Fatality Case - A Mini Review & Thank You!

[garetjax]

I received a knock on my door late afternoon this past Saturday, and standing in the rain was the Fed-Ex guy with this rather large and heavy box:




Being the curious sort I am, I opened the package to reveal a box-within-a-box surprise:




Nevertheless, I enjoy the fact that Zalman ensures its products are well packaged in order to prevent damage from occurring, especially when it comes to shipping heavy enclosures like this one. I opened this box and revealed my contest winning in all its glory:




Eagerly, I removed the case from the boxes in which it lay in, and set it atop the dinner table:




Wanting to see if the front looked as great as the back, I went around to get a view:




Another shot of the back of the case:




Wishing to see what the inside of the case looked like, I opened the windowed side panel, and removed the accessory box and manual (more on those later). A couple of things to note. The first is the hard drive enclosure system. I tested these out, and found them to perform flawlessly. I couldn't move the hard drive at all once it was installed, and the rubber sheaths over the pins ensured that the hard drive remained secure, did not vibrate and cause noise and did not scratch or mar the exterior of the drive. Very well done Zalman!

However, I was a bit surprised to learn that this enclosure did not sport a removable motherboard tray. Having enjoyed the convenience of these before, I realized that the reason Zalman did not include one was probably due to the noise factor. Removable motherboard trays slide in and out on grooved tracks which could cause vibration and ultimately noise between the grooved track and the actual tray.

The other item was that in order to access your CD and DVD drives you must first remove a side panel with an Allen wrench. Not that this is a problem, but if you lose or misplace your wrench, you are pretty much screwed, unless you buy another.

Overall though, the interior design of the case is extremely well done. The fit and finish is excellent, plenty of cooling and exhaust power, but most importantly, the hinged, windowed side panel with a unique and clever locking mechanism. Opening the side of this case to gain entrance to its interior is a two finger job, no lie. Great job Zalman!







After viewing the splendor and simplicity of the interior design of the case, I went ahead and took a look at the other side of the enclosure. You can see the Allen bolts and panel that require removal in order to gain access to the CD and DVD drive areas beneath it:




I also upended the case, in order to see what the bottom looked like. I am immensely impressed by the fact that the feet on this case are thick, solid and very well made. This case is already heavy sans components, and the inclusion of quality feet to support this monstrosity is a godsend:




As promised earlier, the accessory box and manual. I love the inclusion of the 4-pin molex connector leading into the four 2-pin case fan connections. I wish more enclosure companies included this in their offerings.




The case is definitely geared for the enthusiast, and perhaps those newly initiated into the realm of do-it-yourselfers; there are lots of Warnings! and Cautions! on this enclosure.

Here is the window side. This is the first time I have ever seen something like this on a case. Perhaps the fan from the CPU cooler could shell out and the blades whip dangerous plastic shrapnel around and gouge your eyes out:




Non-window side:




Front exhaust fans. You can see the Zalman fans behind the mesh; Zalman spared no expense! No cheapo fans here!




Rear exhaust fan:




PCI area:




Hinge message:




PSU mounting area. If you look in the red box, you can see that Zalman applied some thick, black tape near the hinge areas to prevent the door of the case from gouging the side of the enclosure when you open it. Again, very astute of Zalman to include that. Their attention to detail is amazing!




The main reason this case is so heavy? The materials used to make it. Never before have I seen the construction of metal so well built into a case such as this. The thickness of the aluminum and steel is crazy. We are probably talking 1/8" inch thick metal plating for the top and bottom of the case, and probably a hair bit less forming the back and front. Absolutely awesome. You could drive a tank over this thing, or use it in a trebuchet to knock down your neighbors house and it would still be functional.

The red boxes indicate the areas where the thickness of the metal used can be easily seen. Did I mention this case is heavy?




