my experiences with the reserator

The alternative to direct air cooling

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gitto
Posts: 142
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Ballina, Australia
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my experiences with the reserator

Post by gitto » Sat Dec 04, 2004 9:27 pm

well ive had the reserator for about 6 weeks now, and its great. i'll try not to repeat anything here thats been said plenty of times before though, so heres some of my thoughts

1. the temps of my athlon 1800 have been the same as the incredibly noisy stock cooler. the hottest ive seen is 52C, which was between 15 to 20 above ambient. at lower ambient temperatures, the cpu rise above ambient is lower, around 12C.

2. the vga block has annoying clamp connections, i wish it had the quality screw ones like the rest of the reserator.

3. it was fairly easy to setup. it still took me around 6 hours, as it was first time i'd pulled motherboard out, and first time with watercooling so i was being extra careful. the instruction manual is printed in tiny print.

4. its not silent, but its damn close. it sits up on my desk, about 3 feet away from me on an old jumper because it vibrates. very late at night, say 2am i can hear the very low noise of the pump if i search for it. this is with the computer off (hard drives still noisy). oddly enough, the noise seems to be directional. if i stand up so im above the reserator, the noise increases. in normal daytime use with even a bit of ambient noise, the noise is undetectable. but this isnt a solution for true silence.

well, hope this was of use to some people.

sgksgk
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Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2004 1:14 am

Post by sgksgk » Sat Dec 11, 2004 3:59 am

if it's on your desk, i sugguest stick a few small rubber feets on the bottom (which i got from radio shack for a few bucks). it elimates the vibration that it makes with the desk surface.

gitto
Posts: 142
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Ballina, Australia
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Re: my experiences with the reserator

Post by gitto » Sat Dec 11, 2004 4:12 am

gitto wrote: it sits up on my desk, about 3 feet away from me on an old jumper because it vibrates..
oops, dont think i made myself clear enough there. its sitting on top of a mousemat, a latex pad that soles of shoes are cut from, and finally a very soft old jumper. it does make a big difference to noise levels.

i now have it sitting underneath my desk, the thickness of the desk subdues the noise late at night.

i think the pump is noisier for about a day after it has been restarted. have any other reserator owners noticed this? i run mine 24/7, but have to turn it off sometimes.

nici
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Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:49 am
Location: Suomi Finland Perkele

Post by nici » Thu Dec 16, 2004 2:09 pm

I have to try running it for a longer time and check if my pump does that.. I agree it is not totally silent, but honestly i think this is as close as you are going to get without sacrificing cooling performance. Still, it is wery quiet. As quiet you are going to get without totally passive cpu cooling.

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