Jump to content

Zalman Z9 Neo Black & White: The new Standard for Budget Cases

brownninja97

45baaaca3c8a5155ae31bbb40328677c.png4ef8f3cc648d0fe11f29e5aba52e67a5.png

One is glossy, one is brushed. The Neo series of Zalman cases is built on success, its built on understanding where Zalman have succeeded, its built on understanding the attempts of other companies and the ways in which the market is heading. Zalman however doesnt go for high priced cases, no they dominate the low end market but that doesnt mean there cant be innovation  in the ever increasing demand for quality vs price. Anyways its time to charge in and see what this next attempt Zalman offers. 

 

In my usual format ill be quoting and then providing my own feedback on the stats. 

 

The two cases are identical apart from colour(from what ive been told) but ill take pictures from the white one because its easier to notice things.

 

cb6b784a07d630555913ec3c10ab1007.png

 

We begin with the front IO, standard issue here, well sadly the "ACT" or ANTI-CAT-TECHNOLOGY hasnt been implemented in this case but thats a story for another day. It has two usb 2.0 and two usb 3.0(uses 19pin of course(no pass-throughs in 2015)) and your reset is in the centre of the case. The audio ports are nickel plated if that matters to you, personally i think gold doesnt effect it. 

 

4e8d5b08b663278919211f3380e92461.png

 

Next up is the flow of air, dual intakes and tri exhausts, yes three of the buggers are thrown in at the top and rear of the case. Intakes from the bottom and sides of the front panel. There is also a door, it uses magnetic stoppers so if you dramatically slam it shut it will stay shut well at least it should(results may vary). There is dampening foam applied it, 0.6cm of the stuff which is around half the amount the define R5 has, that bad but they are going for different price points. Also guys seriously plug your exhaust fans in, cant have one fan doing nothing at the rear of the case(refer to white fan at the top of the case). 

a0370745ad9f95d1ec604c1dc5b7c18d.png

 

As usual Zalman throw as many fans as they can at you so now you get the choice of ditching the led fans or using them in place of the standard white fans. 

 

As for the fan specs they are all ZM-F3s, well the led or white variants of them at least. they range from 1000-1500rpm and 18-23dBa with a max cfm of 59.7 and a static pressure of 1.1. They are slightly above average id say, a bit worse then Corsair Sp120s

 

Now i know you are interested in that stab of metal on the psu slot area zone spot but ill onto that soon, keep the midnight oil close by though.

 

77140f3ea736504a5545f49f9ef823f1.png

Another feature which has come to be known is the bottom slot for the psu intakes. Zalman have put pretty tall feet which are just under 2cm so that you can use this on a carpet as well, cat hairs will still kill a psu though, generally its recommended that cats stay away from the bottom of your case. Also dont make the mistake zalman did, screw your psu into your case unless you want to have a bad that, a psu bodyslamming the hdd cage in front will result in a bad time.

 

42889a888ae964b0003e51b768399525.png

 

Onto the interior where things change up a little, especially in the case for Zalman.

 

Majority of the motherboard standoffs are already put in to save you time which is a god send to people such as myself that lack dexterity, three more are in the accessory bag and of course you can relocate the other ones if you need to. 

 

Rubber slits are added because they look nice, there is a myth that it saves your cables from beheading themselves but that doesnt really happen regardless it looks nicer then without it. 

 

A bunch of cable tie mounts are provided for cable management at the rear end of the case.

 

ATX, MATX, MITX are supported as well as those dodgy sub-genres which are around the same size. 

 

The hdd bay in the front can be removed because its ugly and will appease small children while you build your case(with the exception of the gtx titan hardware and babies dont mix). Anyways you can store up to 6 3.5inch hdds or 4 2.5inch ssds and without the ghastly sheet metal you can store 2 3.5hdds or 3 ssds though tbh you can just throw your ssd wherever you want, im not sure actually sure where my ssd is inside by as but im writing this so its still there. 

 

You can throw a 240mm rad in the front and at the top or both if you want to. 

 

dual 5.25 inch slots are provided for people that need then.

 

Supports up to 3 gpus

 

28f83a3c083c4d99098c26bea4290a87.png

 

With the top part you have three options, you have the silent mode.

 

The medium mode, this takes off the filtered "thing" which allows more air to be exhaust without breaking the image of the case.

