Zalman Reveals Z9 Line of Mid-Tower Enclosures

By Kevin Parrish
published

Zalman offers two new PC cases designed with high value, low cost in mind.

On the heels of announcing its entry into the SSD market, South Korean manufacturer Zalman revealed its new Z9 series mid-tower chassis arriving next month.

The new line will be offered in two models-- the Z9 and the Z9 Plus. Both will sport a steel construction with front and top steel mesh panels, a rugged black coated interior, and measure 207-mm (w) x 464-mm (h) x 504-mm (d). They'll also have three external 5.25-inch drive bays, five internal 3.5-inch bays, an external 3.5-inch bay and an internal 2.5-inch bay. Other notable features include a bottom-mounted PSU design, tool-free installation of HDDs and SSDs, and a front-mounted I/O panel with four USB 2.0 ports.

On the cooling front, the line will come with a standard 120-mm fan at the rear and a 120-mm Blue LED fan in the front by default. There will also be room for two optional 120-mm fans at the top, two 120-mm fans on the side, and a 120-mm fan at the bottom.. For the Z9 Plus model, Blue LED 120-mm fans can be mounted in the top and side, replacing one of the optional standard fans.

Outside the fan configurations, the only difference with the Z9 Plus is that it will provide side acrylic tuning and add a two channel fan controller and temperature sensor display located on its I/O panel. Zalman designed both models with low cost in mind, offering the Z9 Plus for $74.99 and the basic Z9 model for $64.99.

Look for these two slick PC cases next month.

Kevin Parrish
13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • silversurfernhs
    It's like they have kids designing some of these weird looking cases. These aren't particularly weird, but its not 2000 any more. Their GS series is nice though.
    Reply
  • Phoenixlight
    They look nice.
    Reply
  • ares1214
    Dont look bad, but they would have to have something over the HAF 912, and id like to see more interior shots to see cable management amongst other things.
    Reply
  • Xatos
    Slick cases, nice prices. I dig em.
    Reply
  • Darkerson
    Zalman seems to be on a roll lately. Kinda funky looking cases, but not in a bad way. Good job!
    Reply
  • juncture
    Can't understand what appears to be big holes in a giant slanted area of metal mesh on the side which would allow lots of dust to go through... Two fans won't cover that up.

    And 7 places to put fans, seriously? Can anyone say leafblower? I rather have a few of those places covered up so less dust would have the opportunity to get inside my case. If someone used all 7 slots for fans, I wonder how many of the intakes are going to be unfiltered air.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    junctureCan't understand what appears to be big holes in a giant slanted area of metal mesh on the side which would allow lots of dust to go through... Two fans won't cover that up. And 7 places to put fans, seriously? Can anyone say leafblower? I rather have a few of those places covered up so less dust would have the opportunity to get inside my case. If someone used all 7 slots for fans, I wonder how many of the intakes are going to be unfiltered air.
    7 fans is not as loud as you might think. I have a old PC my fiance uses in a Thermaltake Xaser III which has 7 80mm fans. Added with the 2 PSU fans, CPU fan and GPU fan thats 11 total and its quieter than some single fan setups I have seen.

    Its all about the fans you put in it as well as the material its made of. If the material is sturdy then the sound wont be so bad. If its flimsy then the sounds will push out.

    Not a bad look. I actually went to their site and found that they have a new HSF that looks pretty nice and will look good in that case. The 9900Max.
    Reply
  • juncture
    jimmysmitty7 fans is not as loud as you might think.

    If the material is sturdy then the sound wont be so bad.
    All 7 are 120mm in this case. Bigger fans generally move more air (at least i thought that was the point of bigger fans), which means more air collides with objects inside of case and produce noise.

    I thought the material would have to be sound dampening and more enclosure of the case(very little openings) for a quiet case. Not sure I understand how sturdiness keeps noise in since I don't see cases being moved by the fans inside it.
    Reply
  • dEAne
    I won't say anything if I cannot touch this thing.
    Reply
  • victorintelr
    junctureAll 7 are 120mm in this case. Bigger fans generally move more air (at least i thought that was the point of bigger fans), which means more air collides with objects inside of case and produce noise.I thought the material would have to be sound dampening and more enclosure of the case(very little openings) for a quiet case. Not sure I understand how sturdiness keeps noise in since I don't see cases being moved by the fans inside it.Well, I did some research about fans when I bought my case (a while ago, a Thermaltake Xaser V. What I found out is that the cases that come with bigger fans USUALLY (not always) comes with fans that are slower and if you see the amount of air they move (CFM) is just slightly greater than smaller fans (and most fall between 80mm and 120mm though now you'll find cases with 140mm and some cases even have holes to change the sizes of the fans if you want) but their RPM is much lower so they produce less noise to move the same amount of air. Usually the 120mm fans fall between 1000-2000rpm, and the 80mm between 1500-3000rpm. In the end the ultimate choice is made by the user, 'cause you can find case fans of just about any size and any speed, and might end up changing the fans of the case for more airflow (more speed and CFM) or for less noise (less speed and CFM)
    Reply