Reserator 2 review [updated]

[rpsgc]

VR-ZONE does a pictorial of the new Reserator 2.
Here: http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=3846

EDIT: Review is out
http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=3851

EDIT 2: Another review
http://www.matbe.com/articles/lire/319/ ... serator-2/

[jamesavery22]

Does anyone know what the water path is through the radiator?

From the looks of it, the water goes into that big aluminum tube and no where else. What the heck is the center black part made of?

[Butcher]

Black part will be anodised aluminium. I'd guess the black section is a two-pass radiator, the water flows along the bottom , up the opposite side and returns along the top (or vice versa). That photo does make it look like it's just the tube, but the pump connections are unclear, and what would be the point of all that metal otherwise? ;p

[cienislaw]

looks nice, but much more important question is how it cools. previous revisions werent state of performance water coolers ('plus' edition was even worse than the firs one).

[zds]

looks nice, but much more important question is how it cools. previous revisions werent state of performance water coolers ('plus' edition was even worse than the firs one).

I think even more important question is whether its pump will stay quiet. The 1's had enough cooling power to keep all but some OC/monster rigs cool, but there has been issues with the pumps getting noisier over time.

[cienislaw]

good point. not every one want to play OC (especially if its still have to stay silent;-), so next zalman toy can be good for them. i want to see some tests of this hardware, with newest cpu's. i was thinking about water cooling system out-of-the-box, not home made, so if it will be enough for x2 4200 or e6400, possibly i will buy it.

[jamesavery22]

Black part will be anodised aluminium. I'd guess the black section is a two-pass radiator, the water flows along the bottom , up the opposite side and returns along the top (or vice versa). That photo does make it look like it's just the tube, but the pump connections are unclear, and what would be the point of all that metal otherwise? ;p

Thats what I thought, but staring at the pictures makes me think the aluminum tube is just like the reserator 1. And the black chunk in the middle is just attached to the side... Really hope they didnt do that...

[zds]

Thats what I thought, but staring at the pictures makes me think the aluminum tube is just like the reserator 1. And the black chunk in the middle is just attached to the side... Really hope they didnt do that...

Well, whatever the construction is, I am pretty sure Zalman has tested that it performs well. I cannot recall *any* bad cooling product from Zalman for past few years.. They all get the job done, and most of them with flying colors, so I am hugely surprised if the Reserator 2 construction is not well thought out.

[jamesavery22]

Thats what I thought, but staring at the pictures makes me think the aluminum tube is just like the reserator 1. And the black chunk in the middle is just attached to the side... Really hope they didnt do that...

Well, whatever the construction is, I am pretty sure Zalman has tested that it performs well. I cannot recall *any* bad cooling product from Zalman for past few years.. They all get the job done, and most of them with flying colors, so I am hugely surprised if the Reserator 2 construction is not well thought out.

Well "bad" is a relative term The reserator was awesome when compared to any normal air cooling setup. But when compared to any real watercooling rig the only area it didn't lack at was silence. As shown on these forums there are plenty of ways they could improve the design, raise the inlet to the top, better pump, etc.

If that black chunk in the center is actually part of the waterpath and it is just like a radiator, the path still wouldn't be right. The inlet and outlet are both at the bottom of the aluminum tube and there are no other holes in the tube other than the one for the AC to the pump. So if the black thing is a radiator it would be a double-pass rad like Butcher said and its inlets/outlets would have to be right at the bottom. That design would make the aluminum tube useless... Just an oversized resevoir. It really doesn't appear that way due to the orientation of the pump though.

Ideally you'd have the big black thing be a single pass radiator. The inlet at the bottom and the outlet at the top which pours into the aluminum tube and then exits the tube in the current outlet of the tube. Not really pouring out but you get the idea.

It just doesn't look like either. Looks like the aluminum tube is setup exactly like the reserator, same pump and bottom cap assembly and everything. That big black thing acts like a giant fin/heatsink attached to the side of a reserator


Regardless I want to pick one up on ebay after a few months and hack away

[zds]

Well "bad" is a relative term The reserator was awesome when compared to any normal air cooling setup. But when compared to any real watercooling rig the only area it didn't lack at was silence. As shown on these forums there are plenty of ways they could improve the design, raise the inlet to the top, better pump, etc.

