INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   If you've been around PCs for as long as i have (or even longer) then you probably know that acrylic windows placed on side panels changed forever the design of towers and allowed consumers to "admire" part of the interior components without having to go through all the trouble of modding/customizing their cases. Of course compared to when i got my first tower which had a rather small window at the center of the side aluminum panel today there are models that feature side panels made entirely out of tempered glass thus allowing consumers to view everything inside. IN WIN is perhaps the only manufacturer to have focused so much in the design and manufacture of PC cases using tempered glass and their latest 303 Mid-Tower which is here with us today is the latest addition in their growing line.

   IN WIN Development Inc., an ISO 9001 manufacturer of professional computer chassis, power supplies and digital storage devices, is the leading provider of enclosure solutions to system integrators worldwide. Founded in 1985, IN WIN provides high quality chassis that conform to all safety regulations, as well as unsurpassed customer service. With no sharp edges, the logo also portrays a state of energetic harmony between technology and art. Thus, our slogan "Contemporary and Innovative" serves as the foundation of not only our product development but also our attitudes in serving and catering to our strategic partner’s wishes. We take the "im" out of "impossible"… …A brand without persistence is only a name.

   Leaving out the left side panel which is made almost entirely out of tempered glass (3mm thick) the 303 is made out of SECC steel so at slightly over 10Kg (10.88Kg) it weighs roughly 2Kg more compared to its slightly smaller brother the 805 which was made out of aluminum (again minus the tampered glass parts). Aside using a push-to-release side panel made almost entirely out of tempered (tinted) glass and a nice illumined logo at the front (the I/O is also illuminated) IN WIN has also given the 303 mid-tower enough room for E-ATX/ATX/Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX mainboards, 6 drives (2x2.5"/2x3.5"), 7 fans (and/or 3 radiators), 160mm tall CPU coolers, 350mm long graphics cards, and 200mm long power supply units. It may not have the same interior space as the larger 805 but the 303 does look promising so let's take a closer look.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 IN WIN ships the 303 inside a plain cardboard box that has the model number at the front.

 

 

The model color and features are printed on the left side while on the right we see the specifications table.

 

 

The company logo is placed at the rear of the box.

 

 

I was a bit surprised to see that the 303 mid-tower is actually packed as an HTPC case (because of the tempered glass side) so aside being wrapped inside a cloth cover it was also placed between 8 pieces of foam (4 on each side).

 

 

Along with the case you'll also receive the user manual, single GPU holder (piece of metal used to hold one of your graphics cards), 10 cable ties, 3M double sided tape and 6 small plastic bags with screws, standoffs and washers.

 

 

THE 303 EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Measuring 500mm in height, 480mm in depth and 215mm in width the 303 is way above average in terms of size (for a mid-tower).

 

 

As mentioned earlier the left side panel is almost entirely made out of tempered glass (and it looks great).

 

 

To release/remove the left side panel you just need to press the handle with the company logo on it.

 

 

Just like most cases by IN WIN the fascia does not open so here we just see their logo alongside the on/off power button, reset button, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports and the usual microphone and headphone jacks (all are illuminated when the system is turned on).

 

 

The top area of the right side panel is perforated (the why you will see later on).

 

 

Moving at the rear we see 7 PCI expansion slots, the PSU area and a 120mm fan.

 

 

A large removable air-filter takes up almost the entire base of the 303.

 

 

THE 303 INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thanks to the lack of front drive cages the interior of the 303 is actually quite spacious (the vertical area near the center is for the graphics card holder while the one on the far right is for tube reservoirs).

 

 

To make up for that IN WIN has placed two vertical 2.5" trays made out of aluminum and held in place via thumbscrews.

 

 

IN WIN hasn't placed any front fan mounts either and instead they've placed three 120mm ones at the base of the 303 (if you don't install an E-ATX/ATX mainboard you can place a 360mm radiator with fans there).

 

 

The expansion slots are held in place with regular screws (that surprised us since IN WIN markets the 303 as a tool-less design tower).

 

 

In front of this hexagonal mesh you can install yet another 360mm radiator (or three 120mm fans) which will use the air coming from the base (and in turn will send it out the perforated area on the right side panel).

 

 

The mainboard tray has a total of 5 holes which can be used for cable management (unfortunately none is rubber dressed).

 

 

On the other side of the hexagonal mesh you can install a power supply unit up to 200mm in length.

 

 

IN WIN has also placed two extra trays on the other side of the mainboard tray, this time however these are ment for both 2.5" and 3.5" drives (also held in place with thumbscrews).

 

 

There's a good amount of space between the mainboard tray and the right side panel so routing cables shouldn't be hard.

 

 

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

As you can all see using an E-ATX mainboard goes all the way down to the base of the case so you can't mount a radiator at the bottom (fans can be mounted without issue).

 

 

Here we mounted a HyperX SSD to see how it looks on the vertical tray.

 

 

You can install CPU coolers up to 160mm in height and although some may not fit the 303 was not really ment for air coolers to begin with.

 

 

There's also enough room inside the case to mount 350mm long graphics cards (if the tube reservoir area is taken the maximum length is around 275mm).

 

 

Unfortunately although the PSU area allows installation for even the longest power supply units it's also designed in such a way that the PSU sucks air from the interior of the case so if you decide to mount a 360mm radiator in front of the hexagon mesh it will suck air from that.

 

 

NOISE LEVEL TEST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically ontop of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one we use our own).

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Whenever i see a PC tower without front drive cages/bays the first thing i expect is room for several fans and/or a large radiator right behind the fascia. Unfortunately for reasons unknown IN WIN didn’t do so with the 303 (they did with the 805) and that might be the main "issue" overclockers will have with it. Build quality is as expected top, the side tempered (and tinted) glass panel looks great and ads to the overall aesthetics of the case, the tool-less design of the panels makes things very easy for the end user, interior space is also very good (although 4 drive trays may not be enough for some people) and i did like the number of available fan mounts. Still sucking air from the base of the case which in turn needs to get out from either the rear 120mm fan and/or whatever you decide to install on the hexagon area is certainly not the ideal scenario for cooling. I don't really expect any issues with setups that include populating all available fan mounts with fans and/or radiators but still some people may not feel comfortable with that. With that out of the way the 303 certainly makes up for that rather “strange” airflow configuration with its looks (the front illuminated logo and I/O is a good touch) and as usual we just can’t have it all.

   Currently the IN WIN 303 Black retails for just USD89.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 107.35Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) so I do consider the price tag to be balanced. Of course consumers will have other options as well that feature similar designs but I think IN WIN has proven that they offer more with their PC cases compared to other manufacturers and their equivalent models so that shouldn’t be a problem. Overall IN WIN has made yet another PC Case that we liked working on and although it may not feature the best airflow in the market it is great both in terms of looks and build quality and for that it gets our Golden Award.

 

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality (SECC Steel Chassis With Tempered Glass Side Panel)
- Design (Tempered Glass & Front LEDs)
- Spacious Interior
- Space For Up To 7 Fans And/or Three 120/280/360mm Radiators
- Noise Levels
- Bottom Air Filter
- Price (For Some)

 

CONS

- Airflow Levels
- No Front Fan Mounts
- Single Pre-Installed Fan
- Only 4 Drive Trays