Complete System
I think it’s fair to say that the Kolink Observatory Z offers up little to no surprises, and it’s really following the winning formula that has served many other PC cases on the market so well. What it does have going for it, however, is the vast amount of space it provides. I’ve put an E-ATX motherboard in here, as well as the GTX 1080 Ti, and frankly, it’s barely a tax on the available space.
You can easily appreciate that a freaking huge radiator will fit in the front of this case. Personally, I’m a fan of air-cooled builds though, and having those three 120mm fans pre-installed is a nice addition. They provide a good wall of cool air throughout the entire case.
Furthermore, you can fit more fans or radiators up in the top of the case, and there’s certainly enough room to do something decent here. However, even if you don’t, the additional ventilation this provides allows any warm air to rise up out of the case easily, ensuring nothing gets too hot.
Larger CPU coolers clearly post no threat either. I have switched to the Noctua U12, as offers the same cooling performance as the larger D15 in a smaller form factor. However, if you did want a larger air cooler, such as the Noctua D15, be quiet! Dark Rock 3, or similar, I can’t see that being an issue for you at all.
Cable routing is very good on this case, albeit with an E-ATX motherboard, I did have to remove the mounting bar on the right. That’s not a big deal though, as it’s nice to have the option to remove it if you wanted and great that it’ll support such massive motherboards. However, for the most part, the case is more naturally suited to more standard ATX designs.
The RGB fans look fantastic too, as you’ve likely seen throughout the last few photos. Wiring them into the hub means you can control them from the front panel switch, and a simple tap will cycle through a wealth of colours, transitions, fades and other effects to suit your needs.
With all the panels back in place, this is a very smart looking build. The all-black interior and all-black cables blend into the shadows easily enough, with the RGB from the pre-installed fans illuminating your hardware.
The front panel looks great too, with a tinted piece of glass that allows you to see the lighting effects of the fans.
Sure, this much glass and RGB may not be to everyone’s taste, but overall the case is very robust, has a clean and sensible look, and the addition of the RGB lighting gives it a nice bit of additional customisation to play around with. Innovative it is not, but there’s really nothing at fault with the design either.
