Arctic z1 - Reviews 2024

The use of desktop management systems offers many improvements in day-to-day use. From a better organization of the space to an improved ergonomics that will make us more comfortable the long hours in front of the computer reducing the risk of degenerating into postural diseases. For this reason we bring you the analysis of the very interesting Arctic Z1-3D.

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We are grateful for the trust in Arctic for the loan of the product for its analysis:

Arctic Z1-3D technical specifications

Luckily, these types of systems have gone from elements destined for large companies in a few years to being accessible, in price and form, by any home user. Today we will show you a good example of this statement with a versatile arm with several position axes and pneumatic support of one of those axes.

The benefits of the Arctic Z1-3D

Monitor arms have significantly reduced their cost in recent years and are becoming more accessible. They are also more advanced and now have much better support from monitor manufacturers who are also betting that the user can detach from the original support and use other more flexible systems.

The latest generation of single or multiple arms has greatly improved in movement capacity and in number of units support, undoubtedly driven by the reduction in weight and frames of the latest generations of monitors. The Arctic Z1-3D combines the simplicity of a model for a single monitor with a variety of movements, good fit and some very useful extra elements.

It has a set of three axes: vertical support, horizontal extender and pneumatic lift arm. You have the option of mounting only two of these elements, without an extension arm, adjusting to any type or need for use.

The last component of the arm has a pneumatic adjustment system that allows you to set the height with one finger, being firm and easy to move. The support supports monitors from 13 "to 38" but with a limit of 8kg which is the maximum resistance that the pneumatic system allows. This resistance capacity is somewhat scarce and will limit the use of large format monitors.

The Arctic Z1-3D base can be used on tables with a drill or attached to one of the sides of the table. At the base we find a hub with four powered USB 3.0 ports where we can even use it to charge phones with a maximum of 1 amp per connector, a maximum of 5w charging speed.

The Arctic Z1-3D kit includes all the accessories and tools necessary for its assembly, except if we want to drill our table for a fixation with this method, which we will have to do by our own means . All other necessary "Allen" wrenches are included, as well as different screws, with two different metrics and lengths, in addition to the spacers necessary for the most suitable mounting of our monitor.

We can mount its base on any compatible table, with a maximum of 65 mm thickness, but this must have a solid structure, it is not compatible with recycled paper tables, including those with a honeycomb structure, which are very common lately.

Some cool features

In addition to the striking HUB of USB 3.0 ports built into its base, this mount has some very interesting elements in its design, almost more important for daily use and assembly.

All arm segments have custom adjustments to limit the movement of different ball joints to suit the user. This allows us to add resistance in each of them or simply block them completely. This is done using locking pins that we can adjust with one of the "Allen" keys that come with the holder itself.

Each segment also has its wiring manager so that the different cables can travel with the movements of the screen. Each fixation is different in each segment, adapted to the format of each element.

The working height and movements on all axes allow us to place the screen in the position that we think is most convenient. This includes 360 degree pivoting on the vertical axis of the monitor and also tilting with an angle of almost 180 degrees. This allows us to position the screen at the point that we create most convenient for each situation, also making it compatible with different modes of use. Its pneumatic arm has a lot of influence on this capacity of movement and constant adaptability since it allows us to control the height at all times with one hand.

Aesthetics and mounting experience

Despite its adjusted price of 80 Euros, this arm offers materials and high quality. It combines the black of its horizontal elements with the polished vertical bar which generates a beautiful suspension effect of the horizontal elements.

One of them is optional so we can limit the space consumed and also one of its axes of movement. These types of options allow us to mount the support in the most appropriate way at all times.

Assembling this Arctic Z1-3D kit is simple, it does not take more than 15 minutes, and the adjustments per axis, with integrated lock, means that we can have a perfect fixation that will exceptionally reduce the space consumed on our desk.

Its greater vertical height and its angle adjustments make us have a much more ergonomic position, especially on medium and large monitors, which will make us have a more adequate posture in front of the computer.

We only need the monitor to be compatible with VESA mounting of 100 mm or 75 mm, which can be found in monitors up to 32 ”diagonal, this type of mounting being completely standard and, although not all monitors incorporate it, it is quite usual in recent times.

The power of the HUB integrated in the base comes from the hand of a power adapter that we will have to supply, we have tried to use it without it and it has bus power problems as soon as we use a couple of devices connected to it . This will also depend on the computer or devices that we connect, but our advice is that, if we want stable operation, we must use the power adapter that is supplied with the arm.

Final words and conclusion about Arctic Z1-3D

These types of devices greatly improve our quality of life and many times we do not take them into account for their price or because we think that they will not add any real advantage on how we enjoy our system. However, my experience is precisely the opposite. It transforms our way of seeing a personal computer, improves our cable management, leaves us more space available at our work table and makes it much more comfortable to be in front of our computer since they offer many more positioning options than traditional bases that come from series with any monitor.

The Arctic Z1-3D falls within the mid-range in this type of ergonomic devices due to its complexity of axes, we can find cheaper things, from unknown manufacturers, but normally they do not have the diversity of movements that Arctic has achieved in this model.

Other add-ons, such as the integrated lock on each head or the USB 3.0 HUB, also make a difference with other cheaper models. In fact, within its segment this is undoubtedly one of the cheapest monitor mounts we can find on the market.

Arctic also offers a variant, the Arctic Z2-3D, which has a dual monitor assembly. It has the same features as the model that we have analyzed today, but we can mount two monitors up to 27 "diagonal and both will enjoy their own support elements, including the pneumatic system, which we can configure at will. Its price is positioned in online stores between 110 to 120 euros.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ Good value for money	- USB 3.0 HUB does not offer fast charging
+ Great adjustability	- Its 8 kg capacity greatly limits the size of the monitor
+ Regulation and locking by axis