My Zalman Reserator log...

Motaboy

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 14, 2004
Messages
99
04/13/2004
I just received the Zalman Reserator. When I opened the box I was surprised by how big this thing really is. I knew it was 2 feet tall but I did not think it would be so thick. I would say it is about 6-8 inches wide from fin edge to fin edge. I was kind of skeptical at first if a passive cooler will do the job for me but after seeing this thing I think it will.

I'll post pics and notes while I install this unit and then put up some numbers once it is actually installed and running.

Wish me luck...

If there is anything particular you would like to know about the Zalman Reserator then please feel free to ask.

My one gripe so far...a PCI bracket was not included with the package. Would have added that final extra touch to make this a totally complete system.

To be continued...
 
Post your system specs, then put it under load and see how long it takes the temperature to level off.

I am wondering how much heat it can take (overclocked and over-volted), and if there is a 'point of no return', where the temperature keeps going up until your computer crashes
 
Well the "stable" temperature will increase as you push your CPU harder, but also remember that generally speaking, the rate of heat dissipation varies as the square of the difference of the temperatures. I.e. the hotter the object, the faster it releases the heat, so there can't really be a point where the temperature spirals off to infinity. Of course, you could be generating so much heat that your environment starts to heat up significantly too.
 
Originally posted by NightRaven
remember that generally speaking, the rate of heat dissipation varies as the square of the difference of the temperatures.

Where did you get that figure?
 
Whoops, its not the square of the difference (dunno where I got that) but it is proportional to the difference.
 
OK just got done with work and about to start setting everything up and taking some pics. So far this looks really easy and even a first timer at [H]2o will be able to install this kit. The CPU block is much easier than any other heatsink I have used.

Pics to come soon...
 
UGGGGG!!! My cam battery died and I did not want to wait for it to charge. I installed the unit in less than a hour. Going to test it for a couple of hours before I fire the PC up.

No problems during the install. The block was the easiest heatsink I ever put on.

Will have some pics later...

Klepto...FrozenCPU.com
 
Originally posted by NightRaven
Whoops, its not the square of the difference (dunno where I got that) but it is proportional to the difference.

Sort of... that's for plain old steady state heat conduction. In this case, natural convection is the dominant heat trasfer mechanism, which is not going to follow a linear proportionality to temp difference.
 
After the leak test I fired up the system. With an Abit AI7 main board my cpu was not stable at 3.75. I switched to an Asus P4P800 Dlx and have been running 3.75 @ 1.7 volts over night and the current temp reading is 111F.

My expectations of this cooler have been met and exceeded.

I will post pics as I redo the system. My one gripe is still the lack of a built up PCI bracket. They give you the fastners you need to make a pass through PCI bracket but if they included one with the system it could have been a complete tool free installation.

I am using 50/50 mix of auto coolant and distalled water. Is that a good mix for a computer water cooling system?
 
If I am not mistaken that is a bad mix to use. The mix should be closer to 95% distilled water, then some water wetter(or something similar, like a cap or 2 full depending on how much water, and some betaidine(sp?) think that is the stuff to prevent algae).

I am pretty sure the auto coolant doesn't work as well as water.
 
Yes I would second that! If anything, that mixture might cause your pump to cavitate. This may take a while to happen. It depends on the pump you have and the antifreeze you use. I have seen this problem by using too much water wetter with DW. Took a while to figure out it was the mixture causing the problem and not the water level.
 
cav·i·ta·tion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kv-tshn)
n.

1. The sudden formation and collapse of low-pressure bubbles in liquids by means of mechanical forces, such as those resulting from rotation of a marine propeller.

holy crap titan, made me google up that word :p
 
Originally posted by titan151
Yes I would second that! If anything, that mixture might cause your pump to cavitate. This may take a while to happen. It depends on the pump you have and the antifreeze you use. I have seen this problem by using too much water wetter with DW. Took a while to figure out it was the mixture causing the problem and not the water level.

How do you figure it was the mixture causing it?
 
So when are you going to drop some ice cubes in there? ;)

I wonder if it would be better to put it directly behind your pc, so that your case fans would blow on it.
 
After closing the case and shutting all the fans off in the case and my window fan the temps rose to 120F and holding steady. This has been since my last post and running Prime95.

Thanks for the heads up the mix, I was not sure and Zalman manual suggested engine coolant too I believe.

To the ice cube comment...I was thinking if there is something I can do to chill the water. Maybe some sort of waterproof pet setup but if I was going to be that [H]ard core with this project I would have went with a different watercooling set up.

