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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Test Results / Conclusion

Tests / Conclusion


When chip-makers began using more accurate internal thermal diodes I began to challenge certain methodologies where a thermistor or thermocouple was used to determine processor temps. Chipmakers were relying on internal thermal diodes not only for thermal throttling and/or speed-step technologies but for shutdown as well. Who is more invested then the chipmaker themselves at monitoring and protecting their own product. Early on problems arose, as the internal thermal diode was literally in the best position to measure temperature, accurate software was and still is hard to find. There are just a few programs able to read diodes accurately, one such program is Core Temp available as freeware. I will continue to use software such as Core Temp because the simple fact is: as heat is dissipated more effectively the internal temp of the processor should drop. Measuring that interface between IHS and heatsink base is fine if that’s exactly what you want to measure. If, however; you want to determine CPU operating temp which is critical to performance and longevity, monitoring internal thermal diode is key.

AMD Socket AM2 /Intel LGA-775 Test Systems:


Madshrimps (c)Madshrimps (c)
Processors 1. AMD AM2 Opteron 1212
2. Intel Q6600 Socket-775
Mainboards 1. Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe WiFi
2. Gigabyte P35C-DS3R
Memory 1. GEIL DDR2-800MHz (2x1GB)
2. Super Talent DDR2-1000MHz (2x1GB)
Graphics BFG 8800GTX
Power Supply NZXT Precise 1200W
Cooling 1. Stock Air-coolers Socket-AM2/Socket-775
2. Swiftech Apex H20-220
3. Danger Den nVidia 4101
Storage Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200.10 SATA2
Optical 1. Plextor PX755-SA DVD/RW (SATA)
Open Chassis Mozart Tx
Operating System Windows XP


Testing:

  • Sound
  • Swiftech's Apex Ultra H20-220 uses a Dual 120mm radiator and the kit provides 5V, 7V and 12V connector options. The fans, Delta WFB1212 is rated at 72CFM @ 12V 34dBA. The philosophy behind Swiftech's design is low noise / high performance. Danger Den's design seems focuses more on performance rather then silence, however; this is where a conundrum exists. When I received the NVIDIA 4101 kit it came with a Sunon KD12121PTB rated at 90CFM @ 12V 44dBA. This fan was one reason it performed as well as it did, although it was rather loud. The kit now comes with a Yate Loon "Medium" rated at 70CFM and 33dBA.

  • Danger Den nVidia 4101 sound level Sunon = 46dBA
  • Danger Den nVidia 4101 sound level Yate Loon = 37dBA
  • Swiftech Apex Ultra H20-220 sound level = 39dBA


  • Temps
  • Thermal paste used throughout was Arctic Silver Ceramique following their recommended application methods. Concerning flow rate and fan speeds both kits use the D5-38 Vario which ran at 12V and all fans were run at their max 12V setting. All tests were conducted in an open-chassis eliminating the temperature differential between internal case temp and ambient temp. Ambient temp was maintained at constant 20C ~ 21C. Processor core temps were measured using Core Temp 0.95 monitoring the internal thermal diodes. To simulate LOAD the CPU S&M was run at 100% for at least one hour.

    Madshrimps (c)


    Epilogue:

    Danger Den now supplies the Yate Loon medium fan rated at only 70CFM and 33dBA which is why I ran another series of tests using a Delta from the Swiftech kit. At 72CFM and 34dBA rating it’s almost identical to the Yate Loon. One of the least expensive and most effective methods of altering your water-cooling system is to make fan changes. Increasing CFM will get you closer to ambient, albeit at the cost of silence.

    Conclusive Thoughts

    I was truly amazed how well DD's NVIDIA 4101 performed considering the competition. Both kits are based on 1/2" ID and both utilize the LAING D5-38 Vario pump, however; Swiftech spec's a dual radiator in their MCR220. Given the results above this leads me to conclude the catalyst for performance resides in the five year old design on which the Copper TDX is based. This begs the question, will the MC-TDX out-perform its elder sibling? Regardless we're discussing the nVidia 4101 water-cooling kit which proves to be a formidable contender.

    PRO
    Excellent performer (even better with Sunon 90CFM fan)
    TDX Copper block cools quad core and retain accelerator option
    Single Radiator is compact, versatile mounting

    CON
    Noise level (w/Sunon fan)
    Mounting hardware could be better


    Danger Den provides a truly high-end water-cooling kit in the 4101. Its one of the better products I've tested and perhaps the best 1/2" kit on the market based on a single radiator. Insofar as my sample having the 90CFM Sunon, substituting the Delta which is almost identical to the Yate Loon Danger Den now supplies, did raise temps a few degrees, but it reduces noise. Would I purchase this kit? Yes, highly recommended!

    Recommended for



    I would like to thank Danger Den for submitting their kit for testing, until next time!
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