 

Then the full on rage mode where you rip the white block and throw it at someone and get full airflow of the two exhausts at the top of the case. Note that this will look a little bad hence they didnt show pictures on their website. Also note push pull setups with rads at the top will require the rage mode to be enabled

 

7a42332a8eee98899f2c0cfbc38ccbfe.png
here is a summary of the stats

 

The PSU clearance increases massively if you remove the hdd bay under the shroud. (rubber mounts)

 

GPU clearance is 340mm with the front hdd brackets or a pretty insane 420mm. For reference just everything will fit, seriously you could get like 4 of those R9 Nanos lined up. 

 

As for cpu clearance nearly everything will fit, the NHD14 will fit easily and the NHD15 has the same height so that migth cut it close. 

 

generally clearance is fine with this case. 

 

f96ce4594dde88a9dcf996fb53075c1f.png

 

USE SCREWS. SERIOUSLY

846c9821c1fcebb5e177230eef2e2f3a.png

 

Finally there is the various gubbins you get with the accessory bag, still not sure why you get two extra pci brackets, id prefer more cable ties thank you. 

 

 

Pricing:

 

Ah the final chapter, this is where cases can win a crowd or hissed at and well I can say in Europe its great, in the US its edgy. 

 

UK: £50

 

Euro: €60

 

US: $70

 

 

Overall(tl;dr): For the price its an extremely good case, there are multiple successful characteristics in this case which really mark it above some of the other cases in that pricing range. Zalman have somehow managed to push such a case out for such a price. Generally it takes three months for the case to be available everywhere after its put on the website.

 

So then what do you guys think

 

Sources:

 

http://zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=976

 

http://zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=975

 

http://zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=412

cpu: intel i5 4670k @ 4.5ghz Ram: G skill ares 2x4gb 2166mhz cl10 Gpu: GTX 680 liquid cooled cpu cooler: Raijintek ereboss Mobo: gigabyte z87x ud5h psu: cm gx650 bronze Case: Zalman Z9 plus


Listen if you care.

Cpu: intel i7 4770k @ 4.2ghz Ram: G skill  ripjaws 2x4gb Gpu: nvidia gtx 970 cpu cooler: akasa venom voodoo Mobo: G1.Sniper Z6 Psu: XFX proseries 650w Case: Zalman H1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm digging the design. Now, only if it were an all-steel construction... and maybe were a little bit more minimalist, but I have to give props to Zalman for piquing my interest. Guess I will be keeping Zalman on my radar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm digging the design. Now, only if it were an all-steel construction... and maybe were a little bit more minimalist, but I have to give props to Zalman for piquing my interest. Guess I will be keeping Zalman on my radar.

Yeah bit of a shame but its a very nice attempt. Its nice that they are a adapting to the newer market

Oh man, this is great!

 

I'd totally buy this. It's smells ever so slightly of NZXTs design. I love it.

Yeah since they left their parent company that nearly killed them they have increased in quality massively. 

cpu: intel i5 4670k @ 4.5ghz Ram: G skill ares 2x4gb 2166mhz cl10 Gpu: GTX 680 liquid cooled cpu cooler: Raijintek ereboss Mobo: gigabyte z87x ud5h psu: cm gx650 bronze Case: Zalman Z9 plus


Listen if you care.

Cpu: intel i7 4770k @ 4.2ghz Ram: G skill  ripjaws 2x4gb Gpu: nvidia gtx 970 cpu cooler: akasa venom voodoo Mobo: G1.Sniper Z6 Psu: XFX proseries 650w Case: Zalman H1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks pretty neat. It would be better if they increase the window size even bigger.

ROG X570-F Strix AMD R9 5900X | EK Elite 360 | EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra | G.Skill Trident Z Neo 64gb | Samsung 980 PRO 
ROG Strix XG349C Corsair 4000 | Bose C5 | ROG Swift PG279Q

Logitech G810 Orion Sennheiser HD 518 |  Logitech 502 Hero

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Reminds me of the Enthoo Pro M.  That means the side-front intakes are unfiltered, possibly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Reminds me of the Enthoo Pro M.  That means the side-front intakes are unfiltered, possibly.

You are correct, this is simply because filters will reduce the amount of air coming in from the sides and its already as low as it is with cover in the front.

cpu: intel i5 4670k @ 4.5ghz Ram: G skill ares 2x4gb 2166mhz cl10 Gpu: GTX 680 liquid cooled cpu cooler: Raijintek ereboss Mobo: gigabyte z87x ud5h psu: cm gx650 bronze Case: Zalman Z9 plus


Listen if you care.

