A Look Inside
Getting inside the case you can see that Zalman has gone with an all black interior. The first thing that I noticed when I opened the case was that Zalman is using the external USB 3.0 connectors rather than the internal connector. Although they do provide a PCI slot cover so you can easily route the cables around to the back of your case.
Starting at the front of the case we have the four 5.25-inch bays and the single
3.5-inch bay. The 3.5-inch bay can actually be used as a 5.25-inch bay if you remove the adapter. All of these bays use the older simple screw installation, no tool-less systems here. Moving down there are 5 hard drive slots, which your hard drives will slide into using a tool-less system.
The power supply of course will be mounted on the bottom of the case and there are 4 small rubber feet that will lift your power supply off the bottom of the case for better airflow. There is also a spot on the bottom of the case for a 120mm or 140mm fan.
The PCI slot covers are the ones you have to break off and again no tool-less systems here. Up top you have the 120mm exhaust fan and 120mm blue LED fan.
There is a large CPU cutout so you should have to worry about installing your aftermarket CPU cooler while your motherboard is still installed inside the case. There are a few cable routing holes, but they do not have the rubber inserts in them. The metal is rounded though so you shouldn’t rip or cut your cables.
If we take the opposite side of the case off we can see how everything is routed. Also you can see the entire bottom of the case is open so you will be able to route your power supply’s cables easily. Also on the backside of the motherboard tray is a spot where you can mount a 2.5-inch solid state drive. While there is not a ton of room on the backside of the motherboard tray there is ample space to route some cables.
You will find all of your mounting hardware inside the case along with a CPU power extension cable, a PCI slot cover for routing the USB cables, an extra PCI slot cover and the user’s manual.
I have to agree with Bob here; I went straight to the “Final Thoughts” after getting to the point that there wasn’t native 2.5″ HDD support, at a price of $85, there are more than a few better cases floating around the online stores (that include USB 3.0 motherboard connectors).
Hi to everyone. I own a Zalman Z9 Plus (similar to this Z11) and I have to say:
>> Weird that the fans use different connectors
I’m DOUBLE WEIRD and agree with Bob. Why to use different connectors? It does not make sense to me! Could use a double version connector, molex & 3-pin. Bad choice for a good chassis (in my opinion).
Pros:
– Futuristic design
• Amazing desing of the case that’s why I’ve bought it + great cable management
– 5 included cooling fans
• my pc runs so cool
– USB 3.0 support
• Why they didn’t made USB 3.0 internal ? =/
Cons:
– CPU power cable opening is partially blocked
• yes, but guys to put correctly the 8 pin cpu atx connector, disconnect the 4+4 to 4 pin pass it and the second 😉
– Not a lot of room on the backside of the case
• Hell yes it’s true but when you do a better cable management it closes correctly
– Weird that the fans use different connectors
• yes but when you don’t have enought connectors on your motherboard and can’t buy a fan controller it’s a good idea
weird to see the usb 3.0 cables on the back I was so unhappy to see them there. I did some research and I found a 20 pins usb 3.0 header to a female usb 3.0 ,still waiting to receive it hopefully I will be able to connect the front usb 3.0 directly to the motherboard inside
bottom psu vent is not enough. my psu fan making noise when im install the psu downwards. i check the bottom and back of the psu with my hand and i dont feel any air flow at all, even psu fan is running at full speed. when i rotate the psu upwars sound disappeared. and i can feel the airflow from the back of the psu.
Noise coming from your PSU has nothing to do with which way your PSU is facing (up or down), just means your PSU fan is slowly dying.
You can do 1 of 2 things; get a new fan for your PSU (cheapest way), or buy a new PSU (from a reputable company).
its a brand new psu from zalman. noise coming from psu fan under load because of the poor design of bottom vent.