Zalman Reserator 2 has arrived!!!

Firegod · 14 Sep 2006 at 11:27

One problem before I post up pics and results and my opinions... where the heck do I get Distilled Water from?? I can't do anything until I get some apparently. Nice to know this before I buy the kit.

I thought I could just boil water but apparently distilled water is the steam not the boiled water. Do shops sell it?

EDIT: Ok, found out that Halfords should sell it so off I go!

squiffy · 14 Sep 2006 at 11:34

Motor shops sell distilled water, it's used for car radiators.

NokkonWud · 14 Sep 2006 at 12:01

Go to your nearest petrol station. They sell it in 1ltr bottles.

Combat squirrel · 14 Sep 2006 at 12:05

Noob question - why is distilled water required? stop stuff growin in it ? or ?

NokkonWud · 14 Sep 2006 at 12:06

It reduces residue left by bacteria in the water. It doesn't stop it 100%, but it slows the process right down to years rather than weeks.

Minstadave · 14 Sep 2006 at 12:41

Combat squirrel said:
Noob question - why is distilled water required? stop stuff growin in it ? or ?

Its less corrosive too.

Tumbletop · 14 Sep 2006 at 12:52

Its non-conductive too? Halfords sell it for batteries - and I assume you don't want a conductive substance inside a battery?

Minstadave · 14 Sep 2006 at 13:02

Tumbletop said:
Its non-conductive too? Halfords sell it for batteries - and I assume you don't want a conductive substance inside a battery?

It is conductive as it will ionise in contact with air, and water itself exists as mostly H20 but a small proportion is H+ and OH- (Its been a long time since A Level Chemistry).

sniper007 · 14 Sep 2006 at 13:05

Halfords stuff is de-ionised, which is different to distilled. People usually recommend distilled if you want to be strict about water cooling. Truth is though, majority of people use the halfords distilled stuff. I have used this in 3/4 different w/c loops and have never had a problem and got fine temps.

Firegod · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:08

Phew! What a day, ok, got the stuff from Halfords and here she is!

The Kit
-------

So you can see you do get quite a bit of gear. It was all neatly packaged in a big polystyrene box. Which reminds me...

TIP No.1 - After hasty removal of packaging I went to lift out the Reserator. Big no no, because as soon as I touched it I got a MA-HOO-SIVE shock.

So just a little tip there. Polystyrene and metal don't mix.

Here is the Reserator (spot the stupid design mistake if you can).

Yes, they've not fitted a UK Plug! Come on, how daft is that! Luckily I have an adaptor.

Firegod · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:10

Installation
-----------

Well it was ok (ish) the manual had good illustrations but lacked any decent sentences explaining things. My main gripe is they give you lots of different screws especially with the CPU Block fitting many different sockets, yet they don't specify which screw type for which socket. The illustrations all look the same. But in the end it can be worked out.

Here is the mobo out of the case, look at the finish on the block! :eek:

And here it is installed.

Pretty straight forward for the 939 systems. Just two standoffs, and fasten the springs down.

Firegod · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:10

Operation
---------

Now we hit a snag.

Bleeding this system took a good while to do. The instructions were helpful at this point and I just had to conquer my fear of having water moving around the PC. However, after being satisfied that all the air was out I followed the manual and topped up the water level to 70% but now there are tiny air bubbles in the pipes! Does this look right to you?

I have to keep the Unit at an angle to have any good flow, if I put it straight the little indicator fan which spins around almost stops. I'm guessing I still have air trapped? Being my first watercooling kit I am a little unsure about placement of the unit too. The manual states not to have it below the PC or too high above it.

At the minute even though it is level, the tubing is actually going upwards into the PC. Could this be the cause of the poor flow rate?

Firegod · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:21

Conclusion
----------

Quality wise I'm very impressed. Everything looks well made and feels very sturdy.

The front of the Unit I think looks very sleek. I didn't have any difficulty in routing the tubing either.

Pro's

- Silent! It's great, my head doesn't hurt anymore
- I think it looks nice
- I'm hoping that the temps will be good (may have to sort out the bubbles first)

Con's

- Manual could have been a little better
- Hard to bleed the system
- FIT A UK PLUG!!

I can't emphaise how quiet it is, going from my 40db fan to this is awesome.

I'll try and put up some good cooling results shortly to compare against my old air system.

Firegod · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:31

Results
-------

Running at my current Overclock,

2.75Ghz @1.61v

IDLE

Air (XP-120 with 120mm YS-Tech Fan) - 35
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/j_firegod/Computer/Air_OC_Idle.jpg

Water - 31
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/j_firegod/Computer/Water_OC_Idle.jpg

Conclusion:- A drop by 4 degrees and it's silent running. Good result!

LOAD

Air (XP-120 with 120mm YS-Tech Fan) - 52
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/j_firegod/Computer/Air_OC_Load.jpg

Water - 45
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/j_firegod/Computer/Water_OC_Load.jpg

Conclusion:- A drop by 7 degrees! :cool:

mc_bob · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:41

Looking good

Rock the Pc from side to side. Works for me, just leave it for a few ours first though.
Rocking the PC seems to move the bubbles and they run out of the RES.

Cob · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:47

Giving the rad a shake will help remove the air from it too. Usually the trapped air escaping from the rad will clear a lot of the tiny bubbles too.

Firegod · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:49

Ok I will try rocking both the PC and Reserator.

Cheers!

Cob · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:54

Remember to top up your res as the air escapes. The first few shakes of the rad can release a lot of air and will drop the res level quite considerably.

Jimbo · 14 Sep 2006 at 16:58

Nice would this fit a Intel E6600?

Firegod · 14 Sep 2006 at 17:13

Cob said:
Remember to top up your res as the air escapes. The first few shakes of the rad can release a lot of air and will drop the res level quite considerably.

Ok thanks.