ZALMAN ZM-Z9 U3 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ZALMAN ZM-Z9 U3 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: It's a case

Cons: The case came damaged, with a large crack in the removable part of the plastic side. Original packaging was in mint condition.

Other Thoughts: Clearly poor quality control.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear valued customer,

We sincerely apologize for the issue. Please contact our customer service e-mail support.usa@zalmanusa.com or via toll free number 1-888-925-6266 for further assistance.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Zalman USA Customer Service

Pros: - Many cooling features
- Many hardware compatibles
- Cool Design
- Features-to-Price Ratio

Cons: - Limited space for 240mm or 280mm liquid cooling (Might touch the top of your motherboard)

Other Thoughts: My Build

Case: Zalman Z9-U3
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme 6
CPU: Intel Core i7-3700k
CPU Cooler: Intel's Liquid Cooling Solution
GPU: PNY GTX 770-OC 4GB
PSU: Rosewill 1000w
HDD: Western Digital 1TB Black Edition
OS: Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bit)

Pros: This is a great budget case. Looks spiffy, 3 included fans, fan controller, temp read-out, and fan filters all make this case a solid budget buy.

Cons: I can't think of any.

Pros: see previous

Cons: see previous

Other Thoughts: Rebate. Many guys have rebate issues for whatever reason. I sent all documentation in as required. the Zalman rebate center sent me e-mail updates on status. They sent me an update letting me know they had received all my documents AND sent me link to view all the documents. A week later I was informed the rebate had been denied because I didn't send in the proper documentation.

"Your Rebate was not approved for the following reason(s)

- Copy of Receipt/Invoice is missing
- No proof of purchase date in documentation

Our decision to not approve your rebate claim was based upon examination of the documents that we received from you. "

It must mean that they had a bum doing the review, they intentionally made it more difficult or are just incompetent.

They did include a toll free number to call so I did. There are no prompts to speak with anyone but I kept pushing 0 and got through to a person. It didn't take long for that person to see I had sent everything in...what are they going to say? If I can see the documentation so can they. The rebate was approved on the spot AND an e-mail stating it was approved was promptly sent. What a pain

Pros: Great price and rebate
Quite fans (3) and 2 have blue LEDs
Looks awesome
Nice front control panel with temp readout and ports
Like top mounted power switch
The sides go on and off real easy
My ASUS M5A97 2.0 system board fits nicely

Cons: The slot covers in the back where the add-on cards mount are the metal break away type. Although they do include include a screw on blank cover in case you mess up and break the wrong one out.
The plastic Zalman zip top bag that comes with it to hold the extra screws and parts was ripped half way across when I got it. :(

Other Thoughts: I really like this case and it worked out well for me. It has room behind the system board mount for cable management. I would definitely buy it again especially for the price I got it.

Pros: nice case has a lot of nice features. including usb 3.0 on the front

Cons: while it has usb 3.0 what they don't tell you is that to use it you need to pass though the case and connect via the i/o ports on the back of the motherboard (got this info from a email from zalman). I did find a few adapters on newegg to fix it from 5.99 to 11.99 to connect to the usb 3.0 port on the motherboard. For a case to advertise usb 3.0 I would expect to connect it to the motherboard internally not externally. I think this warranted 1 egg

Pros: Zalman Brand
Price
Free Shipping
Rebate
Windowed
Stylish
Fancy Front Temp Display
Fancy Front Fan Speed Control
Front USB 3
Plenty of (3) Quiet Fans Two with Blue LED
All Screws and Gizmos included
Easily Removable add-in card and OD cover removal
Space for more fans
Phone support picked up right away and answered my question
Handy Clear Zip Plastic Storage Bag for Unused Screws and Whatnots

Cons: Rubber foot fell off, no way to reattach except with glue
Included directions aren't good
Downloadable directions only slightly better
Under bezel power connectors short and awkwardly placed fortunately easy to attach and detach
The hard drive mounting system when using the rubber grommets are not as secure as I would like. The drives are not held firmly enough.
The front USB 3 are in reality just the rear USB connected by long cables aka passthrough

Other Thoughts: I needed a mid-size ATX case because micro ATX cases are just too small to contain all I need inside without all the cables being crammed in.
I have owned Zalman PSU's, fans and CPU coolers in the past but hadn't purchased anything Zalman in years and frankly had no intention of ever again as I feel too much of their stuff is overpriced and
outperformed by other vendors. This case came around in my Newegg morning e-mail so I gave it a look. I base much on fellow reviewers and I liked what I read.

This is my first case with a window. My HAF 922 has so many air holes it may as well have a window
and though I store my computers on the floor under the desk and while at my seat I can't see in
I still wanted a windowed case because I have grown to appreciate blue, red and white LED fans.

The case and all parts were well packed and shipped in a single box. The window has a layer of protective plastic as does they top of the bezel. That is good.

I expected a mobo tray but there was not one. That didn't matter. I was dropping in a mATX board so room
was not an issue. I had to install a few standoffs. Zalman installs standoffs that line up
for either ATX or mATX boards, no problem and a good idea. The I/O shield snapped in easy. The bottom mounted PSU fit perfect (Corsair 650). There are ample cutouts to pull all the PSU cabling out the farside so I could plan my routing.

The front cover (bezel) removal is not as simple as pulling forward as the directions show.
Oh, I guess you could do that but I prefer to find the attach points and squeeze them together so they
don't break because they were forced.

Removal of drive bay and rear add-in card covers was the easiest I have ever experienced. No sharp edges after removal. In fact I didn't think to remove the add-in card covers til after I installed the mobo. It was still easy. Removal of the top panel was not difficult either.
A word of caution though, the plastic tabs that hold the top panel feel brittle, so be gentle.
I can no longer count the number of cases I have torn down and built back up. My fingers appreciate the Zalman.

Included with the case is a tray to hold an SSD drive. There is also, which I availed myself of,
the option to mount your SSD on the right side behind the mobo wall underneath the side panel.
Whoever thought of that mount option up deserves a big bonus.

Is there ever enough room inside a case? Probably, if you have a full tower. I read a few reviews
where the guys wrote about cable management. Cable management is not the responsibility of the
case but of the user. In the ZM-Z9 I have a PSU with what seems like 3 dozen cables. Three HD's,
two OD drives, three fans and a full length videocard which means 5 SATA cables and in IDE ribbon.
A little experience, some planning and you will have no problem getting all your cabling looking and fitting good.
I recommend the ZALMAN ZM-Z9 U3 without reservation and give it 5 eggs...4 is not

Pros: -

Cons: I purchased a Zalman case and the viewing window has a large fuzzy/blurry defect. I've tried emailing, calling and filling an RMA and have yet to receive a response. It's been 17 days. Zalman support seems to be non-existent.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear valued customer,

We sincerely apologize for the issue. Please contact our customer service e-mail support.usa@zalmanusa.com or via toll free number 1-888-925-6266 for further assistance.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Zalman USA Customer Service

Pros: A lot of space. I can tell the temp.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Gotta love the fact that I can read the temperature on my PC easily. You can set it basically anywhere in your computer. I have to overclock my CPU (fx4300) slightly so it doesn't bottlneck my Radeon 7850 2GB. So I was able to slide it right next to my CPU to ensure it doesn't overheat.

Pros: Well designed and built. Very solid. Cable management is very good, especially for a case this cheap.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: This is probably one of (if not the) best gaming case under $100.