Log Taobao ZZAW B6 (V2) Case Review post

[Skripka]

ED: “ZZAW” Otherwise renowned (by no-one?) as “Zen Zone Art World”.

Thanks to you enablers (smooch) at r/SFFPC, I found this case and finally got around to buying it to maybe replace my NCASE M1 v5 (more on that later). CaseEnd** has the numbers as well as some ad-copy photos to get you wondering WTF this case looks like:

https://caseend.com/case/zzaw-b6/

ED: Style summarized; channels/references/copies/steals (your choice of adjective) Apple design cues from the anodized aluminum chassis to the cheese-grater style ventilation cutouts. I debated getting this case or a Metalfish G5 Plus. All of ZZAW’s cases are clearly echoing Apple here in a variety of SFF layouts (sandwich ITX, inverted traditional tower, Vertical MATX, etc)

**CaseEnd does make a few visual/spec-sheet errors here, which I’ll get to down below. You should have spotted one already. Perfectly understandable if you never handled the case or deep-dive researched it. Not a knock on them at all—there’s only so much you can do by remote; there’s basically nothing on this case in anything other than Chinese. If you’re reading this CaseEnd, you’re welcome to link back here.

This is the only other thread about this case on the internet I could find, and ofc it was here in our SFFPC abode:




Table of Contents (OP AKA here)

• Buying off Taobao (costs and time/frame as well as hassle)
• Retail/store materials and ad-copy
• Unboxing and Comparison with NCase
• Build and thermals/noise.

NOTE1: these are hyperlinked to the individual comments down below for hopefully easier reading, and less Great American Novel wall-of-text OP (too late) as some will get pretty long…also some people will probably have specific comments/questions on these specific sub-topics. More convenient for everyone hopefully.

NOTE2: For those wondering…I started typing this up while still in shipping; before the case even left China I was at 1,700+ words without trying to be annoyingly verbose. Yea, I’ll admit IRL I’m a researcher and writer, LOL. Guilty, 100%.

 

[Skripka]

• Buying off Taobao: Down the Rabbit Hole

This case, as of writing, is NOT available by AliExpress. Only option is Taobao and a Shopping/shipping agent. Others pop up so keep your eyes on Taobao and search. I’ve seen this behavior out of AliExpress sellers too.

This is the original link I used to buy it…it now works…although briefly didn’t (because reasons?)

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=618128591179&_u=t2dmg8j26111

I provided the link to SuperBuy, and they hooked me up. Lots of Taobao ‘agents’, they seemed the most reputable although more expensive.

Cost break-down goes like this:

• 800 Yuan ($115 USD at time of purchase) for the case itself
• 10% commission from SuperBuy AKA service charge. So, 80 Yuan or $15USD
• 0 Yuan for shipping to SuperBuy’s warehouse
• International Shipping Superbuy->Me….oy. Varies. My only options were 800-1200Yuan, 115USD to 180USD. UPS Air being 1050 Yuan. The case is 2.956 KG, the case in its shipping box is 3.000 KG, but the ‘billable’ or ‘volumetric’ weight was 9.000. Gag. Superbuy claims this pricing wasn’t affected by Human Malware.
• Tariffs 8 Yuan or 1USD…the HST class they filed this under was ‘wooden pallets. Def on the up-and-up

As part of the Superbuy service you get a photo-inspection of the goods once they arrive at their warehouse for you to approve and forward/ship, or refund. Reassuring that you’re getting what you paid for given how expensive this became. Here’s the actual photo inspection from mine, blanked out my order number and the ID of the person who took them:


That is the kind of service you pay the extra money for using Superbuy. Superbuy also did the tariffs for me, so no unpleasant surprises of COD package-hostage.

So grand total for this came to: about 1924.8 Yuan or $278.52 USD to my door

Which winds up costing a bit more than an NCase does depending on where you live and shipping options/taxes. Figured it probably would be when going in. The cost of semi-unique goods bought internationally.

And then there was the cost in time…

Time frame.

