Mini-ITX CPU Air Cooler Round-Up

Reviews
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published

Today we're reviewing the SilverStone Argon AR06, Reeven's RC 1001 Brontes, ID-Cooling's IS-VC45 and the Shadow Rock LP from be quiet!.

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be quiet! Shadow Rock LP

The final CPU cooler in today's roundup is the Shadow Rock LP from be quiet!. The Shadow Rock LP's "Compact Cooling, Significant Quiet" tagline coupled with the company's reputation for producing top-notch products, sets the bar very high when it comes to our expectations of this product.

Standing at 75.4mm tall, the Shadow Rock LP is the largest and most feature-rich product in our round-up. The relatively large box that the cooler comes in includes the cooler itself, a 120 x 25mm fan (not pictured), mounting hardware for the cooler, several instruction booklets and a small wrench to help with installation. Compatibility wise, the Shadow Rock LP is the most compatible cooler out of the four coolers in our round-up with support for several Intel (LGA 775, 1366, 115x, 2011x) and AMD (AM2/3, FM1/2) CPU sockets. Finally, with a 130W TDP, the Shadow Rock LP should have no problem keeping its cool during today's tests.

Like ID-Cooling's IS-VC45, the Shadow Rock LP has an extremely flat, polished and plated base. However, unlike all of the other coolers in the round-up, the process of actually installing this cooler is somewhat more involved. Fortunately, the Shadow Rock LP comes with several manuals detailing every step of the installation. The installation itself is accomplished by sliding the crossbar between the cooler's base and heat sink, and then installing the proper set of mounting hardware to the crossbar. After that, the cooler is snapped in place just like a stock cooler for AMD sockets. For Intel sockets, the user will need to assemble the back plate (LGA 775, 1366, 115x) or install the provided standoffs (LGA 2011x), and then screw the cooler down onto the motherboard. The installation is finished by installing the cooler's fan using the provided tensioners and plugging the fan into the motherboard.

Unlike the other coolers in our round-up, the Shadow Rock LP's larger size means that users will need low profile RAM in order to use it with Mini-ITX motherboards.

Chris Miconi
21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • megamanxtreme
    I was hoping for one that can be mounted like the stock AMD cooler, without having to rely on pulling-out the motherboard to install the back plate.
    Reply
  • why_wolf
    For these kinds of small form factor coolers I would greatly appreciated seeing the stock Intel cooler in there. No point in buying 3rd party if it can't beat stock.
    Reply
  • farlandprince
    What kind of a roundup is this?

    you missed like 10 available coolers ...
    Reply
  • Onus
    The Reeven appears to be available at Newegg, but all their products also tack on a $20 shipping charge.
    Reply
  • SuperBox
    The Shadow Rock LP does not require the use of low profile memory, standard memory without a tall heat spreader can fit.
    Reply
  • Calculatron
    I love cooler round-ups!

    Please tell me that more are coming!
    Reply
  • DonkeyOatie
    Shame some of the older coolers you have reviewed, like the RAIJINTEK Pallas or Xigmatek Januscould not have been included, so the earlier reviews could be 'normalized' with this hardware kit
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    Cryorig?
    Reply
  • NMOGV2
    How about the inclusion of the scythe big suriken 2 rev. b? For 40$ it's an amazing little cooler.
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    No GeminII M4? :(

    I wish you guys can include them, as well as include (when available) the new boxed cooler from AMD, plus Intel boxed coolers.

    Cheers!
    Reply