Cpu: intel i7 4770k @ 4.2ghz Ram: G skill  ripjaws 2x4gb Gpu: nvidia gtx 970 cpu cooler: akasa venom voodoo Mobo: G1.Sniper Z6 Psu: XFX proseries 650w Case: Zalman H1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Pretty damn good for the price point! Maybe Zalman can do an all steel build in the future, but this seems pretty packed for the low cost of entry. Not bad, not bad at all.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was actually thinking of getting a Z9 + back in the day, I decided not to because of the seemingly numberless flaws. This hopefully will dispel my prior thoughts about Zalman. 

 

I really do like their case design, though I like be quiet!'s a little bit more-so.

CPU: Intel i7 8700K | CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 | RAM: Kingston HyperX 2x8GB | Motherboard: Asus ROG Z370-E | GPU: MSI GTX 970 | HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB & 2TB | SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB & 970 EVO M.2 500GB | Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X | PSU: Silverstone Platinum Strider 1100W | Monitor: AOC i2367Fh | Headphones: ATH-M40X | Mic: Antlion ModMic 4 | Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB w/ MX Browns | Mouse: Logitech G502 HERO

 

Make sure you quote or mention the person you're replying to in your comment. Also remember to follow your thread when creating it to get a notification every time someone replies. 

Be nice and have fun. Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I like.

 

EDIT: Also, 10/10 news post

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Damn, i really wish i didnt like my case...

Primary:

Intel i5 4670K (3.8 GHz) | ASRock Extreme 4 Z87 | 16GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical LP 2x8GB | Gigabyte GTX980ti | Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 240GB | Corsair RM 850W | Nanoxia Deep Silence 1| Ducky Shine 3 | Corsair m95 | 2x Monoprice 1440p IPS Displays | Altec Lansing VS2321 | Sennheiser HD558 | Antlion ModMic

HTPC:

Intel NUC i5 D54250WYK | 4GB Kingston 1600MHz DDR3L | 256GB Crucial M4 mSATA SSD | Logitech K400

NAS:

Thecus n4800 | WD White Label 8tb x4 in raid 5

Phones:

Oneplux 6t (Mint), Nexus 5x 8.1.0 (wifi only), Nexus 4 (wifi only)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

H440? Well ok. I am concerned about vent filters and circulation, but still.

I'll take a define s for 10 usd more.

Looks nice though.

LINK-> Kurald Galain:  The Night Eternal 

Top 5820k, 980ti SLI Build in the World*

CPU: i7-5820k // GPU: SLI MSI 980ti Gaming 6G // Cooling: Full Custom WC //  Mobo: ASUS X99 Sabertooth // Ram: 32GB Crucial Ballistic Sport // Boot SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB

Mass SSD: Crucial M500 960GB  // PSU: EVGA Supernova 850G2 // Case: Fractal Design Define S Windowed // OS: Windows 10 // Mouse: Razer Naga Chroma // Keyboard: Corsair k70 Cherry MX Reds

Headset: Senn RS185 // Monitor: ASUS PG348Q // Devices: Note 10+ - Surface Book 2 15"

LINK-> Ainulindale: Music of the Ainur 

Prosumer DYI FreeNAS

CPU: Xeon E3-1231v3  // Cooling: Noctua L9x65 //  Mobo: AsRock E3C224D2I // Ram: 16GB Kingston ECC DDR3-1333

HDDs: 4x HGST Deskstar NAS 3TB  // PSU: EVGA 650GQ // Case: Fractal Design Node 304 // OS: FreeNAS

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Dam Zalman something good 

Magical Pineapples


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

oooof.... 60 USD... that puts it in the firing line of the NZXT S340...

this gonna be a tough one. Love the case, love the idea... but S340 can one-up it with 360mm rad support...

70 USD. Between the s340 and the define S. Harsh competition indeed.

LINK-> Kurald Galain:  The Night Eternal 

Top 5820k, 980ti SLI Build in the World*

CPU: i7-5820k // GPU: SLI MSI 980ti Gaming 6G // Cooling: Full Custom WC //  Mobo: ASUS X99 Sabertooth // Ram: 32GB Crucial Ballistic Sport // Boot SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB

Mass SSD: Crucial M500 960GB  // PSU: EVGA Supernova 850G2 // Case: Fractal Design Define S Windowed // OS: Windows 10 // Mouse: Razer Naga Chroma // Keyboard: Corsair k70 Cherry MX Reds

Headset: Senn RS185 // Monitor: ASUS PG348Q // Devices: Note 10+ - Surface Book 2 15"

