ZALMAN Reserator 3 MAX Ultimate Water/Liquid CPU Cooler 120MM

Pros: I bought this to go into my mini-itx build and was satisfied with it for about a week before I realized the issues with it (see cons). Other than the cons, the good things going for this is it can work in most smaller builds and provides good cooling for your CPU. Other than that, there's not much else I can say that was good with this.

Cons: Installing this was a bit tricky as lining up the screws was such a pain. After a week after install it started making the most annoying whining sound I have ever heard while I was gaming. I tried to do everything I could to relieve that sound (made sure screw were tight, tried rubber washers...etc), but alas I gave up and replaced it with a solution from Corsair. Overall, the unit works, but not well.

Overall Review: I would not recommend this to anyone looking for a cooling solution. There are better options available and for a much better price.

Pros: Cools well. Looks awesome.

Cons: Pump is very prone to dying Sort of loud, as others have noted Slightly expensive compared to other 120mm radiators

Overall Review: I bought one of these units when they first came out, before anyone made any reviews for it. I wanted a liquid cooler that matched the aesthetic of my build, and this one seemed promising. It cooled for about two weeks before the pump died. I sent it back to Zalman, who RMA'd it for another one. Then the pump on that one died after a couple months. I sent it back to RMA it again, but they kept ignoring my emails, and when I'd call, they'd give every possible excuse for why it hadn't been sent back a month later - from "we never got it" to "it went to the wrong department". Finally they sent me a unit and it worked fine for about a year before the pump died once again. I then put a generic heatsink on my FX-8350 and haven't looked at liquid cooling since. Maybe I was extremely unlucky, or maybe Zalman doesn't know how to make a quality pump, or have quality customer service for that matter. The only reason I'm not giving one star is because when it DID work, it worked marvelously. Your results may vary but I'd consider a more reliable brand.

Pros: Runs cool and quiet on an Asus Maximus Motherboard. Installs solid to a metal back plate. Fits where ever you have a exhaust 120mm fan. Looks cool.. Temps dropped 10c compared to Intel watercooler.

Cons: Maybe a slight ball bearing fan noise when my case is open. I cant think of anything else.

Overall Review: I bought an Intel Watercooler and they use a plastic backplate that will not mount the Intel cooler solid to the motherboard. This Zalman fits SOLID. Also most cases have a hard time fitting watercoolers because the radiator is over sized.. But not this Zalman.. No wonder it got a 2013 CES Award. Its a good quality product and I am very happy I made this purchase. :)

Pros: Name recognition * Specifications * Blue LED * Good Reviews

Cons: 1 year, 7 months after purchase, motor began making noises and stopped working, causing CPU to overheat.

Overall Review: Replaced defective unit with Thermaltake Water 3.0 Performer.

Pros: Only liquid cooler that would fit in my box. Very nice to look at. Easy enough installation. Did a great job cooling for a short time before it failed.

Cons: Unit stopped cooling after about 18 months. (Overheating cpu caused pc shutdown). LED's in the pump started going out in previous months. (I think 2 lights out). The Zalman website barely even works, and when you do finally find a support contact, there will be no response.

Overall Review: Certainly can't recommend the ZALMAN Reserator 3 MAX Ultimate Water/Liquid CPU Cooler 120MM, because it probably won't last. I would expect to get at least 5 years out of this, maybe up to 10?. I even considered buying another one, that the bad one I had may have been a fluke, but then reminded myself that even the LED's in the pump didn't last. I'm taking a pass on anything Zalman these days...

Pros: Has a nice finish and looked great in the case. It fit perfectly in my Zalman Z11 Plus case.

Cons: A little over a year of service and the pump failed!!!! I came to turn on my PC and it would shut down immediately, I could hear the fan for the cooling rad ramping up to full speed. I realized that it was shutting down on thermal protection, that's when I noticed the pump had died out. I was sceptical about buying a closed loop cooler for my PC since the water levels or flow cannot be observed and this Zalman just reinforced it.

Pros: Easy enough to install (though there is a caveat for switching motherboards, see cons), and it can be made push-pull with the fans. Initially this kept my amd fx-9590 below 70 C at full load, but the processor was never overly stable.

Cons: If one switched motherboards, the plastic mounting supports that go between the mobo and the mounting plate are not easily removed and will not stick to the new motherboard. This is a problem with most all of the mounting brackets for AM3+ though. More problematic was after about 9 months it stopped working. This manifested as the computer turning on, the boot code on the mobo getting to FF and then the computer shutting off. I swapped out the mobo and the proc (FX-8320) and both did the same thing. Once I put an HSF on the 8320 everything has worked fine since.

Pros: This is an amazing cooler. I have an older board and CPU AMD 955 BE x4. Stock cooler for a few years now and can see an instant change in temps. The blue light is not over powering in the case which I consider a Pro. Fan is also quiet. VERY noticeable difference in VRM temps with this cooler. Temps Stock Cooler - 38c Idle - 56c Under Load Temps Zalma RM3 - 28c Idle - 40c Under Load

Cons: Shroud - Zalman really needs to improve the shroud I do not want a bigger shroud as this would defeat the awesome VRM temps I now have. They need a heavy duty version of the shroud that is on it now. This is where I dropped 1 egg from the rating. It is flimsy as is. Color - They really need to offer at least Blue and Red versions of this cooler for builders going for certain looks. But not dropping an egg for this as it is aesthetics. Pump - If like me your tower sits on the desk right next to you the pump can be heard but just barley. I'm not going to knock and egg when I have a Cooler Master HAF 922 sitting inches from my face and I can hear the pump, but if you are looking for a silent option this is not it. And you won't find much of one for a gaming rig.

Overall Review: When doing the install for this I would recommend having a friend to help, four hands made this an easy install. Doing this by yourself could be difficult when mounting the pump. I would recommend that you install the fan first hopefully this is common sense to most people. I would like to test a push/pull config to see how much further I could get the temps to drop and would be recommended for anyone doing some serious over clocking as you should get a better return. Even though I can hear the pump slightly it is a new noise to me and is not very loud at all, some reviews I have read complain non stop about this. If you are looking for a silent case then good luck with a gaming rig this can be hard to do and pretty expensive with passive water cooler towers. Again you shouldn't notice the pump sounds if your case sits under your desk or away from you. Mine just happens to only have room mere inches from me. My 3 200mm fans drown out most noises once I start gaming but is much quieter than the stock CPU fan running at 4400 rpm. Cooler Master HAF 922 GA-MA790FX-UD5P AMD Phenom II 955 BE x4 3.2Ghz Corsair Dominator DDR2 1033 4x2Gb Silverstone ST-60