glad it worked out for you in the end, Maxamus. it's interesting that zalman managed to skimp on such important installation information as tube cutting. what's worse, is if they failed to inform the user that cutting tubes at an angle (as opposed to straight, as they should be) will greatly increase the chance of leaks.

Those are some great results! Are you of the opinion that the system is silent? That is, can the pump be heard at all if your ear isn't against the Resorator? And what about the flow indicator, can that be heard?

Thanks Maximus. The Reserator looks more and more promising with every report I read about it.

Nice review. I'm seriously considering getting one despite the high price, my desktop machine is in need of good cooling and silence. This would, or should cut down the accumulation of dust as well since I can remove some of the fans in the case.

A few things though.. what did you fill the Reserator with? You wrote "water" but did you use normal water or distilled water? Also what does the Zalman manual recommend for use with the Reserator, and I guess it didn't include any small bottles of liquid that you should pour into the water to prevent corrosion etc., or did it?

you might find some green stuff growing in your reserator i.e. algae. the water in the reserator is warm and relatively still - a perfect growing condition for all of those little microscopic nasties.

corrosion wouldn't be too much of a problem, since the Al is galvanised and the Cu is gold-plated, but still, it's playing with fire

distilled water wouldn't help too much, since it wouldn't reduce the amount of contamination greatly. a better choice would be to head to your local aquarium store, and buy some anti-algae fluid.

I would also STRONGLY reccomend some anti corrosives!!! You are mixing Al and Cu in the same system, which is a bad thing. It is good that the Al is annodized, but that only helps slow corrosion, it doesn't prevent it.

Gooserider

Just a few quick questions about the water.
Would adding anti-algae and anti-corrosive fluid to normal tap water be about the same as using distilled water? Does the anti-corrosive fluid nullify the effects of the minerals in normal tap water?
Also, I remember reading that mixing some glycol with water (can't remember if it was tap or distilled water..) should prevent at least algae, maybe corrosion as well, this true?

Most certainly not. normal tap water is literally swimming with impurities (live ones as well), additives can only do so much, they aren't a miracle worker. Always use distilled water right from the very beginning. In fact, i never ever let normal tap water touch any of my parts, because a little bit of moisture on the surface, given time, leads to corrosion. I've seen copper go fully green...



It limits it somewhat, but as i said above it is not a miracle worker. The thing to remember is, anti-corrosive additives do not totally prevent corrosion, they simply slow it down. the more impure your water is to start with, the less the corrosion process will be slowed down.

A point to clarify for accuracy:

The Reserator is not mixing Al and Cu in the same system. The Cu makes no contact with the water whatsoever. What you do have is an anodized aluminum and gold mixed system. Any galvanic action that would occur between the materials is so tiny so as to be of no consequence.

Zalman specifically advises against any admixtures to the distilled water, and guarantees the entire system against corrosion of any kind.

i wonder how the gold coating on the Cu affects heat transfer. i don't know about direct contact situations, but i do know that gold is the best heat reflector...

It certainly can't help the transfer, but the oxidation resistance and the improved flatness on the CPU side may offset it.

algae growth and corrosion are two different things. although zalman guarantees against corrosion, it doesn't mean that you won't get algae growth.

Doesn't algea require sunlight?

Yes, but unfortunately what grows in WC systems isn't always algae. It's more often bacteria, which will grow just about anywhere. But what they do need is a food source. If you start with distilled water, disinfected equipment (boil your tubes!), and keep the system sealed, the level of organic material in the system for them to feed on will be very small. The total mass of bacteria in the system will never exceed the mass of organic material you start.

The pictures you occasionally see at places like procooling, with systems clogged by bacteria growth are the result of either an unsealed system, or a system where the little critters are actually feeding on the admixes added to the water. Things like bleach and anti-freeze, at low enough concentrations, can act like fertilizer, which is why they should never be added to your system. There are some reports of anti-corrosives sparking bacteria growth as well, most likely in situations where they're not being used at the proper concentration.

I'm a firm believer in the concept that good-quality distilled water (the truly distilled lab-grade stuff, not Walmart brand ) is as effective an anti-bacterial/ anti-corrosive agent as any of the commonly used admixes. (the anti-corrosives work by binding up the ions in the water, start with fewer ions, and there's less to bind up)

A clean system should run for months/years with just pure water.

You're likely to get conflicting answers to this one.

Since you've already got the stuff, you might as well use it. It won't hurt anything (theoretically it will reduce the conductivity of the water slightly, but not enough to make a real difference)

One thing to note: Your reserator system has a much higher water volume than most systems do, in the neighborhood of 3 liters. Make sure you have enough of the stuff, and that you do the math properly, to use it at its recommended concentration.

1. Annodizing is porous, so is most plating to some degree, thus I would certainly consider the copper in the WB and the Aluminum in the WB to be in contact with each other. (not to mention any scratches or other imperfections from either manufacturing or assembly defects...) The plating and annodizing SLOWS corrosion, it does NOT stop it... If Zalman guarantees against corrosion, I would wonder how long, and what the fine print in the guarantee looks like, I'd bet they have plenty of loopholes built in to their warrantee.

2. The content of tap water, and how bad it would be to use is highly variable and depends on your local water system. Thus the advantages of using distilled (and there is little difference between 'Wal-mart grade' and 'lab grade' distilled water) vary as well.

Gooserider

The difference between "wal-mart grade" brand distilled water, and lab-grade distilled water, is that "wal-mart grade" isn't necessarily even distilled. It is just as likely to just be de-ionized.

The porousity of anodizing and plating is miniscule. Combined with a proper cooling fluid, the rate of galvanic corrosion would be so tiny that it should be ignored. You're likely to replace the system long before it has had a measurable effect on the performance.