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Thread: Zalman Reserator 1 Review

  1. #1
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    Zalman Reserator 1 Review

    Use this forum thread to discuss SysOpt's Review of the Zalman Reserator 1.
    SysOpt's Illustrious Editor

  2. #2
    Ultimate Member Cyan's Avatar
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    I got one of those and I'd like to add a few complaints.

    My Flow meter leaked massively on both ends (I'm sure I put it together correctly)

    The Screw closing thingys (to hold the hose on the nipple) are difficult to work with, I greatly prefer clamps (you can still use them on the system, you just need to buy clamps separately)

    The CPU block could use some work, for one thing it could be tighter on the Processor - you can bend the pin (where it's already bent) to get a tighter fit, but don’t overdo it.

    The pump is very quiet and you won't hear it over your computer in the least, but if the computers off (pump works separately on/off switch) you can hear the pump primarily from the vibration that it transmits onto a hard surface you've got it set on. - Solution, put something soft and absorbing under it.

    There's a little hole on the top of the tower (to equalize pressure/allow for heat expansion etc...) This isn't initially expected, so if you turn the tower onto it's side (when full obviously) it'll drip - It's not a big hole, just put your finger on it to stop it, or gum.

    As for the GPU blocks, they are also not very stable on the core (stupid leaver adjusty screw thingy's for 'compatibility')

    Praises ---------

    48-52 C max at super duper minimal sound (AMD 2100+ stock w/ GeForce 4 Ti 4600 in cooling circuit)
    GPU and CPU blocks still do job well, even considering shortcomings.
    Tubes stay secure once screwed in

    This (and maybe a few other 120mm fans) will have your computer running so quiet that when you don't have music playing or a game going etc... the hard drives will drive you nuts.

    Suggestions for quieter computer

    120mm fans all around. Panaflow or Vantec Stealth 120mm fans work great (Vantec Stealth is super quiet and is what I use in my system, they push very good amounts of air, my hard drives never go above 38C's with one by them.)
    PSU with 120mm fan, such as The new one by Antec NeoPower - I have this one and It's 2x quieter than my Antec True Power 380 (single 80mm fan)

    ----------------------
    Because of hard drives, you'll get annoyed - But you can't work without `em, so here's things you can do.

    http://www.silentpcreview.com/FAQ+in...id_cat-10.html

    I personally use the Suspension DIY solution - only on my Seagate.

    HD note: Seagate is praised for silent drives, I disagree due to the sacrifices. I have two Maxtors, 40GB and 80GB - and a 160 GB Seagate. The Seagate's seek sound is much quieter than the Maxtors (but the computer doesn't make a whole ton of "hard seeks" very often with 1 GB of ram anyway). But the idle sound from the Seagate is much more annoying, with a high whine (from time to time) as well as the usual low hum. The sacrifice I see here is that Seagate made the drive Vibrate a whole ton more than my Maxtors, for a quieter seek sound (the sound that'll come through on less quiet systems).

  3. #3
    Guest leprechaun_40's Avatar
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    I like the idea of passive radiation for the quietness, but from the article and the above statement, it'd be nice if you could buy just the water tower and pump and purchase better water blocks from another vendor.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    Zalman has made changes to this cooling system prior to our review. First, they moved from a plastic fitting indicator to a metalic fitting indicator, claiming the older one was prone leaks (like you described). And this unit has a rubber O-Ring in the base to prevent it from rattling on hard sufaces. The standing shot is from their website (with the old base), the other photo is with their new base (with embedded O-Ring.

    So it looks like Zalman may have already addressed the issues you had with your unit.

    As for your suggestions, all good. I've personally used the SilentDrive, it's been around since the 90's. I used it on an early Baracuda 7200 RPM SCSI drive, one of the noisiest, hottest drives I've owned, and it worked great. Made the thing nearly silent, got rid of all the high pitched noises. It's made to conduct heat to the drive rack, so it relies on the old style mounting method of screwing directly to the rack. That means your hot drive may overheat if your drive rack uses rails. It's still a good solution for old fashioned cases, and the other unit will work with newer cases.

    As for me, I don't have room for such drive enclosures...and am annoyed with the sound of my drives.

  5. #5
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    I didn't have any problems with the water blocks, and I think they fixed the leak problems after he bought his.

    I screwed the adjustment screws down tight before mounting the VGA cooler, then tightened the mounting screws as well, it's far more secure than the spring method used by the factory.

  6. #6
    Member Zephyr's Avatar
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    if im going to go water cooling, this is definentally the setup im getting

  7. #7
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    just wanted to mention i got one of these a few weeks ago, havent had any problems with it. its keeping an x800/a3400+ at around 30c idle.

    my one complaint is fitting the tubes on the gpu cooler
    really dang hard, if i had to do it again i'd probably put the tubes on first.

    oh and a quickie mod (had a bit of heat here for awhile/warm room) 120mm fan blowing down on it, might want to put something between fan and res1 to lower the vibrations. makes a nice difference in temps

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