Do other liquids, or water based solutions, conduct heat more efficiently? I am no scientist, but it seems to me the properties like density might have some effect on the rate of heat absorption. If this is the case, would a more dense liquid be more efficient?
Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that the heat is drawn away mainly by convection not conduction in liquids. Therefore its the specific heat of the liquid, that is how much heat it can absorb before it gets a certain amount warmer, that determines how effective its cooling is. Water has an unusually high specific heat and the highest of all liquids (except ammonia) so makes an ideal cooler.
Water is great for this. They are using it in engine, you know. There are other cooling coolants, but they are so expensive and the efficienty plus is not so big.
What about the pump? Did they change the design there?
The Reserator 1 is notorious for problems with the pump becoming very noisy after a period time.
Although Zalman provided replacement pumps at no cost for the first year, the replacements would eventually have the same problem (sometimes within months).
One should keep in consideration that the water flow into the GPU module has already been heated by the CPU. This will obviously cause the GPU module to seem less efficient than it actually is. Also considering the 6800 GT is a noisy fan to begin with the marginal difference in temperature is more than acceptable.
Excellent review is greatly appreciated. I'm using an Intel 840D CPU in a Nexus Breeze case, for video editing. Noise is a critical factor for audio and video work. After serious heat probs I Swapped the Nexus PHT-7750 fan for a Zalman CNPS 9500. Facing the fan towards the PS since there are no rear case fans. Temps are better, but still runs too hot during a long render. It seems to me that moving the CPU/GPU temp externally would drop all temps significantly. The new Reserator looks to be the perfect solution.