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IronChefMorimoto
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2002
- Messages
- 273
Just an FYI -- a friend of mine and I learned of a Zalman Reserator recall (http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/support/rma/recall.asp) last night while installing his new Reserator into an Antec Aria case.
First, though -- our experience with the unit. PLEASE NOTE -- WE ARE TOTAL WATER COOLING NEWBS -- THIS WAS OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT A WATER COOLING SETUP!
The Reserator was a pretty sweet setup. The Reserator is TALL -- and HEAVY! That's without water, though. Add 2+ liters of water, and it gets even heavier. I would NOT want to lug it around to LAN parties. Would be nice, though, to have a shoulder bag to pack it in in the event that the unit needed to be moved.
Installation of the water block and tubing literally only took about 30 minutes, and that's because I couldn't help with twisting the fittings tight. I had burned my hand cooking (not on a processor) a few nights before.
We weren't sure if this was right, but we found that the Zalman water block SPINS on top of the processor -- I guess for orienting the IN/OUT fittings on the top. We turned the IN/OUT fittings about a 1/4 turn clockwise to get the tubes around the overhanging power supply in this tiny little Aria case. My friend cut the tubes for INSIDE the case a little long, but we still had plenty of tubing for OUTSIDE the case.
Now, this is where we LEARNED ABOUT THE RECALL.
We got everything installed and fired up ONLY the Reserator (not the computer) to test for leaks. Sure enough, there was a leak -- at the plexiglass flow meter that attaches between the Reserator and the computer. The flow meter was leaking at one end, despite repeated attempts to tight the fittings that we'd installed.
My friend looked later on the Zalman website (http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/support/rma/recall.asp) and discovered that the leak is, in fact, Zalman's fault. They're sending new flow meters to Reserator owners to solve the leak problems. It appears that the new flow meters will be metallic construction rather than the all plastic setup that we were using in our Reserator.
In summary, I think this is a really nice, albeit pricey way to get started in water cooling. My friend works for a computer store and was able to acquire the unit for under $200, but most online vendors are selling the unit for nearly $300. If I wasn't switching my Chieftec tower over to two (2) Shuttle XPCs, I'd consider the Reserator for quiet cooling.
IronChefMorimoto
First, though -- our experience with the unit. PLEASE NOTE -- WE ARE TOTAL WATER COOLING NEWBS -- THIS WAS OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT A WATER COOLING SETUP!
The Reserator was a pretty sweet setup. The Reserator is TALL -- and HEAVY! That's without water, though. Add 2+ liters of water, and it gets even heavier. I would NOT want to lug it around to LAN parties. Would be nice, though, to have a shoulder bag to pack it in in the event that the unit needed to be moved.
Installation of the water block and tubing literally only took about 30 minutes, and that's because I couldn't help with twisting the fittings tight. I had burned my hand cooking (not on a processor) a few nights before.
We weren't sure if this was right, but we found that the Zalman water block SPINS on top of the processor -- I guess for orienting the IN/OUT fittings on the top. We turned the IN/OUT fittings about a 1/4 turn clockwise to get the tubes around the overhanging power supply in this tiny little Aria case. My friend cut the tubes for INSIDE the case a little long, but we still had plenty of tubing for OUTSIDE the case.
Now, this is where we LEARNED ABOUT THE RECALL.
We got everything installed and fired up ONLY the Reserator (not the computer) to test for leaks. Sure enough, there was a leak -- at the plexiglass flow meter that attaches between the Reserator and the computer. The flow meter was leaking at one end, despite repeated attempts to tight the fittings that we'd installed.
My friend looked later on the Zalman website (http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/support/rma/recall.asp) and discovered that the leak is, in fact, Zalman's fault. They're sending new flow meters to Reserator owners to solve the leak problems. It appears that the new flow meters will be metallic construction rather than the all plastic setup that we were using in our Reserator.
In summary, I think this is a really nice, albeit pricey way to get started in water cooling. My friend works for a computer store and was able to acquire the unit for under $200, but most online vendors are selling the unit for nearly $300. If I wasn't switching my Chieftec tower over to two (2) Shuttle XPCs, I'd consider the Reserator for quiet cooling.
IronChefMorimoto