Rosewill ORBIT-Z1 Review 7

Rosewill ORBIT-Z1 Review

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Value & Conclusion

  • The Rosewill Orbit-Z1 clocks in at US$65 excl. taxes.
  • Great build quality for the price
  • 2x RGB LED strips built-in
  • Comes with two RGB LED fans
  • Front with RGB color elements
  • Two fan controllers built-in
  • Magnetic dust filter on top
  • RGB/fan controller PCB for a clean look
  • Front can hold up to three 120 mm fans
  • Front can hold a 240 mm radiator
  • Loads of space for large GPUs
  • Room for up to 160 mm high CPU coolers
  • Lots of mounting positions for exotic equipment like pumps and reservoirs
  • Metal shroud to cover PSU and 3.5" hard drives
  • Can hold four hard drives - 2x 2.5" and 2x 3.5"
  • Shroud can hold two additional 120 mm fans
  • Simple but effective assembly process
  • Window to show things off
  • Fans come with proprietary headers
  • RGB functionality not compatible with motherboard RGB headers
  • You will need extra-long screws to mount front radiator and fan combo properly
  • Basic dust filter for PSU
  • Break-out expansion-slot covers
  • Openings for cable routing not placed and sized well
  • No grommets on major openings
Alright, before we dive into the conclusion, let's keep one important aspect in mind: a mere US$65. Got it? OK - let's move on.

I mention the price first and foremost as the Rosewill Orbit-Z1 clocks in at an entry-level price point where other companies offer nothing but a standard chassis with a standard fan or - if you are lucky - two.

The Rosewill Orbit-Z1 may not be able to hold its own against more expensive and thus more engineered enclosures out there, but that is also clearly not its target audience. Instead, you will get a chassis that is simple but works. It checks all the boxes when it comes to a standard build: space, cooling, storage space, and motherboard size.

In detail, you won't feel cramped inside the Orbit-Z1 with 160 mm of space for CPU coolers - enough for most 120 mm and even some 140 mm coolers. Couple that with the ability to install GPUs of 380 mm in length and virtually no limit on the size of your power supply and you have a solid recipe for a gamer's build regardless of the budget. On the storage side, four (unofficially six) drives bays are more than enough for any gamer on a budget.

Having covered the basics, let's look at where the chassis manages to shine - its extended feature set. At US$65, you get two RGB-LED-equipped fans, two RGB LED strips built right in, alongside the ability to control them easily, and two fan controllers for good measure.

Some may critique the simple PSU dust filter or lack of big radiator support, the acrylic window or the imperfect cable routing. That all holds true, but none of those points should be of any concern to those who want a cool case with functional features at a budget price. The biggest gripe would be the fact that the fans come with weird connectors to enable both the ability to adjust speed and RGBs, resulting in the lack of motherboard support to switch up colors. But the same mantra as before holds true: if I can control the color of my lighting through the case, I can save money by buying a motherboard that lacks such support.

Long story short: the Rosewill Orbit-Z1 may not be perfect, but at US$65, it works perfectly well and actually overdelivers in terms of functional features and quality.
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Jan 15th, 2025 04:57 EST change timezone

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