Sure. But in terms of running even high-end machine (at the time of Reserator 1 release) quietly it does the in excellent way, and that's what it's supposed to do.

If you do not overclock, it does not matter if your CPU is 10, 20, or 30 degrees over ambient.. it works the same (unless you are in some *very* humid climate, naturally). So adding something would have just raise price for nothing.

But sure, if you want to cool overclocked machine, or one with Prescott or dual graphics, Reserator might not be enough to keep it cool. But it was not meant to be, and adding price to cater a really marginal segment (ones willing _both_ silence and maximum performance with any costs) is not so practical.

[Butcher]

An issue with the reserator is the pump is so small and crappy you can't realistically cool more than a CPU with it without just choking the flow right off. They haven't really improved that from what I can see and if that black chunk is just a massive heatsink bolted on the side it's a bit of a weak upgrade.

[Anvar]

Thought I'd pop in the link for the review, as the old link only points to the preview.

[rpsgc]

Thought I'd pop in the link for the review, as the old link only points to the preview. [/url]

Thanks.
Its performance seems quite good. Especially with the VGA. Too bad it isn't compatible with AM2... I'm sure they'll [Zalman] think of something.

[Slaugh]

Black part will be anodised aluminium. I'd guess the black section is a two-pass radiator, the water flows along the bottom , up the opposite side and returns along the top (or vice versa). That photo does make it look like it's just the tube, but the pump connections are unclear, and what would be the point of all that metal otherwise? ;p

I think Butcher is right when he says that the Reserator 2 is probably using a two-pass radiator. Its design looks similar to the XIce EC 600, which is reviewed on teschke.de (Translated)

If you look at the Reserator 2, you can clearly see that the tubes are connected at the back of the unit, and the flow indicator is located on the front, so the water has to circulate through the black section...

Here are some pictures of the XIce (exterior/interior):



And here's how it works:

[cienislaw]

results looks nice - i thought that cpu and gpu block looks not to massive for such kind od job, but they perform well. now what we need is price (it was about $300 for first one), and more reviews;-)

[zds]

An issue with the reserator is the pump is so small and crappy you can't realistically cool more than a CPU with it without just choking the flow right off.

I consider myself unrealistic then. I have cooled Athlon 64 3500+ and Radeon X800 XT with Resetator 1 for year and a half without any problems. Temps hover some 15-20 degrees over ambient under load, 8-10 when idle, for both CPU and GPU.

The Reserator tower is at the same level as the chassis, as Zalman suggests and behind the chassis so it might get some stray airflow from the Nexus NX-4090 PSU, but not much. I am using the very original blocks, it the GPU block is just a straight tube. I guess the key there is to minimize the work the pump has to do, thus the unrestrictive GPU block and minimal height difference make it run so well.

[jamesavery22]

An issue with the reserator is the pump is so small and crappy you can't realistically cool more than a CPU with it without just choking the flow right off. They haven't really improved that from what I can see and if that black chunk is just a massive heatsink bolted on the side it's a bit of a weak upgrade.

It really looks that way...

[Denorios]

But fortunately, it isn't. I downloaded the instruction manual for the Reserator 2, and on page 16 there is an exploded view. The water is ducted from the input to the opposite end of the unit, then up to the top, then looped back multiple times through the radiator, before ending up in the reservoir. I'd post a picture, but it's in PDF format.

[peteamer]

[rpsgc]

Another one, by Matbe (in french). This time it's really a review
http://www.matbe.com/articles/lire/319/ ... serator-2/

[jamesavery22]

Very nice. Thanks for the exploded view pic attachment. Crappy vr-zone. Shouldn't be surprised though, remember when they stole that dudes computer?

Anyways, does anyone understand the flow through the reservoir base? I'm still left with the same flow question. It looks like the base has 5 holes, external input and output, 2 holes on the top one for the pump and one open as show in the VR-Zone pic, and then one on the side for that L shapped tube to go to the flow indicator.

[rpsgc]

Anyways, does anyone understand the flow through the reservoir base? I'm still left with the same flow question. It looks like the base has 5 holes, external input and output, 2 holes on the top one for the pump and one open as show in the VR-Zone pic, and then one on the side for that L shapped tube to go to the flow indicator.

