My Zalman Reserator log...

Yeah, I found the review of it and see it's externally powered.

So is the Zalman recommended? I'm looking to replace my SLK900 and array of fans for a more quiter yet reasonable performing solution.

Running an Abit NF7-S v2 with XP2100 @ 2.3GHz (1.8v) currently, would the Zalman handle this and keep temps down to about 40-50c?
 
Originally posted by Oakey
Yeah, I found the review of it and see it's externally powered.

So is the Zalman recommended? I'm looking to replace my SLK900 and array of fans for a more quiter yet reasonable performing solution.

Running an Abit NF7-S v2 with XP2100 @ 2.3GHz (1.8v) currently, would the Zalman handle this and keep temps down to about 40-50c?
For just a CPU I'd say it's fine, but if you want to cool other things you'll probably need a better pump and/or top water return.
 
Yeah, will only be for CPU cooling, the Gfx card is fine and HDD's are covered by some Papst fans. The only thing that concerns me is the copper / aluminium waterblock, is that going to cause problems down the line?

Failing that, what's the general opinion on this:

http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/aquarius/a1681.htm

From what reviews I found it seems to perform similar to the Zalman (and it's cheaper). I was also thinking it could be modded a little should it not be that good?

I don't really want to go into a serious WC setup, I'm just looking for simple solution that'll keep the temps at or under those of the SLK900 but without the noise of the high rpm fans.
 
Originally posted by Oakey
Yeah, I found the review of it and see it's externally powered.

So is the Zalman recommended? I'm looking to replace my SLK900 and array of fans for a more quiter yet reasonable performing solution.

Running an Abit NF7-S v2 with XP2100 @ 2.3GHz (1.8v) currently, would the Zalman handle this and keep temps down to about 40-50c?

The highest temps I have seen so far is 116F. This is on my P4 3Ghz @ 3.75 with 1.625-1.675. Last night I rerouted my tubing and added a chipset block. After running Prime95 for a little over an hour so far this morning my temps are 96F. These readings are coming off of an Asus P4P800-DLX that is known to give low readings. Even if they are 10 degrees off the temps are still low.

I would say the Zalman will do what you need.
 
Do you have any plans to add the Gfx block to yours? (If that's possible)

I'm tempted, it's just it's a little expensive (£180) for what it is. Also, what about that waterblock, are you worried about corrosion?
 
Originally posted by Oakey
Do you have any plans to add the Gfx block to yours? (If that's possible)

I'm tempted, it's just it's a little expensive (£180) for what it is. Also, what about that waterblock, are you worried about corrosion?

Yes Zalman has a kit for the Gfx block. It actually comes with two blocks, a large one and small one. I am hoping the one that does not fit on my vid card will fit on the northbridge chip.

Haven't thought about corrosion much but the block is made of materials to fight prevent corrosion

Since my last post I moved the reserator so it is right in front of the heat vent in the room. Since then the temps have went up to 111F and holding while running Prime95. There was/is hot air blowing on the reserator and it still has plenty of cooling power left.
 
One other thing, you said there's no PCI bracket, did you have to drill holes in one of your blanking plates as the reviewer at nordichardware did?

Oh, oh, I know what I wanted to ask, do you leave the pump running 24/7 or do you turn it off after shutting down your PC and turn it on before booting up? (seems a bit of a pain in the ass).

And did you add some hose to the inside to take the hot water to the top?
 
I hope Zalman will offer a reserator without the pump, hose or block. I'd definitely jump on a cylinder-only setup so I could use my own pump and parts!

What's the dimensions on the hose it uses? 3/8" ID?

BTW I think that's great that Zalman includes a stop plug so you can remove their pump and use your own, nice touch!
 
Grr, just noticed that the price I saw excluded VAT, it's going to cost about £210 ($380) over here in the UK :mad:
 
Yes I drilled out some holes on a PCI bracket as nordic did. If I decide to just watercool the CPU then I will be drilling holes on the back panel of the MB tray.

I believe it is 3/8 ID and all fittings can be replaced if you would like to use something bigger.

They even provide directions on how to uninstall the pump, put the blocker on and install an inline pump.

I have left the pump on 24/7 so far and this weekend I am going to make a switch so it comes on with the PC or make it so that the PC won't turn on if the pump is not running.

I would like to find some sort of cooling rods that I can place in there to chill the water. I am planning on moving the inlet tube to flow to the top to see if it will make a difference.

The clamps they provide are a nice touch too. It makes draining the system and moving everything a lot easier. My one gripe so far is the no pci bracket for the tubing but I can see why they left it out. There are so many different ways you can route the tubing.
 
I'm going to write Zalman an email about the possibility of getting just the Reserator without any accessories.

Something I think they should do is do something with the inside so there is more surface area for the water to dump heat into the fins, but that might be hard for them to machine out, and they'd have to start with an even larger block of aluminum.

Edit: Also notice that they call this "Reserator 1", perhaps other models will be on the wa? :D
 
Would a heatpipe have made any difference? Say attatched to where the water comes back into the reserator, then spiralling upwards and coming to an end towards the top and the water is pumped back out into the cylinder? (if you get the idea)
 
That would make for a lot more surface area, as long as it transferred heat to the outer casing well.

I guess you could get a thin-walled copper pipe and make something like that, but if you are going to go to all that trouble you would probably just make one completely from scratch.
 
