Mounting the TDX was as simple as any Danger Den block I've mounted to date, although I must confess a dislike for Socket-754 through-mount options. Simply placing two holes on each side of the Socket just doesn't seem secure enough. There are four additional holes; unfortunately most Socket-754 through-mount kits seem to utilize only the outside two. In addition the holes are over-sized, requiring a collar for the bolts to seat firmly. Below is the TDX mounted on a Chaintech Zenith ZNF3-250Gb;





Onto the testing. System pressure/flow was provided via the Hydor L30 (320/GPH) pump, the Black Ice Extreme radiator removed heat from the water by use of 2x120mm Sunon 92CFM fans in push/pull. The system also included Danger Den's Lucite bay-reservoir, and 1/2" DD tubing. System specs are listed below.

CPU - AMD Athlon64 3400

TIM - Arctic Silver AS5

H20-Cooling - Danger Den TDX water-block, Hydor L30, HW-Labs Black Ice Extreme, DD 5-1/4 Clear Bay reservoir, 2x120mm Sunon 3100RPM/90CFM, 1/2" DD tubing.

Motherboard - Chaintech ZNF3-250Gb Pro Zenith (BIOS # "lack of options")

RAM - OCZ Technology EL PC-4200 Gold Dual Channel, 1024MB-kit DIMM's 1,3

VGA - Sapphire Technology Radeon X800 Pro 256MB (Catalyst 4.5)

HDD - Maxtor Diamond Max 9 Plus (SATA150, 120GB)

PSU - OCZ Technology Power Stream 420

Case - TTGI-USA

OS - WindowsXP Home, SP1

Measurement devices - Chaintech Zenith CBox3 (Digi-Doc), Cooler Master Musketeer, external thermistor.

Software - (OS) WindowsXP, HardwareSensorsMonitor v.2.4.1., SiSoftware Sandra 2004-SP1, Seti@Home v. 3.08, Furturemark 3DMark03, 3DMark2001SE. Below is the Musketeer's external thermistor;





Ambient temps measured approximately 20°C/68F throughout the testing as measured by the Cooler Master Musketeer's external thermistor. I placed the thermistor few cm's from the VGA slot. The ZNF3-250Gb Pro SYSTEM temp seems to derive from a thermal diode. As CPU temps rise so too do the SYSTEM temps. This is most likely indicative of a thermal-diode monitoring the CPU power-supply, rather then an external board mounted thermistor. I've been unable to locate an external thermistor on the board. In the screenshot below the system is running overclocked to 220FSB just moments after running LOAD. You'll notice the SYSTEM temp reaching 41C. Until Chaintech confirms or denies this theory, I'd hypothesize it wasn't 105F/41°C in my room when the screenshot below was taken;




Under default speed/voltage, the TDX performed admirably, keeping CPU temps down around 32°C. In the screenshot below the system is running IDLE, at default speeds (2200MHz) and default Vcore (although default in the BIOS reads 1.450V the software reads 1.504V);





The TDX cooled the A64 3400 will ease, however; in all fairness this is the first and only water-block placed on this new chip, ergo my frame of reference is somewhat limited. However, with the stock AMD heatsink provided, the A64 3400 CPU temps hovered at 50°C even at IDLE! Next I decided to push the A64 3400 CPU to LOAD, using what I believe to be one of the best programs for this purpose, Seti@Home V.3.08. I ran the program for approximately 20 minutes or until a maximum temp was maintained;





The TDX performed very well under LOAD conditions, as the temperature only increased a mere 4C. To push the block even further I upped the FSB to 225FSB (the maximum until Chaintech releases a new BIOS for their ZNF3-250Gb). The screenshot below exemplifies that speed, at Idle;





The final screenshot has the TDX keeping things cool at 225FSB (2475MHz) running Seti&Home for approximately 15-minutes, or until the maximum temp plateau was attained;





Albeit a Cursory Review, the TDX kept thing quite cool, and has kept my A64 3400 under 40°C since its installation, even on 75F/23°C days. Here's a shot of our test platform




Finally I ran Futuremark’s 3DMark2001SE, overclocking the CPU to 225FSB for 2475MHz. This was the warmest day of this year, temps reaching about 23C/75F. To date I've been able to boot into Windows splash screen at 245FSB without raising Vcore. This is great new for this CAAOC 3400, however; either the memory or BIOS are holding me back. Increasing any voltages did not help me to load Windows with any stability beyond 225FSB, or 2475MHz. Hopefully Chaintech will get us ZNF3-250Gb Pro users a decent BIOS (any BIOS please) where the more popular (and less costly) VNF3-250 owners have a Beta BIOS at their disposal. For these reasons I couldn't push the A64 hence the TDX to the extremes I would have liked.

I would have had the review out sooner, but wanted to ensure the AS5 thermal paste has broken in. Below are my Futuremark’s results;