LINK-> Ainulindale: Music of the Ainur 

Prosumer DYI FreeNAS

CPU: Xeon E3-1231v3  // Cooling: Noctua L9x65 //  Mobo: AsRock E3C224D2I // Ram: 16GB Kingston ECC DDR3-1333

HDDs: 4x HGST Deskstar NAS 3TB  // PSU: EVGA 650GQ // Case: Fractal Design Node 304 // OS: FreeNAS

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Linus needs to do a review of this, I'm digging it

one wish though ... solid side panel, no window

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Linus needs to do a review of this, I'm digging it

one wish though ... solid side panel, no window

agreed @LinusTech do it do it.

cpu: intel i5 4670k @ 4.5ghz Ram: G skill ares 2x4gb 2166mhz cl10 Gpu: GTX 680 liquid cooled cpu cooler: Raijintek ereboss Mobo: gigabyte z87x ud5h psu: cm gx650 bronze Case: Zalman Z9 plus


Listen if you care.

Cpu: intel i7 4770k @ 4.2ghz Ram: G skill  ripjaws 2x4gb Gpu: nvidia gtx 970 cpu cooler: akasa venom voodoo Mobo: G1.Sniper Z6 Psu: XFX proseries 650w Case: Zalman H1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wish more companies would make more matx cases for the 5 of us that prefer them :(

CPU i7 6700 Cooling Cryorig H7 Motherboard MSI H110i Pro AC RAM Kingston HyperX Fury 16GB DDR4 2133 GPU Pulse RX 5700 XT Case Fractal Design Define Mini C Storage Trascend SSD370S 256GB + WD Black 320GB + Sandisk Ultra II 480GB + WD Blue 1TB PSU EVGA GS 550 Display Nixeus Vue24B FreeSync 144 Hz Monitor (VESA mounted) Keyboard Aorus K3 Mechanical Keyboard Mouse Logitech G402 OS Windows 10 Home 64 bit

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't hate it. Reminds me of an NZXT case, but not ugly. Though it has that cheap embossed glossy plastic window that I hate. But at least the shape is tolerable.

In case the moderators do not ban me as requested, this is a notice that I have left and am not coming back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't hate it. Reminds me of an NZXT case, but not ugly. Though it has that cheap embossed glossy plastic window that I hate. But at least the shape is tolerable.

omg thats the closest you have come to being tolerant of a zalman case, they must be improving 

cpu: intel i5 4670k @ 4.5ghz Ram: G skill ares 2x4gb 2166mhz cl10 Gpu: GTX 680 liquid cooled cpu cooler: Raijintek ereboss Mobo: gigabyte z87x ud5h psu: cm gx650 bronze Case: Zalman Z9 plus


Listen if you care.

Cpu: intel i7 4770k @ 4.2ghz Ram: G skill  ripjaws 2x4gb Gpu: nvidia gtx 970 cpu cooler: akasa venom voodoo Mobo: G1.Sniper Z6 Psu: XFX proseries 650w Case: Zalman H1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I like this a lot. 

The ability to google properly is a skill of its own. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

This looks great... for $35 less. The NZXT S340 is usually $60-70, and this Zalman case has too much plastic to compete with the S340.

I run my browser through NSA ports to make their illegal jobs easier. :P
If it's not broken, take it apart and fix it.
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/fGM8TW

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

This looks great... for $35 less. The NZXT S340 is usually $60-70, and this Zalman case has too much plastic to compete with the S340.

in the uk and some of europe it is a very good price, bests the s340 which is $100 here for example

cpu: intel i5 4670k @ 4.5ghz Ram: G skill ares 2x4gb 2166mhz cl10 Gpu: GTX 680 liquid cooled cpu cooler: Raijintek ereboss Mobo: gigabyte z87x ud5h psu: cm gx650 bronze Case: Zalman Z9 plus


Listen if you care.

Cpu: intel i7 4770k @ 4.2ghz Ram: G skill  ripjaws 2x4gb Gpu: nvidia gtx 970 cpu cooler: akasa venom voodoo Mobo: G1.Sniper Z6 Psu: XFX proseries 650w Case: Zalman H1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

This looks great... for $35 less. The NZXT S340 is usually $60-70, and this Zalman case has too much plastic to compete with the S340.

 

If the marketing blurb is correct, the Z9 comes with 5 fans standard vs the S340's 2. This may or may not be a money saver for someone.

 

Edit: An all steel build would have been really nice, though. Maybe Zalman can do that with a "Z10" someday.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×