Performance

ClubOC's Testing System consists of the following:

• AMD Athlon XP2700+ 256k cache
• Albatron KX18D Pro 2
• PNY GeForce FX5900
• Silverstone 360W Power Supply
• OCZ PC-2700 EL 512x2 in Dual Channel
• Lian Li PC-75 USB case
• 300+gb of assorted SCSI and SATA RAID O storage

     Our testing methodology consists of Sandra Burn-In, 3DMark 2003, Photoshop, and assorted benchmarks and programs used over a long-term testing period. This is to insure the quality of a product under review, and to see if there are any flaws that may crop up after preliminary testing. Temperatures are taken using Motherboard Monitor, and all degrees in temperature are taken until a difference in temperature isn't observed.

     As you can see temperatures ramp up considerably as voltage to the processor is increased. ClubOC noticed that on the higher end of the scale of overclocking that at 2.1vcore the Maze 4 kept the temperature of the XP2700 at 52C.

     A moment of glory! This is a record for this CPU which only hit 2550 with the Maze 3. That is not too big of a difference, but it is considering that the Maze 3's radiator and pump were not inside the case. At a more comfortable 1.85v we were able to hit 2475Mhz stable!

     At 2475, the 1 yr old AMD doesn't seem that special but the real difference was when we turned up the Albatron's Northbridge to discover the cooling power of the Z-Block.

     So we took it up a notch and found it that at 235Mhz its completely stable... of course this is ALSO at a vcore of 1.75v which is quite nice when you can turn down those 120mm and have total silence. our CPU is now at 2380Mhz...

     And another visit in the Albatron's BIOS gives us a nice memory benchmark at 241Mhz FSB, which makes our PC2700 look really nice.. this is at 8-3-4-2.5 timings at 3v. Unfortunately 3DMark 2003 froze up in "Trolls Lair" and we had to turn it back down to 235Mhz.

     The Maze 4 GPU block really needs a good mentioning here... It took us from a GPU overclock of 441Mhz to 488Mhz. The Tweak Monster ramsinks also performed up to expectations and we went from 922Mhz to 945Mhz, although anything above 940Mhz gave us artifacts, so we got our 6397pts at 940Mhz memory speed. Still very impressive considering that its a non-Barton, non-FX Ultra setup. The Danger Den Maze 4 GPU is quite the performer indeed!

Conclusion...

     The Maze 4 is another success for Danger Den. Unlike some companies that just rush out to provide a successor to their existing product, Danger Den took their time to produce a very high quality waterblock that has very little competition. Keep in mind that a lot of companies are producing products, for those new to water cooling, but the crew at ClubOC will be the first to let you know that nothing beats a DIY kit, and seeing as how its from Danger Den you can't go wrong in quality, value, and selection of components. One real kicker to the whole kit was the impression I received with the new GPU block. Our previous review mentioned that the original DD GPU Block needed improvement over its competitors blocks, and it looks like Danger Den listened by manufacturing a remarkably better GPU block by using the Maze 4 design. The improvement in stability produced by the Z-Block is also apparent. Very rarely have I ever observed a AMD motherboard capable of achieving 220+ FSB speeds without some serious modifications. Although our graphs don't mention the chipset temperature, we did observe a decreased temperature of 12C compared to the regular air-cooled HSF that came with our Albatron KX18D Pro 2 motherboard. Once again there is no disappointment when it comes to Danger Den's overall execution to this kit. the kit itself is nothing but water cooling perfection at its finest, if it weren't for the need for the advanced skills needed to assemble the kit for the new DIY'er, but then again, your typical overclocker is nothing but skilled, so I have no problem calling this kit one of the best cooling upgrades that money can buy, period.