looking at buying a zalman reserator water cooler

[kelticknight]

hi guys
looking at buying a zalman water cooler,my system is amd 64fx53 2.4 clawhammer cpu with xp90c heatsink and 92mm fan whick is low running on abit av8 3eye,when idle cpu runs at 28c when gaming hevy,it runs at 60c,but also my psu rises to 61c at same time,the cpu is tt 560,so ordered a tt 680 watt ,when l opened door and put hand inside ,felt warm in pc,warmer than l expected.have 2x 80mm fans in front,,2 x 80 mm fans in rear,, 1 x 80mm fan on door facing g-card,, and 1 x 120mm fan on roof of pc,,should help.my question is will the zalman plus water cooler cool same or better than xp90c as its outside the case

[alex7575]

I casted the first 'No' vote, it was supposed to be a 'Yes'. Sorry

[nutball]

The Res is like the girl with the curl. When she was good, she was very, very good, and when she was bad she was horrid.

The plus point of the Res is that it's a great way to get heat out of the case without using fans; you can elminate the HSF and video card fans, plus the case fans you'd need to remove the heat that they would otherwise only be moving around the case. It's pretty quiet, though you do need to decouple it from any hard surfaces.

The bad points ... it's large, water is a PITA, and if you search here you'll see that lots of folks (myself included) have had problems with the pumps going bad. I *think* the consensus is that pump problems are related to using distilled water without any additives. So if you get one, use additives.

Cooling performance... well it ain't stellar, I've had a AXP3200+ and a GFFX5900U on mine without any cooling issues (the PSU fan @ 5V was the only fan in the system), but some people are obsessed with temperatures and others aren't. It depends on what you're expecting I guess.

I didn't vote yes or no, because I'm "meh" about my Res 'cos of all the pump problems I've had.

[kelticknight]

The Res is like the girl with the curl. When she was good, she was very, very good, and when she was bad she was horrid.

The plus point of the Res is that it's a great way to get heat out of the case without using fans; you can elminate the HSF and video card fans, plus the case fans you'd need to remove the heat that they would otherwise only be moving around the case. It's pretty quiet, though you do need to decouple it from any hard surfaces.

The bad points ... it's large, water is a PITA, and if you search here you'll see that lots of folks (myself included) have had problems with the pumps going bad. I *think* the consensus is that pump problems are related to using distilled water without any additives. So if you get one, use
additives.

Cooling performance... well it ain't stellar, I've had a AXP3200+ and a GFFX5900U on mine without any cooling issues (the PSU fan @ 5V was the only fan in the system), but some people are obsessed with temperatures and others aren't. It depends on what you're expecting I guess.

I didn't vote yes or no, because I'm "meh" about my Res 'cos of all the pump problems I've had.

cheers nutball,have read every review,saying regular cooling,as long as the temps dont get worse than l have now ,l be happy,did a bios update on abit,and temps are little better,3-4c less,which is good,l know the abit guru clock reads temps high.as far as you seem to say,its good cooler and quiet,where do you get the additives and what are they

[nutball]

If you're looking at buying the Res 1+, the new (black) version I think that Zalman supply some anti-corrosion additive with it.

[kelticknight]

If you're looking at buying the Res 1+, the new (black) version I think that Zalman supply some anti-corrosion additive with it.

nutball
even with pump problems
are you happy with its cooling and are you happy its quietness
would you recommend it

[nutball]

Basically yes, I'm happy with it when it's operating as it should do.

Cooling is fine for my needs. I have the CPU + GPU in the loop, so when I'm gaming the CPU might hit the mid-50's, the FX5900 stayed in the 70-80 range (which is fine for a GPU). Being passive I get the feeling that it's a bit more sensitive to ambient temperatures than active (eg. the CPU was hitting mid-60's during the "heatwave" here during July) but I might be wrong. These temps are fine as far as I'm concerned.

For quietness, well it's not silent, but it is extremely quiet, and where I have it placed I can't hear it from where I sit at the PC.

The combination of cooling + quietness is certainly much, much better than I ever achieved with low-speed case fans and semi-passive cooling on the GPU. The pump problems ... I'm just a nit-wit for not using additives from the get-go I think (or at least after the third replacement pump!).

