Danger Den TDX Installation

     Installing the TDX is no small task if you are new to water cooling, but for those that are willing to take the plunge it is actually quite similar to doing anything on your PC such as installing a video card or motherboard. All you need to keep in mind is that if your hoses are too short you are going to have problems. Danger Den included and instruction page for those of you that need it. Just be careful with your stuff and you should be fine. I advise that you install the water block onto your loop first and check for leaks, and while you're doing this you can install the standoffs to your board. by the time you finish the leak test should give you a good idea if your cooling system is leak-proof or not. In case you lose your instructions, Danger Den has instructions included for all their products, even old ones like the original Maze. For installation of your TDX, you can download a backup of the PDF located here.

     Here i our bronze-topped TDX ready for installation. We zig-zag tightened the four cap screws to insure it would not leak. Fortunately Danger Den designs their blocks to be leak proof no matter how carelessly you try and change the top. So long as you tighten the screws, you should be fine.

     Attaching the standoff's requires that you remove your motherboard. We've seen Danger Den use all kinds of different mounting mechanisms for their blocks, but its nice to see them go back to steel stand-off's. Make sure and take advantage of the plastic washers or you'll witness your system go up in smoke as soon as you hit the power button.

     This is how it should look before mounting the block. I still don't bother to use my finger or anything else for that matter to spread my AS. I let nature take its course, and the pressure of the block spread my thermal compound. ;) We have been using AS-5 for awhile now, as it offers excellent cooling characteristics, so long as you allow time for it to cure.

Pop the motherboard in, align the block with the standoffs, push down, and tighten the nuts with springs down equally and you're done!

     The TDX is very easy to install for those of you familiar to water cooling. For those that aren't it isn't too hard at all. I think the thing to really focus on is what kind of system do you have now? Of course we aren't really doing a review on a Danger Den kit, so chances are that you are fairly knowledgeable in water cooling already and are wondering if the TDX will be a good product to replace your existing waterblock. Of course removing your motherboard has a tendency to be irritating, especially if you have a lot of components and PCI cards. I usually use a sharpie to label which PCI slot a card came out of so windows doesn't have to reinstall duplicate drivers which can fragment the registry. This helps in the memory department since all that stuff can get confusing during reassembly.