Danger Den Maze4

Waterblock Test – Joe

SUMMARY: Very good choice for CPU cooling, especially with low power waterpumps.

Maze 4

Jeremy over at Danger Den was nice enough to send a Maze 4 waterblock to test.

Danger Den’s Maze 4 features

  • Chrome-plated barb connectors for ½” ID tubing
  • Laser Cut Lucite Top

There are a number of mounting and configuration options available.

The “Maze 4” refers to “maze” machined into the copper baseplate:

Maze 4 Close

This is designed to increase surface area and turbulence within the waterblock, thereby increasing cooling performance. In addition, the large ½” barbs help minimize pressure drop.

The base

Base

is hand lapped.

THE TEST

The Danger Den Maze 4 was tested using the CPU Die Simulator and Waterblock Test Rig. I am using a thermal grease that Arctic Silver has developed which is designed solely for heatsink testing – it thins out very quickly, aiding testing. It is NOT designed for use more than a couple of days.

WATERBLOCK TEST RESULTS

Test Conditions: Inlet Water Temp: 28.5 C; Mounting force: 15 pounds; Heat Load: 70 Watts.

Plot

Waterblock

C/W

Freeflow GPM

Waterblock GPM

Waterblock PSID

Danger Den Maze 4

0.18

1.00

0.98

0.12

NOTE: These results are NOT comparable to tests done by others.
Unrounded data: 0.176 C/W with 0.0016 std dev.

Test Results indicate that the Maze 4’s pressure drop (or head loss) across the waterblock is minimal; low flow resistance such as this means that Danger Den’s Maze 4 should function well without using a large waterpump.

For a comparison of the Maze 4’s performance to other waterblocks tested to date, see Overclockers.com Waterblock Test Results.

CONCLUSIONS

Danger Den’s Maze 4 Waterblock is a good choice for CPU cooling. In addition, with minimal flow resistance, the Maze 4 will perform very well with moderate and perhaps low power waterpumps, as long as other components do not unduly restrict waterflow.

Thanks again to Danger Den for sending this our way.

Email Joe

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