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From NZXT S340 to Zalman Neo Z9

Just a quick off the cuff note.  I tried building a budget system for a friend in the NZXT S340.  Nice design, if a bit barebones.  Clean.  However, my particular case had mismatched standoffs and a bent bracket where the screws to lock down the cards go, so that resulted in an RMA.  Under a time crunch, I bought a Zalman Neo Z9 from my local shop and built the system in that, and I have something to say (unfortunately, no pictures, sorry).

 

1) Rubber grommets are nice, but if they pull out when running wire of any gauge through, they're flipping annoying.

 

2) PSU basements are nice, but not if they're fixed and cannot be removed for installation or personal taste.

 

3) Lots of fans are nice, but not including PWM fans in this day and age is strange.

 

4) Zalman's case is why I will always continue to build in full tower cases or higher-end mid-tower cases.  No room for my fat hands to run wires.  I had to unmount the PSU and tilt it towards the side of the case to get any wires in.

 

5) Good things about Zalman's case: that it had rubber grommets at all, nice if cheesy lighting options, still had 5.25" bays.

 

Side note: AMD's AM4 default cooler is nice, but the mounting plate system is annoying when you get a motherboard that doesn't have a permanently mounted backplate and can't change the cooler without removing the entire motherboard.

 

Picture from the amazing WWW:

 

B_0000_DSC09337%20copy%20%EB%B3%B5%EC%82

 

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Case fans being pwm is not the norm and isn't likely to be anytime soon. It's not necessarily better (yet?). It costs more and would be unusual to include in a budget case.

18 minutes ago, PineyCreek said:

Side note: AMD's AM4 default cooler is nice, but the mounting plate system is annoying when you get a motherboard that doesn't have a permanently mounted backplate and can't change the cooler without removing the entire motherboard.

That's what motherboard tray cutouts are for. The stock cooler wouldn't be as simple of an installation and need more parts in order to have a permanent backplate that didn't get in the way of aftermarket solutions.

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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4 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Case fans being pwm is not the norm and isn't likely to be anytime soon. It's not necessarily better (yet?). It costs more and would be unusual to include in a budget case.

That's what motherboard tray cutouts are for. The stock cooler wouldn't be as simple of an installation and need more parts in order to have a permanent backplate that didn't get in the way of aftermarket solutions.

 

You've got a good point there.  I'm wondering now if it would have been easier to install the cooler with the system standing up so I had access to both sides after the motherboard had already been mounted.  Admittedly though I'm a bit clumsy in situations like this and I was alone when I built this.

 

In regards to PWM not being the norm...that strikes me as interesting, but I can see the increased cost would make that $80 Zalman case potentially not have them, especially considering 5 were included and only one was a 3 pin and the rest were Molex.

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Just now, PineyCreek said:

You've got a good point there.  I'm wondering now if it would have been easier to install the cooler with the system standing up so I had access to both sides after the motherboard had already been mounted.  Admittedly though I'm a bit clumsy in situations like this and I was alone when I built this.

The AM4 stock cooler like some other coolers just need a bit of pressure on the backplate to get the first 2 corners in. It's pretty easy to do with the case standing up once you're used to it.

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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