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Test review of the Zalman Z11 Plus case.

Test review of the Zalman Z11 Plus case.

A few years ago, the Z9 and Z9 Plus cases were especially popular with many fans of Zalman. More recently, the South Korean manufacturer has launched two more models from this line on the market - Z11 and Z11 Plus. The chassis of the Z11 series models is no different from the chassis of the Z9 series models, but the exterior design has significant differences - the Z11 series is clearly designed for those who like unusual shapes, and the Z9 series models look rather modest against its background. Like the models of the previous series, the Z11 is available in two versions, which differ in the level of equipment - the top version has the Plus index in the marking. However, in this case, there were some changes, namely, the Z11 Plus model lacks a fan controller (the Z9 Plus has one, although it is quite simple) and a thermal sensor with a digital indicator. But he got two USB 3.0 ports, which the Z9 Plus did not have. In addition, the number of fans has changed - five standard fans instead of four. The Z11 model differs from the Z11 Plus model in the absence of USB 3.0 connectors - instead, the Z11 is equipped with a pair of USB 2.0 connectors, and also does not have an upper fan.

Like the Z9 series cases, the Z11 series cases can be attributed to budget models, although this does not affect the equipment - there are more expensive models from other manufacturers on the market that are less equipped.

Z11 Plus is packed in a regular cardboard box with a three-color design. Although the gross weight of the packaged case is small, the developers did not forget to make cutouts on the side parts of the box for gripping by hand.

Layout

The Z11 Plus is a single-volume miditower case with a bottom-mounted power supply that is not included in the package. Zalman offers only one color option for the Z11 Plus - black.

The case in question has five slots for 5.25-inch devices, which have an exit to the front panel. In addition, it is possible to install a 3.5-inch device in one of these slots. For it, the kit includes a special adapter and a corresponding plug with a slot.

For installing hard drives, a transverse cage is designed, which has five slots for connecting 3.5-inch devices. One 2.5 "HDD or SSD can be installed in the included 5" bay adapter located on the right side of the motherboard substrate.

The chassis is designed to accommodate ATX motherboards and all smaller options. The choice of video cards is limited to models up to 290 mm in length, taking into account the additional power connector when it is located at the end of the board.

The Z11 Plus package is quite rich: a large number of fasteners sorted into packages, five disposable cable ties, several replaceable plugs for expansion slots and a power adapter for the processor. In addition, there is an instruction manual. True, the tested model had instructions without translation into Russian. All of this is packed in a handy pouch with a clasp.

Design

The dimensions of the case are 525x260x498 mm (length x width x height), taking into account the protruding parts, that is, somewhat larger than that of the Z9, but only due to additional elements of the external design. The weight of the case itself is 7.4 kg, and the whole set in the package is 9.0 kg.

For the manufacture of the chassis, steel was used with a thickness of 0.6 mm, removable side panels are made of a thicker metal - 0.7 mm. There is a window on the left panel, which is closed by a cover made of transparent, slightly tinted plastic, and this cover is not just a flat piece of organic glass, but is distinguished by a complex volumetric shape that allows installation of a larger fan for the processor. Both the left and right side walls in the front from the bottom have plastic covers that cover the places where the coolers are installed and also differ in a rather complex shape.

Z11 Plus plastic feet are made in the form of rectangles and have rubber inserts, which provides good shock-absorbing properties.

Mentioning the top and front plastic panels of the case, for the third time we will have to emphasize the phrase “complex shape”, which is rather difficult to describe - the best thing is to just look at the photos of the case.

The company's designers have clearly given free rein to their imagination (naturally, within the established budget). Moreover, this statement applies not only to the shape of the panels, but even to the color, since their lattice parts, which cover the backlit fans, are made of a translucent material, and all other parts do not let light through. Most surfaces are matte, but like the Z9 series models, the Z11 series has glossy elements, and again, those that are most likely to get dirty with your hands.

5 "slot covers are made of metal mesh with fine holes.

The Power button is located on the slightly beveled upper part of the front panel, so it will be clearly visible. In addition, such an arrangement will provide free access to it at any location of the system unit - both on the table and under the table. It is characterized by the presence of a blue indicator.