All in all, the case sets a new standard in case enclosures. Zalman has really upped the ante, and I feel that quality case manufacturers such as Silverstone, Lian-Li and CoolerMaster can learn a lot from Zalman’s Fatal1ty case. The sheer weight of this enclosure, much like a power supply, tells you that this is a quality product, not something that was hashed together in order to sell the Fatal1ty name on a Zalman product. This is the real deal folks; there are no compromises, no corner cutting when it comes to this case. This case screams elite-ness, and woe to those who dare try to topple it from its lofty position as one of the best built and designed enclosures money can buy today.

[garetjax]

I ran out of room in the first post (only 10,000 characters allowed) so I had to do this second post to get it all to fit.


There are a lot of people to thank for this case. The first that comes to my mind is Rich Caporali. This guy ceaselessly and tirelessly works on this site, ensuring that it is a great place to learn, discuss and share knowledge of all things computing. The guy shells money out of his pocket each month to make his dream of owning and operating his own computing website a reality. He doesn't have to run contests, he doesn't have to give hardware away to Forum Members of the Month, he doesn't have to work deals with 3rd party companies like Talent to offer free giveaways. The guy selflessly works his ass off so that the community benefits from a whole host of perks, where he receives (and asks for!) nothing in return. Thank you Rich for making this the best place an avid computer nerd and those of the curious want to be!

Next up, the community at this forum themselves. Holy hell, there is a lot of goodness going on here. Never before have I seen a forum community pull together more tightly to help others out. From Blondie sending and encouraging others to mail care packages to those in harms way overseas, fighting the War on Terrorism, to members giving away their own hardware to help fellow members get their computer working right. This community has what few others claim to offer: a place to freely discuss, share and offer help to those in need, and ask for nothing in return. This community is a tight knit group of people who enjoy not just helping others out, but who encourage it in others as well.

Lastly, I would like to thank my fellow gaming friends and gaming community that I belong to, TFH and NI. These two groups of people have been the cornerstone of my online social gaming life, playing games such as BHD, BF2, WoW, EQ and EQ2 with. Also, I would like to thank my friends and family who have been there with me every step of the way throughout my life. Without them, I am nothing.

In the end, I am very thankful for being awarded this beautiful case. Without the community, it would not have been possible. The people that belong to this community are the most important commodity that this website has, and without them and Rich's drive to make this website better every day, there would be no HardwareLogic. Thank you all again very much for both the case, and making me Forum Member of the Month for December of 2006. It is an awesome capstone to an otherwise really crappy 2006 that I have had. With that said, I hope 2007 brings each and every one of you as much happiness and fortune that you all desire. And, as always, stay true to yourselves, and continue to make HardwareLogic the best site on the 'net!

[yurimxpxman]

That writeup was good enough to have been the HL review of the case. Good job.

[JazzyJake]

nice work man, i'm gettin all teary eyed

yea and lets see a build, i wanna get an idea of the proportions

[stinger608]

What a absolutely fan f'n tastic write up and thank you to the community Garetjax
As Yuri put it, that was great enough to be the HardwareLogic case review, Great job man

[garetjax]

My bad, Yuri. I still post using the Red Bar theme. Wasn't aware that the default text color on it was causing problems for people using the Black Out theme. I went ahead and changed it, let me know if its any better. =)

[Jokerswild]

Excellent write-up. I like that molex fan connector, very handy. Hopefully you'll be able to fill that case soon and give us some more pics.

[stinger608]

Originally Posted by Jokerswild

Excellent write-up. I like that molex fan connector, very handy. Hopefully you'll be able to fill that case soon and give us some more pics.

I second that motion
Pics of the finished system yea, yea, yea

Really though, can't wait to get a comparison of size with a system being put together in that awesome case dude!

Oh and BTW a big CONGRATS to getting the member of the month!!!

[Capper]

Man, thanks for the update.....that was actually better than the review of the case.


I honestly think its a great case, and really hope to see the system you put together in it.....please let us know your impressions during your build and usage.

[Quakindude]

Great write up Gare. I'm impressed! Congrats on getting the member of the month and the case. I look forward to seeing some pics with the case filled up.