| Zalman Z9 Plus Mid-Tower Computer Case |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Nate Swetland - Edited by Olin Coles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 20 January 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Zalman Z9 Plus Computer Case ReviewZalman Tech, Co. is a well known company in the enthusiast PC market. They are most widely known for their performance cooling products, but they have a large assortment of Tower, Mid-Tower, and HTPC style computer chassis. The Z9 Plus is one of Zalman's latest offerings in the Mid-ATX computer chassis market, and it is designed to look good, perform well, and be reasonably priced. Benchmark Reviews is pleased to have one of the first looks at this new chassis. Being a veteran company, Zalman is no stranger to what PC enthusiasts want in a product. The Z9 Plus computer case aims to please with attractive features at an attractive price. Zalman has included such features as a 2 channel fan controller and temperature display built into the 4 USB front I/O panel. The Z9 Plus supports up to 7 system fans, as well as up to 290mm video cards for your convenience. Will this newest Mid-Tower ATX Case, the Z9 Plus live up to the Zalman name of performance and quality?
Cases are very cosmetically orientated items, but they also must perform and function to certain standards before they can be considered worth purchasing. Items reviewed by Benchmark Reviews are rated on the following categories: Performance, Appearance, Construction, Functionality, and Value. While some of these categories can tend to be a bit more subjective than others, Benchmark Reviews strives to provide the most professional and unbiased review as possible.
Manufacturer: Zalman Tech, Co. Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Zalman. Zalman Z9 Plus Features
Z9 Plus Specifications
Closer Look: ExteriorThe way a case looks is one of the most important factors when deciding on which product to purchase. If the case does not look good, many people pass it up without even considering how good the features are. Zalman is known for making attractive cooling solutions, hopefully they bring that elegance and style to their line of computer chassis as well.
Above we see the Zalman Z9 Plus at an angle from the front and left side. It has a very sleek black look to it, and it crosses between professional and exciting. The black paint on it is matte, with some shiny accents to give it a very nice style without being too flashy or gaudy. It is easy to see from the beginning that Zalman put considerable effort into making this case look good.
A shot of the front of the case shows a grilled front panel to allow proper airflow in and out of the Z9 Plus. Notice the "Z" built into the design of the case. I thought that was a very nice touch. On the very top is the power button, and below that you can see the I/O port. Under that are 3 more 5.25" sized expansion bays, and one external 3.5" bay. We will discuss those features later on.
This is the rear of the Z9 Plus. A 120mm fan is pre-installed in the rear of the case, and Zalman also included grommets on the rear for a water cooling setup. You can also see the 7 PCI expansion slots, and the rear mounting power supply opening.
Showing a top-down view of the case lets us see the Zalman logo where there is a little "tray" of sorts seemingly to store your phone, keys, etc. Also shown in this photo is the top grill for the one included 120mm Blue LED fan. Another 120mm or 140mm fan can be installed on the top for up to two 120mm or 140mm fans total. This entire top part can be removed to get to the fans for cleaning and maintenance. Follow the article to the next page to take a look at some of the more detailed exterior features of the Z9 Plus. Detailed Exterior FeaturesMany times, a case looks great from a distance but once you inspect it closer, you find a few flaws here and there. Often, these flaws don't amount to much more than personal preferences. Sometimes, however, these flaws turn out to be fatal to the design of the case. Let's take a closer look at the Z9 Plus's external features and see how close attention Zalman paid to the details.
Shows in this picture is the windowed left side of the Z9 Plus. The window can accommodate up to two 120mm fans, and Zalman kindly included one 120mm Blue LED fan with the Z9 Plus. The other fan goes in the upper-right corner. In the corners where the fans mount, the side has an open air grill, but on the corners that don't hold a fan, there is clear acrylic. The grilled section allows air flow in and out of the case to cool your hot components.
The above image shows the front of the case with the fascia removed. Behind that, you can see the 4 break-away 5.25" expansion bay covers. I am not at all fond of the break away covers, but Zalman smartly included a way to screw the covers back on when not using the bay. They should have simply made them screw-only and skipped the break-away part. The 5.25" covers on the front fascia are smartly covered with dust filters. If you remember from the specification chart, it says there are only 3 5.25" bays, but it appears there are 4 here. We will get into that later. On the bottom part of the image, you can see the removable filter for the 120mm or 140mm fan. Zalman included a Blue LED 120mm fan with the case to draw fresh outside air in and across your hard drives. The "Z" design on the front of the case may give you a little cause for concern, as it seems like it may impede air flow, but there appears to be enough open grill area and slots to allow enough air in. The front I/O panel can be moved around, but makes the most sense when installed on the top.