Certainly if you've got 7 fans in your system it'll allow you to rip most of those out and that's where you'll really notice the difference in noise!

[kelticknight]

nutball
one last question
lm looking at the black version which comes with additives,will l need to get some other additives with it or it it ok by its self with additives it supplyed with it and did your pump goe because of not having additives or what and what pump did you put back in as replacement

[nutball]

The additives that come with the black version will probably be fine. I'm pretty sure the pumps went because I was running without additives ... that certainly seems to be the consensus of opinion amongst people here (distilled water is too "dry", and the additive, which is glycol-based acts as a lubricant).

Replacement pumps, I've tried the Eheim Compact 300 twice (which is what the Res comes installed with), an Eheim Compact 600 (the bigger brother or the 300, which is too noisy) and a Sicce Micra. I've since gone external with an Eheim 1048 mounted inside my case, and this is where I currently stand.

[kelticknight]

The additives that come with the black version will probably be fine. I'm pretty sure the pumps went because I was running without additives ... that certainly seems to be the consensus of opinion amongst people here (distilled water is too "dry", and the additive, which is glycol-based acts as a lubricant).

Replacement pumps, I've tried the Eheim Compact 300 twice (which is what the Res comes installed with), an Eheim Compact 600 (the bigger brother or the 300, which is too noisy) and a Sicce Micra. I've since gone external with an Eheim 1048 mounted inside my case, and this is where I currently stand.

have you heard about the eheim 1000,would it fit in reserator,what about hydor l20 which is in which is used in waterchill kits

[nutball]

I think that the 1000 is the bigger brother of the 600. The 600 is already a very tight squeeze inside the Res, so I doubt the 1000 would fit, you'd be better off converting the Res to use an external pump (1046/1048 are favourites here I think). The 600 was definitely audible inside the Res, I can't see the 1000 being quieter.

As to the Hydor, haven't really looked at that, I did a quick search here and opinion on it seems very mixed at best.

[kelticknight]

I think that the 1000 is the bigger brother of the 600. The 600 is already a very tight squeeze inside the Res, so I doubt the 1000 would fit, you'd be better off converting the Res to use an external pump (1046/1048 are favourites here I think). The 600 was definitely audible inside the Res, I can't see the 1000 being quieter.

As to the Hydor, haven't really looked at that, I did a quick search here and opinion on it seems very mixed at best.

cheers nutball,was 50/50 on getting the reserator,you help me decide about it

[eander315]

I ran one of those for about 9 months, and was impressed with the very quiet operation. It kept my overclocked Athlon 64 and GF6800 well within normal temps, and I never had a problem with the pump. I used a fair amount of Redline Water Wetter to prevent corrosion and lube the pump, which probably saved it given the number pump failures among Reserator users.

While it wasn't technically silent, I couldn't hear mine unless I put my head within a foot of the Reserator. It was sitting directly on a hardwood floor, and never made any additional noise.

[Happy Hopping]

Replacement pumps, I've tried the Eheim Compact 300 twice (which is what the Res comes installed with), an Eheim Compact 600 (the bigger brother or the 300, which is too noisy) and a Sicce Micra. I've since gone external with an Eheim 1048 mounted inside my case, and this is where I currently stand.

nutball, someone said w/ a more powerful pump like 1048, it wouldn't make a difference because the fin can't dissipate heat fast enough.

What's your take on that?

[nutball]

I dunno whether the extra pumping capacity of the 1048 makes any difference to temperatures to be honest (I haven't noticed any difference, but then I haven't paid very close attention to my temps).

I went with the 1048 more for reasons that it's an inline pump, it's pretty well regarded here on the quietness and reliability front, and it would work OOTB (unlike messing about with the 300 + inline adapter). The extra flow was pretty much in last place on my list of reasons.

[kelticknight]

the reserator arrived tday,will put together next week and let you know,lm going to check tape at outlets to see if it right,if not will replace the tape,will use the pump that comes with it for now,when it goes,either get better pump to put inside or external one

[widman]

the reserator arrived tday,will put together next week and let you know,lm going to check tape at outlets to see if it right,if not will replace the tape,will use the pump that comes with it for now,when it goes,either get better pump to put inside or external one

interested the answer as well, I have similiar setup
AMD 4000+ Clawhammer
ATI X800XL

Is it possible in one loop?

