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In Win F430


Date
: 03/5/07 – 10:13:35 PM

Author
:

Category
: Cases

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
In Win

Price:
$103.61

In Win Development Inc, a new player on the Overclockers Online, was founded in 1986 and specializes in the development and manufacturing of computer cases. Today their product lines have grown to include power supplies and UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply). As a veteran in the computer case industry, we expect to see some interesting and high quality cases from this company. Today, we will be taking a look at the F430 case.

A computer chassis is the first thing one sees when looking at a computer. It serves a very important purpose as the computer's structural exoskeleton. Computer cases should be built strong, tough, and user friendly. Nobody enjoys working with a case that is hard to work with, features such as motherboard trays and hard drive racks to make life easier. The F430 does include some of these features and we shall delve into these aspects once we get into the installation.

Page 2 : Package and Contents

The F430 arrived safely in a very attractive box, which boasts it's unique design and styling on the front.
The side of the box gives the detailed specifications of the case.

The other side lists a few features of the F430, including a side panel duct, and something very interesting to note, an engine sound when starting up the computer.

Upon opening, the case is protected by the usual Styrofoam, as well as enclosed in a foam bag. Something worthing noting is that the case is enclosed in a two bags, both of which are not just plain plastic bags, but lint-free cloth material. It is good to see a company which puts this kind of unexpected gesture to show that they really do care about their customers' products.

And finally, the case is free of its shell.

Included with the case is a handful of screws along with screw-less drive mounts, screws, standoffs, and PCI slot covers. The manual is also included.

The manual is very well done, and clearly labels out all instructions and parts in full colour pictures. Now that this thing is out of the box, let's have a look at the specifications.

Page 3 : Specifications

As on the In Win website, these are the specifications:

The features listed are:

The website says the case is made of 0.8mm SECC Japanese Steel and coated with automobile paint. This is very interesting, as the case does have a good quality appearance on the outside, and feels very rigid.

Page 4 : Exterior

The F430 obviously screams it's theme out to everyone in the room because of it's design.

The side panel has a protruding air vent, and is outlined by a black bevel.

The air ducts on the bottom of the case are stylish, with a black finish on the inside and a chrome piece in the middle.

The power switch is large (about 2 cm in diameter) and says "START ENGINE".

The front of the case shows off very nice CD drive covers, which are made of sheet steel metal and outlined by a black bezel finish plastic.

The back of the case is very standard and is not paint finished like the rest of the case.

The clips which hold the side panels in place are very simple plastic clips and feel very snappy and straight-forward to use.

On the side of the front panel, there are 4 USB ports, IEEE 1394, and 2 audio ports.

To prevent slipping, In Win has included four rubber feet.

The outside of the case is visually pleasing. The strength of the Japanese steel and the quality finish of car paint really mix to give the F430 two thumbs up in the exterior department. At first glance, the glossy finish would make anyone think that it is very prone to finger prints and the like, but surprisingly it is extremely resistant to this. Imagine placing your hand on a car; you wouldn't leave a mark after you take it off, and it's the same situation with this case.

Page 5 : Interior

Upon opening the side panel, all edges are folded to ensure that even a novice would not be able to cut himself while working with this case.

There are a number of wires for the front connectors, but they are all organized in sleeving and zip tied to avoid headaches during installation.

The front panel is held to the body by 4 clips, which you need to push to pull the front out.

On the front of the body there is a circuit board which wires up the power switch, reset switch, power and HDD LEDs, as well as a small speaker. This speaker is where the engine noises are produced upon switching on the computer.

The F430 is ready for four 5.25" drives or accessories.

The case is also ready for two 3.5" drives. Both 5.25" and 3.5" casings are equipped with a screwless rail design.

The hard drive case is removable and can only accept two hard drives.

In between the hard drive cage and the 3.5" bays is a plastic stabilizer for add-on cards.

There is an installed 120mm fan for exhaust.

The side panel duct has freedom to move according to motherboard design.

There is also a mesh that collects dust and can be easily removed for cleaning.

Now that the full interior has been explored, let's see how the installation process is like.

Page 6 : Installation

The first step to many case installations is the power supply. In this case, the PSU went in without a problem.

The screwless rail design for the 5.25" drives work like a charm.

The next step would be to install the motherboard. The case already has protruding embossed standoffs ready to use, and there are six of them placed in the most popular positions. Although this is usually not enough for most cases, there are included brass standoffs that you use to fill in the gaps.

The motherboard installation is straightforward and went in without any problems.

This case comes equipped with a hard drive cage. Hard drives are secured into place with four screws, then the hard drive bay is locked in place with a single screw.

The PCI and video card slots require a screw to be secured in place.

On the other side of the case, there is a large space for the hiding of wires. This is a very good idea as many enthusiasts are crazy about wire management, and they all know the side of the case is a great spot for hiding wires. Also note that there is a 4-pin molex to power the front panel's engine sound speaker.

The wiring up of all components together is the trickiest part, but once it's done the whole process is finally complete.

Now that the system is finally put together and fully running, let's see how the F430 case performs against another case, and a system running without a case.

Page 7 : Testing

The testing is set up to test thermal cooling performance of the case. The specifications of the system are:

The system will be put under load by Prime95 for three hours, and temperatures for CPU, PWMIC, and the chipset will be recorded from MBM5. The system will then be on idle for three hours with minimal processes running. Temperatures will then be recorded in the same manner. This process will be first used in the F430 case, then the system is removed and put on a table top without a case and the testing process will repeat. The system will then be placed in the final case, the Cooler Master Centurion 531, and the testing process will be used a final time.

The ambient temperature remained at 27 degrees throughout testing. Here are the results:

The F430 did have the advantage of a 120mm fan as an exhaust, but other than that the results seem to slide towards having no case. The F430 performed very well, with an average deviation of 1 degree throughout all temperatures. This sort of cooling performance from a case is very surprising, and In Win has done very well in designing all air ducts to maximize cooling.

Many of us are familiar with the sound of fans spinning up, however, this case has built-in speakers which play a clip of a car starting up and then driving off into the horizon. Of course, many will not like this feature and thankfully, In Win has included a volume knob!

Page 8 : Conclusion

It is good to know that In Win has been in the market for a long time, and is able to produce quality computer cases like the F430. The innovation and craftsmanship that goes into their cases are spectacular.

The F430 is an excellent case, boasting a bright red finish, and stylish air ducts. The whole case feels very rigid with no creaks or rattles, and it is a very pleasant case to work with because of the drive bay railing as well as the folded edges. The installation is straight forward, and the manual is very clearly laid out. The cooling performance is excellent. The only thing that separates this case and the truly high end computer cases is the lack of a motherboard tray and more space for internal hard drives. All in all, the F430 can pertain to anyone who has a passion for racing, because every time they would push the "START ENGINE" button, they would feel a rush of excitement.

Advantages
Attractive exterior
Strong metal
Folded edges
Smooth car paint finish
Excellent cooling performance
Easy installation

Disadvantages
No motherboard tray
Lack of internal hard drive space

Overclockers Online would like to thank In Win Development Inc. for making this review possible.