This is a picture of the bottom of the Z9 Plus. Zalman chose to include a mount for an optional bottom 120mmor 140mm fan. The fan opening is protected from the elements with a dust filter. Also on the bottom, you can see the unfiltered vents where the PSU will sit above. There are 4 rubber feet on each corner to provide grip and vibration resistance against any surface it sits on.
The picture above show the Z9 Plus with the LED lights on. It also shows the I/O panel turned on. Zalman included 4 120mm fans with the case, and 3 of them are Blue LED fans. The front I/O panel has four USB 2.0 ports, a microphone port, a headphone jack, a fan speed control knob, temperature display, and of course the power/reset buttons and HDD/Power LED. I really appreciate the inclusion of the four USB ports. Many cases I see only have 2, and I find myself constantly switching devices and cords. The temperature display is very nice to be able to keep tabs on a particular area inside your case. The fan speed control knob is also very handy for controlling up to 2 fans. Please follow the review to the next page to take a look at the inside of the Z9 Plus. Closer Look: InteriorAs with most things in life, you cannot judge a book simply by its cover. The way a case looks may be one of the most important external features about it, but the interior of the case needs to be able to properly house all of your components. In the next sections we will look at the inside and then fill the Z9 Plus with components to see whether this case is as nice on the inside as it is on the outside.
This is an image of the Z9 Plus empty. You can see the elegant black paint fully covers the interior of the chassis. Some of the major features of the interior include tool free hard drive installation, and an internal SSD mount. We will take a look at these features and several others.
This is an image of the opposite side of the case, underneath the motherboard. The wiring is what is included with the case for the fans, fan controller, USB ports, and everything else for the I/O panel. There are two pass-through 4 pin molex plugs, two 3 pin fan power plugs, two USB headers, a AC97/HD Audio header, and the plugs for power/reset/LED. By design, this is where you would run all of your cabling so that you don't have it cluttering up the interior of your case reducing the airflow, and making it look bad. Measuring the distance between the back of the motherboard tray and the exterior wall of the case gives you roughly 1/2" of room to tuck your cables in, which should be plenty for most all of your cables. There are plenty of open spaces to run your cables through and tie-off points for zip-ties and twist-ties to allow for proper cable management. Also shown in this photo is the large open space behind the motherboard to allow access to your CPU cooler. This can allow you to work on whatever cooling system you have installed without having to remove the whole motherboard just to remove a couple nuts from the backplate.
Still looking behind the motherboard tray, this is a close-up of the SSD mount. The drive would obviously mount on the opposite side of the motherboard. Mounting a drive here would allow you to keep it separate from your other hot hard drives, or even completely hide it if you have no other hard drives. One downfall is that there is not a lot of airflow through this section of the case, so heat may be an issue. It is still nice to see a clever use of a space that typically has nothing there.
Shown here is the place where your power supply goes. The power supply can be mounted in either orientation to accommodate those with different fan configurations. There are vents underneath the PSU to allow airflow from underneath, but I am a little disappointed that they chose to not put a dust cover over these vents, but the fan mount right next to it has a cover. The rubber stand-offs help reduce vibration and sound from your PSU.
Shown here is the adapter for using a 3.5" drive such as a floppy, memory card reader, or any other 3.5" device in your 5.25" bay. This comes pre-installed in the bottom 5.25" bay, but is easy enough to move around. Detailed Interior FeaturesWithout actually installing any parts, the interior of a case can look good, especially on paper/text. Once you put a few components in, you can soon learn whether the manufacturer thought ahead and paid attention to builder's wants and needs. Let's see if Zalman made the extra effort to make the Z9 Plus with a high level of detail we would expect from an established company.
This is an image with the power supply mounted in the bottom of the Z9 Plus. I read many concerns about installing PSUs in the bottom like this because "heat rises". Most PSUs now have one intake fan and one exhaust fan. If you install your power supply so that the air draws air in from the bottom, and expels it out the back, there is little to no heat that will be rising from it. My only concern here is again with the vents not having a dust cover. Being on the floor, I would imagine the power supply would drag in a bunch of dust, so a regular cleaning would be necessary, but you should be doing that already. Depending on the cable configuration of your PSU, you may run into some trouble if you choose to install a fan on the bottom of the Z9 Plus. I enjoy the option of being able to put a fan there, but it may create a very tight space for your cables, or not fit at all depending on where your cables exit your PSU.