• Purchase via SuperBuy-> shipped to SuperBuy’s warehouse: (8/18 PM US CDT to 8/19 PM US CDT )
• Time sitting in warehouse/processing 8/19PM US CDT to 8/20 PM US CDT
• Time in shipping to delivery to my door 8/22 PM US CDT to 8/27 PM US CDT

Total time: About 6 days…which granted the shipping was an arm and a leg, but still incredibly fast.
Which depending on your choice of shipping will actually be less time than it takes for any other similar-priced imported case to get to you in a pre-order.
Hassle…very minimal. SuperBuy and Taobao are risks in terms of gambling for what you get. Caveat emptor. SuperBuy even says as much. Buyer beware, and do your research. There’s a fair number of tutorials on using SuperBuy to get Taobao goods out there if you look. USE THEM. Also Baby-sit your SuperBuy account until the goods are on a plane/boat; sometimes you get notifications to do things (approve/accept warehousing)—sometimes you don’t (shipping it out of warehouse).

 

[Skripka]

• Retail/store materials and ad-copy

I made an album of screen captures (on my phone which still had the listing open hence the narrow and long screencaps) of the original sell listing, there’s some important/interesting things to note here even if you don’t speak a word of Chinese:


Something that gets buried in all the Chinese of the adcopy…there are actually TWO versions of this case officially made:

• V1 only has 80mm fan support in the back and a PSU cable that comes out the bottom of the back of the case. Has a minimal fan bracket that is only as wide as a 240mm radiator
• V2, has 90mm fan support in the back with revised larger fan grill drilling; and the IEC connector comes out above the PCH of the motherboard. Has a larger fan bracket that extends to the bottom of the enclosure.

NOTE: When I ordered this case…I honestly didn’t know which version I’d be getting until I saw the Inspection Photos in Post (A). Dice roll.

**I told you I’d get to the CaseEnd slips. I bring this versioning up because if you were paying attention, CaseEnd conflated the two different versions in the very first link up above…placing photos of the two different variants side by side; not even noticing.

** There also is a discrepancy in the dimensions, should be 163(W) x 350 (D) x 245 (H), using CaseEnd’s formatting. Note the height measurement does not include the feet.



Here are the PR build/showcase vids I scraped off Taobao from the seller listing and compiled for your convenience, the videos do a better job explaining how things go together than anything else does. WARNING, I get abnormally high system resource usage playing these videos in Firefox, I strongly STRONGLY advise uBlock origin and script blocking them (etc) when viewing them. I post these because they’re the only videos I can find on this case; otherwise I’d happily replace them due to something being janky with the code (Mea culpa, moderators—I tried). The joys of Chinese websites and products, what can I say.

bilibili.com/video/BV1BT4y1E7CG
bilibili.com/video/BV1Bg4y1q7ic
bilibili.com/video/BV1t5411W7Vv
After some digging, I found a YouTube build video of someone’s Hackintosh with this case—it is also viewable in 4K res:

 

[Skripka]

• Unboxing and Comparison with NCase

Yay, it got here. Far faster than I expected. Another imgur gallery:




Just how does it ZZAW B6 v2 compare to the NCase…bullet points galore, I’ll stick mostly to things not visible on a spec sheet:

