Zalman Z7 Plus review

Specification and features

So let's have a little chat about the features of the Z7 series. First off, there are two models, the regular Z7 and then the Z7 PLUS.

The primary distinction between Z7 and Z7 Plus is the absence of a meshed side panel on regular Z7. The Plus does have that mesh and also which comes with a 120-mm fan installed and a space for installing a second 120-mm fan (supplied with the product) and a controller to allow you to control the speed of these two fans. Zalman markets the extra fan as 'free' fan but there is simply no other spot where this extra spare 120-mm could be installed.

The supplied fans are rated at an RPM of a maximum up to 1,100 rpm and a maximum noise level of 22 dB. You can, if you want, replace the side fans, as the two spaces available support 80, 92-, 120- and 140-mm models. On the regular Z7 you can add the two side fans as well, but no speed controller is available. Another difference between Z7 and Z7 Plus is the presence of an eSATA port at the frontpanel on the Z7 Plus.

Both cases come with a very healthy feature set. These cases will cost you roughly 55 EUR / 65 USD for the most expensive PLUS version, yet carry features like pleasing aesthetic design, LED front fan, dust filter protections at the meshes, side fan controller, front panel hidden by a door, rubber feet protecting resonation, CPU Cooler Back Plate Hole is provided for convenient CPU cooler installation. Not bad really.

Both the Z7 and Z7 Plus come with nine external 5 1/4" bays, and on these case's default configuration the top four are to be used with 5 1/4" devices, the bottom one is to be used with an external 3 1/2" device, a hard disk drive or an SSD, and the other five are used by the hard disk drive cage.

The case comes with a 120-mm LED activated fan mounted to the hard disk drive cage, the LED colors is blue when turned on.