[kelticknight]

will install next week when l have more time,will cool cpu and vga only and let you know how l get on with it and temps

[Happy Hopping]

I dunno whether the extra pumping capacity of the 1048 makes any difference to temperatures to be honest (I haven't noticed any difference, but then I haven't paid very close attention to my temps).

I went with the 1048 more for reasons that it's an inline pump, it's pretty well regarded here on the quietness and reliability front, and it would work OOTB (unlike messing about with the 300 + inline adapter). The extra flow was pretty much in last place on my list of reasons.

alright, bottom line, is the Zalman w/ eheim 1048 enough to water cool the following:

1 x Intel CPU P4-2.8GHz (Not over-clock, regular speed)

2 x FX4400 video card, i.e., 2 water blocks, one on each card (not over clock)

2 - 3 hard drive coolers

If not, I can kill one or more hard drive coolers. Let me know what you think.

[kelticknight]

what about the internal eheim 600 pump

[~El~Jefe~]

the stock pump can cool a LOT of stuff.

I have no idea what my 9800 allinwonder pro has for temps during games. I basically have the opinion that if it lives for a few months and doesnt fry, it's ok. CPU wise i monitor it daily under different loads. It never breaks 51 degrees under intense BF2 hours of playing, and normally is in 40's for most gaming. THat is well within specs for the thing, and theres something else you should keep in mind:

the additive you use: if it is stock zalman stuff I would use slightly less of it, like only 2/3's of the container. every bit of distilled from grocery store water you use vs additive makes it much more efficient at removing heat. I use water wetter and probably will never see such high temps on my devices because of that. it is only 5% at max in volume to the pure distilled water.

2nd thing: water is not like air. air, if you heat it up and a fan is blowing doesnt have much capacity for heat, it kinda goes nuts and just creates a huge hot ball of stagnant flinging about the case air that ramps up everything. A water setup like RES1 or the plus might idle at a strangely high number than expected, but under load will not ramp up temperature wise as easily. theres less swing in the temps I notice. plus, it isolates the parts from building up heat in the case. Water always trumps air. People think that the reserator is wimpy, not so, very strong and has been able to handle amd cpu plus sli in well below dangerous levels in gaming rigs.

I think the only issue Zalman faces is the vga cooler. the new one has more turbulence which hopefully picks up more heat before moving on. i have the old one which is 0 restriction based, it really isnt the best option for a gpu, which they have now changed. but like... i still think they need a better one even than that.

not many all aluminum ones out there that I have seen though.

[nutball]

alright, bottom line, is the Zalman w/ eheim 1048 enough to water cool the following:

1 x Intel CPU P4-2.8GHz (Not over-clock, regular speed)

2 x FX4400 video card, i.e., 2 water blocks, one on each card (not over clock)

2 - 3 hard drive coolers

If not, I can kill one or more hard drive coolers. Let me know what you think.

I doubt that that would cause any problems for the Res. I know others here have questioned whether watercooled hard drives are a good idea... a quick search will bring out the posts.

The basic theory being... CPUs and GPUs generate a lot of heat and can tolerate a lot of heat, hard drives don't and can't. What is cool for a CPU/GPU is on the hot side for a hard drive. If you put CPU+GPU(s)+hard drives in the same loop, you risk using hot water to cool your cool hard-drives. I'm not sure I subscribe to this idea 100%, but it's worth giving some thought.

[nutball]

what about the internal eheim 600 pump

It's too noisy to be used internally in the Res, it's readily audible.

[kelticknight]

what about the internal eheim 600 pump

It's too noisy to be used internally in the Res, it's readily audible.

nutball
what pump would replace the eheim 300 and not be as audible

[Happy Hopping]

. If you put CPU+GPU(s)+hard drives in the same loop, you risk using hot water to cool your cool hard-drives. I'm not sure I subscribe to this idea 100%, but it's worth giving some thought.

hey thanks. I never thought about that. I'll do more research on it.