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During CES 2008 Zalman displayed their next high-end case, Z-Machine LQ1000, which is basically their Z-Machine GT1000 with a Reserator XT water-cooling system added. Let’s take a look at this forthcoming product from Zalman.
Figure 1: Zalman Z-Machine LQ1000.
LQ1000 has four external 5.25” bays, one external 3.5” bay and four internal HDD bays, with the same installation mechanism used by GT1000. Zalman provides thumbscrews for fastening the external drives.
On its frontal panel you can find two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port, microphone input and headphones output, standby and reset switches and components from the water-cooling device: water flow meter, fan speed meter, water flow speed control, water flow indicator, etc. The only thing we think that could have improved this case was the addition of at least one eSATA port.
Figure 2: Front panel.
Figure 3: Front panel.
On the rear side of the case you will find the water cooler radiator. This case, like 99.9% of the cases on the market, provides seven slots for expansion boards.
Figure 4: Rear panel.
[nextpage title=”Inside Z-Machine LQ1000″]
In Figure 5, you can see inside Z-Machine LQ1000. It is absolutely identical to Z-Machine GT1000, with the difference that it has the Reserator XT water-cooling system installed, of course. Where on GT1000 is the front fan, on LQ1000 you will find the control and monitoring circuit for the water-cooling system.
Figure 5: Inside Zalman Z-Machine LQ1000.
What is really different on the water-cooling system used by Z-Machine LQ1000 compared to other products on the market is that it uses the metallic chassis from the case as a passive heatsink to cool down the water, see Figure 6.
Figure 6: This part makes the case to be used as a passive heatsink.
On the Figures below you can see the other parts from the water-cooling system.
Figure 7: Pump and flow indicator on the bottom of the case.
Figure 8: Water tank on the top of the case.
Since all other features from this case are identical to Z-Machine GT1000, please read our coverage on Zalman Z-Machine LQ1000 for more information.