It's a bird, it's a plane, it's the Zalman Reserator 1 Plus!

Intro to - Reserator II: Liquid Cooling Day

At the end of my review of the original Zalman Reserator 1, I found myself channeling Arnold Schwarzenegger and saying things like, “Duh Zahl-Mahn Rehz-Zuh-Ray-Tuh!”, repeatedly. And pretty much annoying everyone in the process. Well..."I'm back!". Thanks to our friends at Zalman and Sharka Computers, I recently had the chance to put the new and improved Reserator 1 Plus through its paces.

Zalman has some of the best packaging I have ever seen from any manufacturer, you don't have to worry about ordering this puppy off the net. Unless your carrier uses explosives, the 1 Plus should arrive unscathed. Double boxing and a massive amount of formed styrofoam insured the Reserator 1 Plus arrived on my doorstep completely intact and unharmed. The graphics on the first Reserator packing were good, these are better. The slick black color scheme was hint of good things to come.

The first thing you'll notice with the 1 Plus is the color change. Looking decidedly less Smurf-like, the new black finish is a welcome improvement. Not only does it open up more options for color coordination with existing cases and gear, it offers a more refined appearance for a home or office. When I opened the box I smelled something familiar that I didn't place right away, but as soon as I saw the new finish I new what I had detected wafting out of the box ...paint. I had expected the usual dull finish associated with anodized aluminum, I was surprised to see a very slick glossy finish that looked more like auto paint than brushed aluminum.

Despite the slimming effect of basic black, the Reserator retains the same impressive dimensions of the earlier model. The Reserator measures 150(L) x 150(W) x 592(H) mm with 1.274 square meters of finned surface area and a massive 2.5 liter coolant capacity. The only mechanical change to the new unit is the addition of self-sealing quick-connect couplings which should make transport and coolant changes even easier than previously.

How DO you photograph something so large? heh