Introduction

From the be quiet! website:

#1 for power supplies in Germany

be quiet! products are convincing, which is proven by the company reaching the leadership position of Germany's PSU market in 2006 and defending it since. Their position has also been validated by numerous awards for both power supplies and cooling solutions.

Repeated winner of Manufacturer of the Year

Readers of the well-know German hardware magazine PC Games Hardware have awarded be quiet! the Manufacturer of the Year award six times in a row. Another first and second rank in the categories "fans" and "coolers" for two consecutive years underline the high acceptance of our products.

Having won various awards for their power supplies and fans, be quiet! is certainly among a cadre of elite manufacturers. However, their elite status primarily applies to the European market as they have only recently brought their wares to North America. Considering their six consecutive awards from PC Games Hardware, be quiet! obviously offers the quality and excellence enthusiasts demand, and it shouldn't take long for them to carve their name into the minds of enthusiasts here as they have in Europe.

be quiet!'s legacy of quality and excellence began with power supplies responsible for six consecutive awards. However, they have more to offer than just PSUs, and with their Silent Wings fans offering fantastic performance and low noise levels, it was only logical to manufacture CPU coolers next. be quiet!'s release of the Dark Rock Pro 2, which I reviewed previously, showed that they have what it takes to be the king of the hill when it comes to air coolers, and with such a solid assortment of products, it's no wonder be quiet! has enjoyed the success it has thus far.

Today's review will focus on be quiet!'s Shadow Rock 2. It has a lot to live up to considering how well the Dark Rock Pro 2 performed. Featuring four 8 mm heatpipes, a 120 x 25 mm 1600 RPM fan, and freely selectable fan mount, it has some interesting specifications and features, but will its features pay dividends in terms of performance and versatility or will they result in a cooler that offers a lot but comes up lacking?