New case has anyone used it?

-fedexer- · 29 Jul 2011 at 15:13

Hey guys, I'm currently working on a build for my girlfriend and she's looking at wanting to use this case Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller I have not had experience with the Zalman brand, as I used CM cases in my previous build. Does anyone have any comments on this case as to why it should not be used? Or is this a rather decent case?

Hopefully you guys can let me know

Jordan97 · 29 Jul 2011 at 15:15

I've heard good things about the Zalman. It seems to be a decent case for the price.

stulid · 29 Jul 2011 at 15:16

It is a great case, plenty of fans as standard, a temperature probe that you can place anywhere and the fan controller, all for £45 makes it a bargain.

-fedexer- · 31 Jul 2011 at 21:24

And the build quality and such is good? I was worried about the PSU vents, they seem to be some shoddy little slits that don't seem like they'd allow much airflow?

The main problem is this machine has to run quite cool to cope with the building temperature, as her home is constantly like a boiler room :rolleyes:

some fault with the heating it seems ^^

She was also taken by the Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case, which between the two would you recommend to meet those requirements?

joxang · 31 Jul 2011 at 21:51

-fedexer- said:
And the build quality and such is good? I was worried about the PSU vents, they seem to be some shoddy little slits that don't seem like they'd allow much airflow?

The main problem is this machine has to run quite cool to cope with the building temperature, as her home is constantly like a boiler room some fault with the heating it seems ^^

She was also taken by the Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case, which between the two would you recommend to meet those requirements?

You're not going to get good build quality on a budget Zalman case. The CM is better quality and very popular, good cooling too - I would go for that instead of the Z9 if she likes it.

-fedexer- · 31 Jul 2011 at 21:57

Yeah unfortunately the Zalman was a choice due to the budget she's on, but I would also agree I really enjoy CM cases, so I'd probably prefer to use that for her build too, aslong as the cooling is pretty good in the case.

stulid · 31 Jul 2011 at 23:12

Well the more money you spend stands to reason that you get better thicker metals and construction.

Jegethy · 2 Aug 2011 at 22:49

Missed this thread...

Speaking as someone who owns the Z9 Plus, it's an awesome case.

It comes with 4 fans as standard, 3 LED fans (One top, one front, one side) and a normal rear exhaust fan, which has white fins and looks pretty good under the blue LEDs of the top fan. The case also has room for 4 more 120mm fans. I used the side LED fan on the top of the case, and fit 2 Antec tri-speed fans on the side panel. It has room for one at the bottom of the case too, but I decided not to put one there. The stock cooling is fairly quiet but you can't expect silent fans on a budget such as this.

The build quality is very sturdy and is probably the best you'll find in this price bracket. Also, it has plenty of room for full size graphics cards. The toolless hard drive installation is also really nice as the cables are on the side of the case, which means they are hidden well when the side panel is on and are very easy to get access to. Chuck in the fan controller, temperature probe and good stock cooling and you can't really ask for more from a £45 case.

I highly recommend it.

-fedexer- · 3 Aug 2011 at 01:32

I'm glad someone has actually recommended this case, a lot were not so keen on it

I'm sure it'll please the girl if she could get this one, however I assume she was also taken by the CM.

Is it running rather cool then Ziddy? As I mentioned either the heat in her building is insane, I could barely stand sitting in it for too long

Jegethy · 4 Aug 2011 at 01:42

-fedexer- said:
I'm glad someone has actually recommended this case, a lot were not so keen on it I'm sure it'll please the girl if she could get this one, however I assume she was also taken by the CM.

Is it running rather cool then Ziddy? As I mentioned either the heat in her building is insane, I could barely stand sitting in it for too long

It is running cool, though bear in mind that I have 2 more fans than what comes as standard. My house is generally very warm. We have the heating on in the living room, for reasons I won't list here, so the house is normally very warm especially during the day when the sun is up.

The temperature read out on the case normally stays around the 22-25'c mark, though when the system is under load and it's a very hot day (30'c+) it can creep toward the 30'c mark, though I have never seen it go above 30.