Zalman Reserator XT Liquid Cooling review - Page 19

The verdict

To date there has not been one single Zalman product that we tested that disappointed. The Reserator XT surely again is a fantastic product. Aesthetically pleasing, good cooling, low noise. I mean, this is the gear that a hardware geek like yours truly really love.

The Reserator XT features an elegant, high-tech design and is showing the heavy duty, high-quality construction. Also the Reserator XT is available in either a Titanium-look (dark gray metallic) or Black anodized finish to match. They both look really terrific.

If you are a sitting duck for silence like yours truly then you'll have to agree with me that this is one impressive kit for various reasons.

It must be said that the kit is not high up there at the same cooling level as an uber high-end cooling kit like the ones from Asetek for example. I mean, if we would massively overclock this system then the Reserator will have more issues getting rid of that heat due to slightly lower overall cooling performance. But quite frankly I honestly do not care as this is not the purpose of the product. All I care about is a stylish looking radiator and an inaudible environment. With the help of the new fan design though, you can most certainly push it way further than any other Reserator design we have seen in the past. So that's definitely an improvement as when you set it on a low volume level you can barely hear the unit.

Today we cooled down two hot components towards more than acceptable heat levels while being 100% utilized. A high-end GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics card and a Core 2 Duo Processor, both are dumping bulky amounts of heat into that water circuitry and the Reserator XT is very capable of cooling down the components more than sufficiently. In fact I believe that two water-cooled Ultra's in this system would not be an issue either.

This kind of splendor comes at a price though as this kit is not cheap at all. This performance, design and lack of sound has a toll on the price as it's up for sale at roughly 399 USD and surely that's a lot of money. That's the Resorator unit with everything as tested today including the CPU block, yet except the VGA block.

The GWB8800 VGA waterblock for the 8800 comes at a price tag of 75 USD a piece. This unit is definitely worth every penny though.

Setup of the kit is relatively uncomplicated. Any average Joe can install a system similar to what I showed you today in about 1-2 hours of time (if you need to remove your mainboard).

My recommendation of course is to take it slow, be relaxed and make sure there are no leaks. Double check everything and do not be afraid. Once you have everything setup (use our article as a guide) you'll absolutely love this kit. And I do not mean that in a doggy versus leg kind of way, well okay ... uhm yeah I do actually.

Both the Reserator XT and the GWB8800 water-block are granted with our best hardware award. This is fantastic gear to own. You'll love it from A to Z.