This is a preliminary review of the Zalman Reserator 3 Max self contained liquid cooling system. The Reserator 3 Max is a departure from the typical all-in-one CPU water cooler format commonly available. Rather than a rectangular heat exchanger with a 120mm or 140mm fan attached to it, the Reserator 3 Max takes a radial heat exchanger that looks as if Zalman repurposed a heatpipe based thermal solution. Instead of heatpipes, coolant tubes run in a loop through the fin array while an integral 120mm fan drives air through the more aerodynamic heat exchanger. The rest of the system is pretty standard stuff, the pump is integrated into the waterblock which features a micro skived copper base plate and a generous length of rubber tubing connect the two. The radial, nickel plated copper fins of the heat exchanger are about the size of a standard heatsink which should make the Reserator 3 Max easier to mount in confined computer chassis. Zalman's Reserator 3 Max installs onto Intel socket LGA775/115x/1366/2011 and AMD socket AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2 processors. Retail price is around $102 USD / CDN. Please see zalman.com for the full spec sheet.

NOTE: In an effort to keep up with the increasing pace of heatsink releases and provide a timely reference to our readers, Frostytech has decided to release its heatsink test results in a preliminary review format as soon as the data is compiled. Contained within this preliminary article are the complete set of test results charts for Frostytech's 125Watt AMD, 150W & 85W Intel LGA115x/775 and 200W Intel LGA2011 synthetic thermal test platforms, acoustic measurements and a 360° pictorial overview of the thermal solution. This preliminary look at the Zalman Reserator 3 Max will be updated to the complete review at a later date.

Zalman Reserator 3 Max Self-Contained Liquid Cooling System

heatsink specsheet manufacturer: zalman model no.: reserator 3 max materials: nickel plated copper radiator, copper-base water block. fan mfg: zalman fan spec: 2200-1000rpm, 12v, 0.2a fan dim: 25x120x120mm waterblock dim: 70x85x37mm heat exchanger dim: 120x145x79mm pump spec: n/a flow rate: unknown head: unknown coolant: distilled water/propylene glycol weight: 897 grams includes: multi-socket mounting hardware, thermal compound, instructions. Compatible with Sockets: AMD - AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2 Intel - LGA2011/1366/115x/775 Est. Pricing: $104USD ($104CDN)

Base Finish and Flatness

Mounting Hardware

The Zalman Reserator 3 Max is compatible with Intel socket LGA2011/1366/115x and AMD socket FM2/FM1/AM2/AM3 processors. The cooler ships with two motherboard brackets and a pair of metal mounting plates that attach to the pump head to facilitate each particular socket.

This heatsink will be tested on FrostyTech's Intel and AMD version of the Mk.II synthetic thermal temperature test platform, and compared against hundreds of reference Intel and AMD heatsinks. The whole test methodology is outlined in detail here if you'd like to know what equipment is used, and the parameters under which the tests are conducted.