Verdict: The third Reserator is technically the best yet, mainly because Zalman has caved in and used a fan.
Will the threequels never end this year? As if the mediocrity of 'Spider-Man 3' 'Pirates of the Caribbean 3' and 'Shrek 3' wasn't enough, we have DDR3 and now the third in the Reserator series. Don't yawn too quickly, though, as this third-parter has a lot going for it. There are no muddled plot lines trying to tie up loose ends for a start, and there isn't a freakish, hybrid donkey-dragon baby in sight. Instead you have a massive but impressive-looking gun-metal grey aluminium brick that's easily set up to cool even extremely hot-running CPUs.
That paragraph was essentially the trailer for the Reserator XT, and now we'll move on to some exposition work (mainly recapping previous episodes in the series) to properly set the scene for the new release. This should not only serve as a reminder of earlier developments, but also give you time to buy some popcorn and find your seat without missing too much of the plot or the action.
The first Reserator was just a giant blue rocket-shaped radiator; back in our infancy, even high-end overclocked CPUs (an Intel Pentium 4 overclocked from 3.2GHz to 3.6GHz in our case) could be cooled passively. However, in something resembling the banal ending to 'The Matrix: Reloaded', CPUs became hotter - surely the Reserator would struggle to keep the new breed cool. What was our hero to do?
Reserator 2: Judgement Day
Just like any cult classic (we deemed the Reserator worthy of a Premium Grade award, after all), Zalman did what any self-respecting Hollywood mogul would do: it made a special Collector's Edition, the Reserator Plus. Like a Collector's Edition DVD box, the colour was different - black rather than blue (gah, just like Venom) - and there were a couple of interesting additions. We refer to the two self-sealing connectors, allowing you to disconnect the Reserator Plus from the coolant tubes going into the back of your PC without a major spill of the toxic-coloured, de-ionised water. However, with no actual cooling upgrades, it struggled to cope with our test CPUs (an AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 overvolted to 1.55V and running at 2.8GHz, and an Intel Pentium 4e overclocked to 3.6GHz with 1.55V coursing through it).
Just as any plucky hero would do after a severe stomping, Zalman had a rethink, and produced the Reserator 2. It looked like a mini house radiator and had an additional block for a GPU, for the cost of £230. Setting it up was a pain, and it was also rubbish at cooling. Our test CPU of that time reached its thermal shutdown limit in every stress test and, to add to its awkward ugliness, the Reserator 2 had to be powered from the mains. Zalman really should have known that in every great trilogy, the heroes always get a kicking in the second film - think of 'The Empire Strikes Back' and the caning the Rebels receive from the Empire on Hoth, scattering its forces.
Reserator 3: Reserate With A Vengeance
However, unlike the rubbish trilogy-enders we listed earlier, the third Reserator is a big improvement. One of the key evolutions is the fan: even quiet PC proponent Zalman has given up trying to passively cool a high-performance CPU. Then there are refinements of the innovations made along the way: the quick-disconnect, no-leak valves are small, neat and only dribble a tiny amount of liquid when disconnected. The sizable XT is also entirely powered by a single Molex connection, with the 1.2m power cable snaking into the rear of the PC via the supplied backplate. This also has holes for the two water tubes for the supplied PVC 3/8in inner diameter tubing (4m is in the box). Lastly, the XT isn't a cheap-cinema-seat pain in the behind to set up.
Setting up the kit comprises a series of quick, easy steps: attach the degassing tube with the two quick-disconnect attachments to the two rear connections; fill the reservoir (a 250ml bottle of anti-corrosion concentrate is supplied to add to de-ionised water for the 1.25 litre reservoir); jump the ATX power connector with the provided jumper lead as the manual explains; and finally, power up the PSU and gently tilt the XT in every direction to about 30 degrees. It's a painless process.
As with Zalman air coolers, there's a rear mounting plate for the aluminium CPU block, into which screws a front mounting bracket. Mountings for Intel LGA775 and every AMD socket from Socket 754 to AM2 are included, but our early review sample lacked any of the latter, so we could only test in our Intel test PC. The only thing to be wary of when installing the waterblock is its orientation. The manual is ambiguous to the point of being utterly wrong; it should clearly state that the waterblock should be mounted with the Zalman branding upright, and the off-centre tube attachment (used for output from the block) above the central input one.
The only thing we had to do next was make sure the Reserator XT wasn't placed below our test PC, nor very far above it (resting it on top of your case is fine, although it could easily scratch your case). The pump can't fight the fundamental laws of physics as Spider-Man seems to do in each of the three films.
Opinion was divided over the military looks of the unit and the annoyance of having it positioned next to or on top of the PC it's cooling. However, the Manual/Automatic toggle button is undeniably a nice touch, letting the Reserator determine fan speed and flow rate depending on its measurements, or giving you total control. The warning bleeps (when the reservoir becomes too low, for example) are a useful reminder.
Performance
However, we're mainly concerned with how well a cooler cools, especially when it costs £270, as the Reserator XT does. The test results are good, with our quad-core Xeon X3210 (overclocked and overvolted to 1.4125V) running 9ûC cooler on the quietest setting than it did with the reference Intel cooler, and 12ûC cooler with the 'Volume' dial at maximum (which, as well as revving the 140mm fan from 600rpm to 1,600rpm, also increases flow rate). This is better than the £90 Swiftech H20 120 Compact, even if only by a couple of degrees. This performance suggests that you'd be mad not to take Zalman up on the offer to add at least the GPU waterblock and GDDR coolers the manual advertises, if not the Northbridge cooler too. It's a shame that these parts aren't included in the box, though, given the high price. At its quietest, the Reserator XT is barely audible, while maximum 'volume' produces only an easily ignored mild fan hum.
Conclusion
Considering that the performance of the Reserator XT is good, and that it's near-silent in operation and easy to set up, why shouldn't it win an award? We're not talking Best Picture here, but why not Best Supporting Actor? Oh, right, we're not the Oscars nomination panel, but why not a Crazy but Cool award in that case? Opinion, however, was divided in the CPC office as to whether or not the Reserator XT Titanium really is cool. Some people liked the chunky styling, while others liked the analogue dials. However, an equal number of people didn't want such a big hunk of metal clutter on their desk or scratching the top of their PCs and others didn't see any aesthetic charm at all or scoffed at the price. It might be an effective cooler, and quiet and easy to set up, but you'd have to be crazy to pay £270 for it and that just isn't cool.
