Housing Zalman Z9 Plus Black: manual, photo, review and reviews

South Korea is able to create not only worthy films, but also to produce computer equipment under the Zalman brand: controllers, cooling systems, power supplies, system housings and even monitors. And if the reader thinks that all products are unique, and their parties are limited (it is this stupidity that many sellers justify the high cost of Zalman products), then he is very mistaken. In this article, a potential buyer will get acquainted with the cases of the Zalman Z9 line. Instruction, photo, review and reviews will help the reader to determine the purchase of a decent system unit.

Market positioning

The case of Zalman Z9 in most stores is called elite products, which is fundamentally wrong. The manufacturer positions its child as a high-quality product (note that many elite products, when studied in detail, are low-level products or have limited functionality). Therefore, Zalman products should be treated in the same way as any other product on the market.

A small number of modifications of hulls on the Russian market is due not to the limited parties, but to the specificity of our market. Before the presentation of the Zalman Z9 novelty, the company conducted marketing research and found that most Russians like large cases with a bunch of fans, backlighting and necessarily a control panel with a thermometer. But the Germans prefer that the corps did not publish a single sound and did not flicker like a Christmas tree, accordingly, under their market, the Koreans released an entirely different, unique hull model.

First meeting

The usual system case, supplied without a power supply unit and having a cost of about 10-12 thousand rubles, is simply obliged to have a decent packaging and equipment. Here the manufacturer has something to surprise the future owner. Start a review better with a box that is huge. In the walls of the company Zalman worried about transportation, after all, having opened the package, the buyer will find that the body itself occupies not so much already inside, and all free space is given to the ribs of rigidity made of cardboard.

Inside, in addition to the device itself, the owner will not find anything, but, having removed the system unit from the box, will find out that all the spare parts to the hull, the instruction and the advertising booklets of the manufacturer are inside the spacious unit. It is worth noting that the instruction Zalman Z9 is complete and has a Russian translation. Mounting the motherboard, connecting the interface connectors, installing the drives and fixing the power supply unit - everything is detailed in the manual and accompanied by colored pictures.

About the build quality

Immediately it is worth noting that all the modifications of the Z9 line have the same device and differ only in appearance, and accordingly, at the price. The body made of steel has a huge weight (7.5 kilograms without power supply), but this is for most users a plus. After all, all the steel walls of the device are very thick and not capable of vibrations during operation. For the owner it is a guarantee of noiselessness, since many cheap cases are able to resonate with the fans installed in the system and make a specific noise.

The buyer will also like the absence of a cutting edge on all steel elements Zalman Z9. Computer assembly will be much more effective if the user will not be afraid to cut his hands on the edge of the case. As expected, the manufacturer used the welded joint only when creating the carrier part of the body, all the other parts can be removed - a conventional designer, which is very convenient when assembling.

Remote Control

As practice shows, the panel with built-in thermometer and fan speed control is interesting for users during the first week of operation. Making sure that everything is good, the owner forgets about the existence of the control panel Zalman Z9. This is quite natural. But still, this panel needs to be given a decent attention. The fact is that additional interfaces in the form of audio and USB ports have a number of advantages over the contacts located on the motherboard.

It is about wear resistance. For Zalman Z9 Plus, the connection of external interfaces is a priority, and the manufacturer has tried to make sure that the connectors do not get stuck in the process of operation (using own-developed controllers). By the way, the interface has USB 3.0, which is rare in cheap Chinese cases.

About Hard Drives

A removable basket for installing magnetic disks will definitely please the owner, however, it is not so easy to deal with it. It is the description for its installation that is described in the manual on just one page. The main thing here is to keep a record of the screws and keep track of their size so that after installing the discs into the basket of the Zalman Z9 case, the device must be properly mounted. Difficulties are possible, and if they arise, you should refer to the video instructions that can be found in the media.

The only drawback in working with hard disks, which was found in the Zalman cases, is the inability to install SSDs into the basket. You can, of course, connect the drive and leave it hanging on the wires in the Zalman Z9 system unit, but it's somehow wrong. In a detailed inspection of the case, after removing the second protective cover, the user can detect a strange cell at the installation level of the video card. Many for some reason think that this is a connector for the cooler (to cool the video card from the back - it's original). In fact, this is a niche for an SSD drive. Let and one, but still nice.

Cooling system

The review of the Zalman Z9 case may prompt the owner to think that the device will be quite noisy in operation, because 4 powerful fans, not counting the coolers of computer components, are capable of making a loud roar. It all depends directly on the user. In the initial state, the entire cooling system operates at the same frequency and by controlling the resistor on the control panel the owner at the first start of the computer will have to adjust the fan speed to the system. It is not difficult to do this - the resonance is distinctly captured by human hearing.

In the future, during operation, it is necessary to monitor the operation of the cooling system and lubricate the bearings of the fans in a timely manner (2 times a year accurately). Yes, it takes time, but on the other hand, these actions will save the owner from noise or failure of coolers. Nothing difficult - to open the body of Zalman Z9, remove the sticker, poke the valve and remove it, pour two drops of engine oil, return the plug to the place and secure the sticker in its original position.

Manufacturer shortage

Without deviating from the topic of cooling, it is worth discussing the installation site of the Zalman Z9. The photo in the instructions to the device tells the owner that fresh air enters the system from the bottom. But small plastic feet will not allow this if the system unit is placed on the floor (carpet, carpet). Be sure to use a stand, or increase the length of the legs. This is a clear flaw, if you consider that the power supply is located at the bottom of the case. All the dust that accumulates on the floor is drawn into the system.

The case of Zalman Z9 Plus Black does not have a clamp and to fix the power supply. It is simply screwed to the case, as it is implemented in low-cost devices. This is also wrong. The BP itself will not go anywhere, but the 120-millimetric fan built into it will create a vibration that can be heard by hearing (the case of the power supply unit can drum on the bottom of the case). Be sure to install rubber gaskets under the BP.

Assembling the system

The difficulty in assembling can arise only when installing the motherboard. For unknown reasons, the manufacturer preferred to make a non-removable carrier platform for installing the base card. Although, of course, it's an amateur. One likes to install in the case, while others prefer to mount all the components on the table. In any case, connection of the Zalman Z9 to the main power system still needs to be done inside the case.

It is worth noting that the set includes a large set of screws and adapters for installation. Do not get upset if you find an excess of consumables during the assembly process. Simply the manufacturer has given the user spare screws. However, as owners of the hull mark in their reviews, the manufacturer has saved on rubber gaskets. Still, the case and the computer components installed in it are made of metal. But this in the end result does not hurt to collect and connect Zalman Z9.

Finally

In general, impressions about the body of the Korean giant Zalman are positive. Convenience of assembling is excellent: all the necessary components are removed, nothing inside does not tear, there is no need to break the partitions, and the metal itself does not have a cutting edge. Thoughtful ventilation, using the laws of physics, perfectly drives fresh air throughout the system (though for this you need to install the casing on a stand). The complete absence of noise in the system is achieved by controlling the fan speed, which is also very convenient. After analyzing the Zalman Z9 case, we can safely conclude that this is one of the few devices that is really made for the convenience of the user, and is not yet another toy for beauty.