Features Continued...

     The picture doesn't really do the Maze 4 justice. After running the benchmarks, its amazing to see that Danger Den didn't have to lose any of its performance despite losing half it's size. The Maze design allows for more of a surface area design that is integrated into the internal part of the block where the coolant passes through.

You can clearly see the height difference between the old barbs vs. the new.

The finish of the Maze 4 is impeccable.

Performance

     Not to get to stranded off from our review, but I couldn't help but give Danger Den a few extra plugs. They have always been at our beckoned call when it comes to reviewing their products, and just recently they contributed a complete Pro Kit for our up and coming Boise Frag Fest. Thanks go out to Dan for the support in keeping local gamers interested in alternative forms of cooling our PC's!

Our Testbed is as follows:

AMD Mobile Barton 2400@2871
Mach I cooled CPU
Danger Den Maze 4 GPU
FIC Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Thermaltake V8000A ATX Case
2x80mm Sunon HS fans
Thermaltake Butterfly 480W PSU

     We used Artic Silver Ceramic for our chipset testing since it requires no cure time, and provided effective cooling for below ambient temperatures. SISSoft Sandra 2004 Sp1, and 3DMark 2001 were used to provide a non-idle running temperature benchmark. We used a 90/10 mix of distilled water and Redline Water Wetter, and the pump was run at 12v using 1/2in ID lines.

Outstanding performance. The Maze 4 does a much better cooling job than its predecessor!

    The Danger Den gang always manage to achieve good numbers. For some of us out there that max out our northbridge voltage a few degrees could equate to a little more MHz which of course equates to some better overclocks, especially if you're stuck in the higher multipliers by using phase change. The Danger Den Maze 4 block is a most welcome addition to our testbed, and it will be even more welcome once the P4 design comes out which should be very soon.

    The performance of the BIX Micro 2 radiator is also nice to see, since it had to replace our massive BIX 2, due to space in the case, or lack thereof. running a few Sunon HS fans off a rheostat seems a bit quieter than 2 120mm fans running at full steam, sure the BIX 2 is going to be better at cooling due to its large capacity, but the neat part about the BIX 2 micro is the efficient use of small space which is a big plus for those out there wanting to utilize a smaller case.

    Last but not least the D-4 pump simply does its job. not only does it more than double the flow rate of the Eheim 1250, but it transfer very little heat into your coolant. Its overall size is another welcome addition, and its efficient use of 12v power doesn't kill your power supply, or give you another plug for your surge protector.

All of these products work well in conjunction with one another, and rightly so, since its so obvious that Danger Den carefully designs their products for the water cooling enthusiast. I personally cannot wait long enough to see what the P4 Maze 4 Chipset-Block will look like, but knowing Danger Den, you can bet it'll be a nice little gem to add to your cooling loop. All of these products are ClubOC recommended!