Well, if you speak french...

"Le Reserator 2 a donc un principe de fonctionnement différent. Il dispose toujours d’une partie «réservoir» à la façon du Reserator 1 mais nettement plus petite. C’est dans cette partie qu’est placée la pompe qui est dès lors toujours immergée. A l’avant du réservoir, on trouve un radiateur au sein duquel va circuler l’eau. Ce radiateur est composé de 5 parties possédant chacune 2x5 ailettes de grandes dimensions. L’eau circule donc au centre du radiateur, les ailettes se chargeant de dissiper la chaleur avant un retour de l’eau au niveau du réservoir et de la pompe."

And a pic.
http://www.matbe.com/images/biblio/art_ ... 042972.jpg

[Rusty075]

The Res2 looks like what would happen if you locked a Res1 and a innovatek Konvekt-O-Matic in a closet together and then came back 9 months later. Not that that's a bad thing though, the combination of the Res1's slow-reacting thermal mass and a conventional rad's improved convection should make improve performance.

A little birdy has whispered in my ear that a SPCR review is in the works. Stay tuned.


As for the "Res1 couldn't cool a fast CPU and a VGA" argument: My reserator happily cooled a ~175watt system for many months - 100+ watt CPU, plus a OC'd VGA card, and the motherboard's NB.

[rpsgc]

A little birdy has whispered in my ear that a SPCR review is in the works. Stay tuned.

Woo hoo!

[jamesavery22]

Anyways, does anyone understand the flow through the reservoir base? I'm still left with the same flow question. It looks like the base has 5 holes, external input and output, 2 holes on the top one for the pump and one open as show in the VR-Zone pic, and then one on the side for that L shapped tube to go to the flow indicator.

Well, if you speak french...

"Le Reserator 2 a donc un principe de fonctionnement différent. Il dispose toujours d’une partie «réservoir» à la façon du Reserator 1 mais nettement plus petite. C’est dans cette partie qu’est placée la pompe qui est dès lors toujours immergée. A l’avant du réservoir, on trouve un radiateur au sein duquel va circuler l’eau. Ce radiateur est composé de 5 parties possédant chacune 2x5 ailettes de grandes dimensions. L’eau circule donc au centre du radiateur, les ailettes se chargeant de dissiper la chaleur avant un retour de l’eau au niveau du réservoir et de la pompe."

And a pic.
http://www.matbe.com/images/biblio/art_ ... 042972.jpg

Uh thanks? Sorry I dont know French nor can I get to any translator pages right now.

[rpsgc]

Uh thanks? Sorry I dont know French nor can I get to any translator pages right now.

Piss-poor Altavista translation

"Reserator 2 thus has a principle of different operation. It always has a tank part with the way of Reserator 1 but definitely smaller. It is in this part that the pump is placed which consequently is always immersed. With before tank, one finds a radiator in which water will circulate. This radiator is composed of 5 parts having each one 2x5 large-sized wings. Water thus circulates in the center of the radiator, the wings being given the responsability to dissipate heat before a return of water to the level of the tank and pump."

[dean.collins]

what do people think about the new hoses?

are there any advantages in ditching my current hoses and blocks for these new ones?

Dean

[jamesavery22]

New blocks would definitely help. Zalman's blocks are just ok.

Tubing? If the ID of the tubing is less than the ID of all the internal tubing/routing/fittings. I don't think it is though so probably not.

Biggest improvement I could think of is replacing the pump and blocks. Pump replacement should be just like the Reserator 1 pump replacement.


I'm itching to get one of these just to mod the heck out of it

[curme]

So will I be able to do some extreme gaming with this? Will it keep me cool when I play the upcoming 'Crysis'? Or is this more for HTPCs and such?

[Rusty075]

So will I be able to do some extreme gaming with this? Will it keep me cool when I play the upcoming 'Crysis'? Or is this more for HTPCs and such?

VR-zones' review showed it as being significantly better than the stock cooling systems on the E6600 and a X1900. Since you can obviously game on the stock cooling, I would say that, yes, you will be able to game on this too.


(You could game on the reserator 1 too, for that matter)