The secret to the Reserator's silent operation is a massive radiator column that also serves as the system's reservoir. This baby is huge, measuring six inches in diameter and nearly two feet tall. This time around, Zalman has toned down the aesthetics a little; the original's radiator was anodized bright blue, but the Reserator 1 Plus is dressed in a more reserved black.

I'm a sucker for bold colors, so I actually didn't mind the original Reserator's blue hue. Still, the new black anodized finish should allow the Reserator to blend in better with its surroundings. There's only so much blending a massive finned column of aluminum can do, though. The Reserator's gargantuan proportions are difficult to disguise, and it's tempting to simply give up on subtlety and showcase the radiator as a piece of industrial art rather than making an attempt at camouflage.

In addition to making the Reserator rather difficult to hide, the radiator's size also makes it cumbersome to lug around. The radiator weighs over 14 pounds empty, and when filled with the 2.5 liters of liquid it can accommodate, it only gets heavier. You definitely don't want this cooler attached to your LAN gaming rig unless you're the one hosting the party.

The Reserator's size and weight are necessary to allow the radiator to dissipate heat without the assistance of cooling fans. Natural convection requires loads of surface area, and you simply can't get there with a smaller radiator. Such is the price of relative silence.

Although the Reserator's radiator couldn't be more different from that of the Nautilus500, both units use identical hose plugs. The quick-release plugs effectively block fluid flow when hoses are unplugged, allowing the radiator to be removed from the system for easier transportation. Such a maneuver was considerably more difficult with the original Reserator, whose compression fittings had to be backed up by separate hose clamps to cut off fluid flow.

The Reserator 1 Plus's fluid flow is powered by a 5V pump that sits inside the base of the radiator tower. Like the original, the pump can push up to 300 liters per hour, which is slightly less than the flow rate of the Nautilus500. The Reserator 1 Plus also differs from the Nautilus when it comes to power. Rather than drawing juice from a PC's power supply, it plugs directly into a wall socket. This prevents the unit from powering on automatically when the PC is booted, so you'll have to remember to turn it on separately.

Those longing for a bit of the original Reserator blue will be pleased to note that the color makes an appearance in the brightly anodized CPU block. The block looks similar to the one shipped with the original Reserator, right down to the metal compression fittings and copper base. You'll have to attach the hoses yourself, though.

Zalman ships the Reserator's CPU block with the necessary mounting hardware for all modern CPU sockets, including Socket A. Those familiar with Zalman's traditional air coolers will recognize a lot of this mounting hardware. Zalman tends to use the same mounting brackets for both its water and air coolers.

In addition to shipping the Reserator 1 Plus with a CPU block, Zalman also throws in a GPU block and eight memory heat sinks. Zalman sold this GPU block as a separate accessory for the original Reserator, so it's nice to see it included in the box this time around.

The Reserator's GPU block comes bundled with all the mounting hardware you'll need, and it's compatible with a wide variety graphics cards, including ATI's and NVIDIA's latest and greatest. Zalman even claims that it can handle the infamous GeForce FX 5800, which otherwise requires a Dustbuster to keep cool.

Sadly, the GPU block's finish isn't quite as shiny as that of the CPU block. The latter is polished to a near-mirror finish, while the former's base is much duller and distinctly lacking in the copper department. That said, both are smooth, with nary a scratch to blemish either base.

Zalman rounds out the Reserator's bundle with a collection of extra goodies, including a bottle of coolant additive, fittings to allow the system to be run with an auxiliary external pump, and an in-line flow indicator that visually confirms that liquid is flowing freely through the system. The flow indicator is particularly handy because the Reserator doesn't make any audible noise when it's on.

To connect all the Reserator's bits and pieces together, Zalman ships the unit with 4 meters of blue silicone tubing. The tubing is more flexible than what's included with the Nautilus, but the bright blue silicone detracts from the black radiator's classy appearance. Zalman also makes a north bridge block that's compatible with the Reserator, but doesn't bundle it in the box. Liquid cooling of the north bridge is probably a little extreme for most folks, though, and adding it to the bundle would only push the Reserator's price higher. As it stands, the unit is relatively expensive at close to $230 online. That's certainly not unreasonable given the massive aluminum radiator tower and GPU cooler, but it might push the limits of some folks' budgets.