- Joined
- Dec 4, 2002
- Location
- Hell's Kitchen
*edit* Credit to this product must also be given to http://www.case-mod.com
http://dtekcustoms.safeshopper.com/20/167.htm?956
Considering the growing popularity of water-cooling setups, it seems somewhat surprising that there is a relative dearth of good reservoirs for such systems. After the poor reservoir showing offered at http://www.dangerden.com, it's good to see that dtek--another popular watercooling company--has decided to take a shot at this thinly represented segment of the watercooling market. Dtek started out with a pretty elegant idea: to place a reservoir in a location where space is likely available in most people's cases and to ease the difficulties inherent in bleeding/filling a wc system.
Initial thoughts and installation:
This reservoir is very well made. Constructed of 1/4" thick acrylic, the Bay-Res is nicely fitted together and exhibits no tendencies of leakage. Although the acrylic is somewhat scratch prone, it should be able to survive relatively intact and unscathed under normal usage. It comes with either 3/8" or 1/2" inner diameter, plastic elbow (or straight) barbs which have shown no leakage after about a month of use. Overall, the quality is what people have come to expect from dtek. Installation is very straight forward and hassle free. The kit includes everything you need to get going. The only problem I ran into was trying to fit a drive directly under the Bay-Res. Because I had purchased it with the elbow barbs, I found that hooking up a molex and IDE cable would cause my hoses to kink pretty badly since they connected right next to where the connections were on the drive.
Performance:
Ok, here's where I ran into some problems. Because the Bay-Res holds a relatively low volume of water, and the fact that the water level is pretty shallow, unless you fill the reservoir to near the top, you'll end up with a LOT of bubbles in your wc loop--especially if you have a powerful pump. The water really moves around a lot in the res and thus tends to mix it up with any air you may have in your system. The air bubbles get worse when you mix it with water additives since they tend to bubble up when agitated. That being said, it takes a few tries of pumping your system; turning it off and refilling; and waiting for bubbles to dissipate before you can have a bubble-free loop. I ended up having to tip my entire case in order to help facilitate the removal of bubbles. Now, this problem isn't as bad as it is with the DangerDen res (aka the Bubble Machine), but it is a concern at least with the initial filling. After you have your system sufficiently filled and primed though, the loop performs fairly hassle free. I think if Dtek had made the Bay-Res take up two 5 1/4 slots instead of just one, filling it would have been much easier.
After getting all the bubles out, I must admit, it does look pretty cool with the all the water moving around in the acrylic. If you add a little UV dye and install some cathodes, it could look very nice.
Pros:
-Well made. Definately looks like a professional product and not some DIY job done in some Shmoe's garage.
-Reduces clutter in a WC system since it precludes the need for a t-line.
-Fairly priced.
-Looks schweet .
Cons:
-Somewhat difficult to bleed--especially with a high powered pump.
-Fill hole is small so care needs to be taken when filling it up.
http://dtekcustoms.safeshopper.com/20/167.htm?956
Considering the growing popularity of water-cooling setups, it seems somewhat surprising that there is a relative dearth of good reservoirs for such systems. After the poor reservoir showing offered at http://www.dangerden.com, it's good to see that dtek--another popular watercooling company--has decided to take a shot at this thinly represented segment of the watercooling market. Dtek started out with a pretty elegant idea: to place a reservoir in a location where space is likely available in most people's cases and to ease the difficulties inherent in bleeding/filling a wc system.
Initial thoughts and installation:
This reservoir is very well made. Constructed of 1/4" thick acrylic, the Bay-Res is nicely fitted together and exhibits no tendencies of leakage. Although the acrylic is somewhat scratch prone, it should be able to survive relatively intact and unscathed under normal usage. It comes with either 3/8" or 1/2" inner diameter, plastic elbow (or straight) barbs which have shown no leakage after about a month of use. Overall, the quality is what people have come to expect from dtek. Installation is very straight forward and hassle free. The kit includes everything you need to get going. The only problem I ran into was trying to fit a drive directly under the Bay-Res. Because I had purchased it with the elbow barbs, I found that hooking up a molex and IDE cable would cause my hoses to kink pretty badly since they connected right next to where the connections were on the drive.
Performance:
Ok, here's where I ran into some problems. Because the Bay-Res holds a relatively low volume of water, and the fact that the water level is pretty shallow, unless you fill the reservoir to near the top, you'll end up with a LOT of bubbles in your wc loop--especially if you have a powerful pump. The water really moves around a lot in the res and thus tends to mix it up with any air you may have in your system. The air bubbles get worse when you mix it with water additives since they tend to bubble up when agitated. That being said, it takes a few tries of pumping your system; turning it off and refilling; and waiting for bubbles to dissipate before you can have a bubble-free loop. I ended up having to tip my entire case in order to help facilitate the removal of bubbles. Now, this problem isn't as bad as it is with the DangerDen res (aka the Bubble Machine), but it is a concern at least with the initial filling. After you have your system sufficiently filled and primed though, the loop performs fairly hassle free. I think if Dtek had made the Bay-Res take up two 5 1/4 slots instead of just one, filling it would have been much easier.
After getting all the bubles out, I must admit, it does look pretty cool with the all the water moving around in the acrylic. If you add a little UV dye and install some cathodes, it could look very nice.
Pros:
-Well made. Definately looks like a professional product and not some DIY job done in some Shmoe's garage.
-Reduces clutter in a WC system since it precludes the need for a t-line.
-Fairly priced.
-Looks schweet .
Cons:
-Somewhat difficult to bleed--especially with a high powered pump.
-Fill hole is small so care needs to be taken when filling it up.
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