Speed and noise
Fan speed :
We’re starting from scratch with our series of temperature readings. Let’s specify the fan speeds recorded during our readings (for 12V, 8V, 5V):
In terms of fan speeds, we note that the Dark Rock Pro 5 runs slower than the Elite. However, we suspect that our rehobus is reading the speed of the central fan, which is slower than the front one. As a reminder, be quiet! advertised speeds of 1700 rpm officially at full speed. Here, we have 1600 rpm, still within the margin of error. In terms of other speeds, this is also the slowest fan in the selection, with 700 rpm at low speed and 1100 rpm at medium speed.
The Dark Rock Elite, on the other hand, is slightly faster, averaging 200 rpm at full and half speed. However, the gap drops to 100 rpm difference at low revs.
Noise :
be quiet! has kept noise levels under control. At full speed, the Dark Rock Pro 5 generates 37.5 dB of noise. However, these levels drop drastically as soon as you adjust the speed: 31.5 dB, while at low speeds our sound level meter no longer detects it.
The Dark Rock Elite is immediately more audible with its two 135 mm fans operating at 1800 rpm. However, at 41 dB, we consider it to be within the acceptable range. Again, barely regulated, the noise is greatly attenuated and even goes unnoticed at low speeds.
