Experience w/ Zalman Reserator & Antec Aria: The Pics (56kbps BEWARE!)

IronChefMorimoto

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 14, 2002
Messages
273
I posted a thread about 2 weeks ago regarding a Zalman Reserator part recall that I learned about when my friend and I put together an Antec Aria SFF case with a Zalman Reserator.

For reference, here's the previous link:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=778217

Now I have pictures. I stopped by my friend's apartment this evening for a computer pr0n shoot that, oddly enough, didn't involve a towel. ;)

FIRST - SPECS

My friend is running an Antec Aria SFF case (stock) with the following:

- Intel 3.2GHz P4 (Prescott) CPU
- 2GB Crucial BallistiX PC3200 DDR memory
- 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card
- 250GB Maxtor DiamondMax 9 SATA hard drive
- LG 12X DVD burner (multi-format, dual layer)
- Asus P4P800-VM motherboard

SECOND - THE ZALMAN RESERATOR

Introducing the Zalman Reserator, with a Miller High Life for perspective:

reserator_millertime.jpg


The top of the Reserator:

reserator_top.jpg


This is the part that is being recalled -- the flow meter:

reserator_flow_meter.jpg


THIRD - THE ANTEC ARIA + THE RESERATOR

The Antec Aria, stock, w/ no power:

aria_front_unlit.jpg


With power on and the LEDs lit (very tastefully, I might add):

aria_front_lit.jpg


This is how the Reserator setup works through the PCI slot on the back of the Antec Aria -- pretty flexible setup, although most likely prone to dust collection from the open slot:

reserator_pci.jpg


This is how the flow tubes come in from the PCI slot past the Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB:

aria_profile.jpg


This is the waterblock that comes standard with the Reserator kit:

reserator_waterblock.jpg


Another angle on the waterblock -- note the clearance in both of these pictures with the Aria's PSU -- very tight with a heatsink and stock fan:

reserator_waterblock_side.jpg


My friend also added the new Crucial performance line of memory -- BallistiX:

aria_crucial_memory.jpg


All four sticks of it for a total of 2GB of PC3200 DDR goodness:

aria_crucial_gig.jpg


This is the FULL setup -- Dell 23" LCD TV/monitor, Antec Aria (as equipped above), Zalman Reserator, and Logitech diNovo Media Desktop BlueTooth keyboard and mouse combination:

aria_full.jpg


All this to bring down IDLE temps from 55 degrees C to LOAD temps of 41 degrees C.

IronChefMorimoto
 
The problem should be fixed. I was using a URL shortener for the image links. Enjoy! Comments/suggestions welcome!

IronChefMorimoto
 
55C to 41C is very good, considering the only fans in the aria are in the PSU and on the vic. I'm thinking of getting a reservator for my htpc. Is the WC system easy to remove if you have to move your pc around?
 
TFR said:
55C to 41C is very good, considering the only fans in the aria are in the PSU and on the vic. I'm thinking of getting a reservator for my htpc. Is the WC system easy to remove if you have to move your pc around?

I'm not sure I would call it "easy" -- the kit includes clamps (like metal medical sutures -- the kind you see the Predator use in Predator 2 in the sink) to clamp down and seal the hoses. Hmmm...yeah -- I would give an "ease of transportation" score of 4 out of 10, simply because those clamps are the only thing keeping the water in the Reserator when you tranport it. Not to mention keeping excess water in the system during transport.

I should mention that there's no formal bleed system. The clamps are all that are available. I would think, though, that one could adapt parts from another WC setup to allow for a Reserator bleed.

IronChefMorimoto
 
No sh*t -- I'm trying to find out what the hell is going on with my web host.

They rock when they're live. I swear it.

UPDATE: My web host has a Connecticut data center issue. Probably related to the DNC or something similarly irritating. ;) Please pardon the absence of the photos. They will be back up shortly.

IronChefMorimoto
 
looks pretty cool. i like the desk:)

that's a nice temp drop too. what was the cooling before?
 
rogue_jedi said:
looks pretty cool. i like the desk:)

that's a nice temp drop too. what was the cooling before?

Stock Prescott 3.2E P4 heatsink/fan (from the box) kept the processor idling at a nice, warm, toasty, hot as motherfletching hell temp of 53-55 degrees C. IDLING! Now it doesn't get above 41 degrees C at LOAD.

However, it's weird that the case temps are now hotter than the CPU -- in the BIOS and in Motherboard Monitor 5.3.7.0. It must be the unventilated heat from around the Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB. We're adding a VGA water block to that f---er tonight! WOOHOO!