• It is a bit over 13L, so on the larger end of SFFPC these days, in proximity to an NCase in volume especially when you add in NCASE’s feet.
• Obvious: NCase has 4 removable case panels to work inside…the ZZAW only has 1 removable case panel.
• Whereas NCASE is a frame and thin-aluminum-panel construction…the ZZAW is, well a chonky thick almost-unibody.
• 3mm side panels. The difference in panel thickness coming from NCase is funny. It makes for a very rigid/strong enclosure
• Motherboard standoffs on ZZAW are-not removable. Beware cross-threading them
• ZZAW uses magnets to hold the side-panel instead of push pins.
• Both support ITX and DTX motherboards
• Both support large GPUs. NCase tops out at 325mm IIRC and 60mm thick depending on if you remove the I/O; ZZAW supports 338mm and 63mm thick without removing anything thanks to the inverted layout.
• Fan compatibility. Both NCase and ZZAW support 4x120mm and 1x 92mm case-fans by design. Difference being NCase puts two fans below the GPU and ZZAW puts 2x fans below the motherboard (due to the flipped orientation).
• The NCase centers the fans on the bottom; ZZAW off-centers them.
• NOTE about fan compatibility, the bottom only allows ONE 120x25mm fan and ONE 120x15mm fan due to clearance.
• While NCase provides mesh filters for all 120mm fans…The ZZAW case provides a 240mm mesh filter, that due to the design of the fan-bracket is too long to attach without some scissors to cut it down. Filter attaches with 3M adhesive
• Same mounting method for AIOs, side-plate that screws in.
• Speaking of cooling-very similar CPU cooler support, both allows 240mm CLCs. Or 135mm tower air coolers
• The ZZAW PSU cage/mounting is marginally more finicky to install, but makes managing PSU cables less of a headache IMHO due to the bracket and the PSU being at a 90degree angle compared to the NCase
• Very similar I/O compared to NCase 6+, both support USB3.0 Type A and USB-C. NOTE the ZZAW makes the two ports entirely separate physical connectors. BUT the ZZAW has no front-panel audio. While the NCase of course puts the I/O and power button on the front, the ZZAW is on the side. NCase gets a bit of a ribbing for that plastic power button, the ZZAW is metal and has a nice click to it; It is also lit with a blue power-LED that is bright enough without being too obnoxious.

 

[Skripka]

• Build experience, and thermals/noise.

Build photos, again on Imgur:




Build experience was always going to be an uphill for the ZZAW. The NCase is notorious for being an easy-to-build-in ITX enclosure thanks to all the side panels coming off and just being a frame when naked …whereas the ZZAW is basically a unibody. Getting an AIO in/on is more problematic than the NCase due to the orientation of the PSU.

The design of the radiator mount means to do any work inside means unscrewing 4 screws.

I’ll also come right out and say this case isn’t as ‘space optimized’ as the NCase, to quote Ali at Optimum Tech…however it is much more of a ‘looker’ and more heavily CNC’d/built; due entirely to shipping costs you’re paying much more for the aesthetics. Also not being as space-optimized makes it less fussy to cable manage compared to NCase, particularly the drive/PSU cage.

PCPartpicker of parts getting transplanted:

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/gsbXsY

Reminder about fan compatibility. The ZZAW bottom fans, there’s really only room for 1x 25mm fan and 1x 15mm fan on the bottom. The motherboard and cables are too close for both being 25mm. I elected for:
2x A12x15 Noctuas in the bottom, exhaust
2x A12x25 Noctuas on the AIO, intake
1x A9x15mm on the back, exhaust

Temps end up rather close to one another….I need to do some more testing, and perhaps jerry-rig fans to the top of the case…something I initially thought of doing.
Battlestation:

 

[Skripka]

E) Temps
I intended to have some charts I generated in Tableau to comparison...but the only HWINFO64 crosstabs from NCase I have to work with are configuration-stale and only relate to some game testing I did...not reliable benches like Heaven4 or AIDA64.
Where I ended up on the tune with this hardware was:
-R5 3600 at 4.15gHz all-core at 1.248V SET; about a quarter volt 'undervolt' in effect while running all-core all the time instead of just boost.
-RTX2070 at 1930mHz core, at 0/925V., about 0.15V undervolt and a 200mHz overclock compared to card stock
Something to note going in, this RTX2070 is a 190mm ITX card, so it doesn't have a big heatsink and always runs relatively warm...tried deshrouding it, and it didn't work at all. Also tried modifying the shroud and that didn't work as well either (TLDR version--the plastic fan shroud obstructs the PCIe bracket vents by design; removing that blockage doesn't actually help core temps).