Shown in this photo is the area where your hard drives go. The Z9 Plus can hold up to five 3.5" hard drives in this cage, and Zalman says that they it is a tool free process. We all know better, and realize that tool free means that once you use a tool to install a certain clip or bracket, that you no longer need tools to move it around. There are included rubber washers that screw into the hard drives to slide in and out of the grooves and lock into place. To remove the drive, you simply pull up on the locks and the drive will slide out. The rubber allows for a reduction in sound and vibration. There is also a way to secure each hard drive with a screw in the rear if you are transporting the case. You can mount the drives in either direction, allowing you to point the cables towards the back, keeping some cable clutter out of sight. In the front of the case, there is a 120mm Blue LED fan that draws air in and across the hard drives to help keep them cool.
You can see the motherboard installed in this picture. The Z9 Plus will accommodate both Standard ATX and m-ATX motherboards. There were no issues installing the motherboard at all. The open area behind the CPU allows for easy installation of the CPU cooler. Speaking on the CPU cooler, the distance between the motherboard tray and the external panel is roughly 7", so bear that in mind when choosing a CPU cooler, but most should fit (here if a good place to start if you are in the market). I made a rookie mistake of not roughing out where my wiring will go from the included rear 120mm fan or to the 12V plug on the motherboard, so I got to install the motherboard twice. Normally, I would just plug the rear fan into the chassis fan header on the motherboard and not have to worry about tucking it behind, but Zalman annoyingly chose to use a fan with a 4pin molex plug. I hope I am not alone in thinking that every fan should really be the 3 pin connector, as most all motherboards and fan controllers use those plugs as their standard for fan power. Luckily, this was the only fan of the four included that needed a molex power source.
After installing the PSU, motherboard and drives, next comes the video card. I have a EVGA GTX 260 that I use, and I had no trouble installing it. My previous case requires me to put it in at an angle, and rotate it once I get it in, but with 290mm of space between the HDD/ODD cage and the rear of the Z9 Plus allows for even the largest video cards to go in without hassle. I now realize why the spec sheet lists only three external 5.25", even though there looks like there is a place for a fourth 5.25" drive. If you install an optical drive in the bottom slot, it will be right up against your GPU, and that is asking for trouble. The optical drives install the old fashion way, and ar e screwed in. One thing I noticed when installing the GPU is with the PCI bracket covers. Like with the front 5.25" bay covers, they are the type that you need to break away. However, unlike the ones in the front, you cannot put them back in. Once they are out, you will need some other 3rd party PCI slot cover. Cable management is easily done by way of the openings leading to the opposite side of the case. There are two on the side of the case, one small one in the upper left corner for your top/rear fan and the 12V 4-pin power. There also is an opening on the bottom of the case. It would have been nice if there was a small space to allow cables to pass between the PSU and the motherboard, as that would cut down on a lot of clutter.
This is what the opposite side of the case looks like with all the components installed. Yes, I still use an IDE DVD-RW. As you can see, it is pretty messy. I cleaned it up a little, but I honestly did not feel the need to clean it up perfectly because this is a part of the case that never gets seen. The point of having this area, and all the openings to run the cables through is so that you never see these cables, but still can have easy access to them. The distance between the motherboard tray and this side panel is 1/2". Obviously, this could be cleaned up some, but being hidden, it doesn't require it. I think Zalman makes it very easy to run your cables behind here and make the Z9 Plus look better on the inside. If you notice on the right hand side, Zalman included an extension cable for the 12V plug that goes next to your CPU. This is the very first time I have seen a case included with one of these cables, and I could not be happier. This cable made the difference between me having to run the cable on the interior instead of neatly behind the motherboard. Kudos to Zalman for that. Zalman Case Final ThoughtsComputer cases come in a variety of sizes, colors and shapes. While there may not be a definitive measurement to determine whether a case is good or not, there are definitely things that can stand out as being good or bad. Cases are typically not overly expensive, but they do have the responsibility of securing the most expensive parts of your computer components, so there is not much room for failure. Zalman's reputation is that of solid CPU cooling components, and they have been around since 1999, so you tend to expect good products from them. The Z9 Plus is not their first case in the market, but it is one of their newest, and is priced so that everyone can afford it. The Z9 Plus has several positive points to it. The case itself is very good looking. The elegant black matte color, and nicely designed front fascia make for a very appealing look. The included 4 Zalman branded fans are a very welcome addition to the case for added air flow, as well as the option for 3 more fans! The cable management of the Z9 Plus is very accommodating, allowing most of the wiring to pass through to be hidden behind the motherboard. Having a full 290mm for support on the larger GPUs is very nice, also. Not every case is without its flaws, and the Z9 Plus is no exception. Flaws