Customer Reviews

Z-machine LQ1000 Liquid Cooler

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had this case for little over a year and it is now non-functional. I couldn't get the system to bleed at my first water change so all parts had to be replaced. Then about 8 month later, there was no water flow and I was not never to get the flow indicator to spin. What a nitemare! This case also uses the mix metal so you have to use the corrosion preventive liquid and I believe that's what's causing the clogging. Too much stress getting water to flow on this system. I loved the construction but it doesn't last long.

The case is very solid, well-built, and quiet. It's not a top-performing setup in terms of heat dissipation, but if you're not massively overclocking, it will let you run a performance system with a minimum amount of noise. That's my use case, by the way -- I wanted a machine that could play games using a 130W processor and a >300W video card, and my wife wanted to make sure she wouldn't hear it.

Things I've learned since buying this kit:

- Most importantly: it works. Under load, I'm dumping 400-odd watts straight into the cooling loop, plus another 200W to the air from the motherboard, PSU, disks, and other losses. The 220mm fan pulls air from the left side, over a radiator, and onto the motherboard, while the 120mm fan on the back pulls it back out -- quietly. I routinely forget that it's on.

- Second most importantly: do *not* use the included coolant. It will accumulate inside your system. Zalman attributes problems to people using tap water instead of distilled, but they're wrong. I used distilled water with the included ZM-G200. Eight months in, I ended up with crystals sticking my flow meter in place.

- Guess what? If the flow meter stops, it makes beeps, blinks the front panel, then shuts off the cooling system even though the computer is still running. Why? Who knows. Seems like a bad idea to me.

- Zalman USA support is quite good. When I bought the case, it came with an older CPU waterblock, which didn't work with my LGA1366 motherboard. They sent me a new one quickly. When my flow meter stopped flowing, they sent me a new one quickly.

- Replacing the flow meter sucks... but the reason it sucks is that Zalman did a good job of hiding cables and tubes. If I were building it, it would be a lot more messy than the way they did it.

Bottom line: liquid cooling is perfect for my scenario, and starting out as a noob, this was a good pick. I'm definitely going to liquid cool my next gaming system, and now that I'm more comfortable with it, I'll probably roll my own -- I think I can do better using parts from other vendors. That said, the LQ1000 is great if you want to build a fast and quiet system with a minimum of fuss. Just make sure you spend the money to get a good waterblock for your video card(s), and make sure you use Feser One instead.

Good hardware but apparently defective coolant provided with this system. After five months of use the liquid stopped flowing. Zalman tech support suggested degaussing and checking water block installation. Neven mentioned the possibility of blue crystals. After doing some web research, I discovered that several users experienced the same issue - the coolant creates a chemical reaction which results in blue gunk clogging up the water block and ruining the system.

It's a beautiful machine and I hope to be able to fix it and make it work with another coolant.

The case is very sturdy and has really surprised me with building quality. I have a one non-disabling issue (1of2 usb ports doesn't work). Watercooling was very easy to organize and now I have only added VGA-cooling block.

Recommend, if you're up for quality.

Very well build case. Had to leave off the fan grill and make some adjustments to get the side door to shut (BFG 295 liquid cooled card). Managed to to get all the water cooling in in - Video card, north bridge, processor - very tight fit but works good. Would buy a bigger case next time, this one a little small.