Which landed with the following NCase...
Idles:
-CPU: 33-35C depending on ambient
-GPU: 30-35C depending on ambient
-backside M.2 drive with an aftermarket cheapo passive heatsink: 40-43C idle
Loads:
CPU: 63-65C depending on ambient in an AIDA64 CPU load; gaming about 55C inside Star Citizen
GPU: 70-73C in Heaven 4.0 and gaming depending on ambient.
Backside M.2: 55-60C over sustained load

The ZZAW B6, was actually able to get to those targets (I know, not expecting that especially the GPU)...but there were a few catches:

1. The included fan filter is highly restrictive and loud....no longer running one (well the AIO is intake, and the radiator acts as something of a filter). Not ideal, but oh well. Old School.
2. I left out PCH temp up above, which on X570 ofc runs hot....well....
3. Without fans force-feeding the GPU...the idle-fan-stop on this card caused not only the GPU idle temp to climb 10-15C, it also caused the PCH temperature to climb 3-5C depending on load.
4. The above (3) I fixed by simply setting a low/inaudible non-zero fan speed on the GPU. Doing this actually netted a lower PCH temp at idle in the ZZAW than in NCase. From 60/62C idle/gaming-load to 55C idle 62C gaming-load
5. For GPU temps, some fan speed curve editing was needed not just the non-zero-idle but higher end too...whereas NCase could use 50% GPU-fan speed with A12x25s at 70%+ to get target temps; ZZAW did it with 60% GPU-fan speed while being slightly quieter. My running theory on this is that the inverted-layout is no longer fighting fan filters, now is the GPU suffering restriction from being near a desktop surface....and noise is probably due to less fan-fan turbulence.

Acoustically....this enclosure is a bit quieter all around than NCase. First thing I noticed when booting up. This RTX does a pulse up to 100% fan speed on POST on cold-boot before dropping to idle/0. This card always done it. The ZZAW mutes that noise far more effectively than NCase ever did. Of course, I'm not running filters, so it should be able to be a bit quieter and similar temps.

 

[PVC]

Thanks. Though your build is not my cup-of-tea, it did clear up one mystery for me. How to Buy from Taobao!

 

[Skripka]

Thanks. Though your build is not my cup-of-tea, it did clear up one mystery for me. How to Buy from Taobao!

Big thing to be careful of....be very specific about what you want. If you have a link, and that is all there is on that store-item-listing you're golden. Where dragons come are those listings where one item has 3 different selections to make with 30+ permutations--and SuperBuy warns you to specify every single option. Which can be a problem given translation difficulties. Some Taobao cases have color options, and optional AIOs, and optional PSUs included for example.

 

[Frenzy]

Thanks for the review. I'm in living in china so getting Taobao items is relative easy. The case styling isnt to my taste (big holes make it look a bit rough). But see the supplier has quite the range of cases. On the right track, keep my eye on it . From the front it actually looks pretty good though.

 

[jaeparku]

nice info on an awesome potential looking case.

btw - why does your links get flagged by my MalwareBytes as malware?

 

[Skripka]

nice info on an awesome potential looking case.

btw - why does your links get flagged by my MalwareBytes as malware?

MBAM? Geeze. They're still around? Guessing false positive. Their product went downhill ten years ago.

Seriously though--they're standard Imgur galleries of photos direct uploaded with my phone, that SFF.Net turned into prev-ew mode.

 

[evd]

Nice review! Good to see these sorts of threads on the less mainstream cases..there is some awesome stuff on taobao.

 

[Nero]

Great log, exactly what I needed

Just ordered this case as a backup plan if the 3090FE doesn't fit the FormD T1. I'll need to dremel the PCIe opening for the 3 slots bracket but that's super easy (I think).

The looks are both very good and a bit weird (side panels cuts) but def better than the M1 and it seems waaaay sturdier. Also, main reason I even looked at this case: it can fit most 3090s while the M1 can't.

Whether I end up sticking to this case or not I'm looking forward to getting it, should make for an exciting build.

My plan is use an AIO and set every single fan in the case as exhaust: The GPU will intake at the top and the weird 3090 cooling system means it dumps its heat right under. By having basically 5 fans (2 for the AIO, 2 at the bottom, 1 92mm) as exhaust I'm sure It'll be fine. Good old negative pressure. Might switch things around if thermals don't look good.

