Zalman Announces Reserator 3 Liquid Cooler with Nanofluids
Zalman's Reserator 3 Max cooler is finally official.
Zalman this month launched its new Reserator 3 Max cooler. Zalman is calling the Reserator 3 Max the world's first nanofluids applied cooler and the cooler actually won an award earlier this year at CES 2013.
The Reserator 3 is a closed-loop liquid cooler hybrid that combines the reliability and low maintenance of a traditional cooler and the quietness and performance of a liquid cooler. It provides up to 400W of ultra silent cooling utilizing a 120-mm blue LED fan, a dual radial radiator and a high efficient water pump.
The water block and enclosed pump measures 65 x 65 x 32(H)-mm and the radiator measures 154(L) x 120(W) x 32(H)-mm. The fan itself is 120 x 120 x 25(H)-mm and comprises of black pearl nickel-plated aluminum. Other features include Multiple-heatpipe Pressing Joints (MPJ) that secures and maximizes long distance heat transfer, and minimizes thermal resistance. It's compatible with most desktop CPU sockets and can be fitted into a middle tower case with a width of 180-mm.
Though Zalman's been teasing this one since January, Zalman has yet to offer information on pricing or a release date.

· Using nanofluids coolant improves thermal conductivity by mixing nanoparticles with fluids."
What element that nano particles would be?
There is really not much surface area with which to dissipate so much heat.
I wonder what is the composition of the nanoparticle added to the cooling fluid?
maybe they are using aluminum
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.
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.
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.
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)
http://www.tweak.dk/review/Zalman_Reserator_3_Max/1679/1/1
this is the only review I found
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.