Introduction and Features

Zalman’s debut entry into the mid-tower case arena is targeted squarely at PC gamers with high-quality construction, bold styling, and new features. This is an awesome case that excels in many areas but has a couple rough spots.

The Fatal1ty FC-ZE1 Champ1on Series Gaming Case is Zalman’s first entry into the mid-tower enclosure market and man do they know how to make an entrance.  The sleek black Fatal1ty case features heavy-duty aluminum construction and comes with three red LED fans, a large side window, hinged door, and audiophile feet.  Inside is a unique HDD cage that provides vibration isolation and easy installation for three hard drives.    

 

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Zalman has a well earned reputation in the PC industry for delivering high-quality components that are designed to reduce noise.  In addition to several other high-end enclosures in their TNN line (Totally No Noise), Zalman offers numerous air and water-cooling solutions, power supplies, and noise fighting accessories for the PC enthusiast.  You can find my earlier review of the biggest, baddest, not to mention most expensive PC enclosure on the planet — the Zalman TNN-500AF, here.

 

Fatal1ty FC-ZE1 Key Features:

  • Heavy duty, all aluminum construction
  • Black anodized finish inside and out
  • Hinged side panel door with large acrylic window
  • Three red LED Fatal1ty case fans
  • Excellent airflow and case cooling
  • Easy install, vibration isolation HDD cage
  • Bold, clean styling
  • Front mounted controls and I/O panel
  • Audiophile style feet

Fatal1ty FC-ZE1 Specifications (from Zalman’s website)

 

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The Zalman Fatal1ty case ships doubled-boxed for added protection in two unassuming cardboard boxes printed with the Fatal1ty logo. The enclosure is wrapped in plastic and nestled between large Styrofoam end caps.

 

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In addition to the case itself the Fatal1ty package also includes three bags of pre-sorted hardware, a 3mm Allen wrench, ZM-MC1 fan power multi-connector, Velcro cable ties, and a printed User’s Manual.

 

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Johnathan Wendel (aka Fatal1ty)

 

As most of our readers probably know, Johnathan Wendel, better known as Fatal1ty, is a professional gamer/Cyberathlete who is the current reigning World Champion PC Gamer.  Like many athletes, Johnathan endorses PC products with his name to promote the business.

 

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In Johnathan’s own words: ‘I’m living a dream by playing video games for a living.  I’ve always been athletic and took sports like hockey and football very seriously, working out hard and training.  Because I’ve been blessed with great hand-eye coordination and a grasp of mathematics (an important element in video gaming) I gravitated to that activity.  My vision for Fatal1ty hardware is to allow gamers to focus on the game without worrying about their equipment.  Quality hardware makes a huge difference in competitions…a couple more frames per second and everything gets really nice.’  

 

In addition to endorsing Zalamn’s Fatal1ty FC-ZE1 enclosure, Johnathan has also put his name on two of Zalman’s coolers — the Fatal1ty FS-C77 CPU cooler and the Fatal1ty FC-ZV9 video card cooler.  Both of these products maintain the basic red theme.

 

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Zalman FS-C77 CPU Cooler                       Zalman FC-ZV9 GPU Cooler

 

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