are a fact of life, it is important that these flaws do not impact the case to the point of being unusable. The break-away covers for the PCI brackets and 5.25" bays have to go. The 5.25" bays get a pass because they can be screwed back on, but you can't replace the PCI covers which is bad if you change your components around a lot. I am not impressed with Zalman's choice to include 3 fans with a 3 pin power connector on them, and leave one ugly duckling with a 4 pin molex plug. Zalman is a company with a huge assortment of cooling products, so I know they have plenty of fan choices at their disposal. Please stick to all 3 pin connectors in the future. I was not at all pleased with the Power Supple vents underneath not having a dust filter. I also would have liked to see a small gap between the power supply and the motherboard to allow for cables to be hidden all the way to the bottom left corner of the motherboard (some of us actually use a lot of those headers). I think Zalman has a very solid Mid ATX case in the Z9 Plus. It looks nice, the components install easily, and there are only a few minor setbacks. The largest setback for me is the unfiltered PSU intake vents, but that is not a show stopper. I am sure some sacrifices must be made to ensure that a case like this stays at the price point. Z9 Plus ConclusionPerformance on this case is well within acceptable levels. The 4 included fans provided excellent air flow in and out of the case. The temperature on the LCD stays in the low 30s Celsius when it is put right at the base of the CPU. The fans are not loud at all. While adjusting the speed gauge, I could barely even tell the fans were running faster. The Appearance of this case is very good in my opinion. I like the sleek black look. There are blue LED fans inside that give it a nice interior glow. The front temperature and HDD LED are red, and the power button is blue. I really like the "Z" designed into the front fascia. I enjoy having a window on the side, but I also like that it is functional by allowing two 120mm fans to be installed on it. The Construction of the case is sturdy. It is made of steel and plastic, so it is not exactly high-end material, however. There is a little bit of flex room in the metal, but not so much that you would say it is cheap or any real problem at all. The case comes apart easy enough. The front comes off with just a few clips, and the same with the top for easy maintenance and cleaning. I didn't find a single sharp edge while installing my components, but that should be expected of most any case in my opinion. The Functionality of the case is superb. The front I/O panel performs like it should. The buttons, lights, ports, and dials all work well. The fan controller is a nice touch, and it controls the fans well. The included temperature gauge shows the temperature in Celsius of any area you want, and the screen is very easy to read. Installation of the components is very easy and straightforward. Regarding Value, Zalman put a lot into this case, but does not expect a lot of cash out of you. The Zalman Z9 Plus is currently listed for $69.99 at Amazon and Newegg. I feel that is a great price point for a case with these features and style. I think that if you are in the market for a decent yet affordable computer case, the Zalman Z9 Plus is absolutely worth the money. Pros:
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Comments
I'm still not seeing any innovative ideas in case making, save the side mount drives, putting their rear ends back where the connectors are, which is good.
I also don't like the cheap look of stamped metal and injection molded plastic, but hey, it's what everyone does.
I can see why you think the case is decent looking, but for me, it might win one of the fugliest cases ever award. But I'm really nit picky when it comes to cases.
As stated before, I have a CcolerMaster Stacker 830 SE black brushed full aluminum case, and it's build quality and thick aluminum is second to none, along with its beautiful design. It's an old case and still puts to shame many of the newer ones in form and functionality. You can still by these iconic cases, but their prices haven't gone down in 5 years. They will set you back almost 300US dollars.
Here is the case in bare brushed aluminum:
##coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=16
Now THAT is a handsome case!
As far as it looking good or bad, I think we can agree that is very much a subjective category. If you don't like a particular color or material, and the case is made out of it, you will think it does not look good, but another person will praise it up and down. It is just the way it works.
Again, thanks for your comments!
Thanks Nate. Good review.
I hope more and more companies continue these trends. Having the same features as the high-end cases will require more innovation just to keep the cases in the high-end categories and justify the costs.
Thanks!
This case has some nice features, especially for this price point. I liked the two 140mm fans on top. That means your can block off the rear position and set up the forward position as an intake to feed your cpu cooler fresh air.
I liked the bottom 140mm intake - with filter.
The HD cage seems to be made with mesh, so there is better airflow past the HD's.
Finally, if you put your ODD up top, you will have three 5.25 slots available for a 120mm intake fan., which can also feed fresh air to the heatsink.
Lots of opportunities in this inexpensive case.
The bottom intake fan is a nice option. But, depending on your PSU, it may be a pretty tight fit with all the wires down there. I still don't understand why they put a fan filter there, but not one for the PSU intake.
Adding a 120mm fan in the 5.25" slots would indeed be a great way to push fresh air from the front all the way across the heatsink and out the back, or straight out the top depending on your heatsink and fan position.