Danger Den NVIDIA 4101 H20 Water Cooling Kit Review

Cooling/Water Cooling by KeithSuppe @ 2007-12-19

Danger Den is certainly a pioneer in the H20 world, and while they have grown their products, they still retain that attention to detail. They offer so many products at their site it is often better to choose a carefully selected kit. Today we test a true performer, Danger Den NIVIDIA 4101 Water Cooling Kit.

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Introduction the Waterblock

Introducion

Madshrimps (c)


At the heart of any water-cooling kit is the water-block. And at the heart of the water-block itself is the area centered above the processor it cools. This real-esate has a long list of monikers, for our purposes we will stick with impingement zone. In a design where the inlet is located above the processor core it is known as direct impingement, due to the water stream impinging upon it. How this relationship between water-stream and water block interact determines many factors, most importantly how well the processor is cooled. In the close-up above we see the unique impingement zone of DD's Copper-TDX. It is this block Danger Den chose to build their NVIDIA 4101 water-cooling kit around. I first reviewed the TDX back in 2004. The original design has been so effective it has remained unchanged until just recently. While DD will keep the original design, they have released a version specifically for multi-core (Quad core) processors. Danger Den's new MC-TDX built on the direct impingement extruded pin design can be seen below.

Madshrimps (c)


Madshrimps (c) Madshrimps (c)


The photo and thumbnails above exemplify an extruded-pin impingement area much larger than the original TDX. This may complicate matters since the 1/2" inlet, as seen in the left thumbnail, only impacts a 1/2" diameter area of those pins. The right thumbnail above shows Danger Den has recessed those pins directly below the inlet. I am not sure of the reasoning behind this unless the pins are shorter because the area is sunk deeper into the base itself. Photos taken from DD's site fail to reveal any details about these pins. Back to the TDX, pictured below with its universal mounting bracket which fits just about every AMD and Intel socket and requiring no disassembly in between.

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While the base plate wasn't finished to a mirror image it was flat which I measure using a metal L-square. A mirrored finish has less to do with flatness then it does gaps and striations which are also critical for thermal paste application. In the end if your water block isn't making proper contact with the IHS it matters little how well the base is finished.

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Removing the universal mounting plate reveals a Lucite top with 1/2" barbs. The top plate sits atop TDX's side walls and positions the inlet directly above the impingement zone. The outlet is off-set where the shape of the block narrows substantially to aid in evacuating water.

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How a water-block is constructed will either support or defeat its intended design. Water flowing down through the accelerator nozzle is initially under high pressure as it’s forced through the nozzle opening. As the fluid impacts into the impingement area with its pseudo "cups" the resulting turbulence increases heat transfer to more water-molecules. The area of the block housing the impingement zone and accelerator nozzle is wider then the outlet area of the block. The wider area of the block on either side of the impingement zone is at a lower pressure then the impingement zone itself. Thus water impacting into the small walls which form pseudo cups and the larger walls supporting the accelerator nozzle all work together to evacuate water now carrying heat to the opposite end of the block and the outlet.

Madshrimps (c)


Concerning impingement, TDX is unique as the only water block to offer Accelerator Nozzles. The varying shapes of these nozzles alter the water-stream as it impacts the impingement zone. Below we see the TDX with its accelerator nozzle installed.

Madshrimps (c)


Madshrimps (c) Madshrimps (c) Madshrimps (c)


Next we take a look at the parts Danger Den chose to mate with their TDX ->
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