IronChefMorimoto
 
I mentioned above that my friend and I will install a Zalman VGA waterblock sometime this week to the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB video card. We think that it's the only major heat producing piece of hardware in the case, save for the Maxtor SATA drive.

How DO we get the Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB heatsink/fan off without busting the card? Freeze it before pulling it apart from the GPU? Thoughts/suggestions are welcome.

I will post more pics if and when we get that added to the system. I'm interested in seeing if the case temps come down and even up with the CPU temps. The CPU runs at 38 degrees C at LOAD, for example, while the case gets into the mid-40s.

IronChefMorimoto
 
it should be able to be removed just by taking out the holddown pins on it. if it still doesn't come, put it in a ziplock bag and freeze it. not too hard.

good luck!
 
rogue_jedi said:
it should be able to be removed just by taking out the holddown pins on it. if it still doesn't come, put it in a ziplock bag and freeze it. not too hard.

good luck!

I figured it would be a freeze job. We'll try it this evening.

Thanks!

IronChefMorimoto
 
that look sweet!

nice Logitech setup you have there too. (i don't see myself paying $200 for something like that though)
 
WOOHOO! We have successfully water cooled both the CPU and GPU on the Antec Aria. We have the system fired up now, and I will be showing pictures in the next day or so (don't have my camera).

The heatsink/fan came off without a hitch. The Zalman VGA waterblock installed relatively simply -- once we decided to use the smaller of the two blocks in the package.

Temps at IDLE are now 35 degrees C on BOTH the case and CPU -- seems to have balanced out. The GPU must be getting better cooling, since the hot air from the fan isn't just blowing around inside the case.

More to come.

IronChefMorimoto
 
Haha, nice setup. It's kind of funny to have such a big WC setup for such a small.. mobile computer :p
 
As my friend says -- walk silently and carry a big stick (or Reserator). ;)

We installed the Zalman VGA water block with reasonable success. The case temps started to equalize with the CPU temps. However, we did notice a 5 degree C increase in overall LOAD and IDLE temps on the CPU. Most likely because of the pre-heating from the VGA water block before it hits the CPU water block.

The IDLE temp went up to about 38 degrees C. LOAD temp was at 46 degrees C. Throw in minor fluctuations, obviously.

The Reserator itself was MUCH WARMER TO THE TOUCH than previously when only cooling the CPU.

On the other hand, the machine is barely audible -- the 120mm PSU fan at LOAD is only running around 1600rpm. It is the sole remaining moving part (save for the hard drives and DVD burner) in the machine. We previously saw it spin at 1800rpm at LOAD.

My friend cut out 1' of extra tubing in the case too, for those of you wondering why we had so much in there. Keep in mind, this was a first experience in WC'ing for both of us. Cleanliness and neatness were tertiary to no leaking. ;)

I will post pictures when I get my digital camera back. In the meantime, feel free to inquire or make suggestions.

IronChefMorimoto
 
I must say, that's pretty sweet. You should download ATITool and see how far the 9800's core will overclock to. Unless you don't want to overclock...
 
alphaone said:
I must say, that's pretty sweet. You should download ATITool and see how far the 9800's core will overclock to. Unless you don't want to overclock...

My friend probably doesn't want to overclock, seeing as his source for "test" equipment like this will be drying up sometime tomorrow (Friday). ;)

That said, I am curious if any sort of ATI chipset utility (ATI's or otherwise) can read temps from the GPU on an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB. Upon an initial Google search as well as a search in here, I couldn't find any information regarding such a utility.

Finally, since the radiator and pump are all in one and have to be at the "end" of the flow route of the WC setup, should the water from the Reserator go to the VGA waterblock or the CPU waterblock first? Currently, we have it going through the VGA waterblock first. We figured the water would be cooler coming from the Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB GPU to the CPU than from a ragingly hot Prescott to the GPU.

Thanks,
IronChefMorimoto
 
It depends on which one you want to be cooler.

If you want the cpu to be cooler then go resterator->cpu->gpu
If you want the gpu to be cooler then go resterator->gpu->cpu
 
Someone in another forum suggested that we get a cheap-o mini-fridge and stick the reserator in the mini-fridge. Along with some additional Miller High Life, of course. Thoughts? ;)

My friend took pictures of the VGA waterblock setup last night. They are forthcoming.

