In-win cases any good?

[jema]

Looking for a midi case to house my old P3 and thought the In-wins atleast look the part.

 

[VTrider]

InWin cases are very good, high quality. This is all I use to use a few years ago, right up there in the same game as Enlight.

Seems nowadays the big thing is Antec, Lian-Li, etc. cases. Don't worry about InWin quality, they have been around for a long time and have great, well designed cases.

-VTrider

 

[mechBgon]

The construction is good. The metal is thicker than a comparable Enlight, the edges aren't sharp, and they use good-quality PSUs. They were a little slow to add beefier power supplies and additional exhaust fan mounts, but they're catching on. Definitely not an el-cheapo, flexy case.

If you're shopping for one, just steer clear of the Ax00 series. The A-series cases have no auxiliary rear exhaust-fan mount, and the PSU is located beside the CPU, instead of above it, making the slide-out motherboard tray a virtual necessity. The S-family cases are the one to get. They don't have a slide-out motherboard tray, but they don't really need one either.

 

[UberNeuman]

mechBgon - how would you rate the IW-Q500N? I've just bought one - but haven't received the parts to put in it... What would you recomend for cooling? The case has one fan in the back - not sure if it takes air in or blows it out, and I have another fan I haven't placed inside yet.

 

[mechBgon]

I used to have the older variant of the Q-series full-tower case, and I've seen the newer one like you have. On the rear, yours has one 80mm fan hole below the power supply and a second hole above, right? The older type had both 80mm exhausts up above the PSU.

On the plus side, the Q-series is very sturdy and is great for adding blowholes, but it seems like an aging design. The hard drives don't get any direct airflow from the fans, and the "deck" that the power supply sits on restricts airflow to the upper area. Another pet peeve of mine is that the floppy bay is at the very top, requiring a long cable sometimes, and there is only one 3.5" bay, so if you also have a Zip drive you will need a 5.25" bay adapter. Long cables may be required for IDE drives in the top bays too.

If you're interested in a simple modification that improves the air intake of the Inwin bezel, I put a photo on my tripod page showing how you can cut the bottom edge of the bezel out while maintaining a stock appearance. Porting out the fan holder, or eliminating it and cutting out the case metal where the intake fan is, really boosts the airflow in front and may reduce turbulence noise too.

D'oh, I forgot to actually answer the question, sorry... I would get some of these YSTech adjustable fans. Dial up whatever noise/output level you like, change it anytime you like... sounds like the best of all worlds, and YSTech fans are excellent quality. You could even drill some discreete holes in the rear of your case and mount the knobs back there.

 

[Lord Evermore]

I loved my Q500 when I first got it. Heavy as could be, solid construction. My roommate had one already and it seemed great. Loved the removable motherboard tray. Then after awhile it kind of didn't work out. It seems hard to cool to me and my roommate. He's got fans in front and back, the thing is loud as can be, but it still runs hot, even with the side panels and the top completely off (putting them on is dangerously hot). I just got an Antec Plus860, and I'm pleased with it. Even with the stock fans in it, it's very quiet (meaning 4 fans total, 2 case fans, 2 PSU fans), and as cool or cooler than the Q500. The 860 is shorter too, but almost as heavy, and I prefer the front design and the side panels (I hated removing the panels on the Q500). Plus, removable drive bays galore on the Antec, though no removable motherboard tray, which turns out not to be much of an issue, plenty of room. With the Q500, you have to remove the motherboard tray just to get at the 3.5 inch drive bays. Also no front USB or firewire, which may or may not be an issue for you, but it's a nice feature. The Q500 is sort of a venerable old case now.

 

[UberNeuman]

mechBgon and Lord Evermore - thanks to you both. This is the first time I've bought a case just because I liked the looks of it... The guy I talked to told me the case specs, but when he showed me the pull out motherboard tray I knew I just had to have it... The last time I bought a case was two years ago, so you could see why I was so impressed...

mechBgon - I'm going to do as your page suggests - I'm not an overclocker, but the front panel of the IW gave me pause to wonder if airflow was constricted for the front fan...

Again, gents...

Thank you much,
UberNeuman

 

[Mecheater]

I have 5 in-win cases. They are great. basically indestructable

Great cases, although I bought some back when they used low powered "Powerman" PSU. Those made me mad considering I paid $50 for the case and later spent another $50 on a power supply.

They may not be the best looking but are very durable cases that stay relatively cool. Their customer service is also a positive. One of my cases with the ATX rectangle button broke and I just gave them an e-mail and the company sent me a replacement button Airborne Express over nite.

 

[mechBgon]

You're welcome UberNeuman

Mecheater, I've heard that the Powerman PSUs are OEM-labelled Sparkles, so at least they are of good quality even if the wattages aren't so high. And I had a power-switch problem too, and Inwin mailed me a new switch assembly for the S500 on request also, which surely cost them all the profit they made at their end by selling the case in the first place.

 

[Mecheater]

I did not know that the powerman's are oem sparkle. Then they should be fairly good, but it didn't help that they were 230 watt PSU's that came with the case. It just was not powerful enough for my rig I guess. Never the less, I still think In-win's are good cases.

I have the S500 also and I like it. wish they had the removeable motherboard holder so that it would be easier to change out the mobo, but what can you do. That's just me being Lazy.

 

[astro]

I've had two In-Win Q500 cases for awhile. They're the older style with the 2 80mm fans above the psu. Although they are not the coolest running boxes, they are well made and durable. With proper cable management, the airflow isn't too bad.

Recently I built a P4 system in a Q800. I decided to improve the air flow and temps by adding 2 80mm intake fans on the side panel to cool the cards and 2 80mm intakes blowing across the 3.5" drive cage. Also added a blowhole to the top. With all cables wrapped the air flow is excellent keeping my CPU temps in the low 30's under full load. I'll probably make the same mods to my 2 Q500's but been too lazy

Basically, IMO if you're willing to make a few minor air flow mods, the Q-series is an excellent choice.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Oh yeah, till Mecheater mentioned it I forgot about the power switch. My Q500's switch came loose a few weeks ago. The switch is just a little cube shape switch, which slips into a mounting bracket that snaps into the frame, and then sits behind the actual square panel button. The switch for some reason came loose so it just slipped out of its mounting bracket. I couldn't tell from looking at it how it was even held there in the first place, nothing was broken looking and there didn't seem to be any glue or rubber cement type stuff. I managed to superglue it back in after a couple of tries; the glue didn't want to bone the plastics very well.

 

[jema]

Thanx for the input folks.

Downloaded some pdf files from their site but they are horribly messed up, feels like it is a different case on every page.

 

[ChrisADuffy]

Had an Inwin T515 micro atx case and it was really nice. Had a solid built in handle. Fit an atx power supply. Decent cooling options. I wish I could find another one online but everyone is out of stock. Woulda never sold it had I known they are knda rare. Inwin cases seem really solid with quality construction.

 

[Rusman]

I like my Q500. I used to run it with one 80mm exhaust fan zip tied to the case , but recently I bought three L1As. Mine is the newer design with one port above the PS and the one below, near the cpu. I put one in each of those spots and one in the front for intake. I didn't cut the stock, restricting case grill, nor did I do mechBgone's bezel mod and it dropped my case temp by 7 degrees. The case stays at this temp now when loaded whereas before it climbed a few degrees.

The only gripe I have is, as mentioned, it doesn't have a fan mount for the hard drives, but that can easily be remedied with case/bezel mods, or even a hdd card type cooler. Back when I bought this case, it was one of the better overall cases around.

 

[SS4Goku]

my friend has one, not many places to mod