The rest of the Z11 Plus connectors are located in the front third of the top panel. Moreover, in the middle there is a shallow niche with dimensions of 10x12.5 cm, which allows you to place devices connected by USB cables in it. To the right of the niche, closer to the front panel, there are two USB 3.0 connectors (recall that the Z11 has USB 2.0 connectors instead of them), then there is a Reset button and a red disk activity indicator. On the left you can see two USB 2.0 connectors and two audio outputs. When the case is placed on a desktop, its relatively low height will allow the user to operate the connectors without getting up from the chair. But the HDD activity indicator will not be visible either on desktop or on floor. It's a pity, but the presence of four USB ports at the indicated location does not allow simultaneous connection of overly wide devices, so the gap between pairs of ports does not exceed 13 mm.

Accidental pressing of the Reset button is practically impossible, but the Power button has almost no free wheeling and it is quite possible to de-energize the computer with a light touch.

Ventilation system

The Z11 Plus case is equipped with five in-house manufactured fans.

The front and top fans have dimensions of 120x120 mm and are characterized by the presence of non-switchable blue backlighting. They are connected to the motherboard using 3-pin connectors, since the case does not have a built-in controller. A huge advantage of the Z11 Plus over other models is the ability to replace these standard 120mm fans with 140mm ones.

A third 120mm fan is located at the rear of the chassis. It is connected using a double peripheral connector Molex (male + female) and does not have a diode backlight.

The other two fans measure 80x80 mm and are located on the side panels in the area of ​​the hard drive cage. They work to extract heated air, and plastic pads, which are located on the outer surfaces of the side panels, help them in this. These linings play not only a decorative role, but also serve as air ducts that direct the flow of heated air from the fans backwards, parallel to the side panels. Thanks to this, the case can be positioned close to the surrounding vertical surfaces of the computer desk, wall, etc. These chillers are also powered via Molex (male + female) connectors.

Upgrading the ventilation system consists of installing two additional 120 or 140 mm fans, one of which is mounted on the bottom of the chassis, and the other on the top panel.

There are standard filters on the front and bottom of the case. The front bezel must be removed to gain access to the front filter. This operation is not too laborious, but this filter cannot be called quick-detachable either. It is a plastic frame with a fine-mesh nylon mesh. The same filter also protects the space for the optional bottom fan.But the holes located on the bottom of the chassis in the area of ​​the place for the power supply are covered with a filter of a slightly different design. It is a sheet of thin plastic with fine holes. The bottom filters are very easy to remove from the outside, so it is not necessary to open the housing for this procedure.

The top fans do not have filter elements. This decision is not entirely logical, however, given the cost of the case, this situation is not at all critical. The rear and side fans also do not have filter elements, but since they work for the hood, the absence of filters is understandable. It is also worth noting that the mesh covers of the five-inch slots are protected by foam inserts. There are also additional vents in the 5.25-inch slot blanks and vertical perforated strips in the expansion slot blanks and in the rear of the chassis.

Assembling the system unit

The side panels are fastened using the usual system of grooves and combs, and their fixation is carried out using pairs of plastic knurled screws.

On the side ends of the covers, there are stamped projections that are designed to be gripped by fingers. This solution helps a lot when removing the side panels, as they sit quite tightly in place.

Some hex racks for the motherboard are pre-installed, but for some reason there are only four racks installed, and the other five are in the accessory kit. To free the slots for the expansion cards, you need to break off the disposable plugs. There are also plugs in four 5-inch slots (remember, there are five of them). Moreover, two of them must be broken, and two must be unscrewed, since they are fastened with clamping screws.

Mounting optical drives is very simple - they are attached with screws on both sides. And 3.5-inch HDD / SSD is much more difficult to install: first, using long screws, you need to fix four rubber shock absorbers on the sides of each of the drives, and then the drives themselves. The shock absorbers have a T-shaped cross-section for the possibility of installing them in the grooves that are located in the side walls of the basket. The drives are fastened using plastic latches, additional fastening with screws is not provided, but it is hardly necessary - the drives are already tight enough. Naturally, these shock absorbers will reduce vibration from disk drives to a certain extent, but there is no heat dissipation from hard drive cases on the chassis. Although with three fans that cool the drive cage, this is not so critical.

Like previous models, drives are inserted into the Z11 Plus case from the left side, but the interface connectors can only be directed to the right, and there will not be much free space to the side wall. Therefore, in this case, you will have to use SATA cables with L-shaped plugs.

One of the 2.5-inch drives is installed on the back of the motherboard substrate. It is fastened with four screws to special lugs with holes located in the appropriate places. The second 2.5 "drive is mounted on a 5" slot adapter, which also allows for the installation of a 3.5 "device with front panel output.