IronChefMorimoto
 
IronChefMorimoto said:
Someone in another forum suggested that we get a cheap-o mini-fridge and stick the reserator in the mini-fridge. Along with some additional Miller High Life, of course. Thoughts? ;)
Bad idea. The extra heat from the resterator in the fridge will not be able to escape the fridge and the thermostat in the fridge will make the compressor run all the time due to that heat. And it's not designed to do that.

In short, it's been tried, it doesn't work.
 
alphaone said:
Bad idea. The extra heat from the resterator in the fridge will not be able to escape the fridge and the thermostat in the fridge will make the compressor run all the time due to that heat. And it's not designed to do that.

In short, it's been tried, it doesn't work.

And that's why we post these nutty ideas on HardForum.com, kids. ;)

Thanks dude. My friend was more interested in filling a fridge BESIDE the Reserator with Miller High Life. Oh, well. At least the beer will be cold.

IronChefMorimoto
 
Sweet thread. A buddy has a Aria, and is a big Zalman fan. Neither of us have done any water cooling, both for fear of leaks destroying a PC and the price of the equipment. But I'd love to see the gpu cooler your using if you get a chance. And nice job with the mod.

I'd probably use some duct tape on the PCI slot openings in the back, if dust is really an issue. I've got some silver "heat duct" tape I bought at Lowe's that looks really nice, so things aren't too "ghetto" when used on a PC. ;)
 
Ask...and ye eventually shall receive...

reserator_vga_cyclone.jpg


I've been hunting for a house the past few weeks. Pardon the delay in getting this posted.

Now, if we only had a Zalman Northbridge cooler on this thing, we could be spokesmen for Zalman USA. ;)

Please -- before you mention it -- YES! WE PUT THE DAMNED VGA BLOCK ON UPSIDE DOWN! It adds character.

My friend added the Antec Aria Cyclone blower to help cool down temps to below 30C at IDLE and below 45C at load. Throwing in a handfull of ice into the Reserator during a little gaming is interesting to watch on MBM 5.3.7.0.

Finally, we only put 4 of the 8 included BGA RAM sinks on the card (facing out toward the Aria side). The clearance for some stuff on inside of the card was such that moving it in and out of the case would've been a tangled nightmare.

Back to my air-cooled and overtly warm SK83G! (Although, I AM considering a watercooling setup at some point in the future!)

IronChefMorimoto
 
sweet setup. the zalman seems perfect for SFF comps. i was thinking about getting one myself. what kind of monitor is that? viewsonic?
 
IronChefMorimoto said:
My friend probably doesn't want to overclock, seeing as his source for "test" equipment like this will be drying up sometime tomorrow (Friday). ;)

That said, I am curious if any sort of ATI chipset utility (ATI's or otherwise) can read temps from the GPU on an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB. Upon an initial Google search as well as a search in here, I couldn't find any information regarding such a utility.

Thanks,
IronChefMorimoto

if its one of the 9800 256mb that are really 9800xt then when ou flash a hacked bios it should turn on the thermal diode http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?location=3&var1=92&var2=0 (it looks like yours is)
 
MuadDib420 said:
sweet setup. the zalman seems perfect for SFF comps. i was thinking about getting one myself. what kind of monitor is that? viewsonic?

Dell 23" LCD TV -- $1699 right now at Dell.com, I think.

IronChefMorimoto
 
very nice setup you got there, but to the important question where can i find a desk like that :D
 
The desk is manufactured by a company called Sitcom Furniture, out in California. There are a number of stores that sell their products, though they are generally marked up quite a bit. I got mine directly from the company, but we were a reseller of their products so I got a pretty good price. ;)
 
how many hdd's can you fit in the aria case if using the zalman resorator?
im wondering since i have 2 in there now...

im thinking om buying one, im constantly anoyed by the noise, i switched out the psu fan to a better one and slowed it down a bit, but i still get anoyed by the cpu and gpu fan.
especially since slowing the fans down even more would cause imediate overheating.
im already at 45-50 idle and 55-60 on load if all case sides are closed....
p4 3.0ghz lga775 and a nvidia geforce 6600 pci-e. have a zalman cnps 7000b cu for the cpu and the stock cooling for the geforce card.

for me its more imoprtant to have a quiet/userfriendly computer than having one you can OC and make superpowerful. i dont play any games anyway.
 
i'm nobody to talk but it probably wouldn't hurt to mount a 80mm fan on the inside side of the case, that is if you have the power for it :)

should drop your case temps a bit


edit: nvm i didn't see page 2 :D
 
Back
Top