Zalman Z-Machines GT 1000 Case

One of the biggest complaints about the older Fatal1ty case was that it had enough stickers on it to make any NASCAR team proud.  The Zalman GT 1000 has its share of labels, arguably right on the line of gaudy but no where near as overpowering as seen in the past.  This is most evident by turning the GT 1000 case 90 degrees to have a look at its left side panel.  The panel is actually cut into two sections.  The right side conceals the optical drive and HDD cage area while the left is windowed.  The doors are each secured by two thumbscrews.  When these are removed the doors to swing outwards freely.  In the case of the windowed panel, it swings open nearly 225 degrees so that if the case is laying on its right side, the door will open enough that its leading edge will touch the floor.  This is a nice touch that eliminates too much stress being put on the hinges by having them support the entire panel weight when open.

        

The thumbscrews aren't the only fastener for the doors.  Magnetic points at the top and bottom also put a mild hold on the door.  Enough pull that, provided the case is stationary, the magnets will eliminate the need of the thumbscrews.  Once this case goes mobile however, those screws need to be in place.  One quick observation here is the lack of any cushioning on the doors at the magnet and screw points.  Closing the doors creates a heavy 'clank' sound.  The sounds gives off the feeling of a military security door that I think is pretty cool.  It isn't a stretch however to see how this same sound would irritate others.

The Zalman GT 1000's rear shows us some more labels on a fairly standard design.  The exhaust fan as you can see, is a 120mm LED number that is a favorite among system builders.  These 120mm fans provide lots of air flow without creating too much noise which I'm sure is something Zalman likes.  Remember, Zalman's claim to fame has always been their Computer Noise Prevention System parts.

     

The right side panel is also cut so that it opens in two doors, rather I should say one door and a removable mainboard panel.

A quick aside is the hardware included with the Zalman GT 1000.  A Molex to 3-pin power splitter, black mounting screws for drives, cable clamps with adhesive bases for mounting anywhere you like, a manual and an Allen wrench.  Back on track; the included Allen wrench was a question mark in my mind until I got to the right side of the GT 1000.  The left most side of the case opens just as the door did on the opposing side to allow access to the optical bay and hard drive cage.  The larger right side of the panel is held in place by eight Allen bolts.

  

Removal of these eight bolts allows for the mainboard tray to be withdrawn.  In case you aren't understanding how solid a five millimeter thick aluminum panel is, check out the right pic below.  I'm six feet tall and 190 pounds, so don't think for a second that those are dainty fingers next to that thick back panel.

  

Behind the left door on the right panel, I came upon the simplest and best tool free optical bay mount I've ever seen.  I'm not the only one who is doing a head shake for over thinking tool free mounting for years.  Zalman has put two spring mounted thumbscrews on each of the top 5.25" bays.  No sliders, no rails, no outlandish brackets - just slide the drive in place and screw it down with the thumb screws.  Without question this is the easiest, least expensive, most aesthetically pleasing way to mount an optical drive.

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