X-bit labs

Perfect Silence: Zalman Reserator 2 Fanless Liquid-Cooling System Review (page 3)

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 04/25/2007 | 09:59 AM ]

Reserator 2 Main Block

The main block of the system lies in the second tier of the foam-plastic box. Here it is:

The Reserator 2 is large if compared with ordinary coolers: 369 x 436 x 76mm (height, length, width).

The Reserator 2 consists of three sections: a control unit with an indicator and Power/Reset button, a reservoir with a cap and fittings in the bottom part, and a radiator proper.

The radiator connecting both parts is painted pure black:

It has a lot of ribs along its entire length. The total dissipation area is as large as 1.5 square meters! For comparison, the Zalman CNPS9700 is only one third of that area. The main block of the Reserator weighs 7 kg.

There is a water flow indicator on the front side of the pole with the integrated control unit:

When the filled system is working, this indicator is rotating and is highlighted in blue, producing a rather irritating flicker at night. It is not conspicuous in the daytime. Unfortunately, it cannot be disabled.

Removing the cover of the control unit you can see a pipe that goes to the indicator and a small PCB with an integrated tweeter.

The back pole – the reservoir – is made from aluminum and ribbed as well. Its bottom part has two fittings with valves and locks:

The cap of this pole can be removed, too. Inside it you can see a submersible pump Eheim:

According to the specification, the pump performance is 300lph and its head pressure is only 0.5m. These are rather modest characteristics, but installing a more powerful pump would perhaps increase the noise level which does not go well with the product concept.