Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
The computer building process was enjoyable with the In Win 305. 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 Essential Gold ET750-HG 750W, which features a semi-modular design. Thanks to the grille on the right side panel, the cooling performance for PSU is very good. For the CPU cooling, a Scythe Mugen 5 cooler was mounted on my Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP motherboard. The position of the motherboard tray opening of the In Win 305 matches perfectly for the CPU position, therefore the heatsink can be installed without any trouble. If you like bigger water coolers, 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 Essential Gold ET750-HG 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, since I had the same problem when I built the computer using the In Win 303, I just used are couple of water cooler washers that come with the case to lift up the SSD a little bit, such that the SATA connector can be connected to the SSD. I think it is time for me to get some SATA cables with straight connectors, since most of the times, the SSD will not be installed in a drive bay nowadays.
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 305 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, there is no LED or RGB lighting on the front panel. I think it would be better to have some LED lighting for the USB ports, since it allows you to find where to connect your flash drive in the dark. Remember the In Win 303 has backlit USB ports. 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, which is the same as the In Win 303.
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If you are planning to build a new computer using a solid case for all of your latest components and the front panel design of the In Win 303 is too boring for you, I would definitely recommend the In Win 305. Compared with the In Win 303, the design of this product is sleeker thanks to the newly designed front panel. The overall design of this case is also very simple, since it is really hard to find anything unnecessary such as the 5.25" drive bays. It is worth mentioning there is a glass panel on the front of the computer case. However, the glass front panel does not allow you to see any LED or RGB LED lights. I would like to see some backlit USB ports on the front panel like its predecessor, since it will be easier to plug in the USB devices in the dark. In terms of build quality, the In Win 305 is at the top of its game. The whole case is made out of thick sheet metal and tempered glass. In fact, it is one of the toughest computer cases I have ever seen. As for cooling, there is a large air intake on the bottom of the case, and a large detachable dust filter is also provided. The computer building process was very smooth. All of the components you need for building a computer can be nicely accommodated and kept cool in this mid-tower. Both the left and right side panels can be removed without using tools. The cable management of this case is also very easy. You do not need to be an expert to route cables well. There are a lot of openings for easy cable management. The retail price of the In Win 305 is $115 USD at press time, which is quite reasonable for what you get. It is well-designed and well-built, but if you want this computer case to look fancy, you need to buy your own lighting solutions. Moreover, even if you have RGB LEDs installed inside of the computer case, there is no way to see them from the front view. This is because the glass panel on the front is not transparent at all. Therefore, if you really care about the build quality instead of seeing some LEDs on the front panel, then the In Win 305 is definitely for you.
In Win provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
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 305 is a sleek and well built computer case made out of thick sheet metal and tempered glass.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