The motherboard underlay has a large window that allows you to install or remove the processor fan without removing the board itself. And thanks to the convex shape of the decorative plastic cover that closes the window in the left side panel, the user has the opportunity to choose a processor cooling system with an increased size.

The cables for external USB 2.0 connectors and for the HD Audio connector are shielded and connected to the internal connectors of the motherboard using monolithic connectors.But the method of connecting USB 3.0 connectors is somewhat strange - they are connected to the external connectors of the motherboard. This solution was relevant several years ago, when most motherboards did not have internal 19-pin USB 3.0 connectors, and external USB 3.0 connectors themselves were not so common. Today, this situation can be explained either by the desire to please users of motherboards of previous years of release, or by providing the ability to connect external connectors of the case to USB connectors of both format 2.0 and 3.0, but without completing the case with appropriate adapters. As a consolation, the Z11 Plus is equipped with an expansion slot cover with a technological slot, which is closed with a rubber seal. It is designed to lead out cables from USB 3.0 connectors.

The front panel is secured with six plastic clips, so it can be dismantled without any problems. The cables that go to the button and LED indicator located on the front panel are equipped with intermediate connectors, so they will not interfere with dismantling the panel

The top panel is also fastened with latches, and it will have to be removed only for any manipulations with the upper fans. At the same time, a thick bundle of cables that fit the top cover can cause some inconvenience when dismantling it.

The power supply is installed both before installing the motherboard and after. In this case, the fan can be directed either up or down. Mounts the power supply directly to the rear wall without any additional frames or spacers. On the bottom of the case, there are projections with rubber pads for it to reduce vibrations.

Noise level

The noise level was measured with an Oktava 110A-Eco sound level meter in a completely soundproof room with an average noise level of 20 dBA. During the measurements, all electrical appliances in the room were turned off. The supply voltage of the fans was regulated using an autonomous controlled converter.

If all fans are powered from a 5 volt voltage source, then the noise will be at a low level and will be hardly distinguishable in the living room during daylight hours. When the case is placed on the floor, the noise will decrease even more, and then the case cooling system can be considered conditionally silent. If all fans are powered from 7 volts, then the noise of the cooling system is assessed as reduced relative to the usual noise level in a living room during daylight hours. This situation is observed when the case is placed on a desktop and the user is placed in the area closest to the system unit. If the case is installed on the floor or, for example, on a pedestal under the table, some noise reduction is observed and in this case the cooling system is considered to be quite quiet. If all fans are powered from 8-10 volts, then the noise is assessed as typical relative to the normal noise level in a living room during daylight hours. A noise source of this level is not particularly prominent either in a residential area or in an office. Likewise, when the enclosure is placed on the floor, this noise level is considered to be reduced. With a further increase in voltage, the noise of the cooling system approaches the comfort limit, which is equated to a value of 40 dBA. Noise of this level is already quite well noticeable in a living room at a distance of several meters from the source and can be assessed as well noticeable relative to the usual noise level in a living room during daylight hours. Although for an office space, this level is usually considered quite typical for lighting, air conditioning, several computers and other office equipment.

Only two of the four connectors, which are intended for powering the fans, can be plugged into the system board to control the fan speed. Therefore, if the owner of the Z11 Plus wants to reduce the noise level of the standard cooling system to a minimum, certain difficulties will arise. Recall that the other two connectors are directly connected to the power supply and have no adjustment options.

In general, the acoustic ergonomics of this model can be considered as being on the average level. For lovers of silence, the Z11 Plus is not suitable because of the relatively noisy cooling system and the impossibility of regular adjustment of the rotation speed of all fans. But on the other hand, against the background of rather powerful components, the noise from the operation of the system unit with a standard cooling system should not be a determining factor. The case has side panels with small holes, however, there are quite large ventilation holes on the top and in the front. In this regard, from the front side there is no suppression of noise arising in the internal space of the case. But in the case of floor placement, there is a noticeable attenuation of noise. Nevertheless, one cannot count on a significant noise insulation effect.

Positioning and conclusions

The price-to-level ratio of the Zalman Z11 Plus case is very attractive, and the appearance of USB 3.0 ports makes it even more interesting. True, the design of the case has become more aggressive, and if the modest Zalman Z9 is quite suitable for the role of a case for a multipurpose home or office computer, then the Z11 undoubtedly claims to be more. It's hard to say how justified this is, so you just need to estimate the level of changes in comparison with the Z9 in the price dimension, and only then draw the appropriate conclusions.

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