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
Conclusion
In Win has myriads of designs and tries to target each and every one of them towards a different type of user. The 303 can be described as an attempt to create a minimalistic, fully metallic design for users that like showcasing their advanced systems. Aesthetics are a subjective matter and the In Win 303 is a complex subject, as it jumps from complete plainness and austere geometrics to fancy neon-like lights. It could be construed that the panel with the company logo and the lighting at the front breaks the minimalistic cleanness of the design, reducing the potential buyers of the case instead of increasing it.
Perhaps the primary feature of the 303 is its excessive simplicity, inside and outside. There are no external drives and no internal drive cages - only four metallic removable trays for the installation of a small number of 3.5” and 2.5” drives. In Win kept the use of plastic to the minimum possible; only the feet of the case, the dust filter and the illuminated parts of the faceplate are plastic. There are no plastic parts inside the 303, not even rubber grommets on the cable holes. Such a basic design that revolves entirely around the metallic motherboard tray probably sounds interesting to a modder that mostly cares about building a good-looking system. The downside is that the 303 can hold a very small number of internal devices, no 140 mm fans/radiators and no external drives, which is disheartening for a case of this size. Finally, the “accelerated tool-less” design that the company advertises is misleading, as without a screwdriver one can only remove the side panels. The installation of each and every device requires the use of a screwdriver.
In terms of quality, the In Win 303 is an admirable case with excellent mechanical properties. The steel panels are very strong and excellently joined with each other, forming an admirably robust chassis. Some people may express concerns regarding the safety of using a tempered glass side panel, but tempered glass actually is very tough, possibly even tougher than acrylic (depending on its quality). Of course it is not impervious and it should not be hit with hard pointed materials, but it is typically advertised as surviving a fall from 1-1.2 meters or a reasonable bump. The weakest part of the case is not the tempered glass side panel but the plastic feet, which may be very large and strong but the severe weight of the case makes them its most vulnerable spot.
In summary, the In Win 303 is marketed towards users that enjoy simple products and want a unique design that will not cost an arm and a leg. With a retail price of $93 including shipping at the time of this review, we believe that the In Win 303 is reasonably priced for a metal tower with a tempered glass side panel. However, the In Win 303 relies heavily on its appearance to generate sales and the design does have certain shortcomings that the potential buyer needs to consider before purchasing it (such as cooling/fans).
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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.