Cryorig R1 Ultimate vs Universal vs Cryorig H5 Universal vs Ultimate vs DARK ROCK PRO 3

Cryorig R1 cools the best, Dark Rock Pro 3 is the most silent.

However, with an i7-6700k, you'll most likely not need more than a Cryorig H5.

They're similar though the r1 and dark rock pro 3 cool a bit better than the h5. It's to be expected, they're larger and cost more. The universal version of both the cryorig r1 and h5 are designed with offset heat pipes and thin profile fans closest to the ram slots for 0 ram interference. The dark rock pro 3 will extend over all 4 ram slots so if choosing that one you need to make sure to use lower profile ram rather than sticks with tall heatsinks like the dominator type.

Aside from that it's down to looks. The r1 cools slightly better by a degree or two and the dark rock pro 3 is quieter by around 4-5db. That's at 50-100% fan speed though and likely not much difference there either. I'm using the dark rock pro 3, I'd assume the r1 universal performs similar. If so it would take some doing to get the fans up to 100%, they really don't need to spin that fast to cool under normal conditions.

My 4690k is oc'd to 4.6ghz and prime95 wouldn't even make the fans spin all the way to 100%, I had to shut off all other case fans which isn't a normal operating condition. Pretty much anything else in the system is going to be louder whether case fans or gpu fans. I prefer a quiet system but 'quiet' comes down to the loudest component. Meaning you can have a cpu cooler so quiet you can hear a pin drop but it makes no difference if you have another fan somewhere that's louder, that's what you'll hear. It's only as quiet as the loudest component.

Personally I like the looks of the dark rock pro 3 but that's personal in choice. Some people don't like having to work around bigger coolers or being unable to see their ram. Since my build is mostly black and carbon fiber the black cooler fit well. All the coolers you mentioned perform well so not like you'd be making a horrible choice. Some reviews like the ones from spcr (geared toward silent pc's) mentions the thin profile fan on the r1 universal can cause a slight sound like a fan is out of balance due to the slim profile fan. I think it's still worth considering the universal version of either cryorig cooler for the ram clearance though.