Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
The computer building process was enjoyable with the In Win 303. It was really easy to work with, since everything was laid out in pretty standard manner. I first installed the power supply into the PSU chamber. The power supply used for this computer is the SilverStone Nightjar NJ520 520W, which features a fanless design. Thanks to the grille on the right side panel, it is possible to use a fanless power supply like the NJ520. If the right side panel is just a solid piece of sheet metal, the ventilation of the NJ520 would have been blocked, and consequently may cause overheating problems with the PSU. Since I am not a big fan of giant radiators, a small SilverStone Tundra TD03-LITE closed loop water cooler was mounted on my Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP motherboard. The position of the rear exhaust of the In Win 303 matches perfectly for the CPU location, therefore the water cooler can be installed without any trouble. If you like bigger water coolers such as the SilverStone Tundra TD02-LITE, the radiator can be mounted on the PSU chamber; just remember to make sure the radiator is not overlapped with the power supply for better cooling performance.
I experienced a small problem when installing the OCZ Trion 150 480GB SSD. The SATA power plug of the NJ520 is designed for the drive bays use cases, which means the cable is perpendicular with the connector. In this scenario, the SSD is firmly attached to the surface of the motherboard tray, leaving very little room for the SATA cable I have. Fortunately, there are couple of water cooler washers that come with the case. It turns out using the washers to lift up the SSD a little bit will allow the SATA power connector to be connected to the SSD.
The rest of the installing process was really smooth. Since I did not have any 3.5" HDDs at the back of the motherboard tray, the large cable management space became even roomier. The cable management holes on the motherboard tray are very handy. The In Win 303 is quite friendly to users that may not have a ton of experience in computer building. By the way, In Win claims this case features tool-free design, but I suggest you to keep a screwdriver on hand, since the “tool-free” design is only for opening and closing the tempered glass panel, haha. Note that tools are not included in the accessory package, just like pretty much any case you buy in the market today.
After everything has been installed properly, it is time to press the power switch. As you can see from the above photo, everything on the front panel, including the power switch, In Win logo, USB ports, and audio jacks are all backlit. This feature allows you to find where to connect your flash drive or headphones in the dark. Since the In Win 303 has a tempered glass side panel, it will not make any sense not using interior lighting inside, as you can see in our photo above. The tinted glass creates a more dramatic effect with your interior components.
I am the kind of person who really care about the noise level of the computer. In this build, I only have one fan running for the water cooler radiator. Therefore, the computer is really quiet, even though there is no sound insulation material applied to the case. On the scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is totally silent and 10 is a jet taking off, I would rate my system at 2.5 regarding noise emissions.
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Coming back to the question I have proposed in the introduction of this review, will the In Win 303 make me a satisfied customer? My short answer is "Yes". The building process was generally smooth with the exception of the SSD installation, and cable management was especially straightforward thanks to the large gap between the motherboard tray and the side panel. After a few days of using the computer I built out of the In Win 303, I found myself really enjoying its simple and clean design. Whether having a CD/DVD drive makes no difference to me; instead, I really appreciate the clean front panel without the 5.25" drive bay covers. All in all, the In Win 303 is one tough computer case made out of thick sheet metal and tempered glass. Surely it is sturdily built, but it is not rough to handle. The tempered glass is also made very well with no noticeable optical distortion. The interior design of In Win 303 is also very good. All of the components you need for building a computer can be nicely accommodated and kept cool in this mid-tower. More importantly, you do not to be an expert to route your cables well, since there are plenty of room and zip ties for good management. However, the In Win 303 still has room to improve. Here, I have two suggestions. One suggestion is to have rounded corners on the exterior, or at least near the front panel. This can reduce the chance that people will get hurt by crashing into the corners. The other suggestion is to rise the 2.5" SSD/HDD tray a little bit, so different kinds of SATA power connectors can be accommodated. To conclude this review, I would like to say the In Win 303 is definitely worth considering if you need a clean and sturdy mid-tower with a tempered glass side panel. You will not get rubber grommets on the motherboard tray, and it does not come with a rear exhaust fan, but these are acceptable compromises in my opinion. The price of the In Win 303 is just under $100 USD at the press time. This is very competitive for a computer case that has a tempered glass panel with a “Made in Taiwan” tag.
In Win provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH:Renewal Award | | | APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.7/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The In Win 303 is a well-balanced mid-tower computer case built with high quality materials and a sleek tempered glass side panel.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