 

[Skripka]

Great log, exactly what I needed

Just ordered this case as a backup plan if the 3090FE doesn't fit the FormD T1. I'll need to dremel the PCIe opening for the 3 slots bracket but that's super easy (I think).

The looks are both very good and a bit weird (side panels cuts) but def better than the M1 and it seems waaaay sturdier. Also, main reason I even looked at this case: it can fit most 3090s while the M1 can't.

Whether I end up sticking to this case or not I'm looking forward to getting it, should make for an exciting build.

My plan is use an AIO and set every single fan in the case as exhaust: The GPU will intake at the top and the weird 3090 cooling system means it dumps its heat right under. By having basically 5 fans (2 for the AIO, 2 at the bottom, 1 92mm) as exhaust I'm sure It'll be fine. Good old negative pressure. Might switch things around if thermals don't look good.

Enjoy it. If you need a bit more space...you can probably get 3mm more GPU thickness; the cheese-grater top is two independent panels, the inner screws into the outer unibody. I'm thinking about a 3080 myself.

Something I found on r/SFFPC recently....M1AF ordered a very-low-profile 90-degree pigtail off Aliexpress.....TLDR, some of us prompted him--they shipped it with 26 or 28 gauge wiring, which is no bueno for any kind of normal PC. I checked the pigtail on the ZZAW after that, it isn't quite as stout as the M1 and it is swappable; but fine enough for a 600W load...you pushing more like 750W might consider the swap.

With cables drooping as they do, I use lots of wire-fan grills internally to stop fans eating wiring/cables.

I also should make a bullet point up above...the standoffs provide ample clearance for a back-of-motherboard M.2 drive with a basic aluminum finned heatsink (this is the one I have)

 

[Nero]

Enjoy it. If you need a bit more space...you can probably get 3mm more GPU thickness; the cheese-grater top is two independent panels, the inner screws into the outer unibody. I'm thinking about a 3080 myself.

Something I found on r/SFFPC recently....M1AF ordered a very-low-profile 90-degree pigtail off Aliexpress.....TLDR, some of us prompted him--they shipped it with 26 or 28 gauge wiring, which is no bueno for any kind of normal PC. I checked the pigtail on the ZZAW after that, it isn't quite as stout as the M1 and it is swappable; but fine enough for a 600W load...you pushing more like 750W might consider the swap.

With cables drooping as they do, I use lots of wire-fan grills internally to stop fans eating wiring/cables.

I also should make a bullet point up above...the standoffs provide ample clearance for a back-of-motherboard M.2 drive with a basic aluminum finned heatsink (this is the one I have)

That's great to know regarding the cheese grater part, the card should fit even with it but more importantly removing it probably means better airflow!
You could fit some of the biggest 3080s in this case if you do end up getting one you'll have one potent build, both in looks and performance. The flipped M1 layout might be the best for GPU temps, no feet elevation issue while still getting fresh air.

Damn I would have never even questionned the pigtail thing. You might have saved my future computer here. Do you know where to find strong enough pigtails? If not, what gauge should I be looking for in your opinion?

Yeah I'll def get some grills as well.

I didn't even remember to ask and you've already answered the back M.2 question, you're amazing man lol

I'm still on the fence on the airflow the more I think about it. Not sure if intake or exhaust is better for the AIO. For CPU temps intake is obviously better but the main challenge is GPU temps, not CPU temps. But would having intake AIO fans negatively impact the GPU with the weird 3090 flowthrough design if there's still two fans exhausting on the bottom and one small fan exhausting on the side? Hmmm. I'll have to test that I assume.

I initially ordered this case as a back up but the possibilities are growing on me. I'm thinking about getting a custom side panel with a more... regular pattern CNC'd, for both better looks and airflow. Will think about it.

 

[Skripka]

That's great to know regarding the cheese grater part, the card should fit even with it but more importantly removing it probably means better airflow!
You could fit some of the biggest 3080s in this case if you do end up getting one you'll have one potent build, both in looks and performance. The flipped M1 layout might be the best for GPU temps, no feet elevation issue while still getting fresh air.

