ZALMAN Intros S2 TG Mid-tower Case with 4mm Thick Tempered Glass Panel

[btarunr]

ZALMAN today introduced the S2 TG, an ATX mid-tower case characterized by a minimalist design, and a 4 mm-thick tempered glass side panel. Its front panel is characterized by a large mesh intake with plastic ridges. Vents include three 120 mm at the front, two 120 mm at the top, and a 120 mm at the rear. Inside the case features a conventional horizontally partitioned layout, with the upper compartment serving up room for graphics cards up to 33 cm in length, and CPU coolers up to 15.6 cm in height.

The bottom compartment has room for a PSU up to 18 cm in length, and two 3.5-inch drive trays that can each hold 2.5-inch drives. You get two additional 2.5-inch drive mounts behind the motherboard tray. Front-panel connectivity includes a USB 3.0 port, and a couple of USB 2.0 ports. Measuring 196 mm x 424 mm x 462 mm (WxDxH), the case dry-weighs about 5 kg, and is made mostly of SECC steel, with ABS plastic bits, and a tempered glass panel. The company didn't reveal pricing.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Blueberries]

This is a budget builder's dream and looks good doing it

 

[Animalpak]

Front mesh, big win !

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

Not impressed.

I have Focus G Mini and it can fit 165 mm coolers and 380 mm cards, being of actually fairly similar size (205 x 464 x 383 mm W/D/H according to website).

 

[kiriakost]

ATX mid-tower case characterized by a minimalist design .......
If you toss away the space required for two optical drives and four HDD, then the word minimalist it does get another value.

My problem this is that those days I have nothing at the sector of Full-tower cases so to recommend to a friend.

 

[Valantar]

Not impressed.

I have Focus G Mini and it can fit 165 mm coolers and 380 mm cards, being of actually fairly similar size (205 x 464 x 383 mm W/D/H according to website).

*Complains that a case that's 40mm deeper and 9mm wider can fit GPUs 50mm longer and CPU coolers 9mm taller*

See the issue here? I get that technically that speaks to somewhat better utilization of space, at least for the GPU, but ... nah, sorry. Besides, this looks like a budget case. 330mm GPU clearance is plenty. And there are plenty of good CPU coolers below 156mm too.



As far as boring box ATX towers go, this one actually looks pretty good. I really like the front panel design - for once something that manages to both look interesting and different and make room for airflow. Beyond that it looks rather unremarkable, and of course it has the annoying if secure four screw-style mounting for the TG panel, which is fine, but a hassle when you need to remove it.

 

[Urlsen]

USB-C would have been nice.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

*Complains that a case that's 40mm deeper and 9mm wider can fit GPUs 50mm longer and CPU coolers 9mm taller*

See the issue here? I get that technically that speaks to somewhat better utilization of space, at least for the GPU, but ... nah, sorry. Besides, this looks like a budget case. 330mm GPU clearance is plenty. And there are plenty of good CPU coolers below 156mm too.

There is no issue. There is my personal opinion that what Fractal Design did is better way to create case of such footprint. You can disagree, because, say, you like being able to fit full-ATX mobo because you happen to need those extra expansion slots more - fair enough, then this case is in fact better for your needs. Doesn't mean there is an issue with someone having different opinion than you.

Also company didn't reveal pricing. But even if it is in fact budget case, why would it matter when such features clearly can be done within such footprint range given different design decisions?

 

[Valantar]

There is no issue. There is my personal opinion that what Fractal Design did is better way to create case of such footprint. You can disagree, because, say, you like being able to fit full-ATX mobo because you happen to need them more - fair enough. Doesn't mean there is an issue with someone having different opinion than you.

Also company didn't reveal pricing.

The issue wasn't with you having a different opinion, just with the comparison being kind of skewed. As for what I need or want, it's SFF or bust, so this definitely isn't a case for me by any means, but Fractal has a rather terrible track record for space efficiency (their ITX cases are typically larger than many mATX cases). There is of course something to be said for fitting a giant GPU if you happen to have one, but other than that, the only real difference is that the Fractal is shorter due to being mATX rather than ATX - otherwise they're pretty much identical. I'm just happy to see more (seemingly) budget-focused mainstream cases with provisions for decent airflow.

 

[Chomiq]

USB-C would have been nice.

And would probably bump the price up by another $20.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

The issue wasn't with you having a different opinion, just with the comparison being kind of skewed.

There is of course something to be said for fitting a giant GPU if you happen to have one, but other than that, the only real difference is that the Fractal is shorter due to being mATX rather than ATX - otherwise they're pretty much identical.

So which one is it?

Two cases are nearly identical? Or comparison between them is somehow skewed?

Well, they aren't really close to identical BTW, FD internal layout is substantially different (immediately visible 3.5 rack at the bottom, 2 5'25 bays among other things). They are however of similar overall footprint, and if your intuition is right, likely similar price range too.

 

[micropage7]

actually it looks pretty good especially if you skip the thin can
maybe if they make something better with the same concept like this i would put it in my list

 

[PowerPC]

Looks ugly and there are already much cleaner and better mounting mechanisms for the side panel window. Stop screwing holes into glass...

