Zalman Announces Reserator 3 Liquid Cooler with Nanofluids

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"Zalman with its unique technology came up with the world first nanofluids refrigerant applied cooler to maximize the cooling performance.

· Using nanofluids coolant improves thermal conductivity by mixing nanoparticles with fluids."

What element that nano particles would be?
 
Is the fan built in? That would be a nifty way for this thing to further differenciate itself from the current crop of closed-loop liquid cooler
 
I'd like to learn more about the thermal performance advantage of adding the nano-particles to the fluid. I've been following the research over the years and there is still (as far as I know) no definitive proof that nano-particles are able to lower temperatures. Some researchers have found improvements but others have not been able to duplicate their work. If Zalman has somehow made a breakthrough here I think I would have read about it in one of the science journals. They are probably just throwing in one of the more commonly studied compounds so they can market it as such, but I hope I'm wrong.
 
I wonder what is the composition of the nanoparticle added to the cooling fluid?
Click to expand...

Based on the current literature on computer cooling with relatively inexpensive materials if I had to guess they are probably using alumina nanoparticles in a mixture of water, ethylene glycol, and glycerol. Although, if the particles in the diagram aren't water then SiO2 or TiO2 look like the most likely candidates. Easier to stabilize too IMO.

If anyone wants to, you can actually mix up a batch of nanoparticle heat transfer fluid at home if you've got a roller mill with 50 micron zirconia beads, some Al2O3 nanoparticles, distilled water, and ethylene gylcol in a 1 vol% Al2O3 dispersion in 3:1 H2O:EG base solution (please don't drink the ethylene glycol or get the nanoparticles on your skin they cause cancer).

Granted without electrostatic stabilization the alumina suspension won't be stable for months at a time but it should be good for a few days if you want to benchmark with it. If you don't have access to those materials the start up costs would run $200-1000 depending on how good you are at fabricating equipment. On the plus side a fluid like that can shave 4-5C off your temps depending on your setup.

 
When comparing the Reserator 3 Max to the Noctua NH-U14S as the german site Tweak.dk did...
Under heavy load the Reserator 3 Max beat Noctua's NH-U14S by 6.5 Degrees Celsius.

http://www.tweak.dk/images/2013/review/1679/tweak_dk_zalman_reserator_3_max_14_fullscreen.jpg

In contrast the best closed loop cooler in Anandtech's review, the NZXT's Kraken X60 (280mm radiator) beat Noctua's NH-U14S by 6.4 degrees Celsius under heavy load.

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph6984/54966.png

I realize they are different testing platforms running different tests but the results of 44.3 and 45(C) above ambient for Noctua's NH-U14S in the two tests are close enough that NZXT's Kraken X60 result of 37.9(C) and Zalman's Reserator 3 Max result of 38.5(C) mean that the Reserator 3 and the Kraken X60 are a mere 0.1(C) apart if you subtract the 0.7(C) difference in the max load results from the Noctua NH-U14S. I'm very excited to see Zalman's Reserator 3 Max tested against other closed loop systems head to head.
 
Simple physics. The radiator is really small. That is going to severely cripple its cooling potential. Corsair H90 140mm in push pull is the sweet spot for liquid cooling. I have an i7-980x hex core oc'd to 4.44ghz it is one of intel's first gen 32 nm parts and runs much hotter then current chips. I run the corsair h90 with 2 high static pressure noctua 140mm fans in push pull. I have the noctua's on their medium max speed they produce less noise then the system does so you cant hear them at all idles around 38-39C and during intense gaming 65-67C. It gets the job done and is very easy to install right at the bases rear exhaust. Almost any modern case accept 140mm rear exhaust.
 
I think by "400W" they mean that you have a giant CPU, a perfect contact with it, you live in Iceland, and when you install it, the planets align.

400W? Really? So basically, this single radiator with a cheap pump and a low-speed fan can take care of a 5.5 GHz i7. That's what you'd expect from high-end thermoelectrics.
 
400 watts seems like BS which is why I want someone to place the cooler on a 400 watt resistive load.

Even high end liquid coolers cant get around some of the physical limitations of liquid cooling. when the heat being generated exceeds the rate at which cool water enters the waterblock to cool the CPU, the water begins to boil which causing issues for the pump when all of the bubbles fail to leave the system. the temperature of the CPU at that point also skyrockets as once the water begins to boil, it functions as if there is no heatsink at all on the CPU.

With a custom liquid cooling setup, there are areas for bubbles to leave the system before being recirculated back into the pump and damaging it, but a sealed cooler lacks that.

The fan is also not removable thus cleaning the heatsink or replacing a dead fan will be very difficult (if you can even find a replacement fan)
 
We (Ice Dragon) have been doing this for the last 6 years. We are expecting one of their systems in the mail today. Interesting enough, we met Zalman at CES2013 and sent them some Ice Dragon Coolant to test in their systems back in March. We went back and fourth with emails, and then this was announced. Now, they won't respond to my emails. We think that is sort of fishy.
We plan to cut it open and see what the "nanofluid" is made of. It is not easy to make a nanofluid. You have to worry about agglomeration and settling of the particles..as they agglomerate they will settle faster. Agglomeration is similar to the 'snowball' effect; once it gets going you can't stop it. I doubt the particles are any of the ones listed previously. This is mostly due to, as pointed out, cost, and galvanization. There are a few nanoparticles that are cost effective, such as what we use. In our research the particle we use beat aluminum and copper nanoparticles.
Also, if you search sciencedirect.com you can find all kinds of research done on the heat transfer enhancement of nanofluids. There has been a lot of work done in that area.
As soon as we get our results back, I will post again - unless our lawyers tell me not to..:)
 


Ugh! I feel for you. I am sorry that happened -- it does often especially with small companies. I worked for a start up years ago and our largest expense was our intellectual property and other lawyer because people would sue you for a naming issue, rip you off and not pay contracts, steal the ideas from your proposals, etc.

People sometimes lack integrity and honesty in the corporate world.

 
one thing we have noticed per our experience with nanofluids is that due to the light scattering of the nanoparticles a claimed nanofluid will NOT be clear. Unless there are only a couple of particles in the fluid. Just something to be aware of when someone claims to have a nanofluid and the fluid is clear.
 
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