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Product:
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Danger Den MAZE4 Power Water Cooling Kit |
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Price:
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$278 (CAN) / $200 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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Danger Den
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Author:
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Hi-TEK
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Date:
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August 27th, 2003
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Rating:
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The Danger Den Power Water Cooling Kit offers two different configuration scenarios when finalizing
the setup of this product. Consumers have a choice of setting this kit up to run inline with or
without the use of a reservoir. To handle reservoir duties, Danger Den has included the latest revision
of the Bayres product now called the Typhoon-Quad Reservoir. The Typhoon-Quad Reservoir like the
original Bayres is very well constructed and consists of 6 pieces of 1/4" cast acrylic joined together
with a water-tight seal. The acrylic is non-coloured and has been pressure leak tested to assure that
it will work with any standard water cooling system. The unit is very light weight and measures approximately
19mm (L) x 15mm (W) x 4mm (H), which makes it suitable for any mid-tower or server tower case. The
emphasis for this particular product is the ability to conveniently fit this reservoir into one
standard 5.25" drive bay. One of the notable changes of this product over the original Bayres is the
ability to allow one line in and out or two lines in and out when cooling system components. The overall
configuration of this product is dependant on the type of setup installed in a computer case.
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As previously mentioned, the Black Ice Pro Radiator incorporates a built-in metal shroud that has been
drilled with four self tapping screws enabling the installation of a 120mm cooling fan. Danger Den has
added a low profile Sunon KD1212PTB1-6A 120mm cooling fan to MAZE4 Power Water Cooling Kit. The Sunon
KD1212PTB1-6A is capable of pushing 90 CFM at 3100 RPM with a noise level of 44.5 dBA. While the noise
level for this particular fan is very high, consumers might opt to install it on a fan controller to
reduce the noise level or swap this fan out for a silent alternative.
Mounting the MAZE4 Water Block requires a series of steps and must be installed before the motherboard
is mounted inside a case. To keep the MAZE4 stationary, four bolts are inserted into a nylon washer
from the bottom of the motherboard. The four bolts are covered with a set of nylon washers, bolts and
springs in each corner. The water block is inserted onto each screw and pushed down onto the dye of the
CPU core to establish contact. In order to secure the water block, a brass knurled nut is placed on each
screw and tightened using a criss-cross pattern. Consumers should use extra caution when performing this
step as over tightening the water block can crush the CPU core and render the CPU useless. Prior to
mounting the MAZE4 a thin layer of new Artic Silver 3 Thermal Compound was applied to the core of the
CPU.
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To start performance tests, I assembled the following pieces of hardware to complete the system:
- Asus AV7333 motherboard
- AMD Athlon XP 1800+ CPU
- 512 MB Kingmax Tiny BGA DDR 333 RAM
- MSI G4 Ti4200 video card
- Maxtor D&40X-GL 60 GB Hard drive
- D-Link DFE-530TX NIC card
- LG GCC-4120B Combination IDE Drive (12x8x32 CDRW + 8x DVD)
- Thermaltake Xaser III Mid-Tower Case
- CritiCool WaterPlant Acrylic Reservoir
- CritiCool PowerPlant PCI Relay Card
- RaidMax LP-6100E 500W Power Supply
I needed to use all the external 5.25" drive bays in my system and opted not to install the Typhoon-Quad
Reservoir. As an alternative, I will be using the CritiCool WaterPlant Acrylic Reservoir accompanied by
the CritiCool PowerPlant PCI Relay Card to power the pump when the system is turned on. Interconnecting
the hoses to all the water cooling components is straightforward, with each connection secured by the
plastic clamps. I found the plastic hose clamps a bit tedious to work with since they require extra
tightening with a pair of pliers to make them secure. I prefer stainless steel hose clamps which provide
a safer guarantee and are easier to work with. The circulation of water inside the system will work as
follows:
Pump --> Waterblock --> Reservoir --> Radiator --> Pump
Once assembled, the system was filled and tested for leaks for approximately 24-48 hours before the
final computer components were installed. To fill the system, I will be using 500cc of Morning Mist
Distilled Water with a cap full of Water Wetter. One important point to stress is read the instructions
on the proper distribution of Water Wetter in the system. If you add too much Water Wetter, you will
notice an increase of generated foam in your hose lines, which make the system more difficult to bleed.
There are alternative products available that also improve overall system performance such as standard
Anti-freeze, Purple Ice Radiator Super Coolant
or Zerex Racing Super Coolant Additive. All products
assist in preventing corrosion and erosion of metals in the cooling system. To fill the system, the
Hydor L30 pump must be started automatically by switching the CritiCool PowerPlant PCI Relay card to
"bleed mode" which will power the pump independently from the system.
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