Damn I would have never even questionned the pigtail thing. You might have saved my future computer here. Do you know where to find strong enough pigtails? If not, what gauge should I be looking for in your opinion?

Yeah I'll def get some grills as well.

I didn't even remember to ask and you've already answered the back M.2 question, you're amazing man lol

I'm still on the fence on the airflow the more I think about it. Not sure if intake or exhaust is better for the AIO. For CPU temps intake is obviously better but the main challenge is GPU temps, not CPU temps. But would having intake AIO fans negatively impact the GPU with the weird 3090 flowthrough design if there's still two fans exhausting on the bottom and one small fan exhausting on the side? Hmmm. I'll have to test that I assume.

I initially ordered this case as a back up but the possibilities are growing on me. I'm thinking about getting a custom side panel with a more... regular pattern CNC'd, for both better looks and airflow. Will think about it.

Finding low-profile ones are a trick that are 90-degree. the PSU plug ends up right against the mainboard 24-pin. The NCase one will fit, but will be snug. The stock ZZAW tail is 'flipped' (alias up/down), as opposed to the NCase that is 'left' or 'right' as shown on the NCase website--IOW the axis of 90 degress different.

As far as gauge...I believe UL says:

10Amp@120V: 18AWG wiring alias 1.0mm for civilized folks ...which is probably 1/4" OD outside the insulation after all is said/done
13Amp@120V: 16AWG wiring alias 1.29mm...which is like 1/3" outside after all is said done.


For reference the above tale from r/SFFPC and M1AF's pigtail from Aliexpress....was using 'telephone wire' basically.

I went ahead and swapped the pigtail out of my NCase into the ZZAW myself. Being an electrician in theater, I hate not knowing what people do with fire-hazards....and I've seen to many jank jobs come out of China to take it as read that something like that wasn't skimped on....I should take a stripper to it and actually measure the gauge, but I don't like being destructive to something I cannot easily find a replacement for.

 

[Payne]

I got it that SFX-L won't fit? I'm going for RTX 3080 so having a decent PSU is a must. There is basically no alternative to SF750 in true SFX form factor but that beast is impossible to find and it is overpriced af.

 

[Skripka]

I got it that SFX-L won't fit? I'm going for RTX 3080 so having a decent PSU is a must. There is basically no alternative to SF750 in true SFX form factor but that beast is impossible to find and it is overpriced af.

Yea, SFX only. There was another batch of SF PSUs on Corsair's site last night IIRC.

 

[Payne]

@Skripka , thanks.
I am torn between this case and Aklla a4 v2 with the integrated hat.
Aesthetically both are fine by me so I'm thinking about the performance.
How's the gc thermals yo you? Some comments on taobao suggest that it's getting hot. Though theoretically it looks like having a gc at the very top with almost unrestricted airflow should be ideal. On the other hand, a couple coolers that would help a gc when it's at the bottom also sound rather optimal.

 

[Skripka]

@Skripka , thanks.
I am torn between this case and Aklla a4 v2 with the integrated hat.
Aesthetically both are fine by me so I'm thinking about the performance.
How's the gc thermals yo you? Some comments on taobao suggest that it's getting hot. Though theoretically it looks like having a gc at the very top with almost unrestricted airflow should be ideal. On the other hand, a couple coolers that would help a gc when it's at the bottom also sound rather optimal.

It is all about parts choice and managing what you have, details are in Post 5:

Log - Taobao ZZAW B6 (V2) Case Review post

ED: “ZZAW” Otherwise renowned (by no-one?) as “Zen Zone Art World”. Thanks to you enablers (smooch) at r/SFFPC, I found this case and finally got around to buying it to maybe replace my NCASE M1 v5 (more on that later). CaseEnd** has the numbers as well as some ad-copy photos to get you...

smallformfactor.net

With a 190W GPU I have no issues...If I had a more power hungry GPU that might be different. A few weeks ago I was thinking of Ampere GPUs, after seeing their power targets that is a solid no...RDNA2 maybe, but we'll see.