Any ideas on how to keep the water chilled with out getting too extreme? This thing has an inner diameter of about 4 inches and is nearly 2 feet high.
 
You could convert that into a big bong cooler very easily. Keeping the top off of it alone would help slightly.
 
Originally posted by zer0signal667
How do you figure it was the mixture causing it?

Good question. I had an old crappy pump that would cavitate at high speed. (read lot's of sub books) Anyway, the thing was really loud and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Tried hitting it, shaking it changing out the coolant. Anyway the coolant was say 50/50 watter wetter to DW. I thought that if the proper mix was 5/95 I would simply use more cause it would be better! Doh, this made no improvement except caused the water to be less viscous thus reducing the speed required to create cavitation. I got a new pump and had the same problem till I tried using the correct mixture. I supose other factors such as temp could also cause this to occur. I went back and tested this on my ghetto 85 gph pump and found it solved the problem as well. Now I have two pumps. :p
 
Originally posted by thewhiteguy
You could convert that into a big bong cooler very easily. Keeping the top off of it alone would help slightly.

How so?

and I am wondering if we are thinking about the same thing :-D
 
You could point a fan at it, that would increase the heat dissipation.

Maybe you could put it in a refrigerator? Seems a little extreme but may be easy to do depending on your setup.

They actually make water chillers, smallish ones that are basically a heatsink with a fan on a peltier that is attached to a probe in a resevoir. Shouldn't be too hard to add to your existing loop.
 
I see some people are suggesting different ways to cooling the water. I was thinking there has to be something I can drop into the tube to chill the water. I thought of the the petleir idea and I recall seeing some units like that. I also thought I saw some tubes that would keep water cool. There has to be something I can place inside this tube to keep the water temps lower.

I am open to ideas so if some of you guys want to share your thoughts for modding this thing I would be open to them.

Would be nice if I can get the water temps close to freezing.
 
Top view

top.jpg


Water block

block.jpg



I will have better and more pics once it is fully installed. Kind of ghetto now unti I see how I am going to route anything.

If you want an specific pics then just let me know...
 
Upping your water level would help. It would be a very good idea to try and get the returned water to start somewhere at the top of that tube. If the water is coming and going from the very bottom you're going to lose a lot of cooling capability.
 
Lil pic of my reserator setup, the tray is under there since my first reserator tower had a leak at the pump wire packing, this is my second model after i returned my first one and it hasn't leaked so far.

As far as evaporation goes the lid does have a tiny hole in the middle to relieve vapor pressure or prevent vacuum i guess. It's so small thou that i didnt notice untill i turned my unit upside down :p ... doh !

zalman.jpg


Running a 2.2 ghz Athlon xp on it at 1.7volt. My temperature peaks at 44 degrees celcius with prime95, in a closed case with only the very silent fan in my psu running. Takes quite a few hours for the temperature to settle though.

The graphics card is a 9800 pro running passive with the zalman sandwich heatsink. Gets quite hot but doesnt lock up so i guess its fine.
 
After running Prime95 and the computer constantly being on since I installed the Zalman the temps as of right now is 116F. Highest temps I have seen so far. Case is close, windows in apartment are closed and the air temp is about 75F.
 
Removing or replacing it wouldn't be very hard. If you can fit a bigger submerged pump in the tower, that would be nice. You could still use a pump outside or in your case.

That thing REALLY needs to have the hot returned water dumped in the top.
 
Originally posted by zer0signal667
You could just attach another length of hose to that internal connector and run it to the top of the cylinder.
Yeah, with that fitting on there is looks like it's made to have a hose hooked up to it. Unfortunately, that little pump might not have enough power to maintain good pressure if it has to also push the water to the top of the cylinder.
 
Originally posted by thewhiteguy
Yeah, with that fitting on there is looks like it's made to have a hose hooked up to it. Unfortunately, that little pump might not have enough power to maintain good pressure if it has to also push the water to the top of the cylinder.

It will only feel the added resistance from the tubing as long as you don't have it pump water above the reservoir's water level.
 
Originally posted by zer0signal667
It will only feel the added resistance from the tubing as long as you don't have it pump water above the reservoir's water level.
Yeah you're right. Can someone send me one of these so I can try it? :D
 
Can someone explain how this is powered? Is it an external source or connected to a 5v molex inside the case like TT's Aquarius III or the Corsair 200EX?

Thanks
 
Can someone explain how this is powered? Is it an external source or connected to a 5v molex inside the case like TT's Aquarius III or the Corsair 200EX?

Did you look at the picture of the pump?
 
Back
Top