Zalman GS1000 is a hybrid aluminum/steel full-tower case from Zalman: its side panels and details from its front panel are manufactured in aluminum, while its internal body is manufactured using the traditional zinc-coated steel. This helps reducing the price of the case compared to all-aluminum units. This case has four 5 ¼” bays and six 3 ½” bays for hard disk drives on the front of the case, three of them with hot swapping capability, and several other features.

The external plastic parts are available in two colors: black like in the sample we reviewed or titanium (dark grey).

click to enlarge
Figure 1: Zalman GS1000 case.

click to enlarge
Figure 2: Zalman GS1000 case.

On Figure 3 you can see the front panel from this case and, as you can see, this case doesn’t have a front door. This case has four external 5 ¼” bays (two of them coming with 5 ¼”-to-3 ½” adaptors) and what is really unique about this product is that the hard disk drive bays are located on the front panel (see Figure 4). There are two compartments holding three hard disk drives each, and the bays located on the bottom compartment feature hot-swapping capability. We will talk about the disk drive bays in details later.

click to enlarge
Figure 3: Front panel.

click to enlarge
Figure 4: Hard disk drive bays.