-3° whilst the other less reliable source says 10°.

 

I do know that the acoustics on both are phenomenal, a bit better on the Pro 4. 

 

I'm also aware of the improved mounting method, the worse ceramic paint on the Pro 4 as well as other coolers (namely the NH-D15 from Noctua).

 

Tl;dr: Which cooler is better for cooling performance, the Dark Rock Pro 3 or Pro 4? 

 

Thanks in advance

Edited June 19, 2018 by Olagine

[Spaceman_Wil]

I would go for the Dark Rock Pro 4. Not much to lose with getting the later model. If you had some money sitting around you might buy both, try both, and then return the one you don't like, but I know that's not an option for everyone.

[Olagine]

Well I'm stuck. The older one has a more durable and nicer looking finish on the fins, while apparently cooling better (which I cannot be sure of). 

 

I'm just really surprised that nobody tastes one against another, its like not comparing an i7-7700k and an i7-8600k or 6700k. It was the king along with the NH-D14, later 15. I'm just really let down by people's testing methodologies. 

[Velcade]

43 minutes ago, Olagine said:

The older one has a more durable and nicer looking finish on the fins, while apparently cooling better

says who? 

 

Get the newer one; it's ceramic coated for better heat dissipation.  They've also included passthroughs making install much easier.

[IAnthonyFX]

I struggled with that no reviewer seems to have done a test, I went with the drp3 because it was 40usd, but if they are the same price just go for the drp4, you will get better support from be quiet, and better re-sale value in case you want some flashier in 3 years. I doubt temps will be much different anyways. 

[Olagine]

57 minutes ago, Velcade said:

says who? 

 

Get the newer one; it's ceramic coated for better heat dissipation.  They've also included passthroughs making install much easier.

Well the ceramic paint scratches off easily. I've heard one person say it's better for heat dissipation but there's a reason Noctua makes non-painted aluminium heatsinks. And yeah, the easier mounting is a massive bonus.

 

 

47 minutes ago, IAnthonyFX said:

I struggled with that no reviewer seems to have done a test, I went with the drp3 because it was 40usd, but if they are the same price just go for the drp4, you will get better support from be quiet, and better re-sale value in case you want some flashier in 3 years. I doubt temps will be much different anyways. 

I probably will. 2-3*C isn't a huge difference either way.

[WoodenMarker]

Difference in degrees can't be directly compared between different reviews. 40c vs. 42c  represents a bigger difference in cooling than 60c vs 62c. As more heat is used and the closer the heat reaches a cooler's maximum cooling capacity, the larger the separation in degrees is shown between coolers. 

 

You mentioned 10c which is probably from a Tom's Hardware review. https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/be-quiet-dark-rock-pro-4-cpu-cooler,review-34292-2.html

If you look at the difference in temps shown, the gaps are larger compared to other reviews of the same coolers. This is because they're pushing near the limit of the coolers' capacities as shown by the MA610P just being able to keep temps at 74.5c despite 100% rpm. At more reasonable loads, the differences minimize towards the 1-3c that you see from other reviews. 

 

The DRP4 is quieter but seems to perform a bit worse due to lower rpm fans. It's a small difference in most cases. 

For the same price, I'd suggest going for the DRP4. It's an overall better cooler. If you want more performance, there are probably better alternatives available. The strength of the DRP coolers lies in quiet operation while not being far off of the other dual tower kings.