 

[Valantar]

So which one is it?

Two cases are nearly identical? Or comparison between them is somehow skewed?

Well, they aren't really close to identical BTW, FD internal layout is substantially different (immediately visible 3.5 rack at the bottom, 2 5'25 bays among other things). They are however of similar overall footprint, and if your intuition is right, likely similar price range too.

I never said they were significantly different, that was your point, remember? I argued against you by saying the difference is negligible.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

So if difference is negligible, how is comparison between them skewed?

In such situation that'd be exactly when one should make a comparison and mention whatever they find.

I certainly don't consider mentioned internal layout differences and fitting capabilities to be negligible, but you do you.

 

[ObiFrost]

Not sure why people rave here, Zalman had mesh cases for years, unless Zalman doesn't exist in US then it makes sense. We had cheap mesh cases from Ali knockoffs, polish and german brands for years in the Eastern EU.

 

[Valantar]

So if difference is negligible, how is comparison between them skewed?

In such situation that'd be exactly when one should make a comparison and mention whatever they find.

I certainly don't consider mentioned internal layout differences and fitting capabilities to be negligible, but you do you.

... again, I was simply pointing out that your argument of a case slightly wider and deeper fitting slightly longer GPUs and slightly taller CPU coolers is ... well, not much of an observation. Similar footprint or not (a statement that would likely apply to 90% of ATX and mATX cases), that a slightly narrower and less deep case fits slightly smaller components barely qualifies as an observation, especially when one of those metrics (GPU length) fails to actually affect real-world component fitment. There are minor differences, sure, but ... they're the same type of boring box design, with minor tweaks to dimensions and layouts. As with the vast majority of cases. Nothing remarkable about either of them.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

... again, I was simply pointing out that your argument of a case slightly wider and deeper fitting slightly longer GPUs and slightly taller CPU coolers is ... well, not much of an observation. Similar footprint or not (a statement that would likely apply to 90% of ATX and mATX cases), that a slightly narrower and less deep case fits slightly smaller components barely qualifies as an observation, especially when one of those metrics (GPU length) fails to actually affect real-world component fitment. There are minor differences, sure, but ... they're the same type of boring box design, with minor tweaks to dimensions and layouts. As with the vast majority of cases. Nothing remarkable about either of them.

Is this satire?

If not, have you ever personally built a PC before? Being able to fit graphics card or CPU cooler is one of the most basic requirements for a PC case. If you pick a case that is not adequate size for your components, you may sometimes be able to mod it using power tools to accomodate components, however it is not reasonable to expect most users to just pick any random case then mod it like that. not to mention it voids any warranty a case might have. And again, it's not even always possible in the first place. Therefore knowing what kind of cards/coolers can be fit into specific case is of utmost importance to PC builders. And the fact that cases with overall similar footprint can differ by good several cms in that regard, which does exclude some specific card models, is certainly something to note.

And yes, overall case footprint is a relevant metric for plenty of users. THIS is barely an observation. Just notice existence of SFF PC market...

Also I find it ironic, that you complain of making "not much of an observation", when your entire contribution to this discussion is basically picking fight with me for no apparent reason.

If you had issues with understanding some of the above points, I will oblige to clarify when available. If you want to continue bickering, I'm done.

 

[Valantar]

Is this satire?

If not, have you ever personally built a PC before? Being able to fit graphics card or CPU cooler is one of the most basic requirements for a PC case. If you pick a case that is not adequate size for your components, you may sometimes be able to mod it using power tools to accomodate components, however it is not reasonable to expect most users to just pick any random case then mod it like that. not to mention it voids any warranty a case might have. And again, it's not even always possible in the first place. Therefore knowing what kind of cards/coolers can be fit into specific case is of utmost importance to PC builders. And the fact that cases with overall similar footprint can differ by good several cms in that regard, which does exclude some specific card models, is certainly something to note.

And yes, overall case footprint is a relevant metric for plenty of users. THIS is barely an observation. Just notice existence of SFF PC market...

Also I find it ironic, that you complain of making "not much of an observation", when your entire contribution to this discussion is basically picking fight with me for no apparent reason.

If you had issues with understanding some of the above points, I will oblige to clarify when available. If you want to continue bickering, I'm done.

Picking a fight? Seriously? All I have done was say that pointing out that a 40mm deeper and 9mm wider case could fit 50mm longer GPUs and 9mm tall CPU coolers is a bit obvious. As in: these things are self-evident from the specs of the two cases, let alone a simple statement such as "a slightly larger case will likely fit slightly larger components". It was mainly meant as a joke, but you obviously didn't take it that way. It is obviously information of value to anyone considering this case if they're also considering a >156mm CPU cooler (though, as I've pointed out, good luck finding many GPUs exceeding 330mm these days). But as I also pointed out, most CPU coolers are below this limit. And, of course, saying what amounts to "not impressed, this slightly bigger case is slightly bigger" is ... well, a bit silly in my opinion. That was the entirety of my point, the core of my joke, and what you apparently take great umbrage to. As for whether I've ever built a PC or know what SFF means ... well, I'll leave it to you to figure that out.