I did the tube to the top and it made no difference in performance...temps remained the same when running Prime95
 
Originally posted by Oakey
Would a heatpipe have made any difference? Say attatched to where the water comes back into the reserator, then spiralling upwards and coming to an end towards the top and the water is pumped back out into the cylinder? (if you get the idea)

You don't want lots of surface area on a heatpipe so coiling it would be pointless and probably harmful. The point is just to transfer the heat to somewhere else, ie a heatsink/fin assembly.
 
The reserator does not need any help conducting the heat away from the water. There is already plenty of surface area. From what I have seen so far with this is that the only improvement would be some sort of device to chill the water.
 
Originally posted by Motaboy
I did the tube to the top and it made no difference in performance...temps remained the same when running Prime95
That's odd, but nice. That means the incoming water must not really be that much warmer than the water in the reserater, or possibly the flow rate is quite a bit higher than I'm imagining.
 
At this time, we only offer the Reserator with the pump, CPU Block and it’s accessories. We have no plans to sell the Reserator without the pump. Sorry for any
inconvenience.


Support
Zalman USA, Inc.

:(
 
Originally posted by thewhiteguy
That's odd, but nice. That means the incoming water must not really be that much warmer than the water in the reserater, or possibly the flow rate is quite a bit higher than I'm imagining.

I also turned off all my fans, covered all the holes, ran prime95 for an hour or so and temps still remained in the 114-118F range. Those are the readings from my motherboard so who knows how accurate they are but it showed no changes. The case temp went up a bit but CPU remained the same.
 
At this time, we only offer the Reserator with the pump, CPU Block and it’s accessories. We have no plans to sell the Reserator without the pump.

Damnit....there goes my ideas...well I could just ebay the pump and waterblock...

Would be nice having something that quiet in the bedroom...actually it would be nice having two. One for the cpu, and another for placing my hard drives into noise jackets, my video card, and my northbridge. then I can get real creative with my PSU design and make it hella quiet. :D
 
I'd love to have this setup:

Zalman Reserator
Swiftech Water Pump
Swiftech CPU, Northbridge and GPU Blocks
:cool:
 
I have been running the system basically 24 hours a day since I received the Zalman and am very pleased with the results. CPU is P4 3Ghz @ 3.75 on 1.675 voltage and the temps have ranged from 114-118 while running Prime95 and updating, adding programs, and extras to a fresh XP install. During idle and low usage times the temps have dropped to 89 but we all know how Asus boards read temps... The room temp has varied from 68 to 77. I broke down the system to sleeve all the wires in the case and power supply. Plus I should be getting the Zalman VGA waterblock and the Swiftech MCW-20 chipset block to throw into the loop tomorrow. Being that it is a passive cooler I am not sure how it will handle the extra heat so I thought of my next steps. If I need to do any mods to it I have a plan to use a refrigeration rod. One type of rod is nothing more than a petlier attached to a heatsink that can be easily modified to fit the top of the Zalman. The heat would escape from a modified top for the reserator. I can also use a much smaller setup like what is found in a fridge doing the same amount of modifications to the top. I'll see when all the blocks are in place and as the weather gets warmer. One thing I would like to try right away is to put another pump inside. Should it be in-line with the other pump or should one pump be on the water out side and water in side?
Anyway here are some pics...

board1.jpg


cooler1.jpg


case1.jpg


caseback.jpg


casesleeve.jpg


Crack on the beige drives...they will be silver tomorrow to go with my fish :eek:
 
I was suprised when I looked in one and didn't see any fins there to increase contact either. I had also hoped to see a channel that pours the hot water out at the top, rather than the bottom.

Oh well, the reserator idea has taken off and I convinced someone in another thread to design their own, only instead I came up with the idea of just pushing pins through holes (and welding the seals) so the pins extend from inside the cylinder to the outside to provide surface area for air and water water contact. Dunno if he's gonna do it but I'm curious how it works out. Be one spikey cylinder!
 
Hmm If you have access to the base, and there are no obstructions throughout the middle of the Reserator's tower.. Why not hook a tube up from the bottom to the top (May need an additional pump) so that the water is sent to the top of the tower?


An idea...
 
Originally posted by Sengir
Hmm If you have access to the base, and there are no obstructions throughout the middle of the Reserator's tower.. Why not hook a tube up from the bottom to the top (May need an additional pump) so that the water is sent to the top of the tower?


An idea...

Read the thread, I made that suggestion a few pages back and he says it didn't affect the temperatures. I don't get it, maybe it would help more if he put more cooling blocks in the loop.
 
anybody know how well this zalman watercooler setup is compared to a koolance exos? i run about 120F load at 1.9V on a barton 2600xp. idle is about 100F
 
Originally posted by Motaboy
The reserator does not need any help conducting the heat away from the water. There is already plenty of surface area. From what I have seen so far with this is that the only improvement would be some sort of device to chill the water.

I've never even tried watercooling, but I think the design of that reservoir would counteract any water temperatures below roomtemp. I mean it's a heatsink right? It's going to try and bring whatever is inside the tube to the temperature of the air outside.. good for warm water coming in from the processor, but bad for anything already cold. Am I wrong?
 
Originally posted by dobbz
I've never even tried watercooling, but I think the design of that reservoir would counteract any water temperatures below roomtemp. I mean it's a heatsink right? It's going to try and bring whatever is inside the tube to the temperature of the air outside.. good for warm water coming in from the processor, but bad for anything already cold. Am I wrong?

That's exactly right... but if you had sub-ambient water temps, you wouldn't be using a radiator either. The Reserator's purpose is to eliminate the need for a radiator.
 
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