CONCLUSION

   As expected the brand new 509 E-ATX Chassis by our friends over at IN WIN doesn’t only have enough interior space for even the largest hardware components but largely thanks to its tempered glass panels it looks great. Now I do think that if the fascia was more like a door things would be even better since the 5.25” optical bay does make the front look a bit strange but when you have an E-ATX compatible tower that has enough room inside for 9 drives (5x2.5/3.5” and 4x2.5”), 11 fans (11x120mm and/or 6x140mm) and/or two 360mm radiators, 370mm long graphics cards (roughly 300mm if you place an radiator where the drive cage is), 188mm tall CPU coolers and 230mm long power supply units (roughly 180mm if you don’t remove the drive cage) then you can “excuse” such tiny design hiccups. Of course I can’t overlook the fact that the 509 comes without any interior fans (even just a rear 140mm exhaust fan would be fine) but the fact of the matter is that many people replace stock fans and perhaps IN WIN didn’t find it necessary to further up costs by adding their very own. Also perhaps this is just my personal opinion but it would be nice if there was a color control knob for the IN WIN logo at the front since that would really simplify things especially for people who may not be willing to spend more money on an extra controller.

   So how much is IN WIN asking for their latest 509 ROG Certified E-ATX Chassis? Well as I type these lines you can find the black/red ROG version of the 509 for USD185.20 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 194Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) and even though it’s not by any means a small amount of money we are basically talking about a full tower with two tempered glass panels and several interesting features. At the end of the day we all liked the 509 ROG Certified E-ATX Chassis but we do feel that unless you need the extra space and available room for components you can opt for the equally nice looking yet much cheaper 303 model. As a PC case however the 509 scores very high in every single area from looks and quality up to interior space and features and because of that it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality (SECC Steel Chassis With Tempered Glass Side/Front Panels)
- Design (Tempered Glass & Front RGB LED)
- Very Spacious Interior (370mm Long Graphics Cards / 188mm Tall CPU Coolers / 230mm Long PSUs)
- Room For Up To 9 Drives
- Hot-Swap Removable Drive Cage
- Space For Up To 11 Fans And/or Two 360mm Radiators
- Bottom/Front Air Filters

CONS

- No Pre-Installed Fans
- Single Color For The Front RGB LED (by default)
- Price (For Some)