Zalman HD135 HTPC Case

[W1zzard]

The Zalman HD135 Media PC case was designed to be low-profile, yet you can install full-height video card(s) in it without the need for a riser card. It is also possible to use a standard sized power supply and a regular optical drive. Space for storage is also plenty, you can stuff up to 6 HDDs in this case which is just 135mm high. The HD135 is made from all aluminum and is available in black and silver for a price of $299.

Show full review

 

[pannivas]

great review. The best i have read so far for HD135.

i got some question thought and hopefully you can answer some.

1) How much higer are the video cooler heatpipes over the video card. In your picture it looks like the cooler heatpipes running upwards are a bit taller from the top surface of the video card.

2) what brand is that video cooler u installed?

3) are the included case fans silent?

cheers

 

[drerling]

What about the optical drive then?

Do you have any pictures of when both the graphics card and the optical drive is installed in the system?

I wonder if a sony BR drive will fit in this case at the same time as a high quality graphics card.

I think this is one of the most important things to comment when testing a htpc case with centered optical bay.

Using a motherboard with AGP port in this case will probably cause problems, due to the fact that most of the AGP slots is mounted closer to the midle of the motherboard (vertically).

DrE

 

[onebingus]

Love the case but can not find "real" height dimension

Hello to all Zalman friends and users,

There is no need to praise the Zalman cases, they look and simply are great! I am in love with the HD 135 of course. Zalman shares, however, a habit with other case manufacturers not specifying the “real” total height of their boxes, with the exception of the Korean manufacturer 3R System – look for yourself: http://www.3rsys.com/english/products/view.asp?navi=case&idx_num=48
Most if not all others kindly leave you guessing – is it with feet (stand-offs) or not.

The reason I bring this up is that I am height constraint on where to insert the HTPC in my entertainment system, anything larger than 5 7/8(-) inch or 14.8cm in height will not fit. The Zalman web site and any of the reviews I found list the total height of the HD 135 as being 135mm – great. Yet looking at the PSU Zalman proposes and the indentation they provided in the HD 135 to make the PSU fit, together with the “standard” stand-offs shown in the pictures, leads me to believe that the box is about 135mm + 18mm= 153mm in total height. So far I have never received an answer from Zalman or any of the retailers selling this nice box as to the real, actual height and hope that Mr. Wizzard may either still have the box in question or access to it to determine the “actual, total” height.

I really love the case for many reasons and appreciate any feedback on, what otherwise may seem to be, a trivial subject.

Sincerely,
onebingus

 

[W1zzard]

154 mm .. because the psu mounting thing goes below the unit, you can not remove the feet .. so if you dont have 155 mm, you cant install it

 

[onebingus]

There it goes...

Thanks Wizzard,

That's what I was afraid of and you now saved my behind. For most people this a "so-what" thingy, but I am really strapped for real estate. Thanks a bunch!!!http://forums.techpowerup.com/images/smilies/rockout.gif

 

[mgjoyce]

Overclockers.co.uk and the Zalman HD135

OVerclockers.co.uk have given me a hard time when I have tried to return the case. They havethe incorrect specifications on their site. They said something along the lines of "We just got the information from the manufacturer". The case is indeed About 158mm high.