The In Win 303 Case Review: Minimalist ATX with Tempered Glass for $93
by E. Fylladitakis on October 12, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- In-Win
- ATX
- Case
- In Win 303
- InWin 303
In Win is one of the oldest manufacturers of PC cases and power supply units. The company was founded in 1985 and they recently celebrated their 30th anniversary. Unlike most other companies, In Win has remained almost exclusively focused on the design and marketing of PC cases and PSUs rather than trying to diversify into other areas of the market. Today In Win is offering one of the most comprehensive selections of cases, ranging from low-cost towers to entirely unique designs.
Introduction
It's been a while since we had a deep look at an In Win design. In Win supplied us with the 303, one of their most recent ATX tower cases. In Win promotes the 303 as a combination of a unique aesthetic with practical design and a reasonable price tag. On paper, the 303 does appear to be a very interesting product. We shall have a closer look at its quality and features, as well as assess its thermal performance in this review.
In Win 303 | ||
Motherboard Size | ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX | |
Drive Bays | External | - |
Internal | 2 × 3.5" 2 × 2.5" |
|
Cooling | Front | - |
Rear | 1 × 120 mm | |
Top | 3 × 120 mm | |
HDD | - | |
Bottom | 3 × 120 mm | |
Radiator Support | Front | - |
Rear | Up to 120 mm | |
Top | Up to 360 mm | |
Side | - | |
Bottom | - | |
I/O Port | 2× USB 3.0, 2× USB 2.0, 1× Headphone, 1× Mic | |
Power Supply Size | ATX | |
Clearances | HSF | 160 mm |
PSU | 240 mm | |
GPU | 350 mm | |
Dimensions | 500 mm × 215 mm × 480 mm 19.69 in × 8.46 in × 18.9 in |
|
Prominent Features | · Exquisitely Modest Aesthetic Design · Radiant Luminosity · Accelerated Tool-less Design · User Friendly Dust Filter · Versatile Cooling Options |
|
Price | $92.25 |
Packaging & Bundle
We received one of the very first samples of the 303 and In Win did not have the retail package ready at the time, so we cannot comment on it. We did receive the full retail bundle though and it was unsurprisingly basic. The company supplies only a typical manual, the required mounting hardware, support braces for the heavy expansion cards and ten cable ties.
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Aerodrifting - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link
Is everyone purposely avoiding the topic on cooling or plain forgot?There is little clearance to install fans on the "bottom air intake" due to any ATX motherboard extends to the bottom of the case, Not to mention the space underneath the case is tiny due to short case feet. The top/side vent is a joke.
Sure the glass looks good, But I will not consider building any high end system inside this case if it's going to cook the components with its "no-airflow-design"
DanNeely - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link
I suspect the bottom holes are intended as passive intake for a negative pressure design with the fans on a top mounted radiator providing the overall airflow. I'm not a fan of bottom intake without casters or really big feet. On a carpet standard tiny feet tend to sink in deep enough to plug them entirely. Not a problem on hardwood, but your case ends up acting like a vacuum cleaner and the bottom mounted filter doesn't have visible indicators when it gets filthy and clogged.Aerodrifting - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link
My point exactly, Also "negative pressure design" never worked well, It's more of an excuse and translate to "we messed up on the airflow design".I have been building computer for over 10 years, In Win never struck me as a quality case maker. One day they woke up and suddenly decided to make a case with glass side panel and put a $300 price tag on it (909) does not put them in league with companies like NZXT, Corsair, Cooler Master who knows what they are actually doing.
dsraa - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link
Ewww...what the hell is with that gross design on the non-windowed side??? What is that???DanNeely - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link
'artsy' vent holes for the topside mounted radiator you need to install to give this thing decent cooling.jsntech - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link
I've been using the In Win BUC since a few months after I read AT's review (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4303/inwin-buc-100-d... I've been a big fan of the BUC the whole time I've had it for my i5-2500K system.No plans to upgrade anytime soon, but this 303 looks like it'd be a great replacement. I especially like the decent sound dampening design.
Iketh - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link
Here's an idea for case reviews. Add lines from the paragraph to the parts referred in the paragraph.DCide - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link
I usually use much smaller cases, so I'm not particularly interested in this one, but I really like the fact that it has 2 USB 3.0 plus 2 USB 2.0 ports on the front. The majority of motherboards have at least this many internal connectors, so it's a good idea.I wish more of the smaller cases would start to employ this arrangement.
jabber - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link
Nah I'd get rid of the logo, the audio ports (well at least the mic socket) and just have two front USB3.0 ports.DanNeely - Sunday, October 16, 2016 - link
The front panel audio jacks need to support headphone+mic for wired gaming headsets. If they can do it with a combined port fine; if not the discrete mic port is still needed.