Introduction

Along with the rest of the main components to building a water loop in a PC, you must consider what reservoir you are going to use. There are many styles to choose from. You can go with a cylindrical res, but I have had a few develop stress cracks in them, so I moved to other variations. There are the pump-combo style ones that are bolted right to the side or top of the pump and add a few ounces of capacity, because most of these offerings are small and compact to be able to still fit inside the chassis somewhere. Of course we can't forget the bay style either. This has to be my personal favorite for a couple of reasons. First is the capacity, which is usually quite large, especially considering the dual bay options out there. The second reason I prefer the bay res is the ease in which you can fill and bleed the loop once it is completed.

There is one last type of reservoir that you will find widely available, and that is a bay res with the pump either completely built into the reservoir, or with others, you can mount one or even two pumps to it depending on the needs of the user. Not very often do you see more of a line-up approach to this concept though, and that is exactly what Swiftech is offering in the latest of its reservoirs. This design was built in three flavors, there is a standalone unit, there is a single pump variation, and yet a third version with the ability to house two pumps for that extra push in longer or more restrictive loops.

Swiftech keeps the "goodie train"� rolling on the concept that has made it to e-tailers shelves. The Maelstrom 5 one quarter inch dual bay reservoir has much more to offer than just a plain Acetal cube with some fittings and mounting holes drilled into it. Along with a great look to the front of the Maelstrom, there are plenty of things you will see on other examples, but some things you haven't seen, at least not all in the same package.

If I have piqued your interest, and you think the Maelstrom from Swiftech sounds like it may be your next purchase, continue reading, as it only gets better from here.