Thoughts
Running standard benchmarks won't highlight the areas in which Zalman / Poweroid's strange-looking PC excels in. It's not slow by any means, and our sample put up a decent showing against a potent FX-51 machine. The extra money hasn't gone into balls-out performance as, say, it would do in a Prometeia or Vapochill-based rig. It's safe to say that around £800 of the asking price is reserved for the unique case that permits near-silent operation. It's not totally silent; no PC that contains moving parts can be, but it's as close as you're likely to get without blowing a small fortune on solid state drives and the like.Quietness is generally a subjective issue, yet I feel confident in stating that the Zalman / Poweroid combination can't be heard above normal background noise. It's nice to hear birds chirp 30 feet away. It's nice not to have to dial the stereo up when listening to music, and it's nice that such quietness can be achieved without having to compromise performance.
A lot of 'nice' is offset by factors that make Zalman's creation only appeal to a very select market. The system arrives pre-configured, and it's damn hard to change any internal componentry. Just gaining access to parts is a chore in itself. As mentioned, it's not cheap and the warranty could be better. It could also do with shedding a few kilos. Lugging this 25kg monster up the stairs was no fun, I can tell you.
What it all boils down to, really, is if its very select attributes appeal to you. If they do, you'll wonder why nothing like this ever came along before. Cost will be a side issue. If it doesn't have you groping for the credit card, and this will apply to the majority, you'll wonder what the fuss is about. Our final advice is simple. Consider it if power and silence figure highly on your priorities' list. For the rest, it's just an engineering showcase and a rather odd-looking case.
- For technical excellence.
- For value.
