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The Verdict

The Zalman HD160XT Plus Chassis is short from breathtaking. It however does come with two deficits. Though the iMon software is a nice implementation of the touch-screen; by actually using it, it irritated me more than I found it to be functional. So though it sounds cool to have a touch-screen panel .. you'll probably never use it. And here's where we land at the second deficit .. you pay top dollar for that touch-screen. The price is the second deficit as be prepared to cough up an astounding 475,- or $ 550,- and I'm really not sure if any chassis is worth that kind of money. It's the touch-screen LCD that makes the product so expensive, yet the touch functionality you'll probably never ever use. So that is a very tough choice you'd need to make. Let me make this very clear, I mean physically touching the LCD screen to use it for it's menu functions. The LCD operating as a second monitor displaying system functions, graphics equalizer, RSS feeds, media information obviously is really good. You have a plethora of options and features up the to background color of the LCD (as you saw we opted black).

So please do understand that besides the two mentioned deficits everything else you can imagine about this chassis is close to perfection. The design is just short from breathtaking, with it's stealthy, sturdy look; it's dressed to kill isn't it ? The Aluminum makes sure that residual heat inside the PC is cooled down. The chassis has excellent ventilation and the build quality is exemplary. Taste differs per person and you might even find this to be a really abhorrent casing. But I personally do adore the looks. The chassis itself is sexy looking and blends in flawlessly with other Hi-Fi components without being shouty, noisy or weird looking.

Zalman made sure that the chassis has a sturdy design and made it a very low noise non resonating solution. When we enabled the PC we measured levels hovering at 32 DBa which is really impressive as it is maintaining a good airflow inside the casing. There still is plenty of ventilation inside the casing cooling down your components by creating such airflow, but if you want to .. you can add even more fans. Installation wise you'll have plenty of space to work in and everything is easy accessible. There is also a lot of scope for expandability with a 5.25" bay and five 3.25" internal bays. It comes with four silent fans and a stunning design.

I have been using this case for well over a month now, and delayed writing the article for that full month to allow the user experience to kick in. Also I wanted to see the reactions from friends and family to take in their thoughts and remarks; but everybody halted at "wow; that is nice".

So yes, I must say that I am really fond of the Zalman HD160 XT Plus. Expensive no doubt, and it does have a few quirks yet combine it with the proper components and Windows Media Center like software and then you'll have a killer combo, it's just an awesome performing and looking chassis and therefore my last words for this review will go like this: The Zalman HD160 XT Plus is a high quality case with a ton of features and strong attention to detail; a very tasteful product for the true HTPC aficionado. Expensive, but highly recommended. It shows what Zalman is all about, cool, quiet, stylish and high-quality.

Zalman HD160XT Plus Chassis
Info: zalman.comPrice: 475 / $550