A Closer Look - Inside

To access the interior, simply remove the thumb screws holding each side panel in place. The interior actually reminds me a little of the Antec P101 Silent as it seems both cases utilize a similar frame. On the back of the motherboard tray, you will find plenty of openings for cable management and access to things like the underside of the CPU area.


Looking at the back of the motherboard tray, you will find some pretty good pre-routed cabling along with unique bumps to secure any additional leads. While this is pretty nifty, make sure your zip ties are slim enough to fit. There is also a tray for two 2.5" drives underneath the large opening for the motherboard CPU area. Xigmatek includes an RGB controller to which you may connect up to eight lit elements that are controlled through the button at the front.


The metal shroud across the PSU area looks and feels sturdy; it extends to the front of the case and comes with air vents which allow you to add up to three 120 mm fans or a 360 mm radiator on top.


Underneath the shroud, in the front, you will find two HDD trays that look different from the visible tray above. These two cages bring the total number of storage units to six, but you can also install additional SSDs on the motherboard tray above the cage. With the chassis configuration we have received for review, that translates into two additional drive spots for a total of eight. Looking at the fans in the front, you can clearly see the various mounting options for fans and radiators. You may go for three 120 or 140 mm fans instead of the pre-installed 200 mm units or place radiators of up to 360 mm there without issue.


In the back, you will find a PSU bay underneath the shroud as well. It comes with foam lining as an anti-vibration measure. Above that are the aforementioned eight expansion slots with thumb screws to hold each cover in place, and a metal bracket for the two vertical slots to install a GPU here. However, while the marketing text sounds like the Zest includes a PCIe ribbon cable, it in fact does not. The 140 mm fan in the very top is set to push hot air out the back of the chassis and also comes equipped with RGB elements. Thanks to the elongated mounting holes, you can adjust the height at which the fan is placed to align it with your motherboard as best as possible.


In the ceiling, you can clearly see the vast array of mounting possibilities when viewing this area from inside the enclosure.


All the cables within the Zest are of the default variety, and Xigmatek utilizes two Molex connector to power the RGB controller.