Zalman Z9 build

addylad · 18 Jan 2012 at 19:16

Hi there

Just starting and I've hit a snag.

First question
Just starting my build (pics to follow). Should I have my PSU fan facing up or down?

Thanks.

King Damager · 18 Jan 2012 at 19:56

It doesn't actually matter.

If you have a dust filter on the bottom of your case though, people tend to recommend fan down.

kd

SMed · 18 Jan 2012 at 20:15

Facing down should make it slightly easier with cables as they'll leave the PSU closer to the mobo tray.

But facing up may be quieter as their might be less turbulence from the intake fan.

addylad · 18 Jan 2012 at 21:05

Thanks guys, PSU facing down.

DVD drive fitted. Should I fit the HDD and SSD now, as I think I'll struggle to do those once the motherboard is in?

Thanks again.

RJC · 18 Jan 2012 at 21:08

You should be ok to fit these after the motherboard is installed, but It should not course any issues installing these first.

addylad · 18 Jan 2012 at 21:11

Excellent, I'm finishing work early tomorrow and Friday. Next thing will be those two, and sticking the stuff onto the motherboard. Can't wait.

Mawat · 19 Jan 2012 at 08:31

Just done a Zalman build myself. Be good to see how yours goes. Its a great little case, but damnn it was a struggle to cable manage with a non-modular PSU lol. Best of luck though and it looks great

addylad · 19 Jan 2012 at 20:20

Mawat said:
Just done a Zalman build myself. Be good to see how yours goes. Its a great little case, but damnn it was a struggle to cable manage with a non-modular PSU lol. Best of luck though and it looks great

Thanks man! Fortunately I have a modular PSU.

Did you do a thread on it? Would be interesting to take a look at the pics.

Just about to put the heatsink on. Is there anything round the house I can use to remove the thermal compound? I don't have any IPA.

GTO656 · 19 Jan 2012 at 20:26

Yes best to have fans faced down.

addylad · 20 Jan 2012 at 23:11

Sourced some IPA, scrubbed heatsink, reapplied thermal compound, and applied it to the CPU too. Stuck the mobo in the case, and now just need to stick the graphics card in and do the wiring.

It would be helpful to get advice off any experienced builders, or fellow Z9+ builders, about cable management, before I wire it all in!

IC3 · 21 Jan 2012 at 13:05

I want to see your build.
Iam using Z9 plus for my build as well

addylad · 21 Jan 2012 at 16:39

Installing Windows 7. Pics up shortly!

SouthEastBlue · 21 Jan 2012 at 18:41

Z9 - good choice!

Look forward to your pics! Seems a popular case, but never see many people post pics of thier builds within this case.

andy_mk3 · 23 Jan 2012 at 20:46

Click on the image in my sig for my Z9 build

PSU down is the best, it gets nice cool air from outside the case and dumps it straight out the back, ideal

addylad · 25 Jan 2012 at 12:49

Hi all

Pics to come soon, when I can get them off my camera...

Can anyone help with the fan controller/LED? The LED is not illuminated, and I don't have any fans connected via the fan controller anyway. I should still be able to have the LED lit up though, right?

Below is a picture of the connection, which I assume plugs into a fan socket on the motherboard. It's like a 3-pin connector, but with one pin removed. There are two of these:

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Mawat · 27 Jan 2012 at 09:58

Hey mate, I've got this exact case. Basically at the back you should see 2 3 pin connectors and 2 4 pin connectors. The 4 pin connectors are for power, and the 3 pin connector, connect your fans to.

Basically the power goes through the 4 pin, up to the fan controller, down the 3 pin and to the fan. I'm not sure if thats the front io connector you have there, but basically you can connect and disconnect the front cables easily to take off the front panel without damaging the cables.

Any more help with the case, message me