DangerDen Custom Water Cooling Kit Review

Closer Look:

The first thing we are going to look at is the Maze 3 water block. This water block is made of solid copper, which makes it a very heavy water block! The top, or the cover, on the water block is securely fastened by four allen wrench type screws. The water block came with the two barb fitting already installed. One of them is to allow water in, and the other is to allow water to proceed out. I really don't like the idea that the fittings "screw" on the water block and they had to use white teflon tape. I wish they would have soldered the fittings on, as this would make sure it would never leak. The main reason why I think they chose to go with the screw on fittings is because they can easily sell 3/8" & 1/2" size water blocks to accommodate different types of water cooling setups. Since they went with the screw on fittings they won't have to manufacture two water blocks, one with soldered 3/8" fittings and the other with soldered 1/2" fittings.



The bottom of the Maze 3 is perfectly machined lapped with 800 grit sand paper. The first thing I noticed on the bottom of the water block is the screws that poke thru. The two screws on the right stick out a little farther than the ones on the left. It can't help but wonder if the two on the left are tightened enough. Maybe I can find an allen wrench to fit it and I can see if it will go on anymore.



When you compare the Maze 3 to the water block that came with my Iceberg water cooling kit, it makes the iceberg water block look terrible. Right now, the iceberg water block is the only water block I have to compare the Maze 3 to.



The radiator I received in my cooling kit is the Black Ice Extreme radiator. This is one of the best radiators I have seen and it's up there with the Silverstorm BA radiator on the cooling scale. The Black Ice Extreme has two rows that has a copper core consisting of flat tubes for maximum heat conductivity. The compact 150.4x128.6x43mm (5.9 x 5 x 1.69 inch) dimensions allows it to fit inside most mid-tower & larger cases. This Black Ice Extreme radiator has a glossy jet black finish. This radiator is also available in blue and 24k gold.



On the back side of the radiator there are four pre-drilled holes so you can mount your 120mm case fan to it. To get an idea of how big the radiator is, just find a 120mm case fan and you can compare it to that.



In the box the Eheim water pump came in I found a little instruction manual, some fittings, a blue colored filter, and ofcourse the big pump.



This pump is a lot larger than the pump that came in my Iceberg water cooling kit. That can be a good thing because it pumps more water, but it also can be a bad thing because it may not fit in a small computer case. The size of the pump is 7.1 x 3.8 x 4.7 inches and that's about three times the size of the Iceberg pump. It pumps up to 317 gallons of water per hour. The Iceberg pump could only do 150 gallons of water per hour. The pump has two stabilizer "legs" if you will, that helps keep the pump from falling, not that it ever would without the legs but it's just a precaution. On the legs you will find two slots where you can put some screws or bolts thru. When buying or building a water cooling system there really is only one pump that comes to my mind, Eheim. Eheim pumps come with a 2 year manufacture warranty and that is great reassurance if your pump ever breaks. If your pump does break and you no longer have a warranty on it don't sweat, you can replace almost any part inside of the pump!