My case is narrow (18.5 cm) and I wanted a large cooler to keep the R3 3100 as cool as possible without the fan having to work too hard. The only solution was a low profile cooler.
The Black Ridge is very well-made and impressive, heavy, with careful finishing and very good metal processing.
Its installation is nothing special, it is similar to all good modern coolers, but a disadvantage for me is the fact that if you want to remove it to change the thermal paste, for example, you have to remove the motherboard as well.
After its installation, it does not interfere with the placement of the memory modules. It comes with a 92mm fan, which is placed between the two heatsinks, resulting in the height remaining extremely low. However, because I did not have a significant space issue and I wanted the most silent and efficient operation possible, I did not install it, but I put a Bequiet! 120mm fan on the top heatsink in a push configuration.
I imagine that if I had also installed the 92mm fan, its performance would have skyrocketed, but the machine is not struggling, so I considered it excessive.
With the 120mm fan, the result is that it keeps the R3 3100 stock at 33-45 degrees Celsius (room temperature 23 degrees) during browsing and simple tasks. In terms of noise, I simply cannot hear anything from my workstation. If I put my ear close to the open case, I can hear a soft hum.
I would describe it as the "Bequiet! Dark Rock TF for the poor," which I have in another PC. If you have a narrow case and do not need absolute top-notch cooling, the Black Ridge will cover your needs. Its price is at the upper end of the mid-range or at the lower end of the high-end, depending on how one sees it, but it is definitely worth its money. I will buy it again for a similar project that I am preparing.