InWin 303 Review

[Wander Away]

Foreword: I decided to upgrade from z97 to x99 recently, and doing so required a new motherboard (duh). I decided to move away from mATX, to a standard ATX form factor, which also meant I had to move out of my Corsair Air 240 (another great case btw) 

Although I did not manage to make my X99 work (forgot that motherboards still needed a bios update for broadwell-e... oops), I did manage to migrate my old machine into the 303, so I feel like I am proficient enough to review the case.

 

TL;DR: Great looking, great build quality mid tower with great watercooling support for $89 US, apart from the PSU mounting problem that I encountered (may just be my particular unit). 

 

To start off, pricing! 

The 303 is a mid-tower case. Unlike most InWin cases, the 303 comes in at only $89 US, which I feel like is amazing given its build quality - All steel construction except for the glass panel (no sht sherlock). 

Spoiler

 

My cable management is a hot mess...

The 303 has a gorgeous big tempered glass side panel, and both side panels are extremely easy to remove, but not so easy that they fall off on their own. The left side panel can be opened by pressing on a latch at the top, and lifting up, while the right side panel is held in place by two captive (Thank you!) thumb screws. The hexagonal pattern on the right side panel serves as ventilation holes as well. 

 

The front of the case has power and reset buttons, a pretty big backlit InWin logo, headphone and microphone jacks, and - this might be surprising - despite all usb slots having a blue LED backlight on the side, only two of them are USB 3.0, with the other two being USB 2.0. It would be nice if it was possible to visually differentiate which one's which, but I have to admit, it looks pretty damn nice. 

 

The bottom of the case includes a removable fan filter, although from the looks of it, the mesh holes are a bit big to block all the dust, but it should work to a certain degree. 

 

There are 7 PCIe expansion slots, compatible with mATX, mITX, and ATX motherboards, three 120 fan mounts at the bottom, one 120 at the back, and three on the top vertically. The three fan mounts and the one at the back are compatible with any radiators 120mm wide. However, from visual inspection, if not using an ATX motherboard, there should be enough room at the bottom to install a slim radiator as well, but don't take my word on it. Despite the power supply behind the fan mounting points, it is possible to mount a third fan on the top - you just have to install the fan before you install the power supply (duh), and there is a small metal extrusion that prevents the power supply from going right up against the fan mount panel. However, it is worth noting that due to the unusual top fan orientation, it may be a bit troublesome for AIO coolers, as the distance from the CPU socket to the top mounting points are a bit long. 

 

However, while we're here, I do have to mention that my power supply did not want to screw in. The mounting holes on the case are about 1-2 mm too high to reach the screw-down points on the PSU. Currently I only have one screw in the correct location, and another screw severely lopsided. (EDIT: I did fix this later by taking a file to it, and judging by the other review on newegg, this might be a common problem. )

Spoiler

 

 

Now that we got the (only) issue out of the way, lets move on. 

 

The back of the case includes a pretty big cpu cutout, big enough to mount any cooler backplate with ease. However, there weren't any convenient cable tie-down points. However, thanks to the dual chamber design (just like my old Corsair Air 240), and extremely well placed cable routing holes, this wasn't too big of an issue. However, when available, stuff the majority of the cable in the bottom half of the cable management room, so that airflow from the top fans are not obstructed. 

Spoiler

Edit: Replace some picture I found online with my own... pretty horrid cable management, but still managed to put on the side panel without trouble or bulging. 

 

As for drive support, there are two 2.5" drive trays at the front side, very visible through the glass panel. In addition, they are conveniently placed such that the sata cables can be directly routed to the back of the case, which has a nice aesthetic. There are two more 3.5" drive trays at the back, which are also compatible with 2.5" drives. 

 

There are dedicated mounting spots for custom watercooling radiators right beside the front SSD mounts as well, and I am considering building another custom water loop couple years down the line. 

 

In conclusion, the InWin 303 is a great case for its price, and I can foresee myself keeping this case throughout system upgrades. What do you guys think? Both of my review and the 303. (My first review I've written, sorry for the poor structure)

 

EDIT: Here's a more realistic representation of the front panel lighting: 

Spoiler

 

[vanished]

First of all I apologize for our poorly named tech news subforum

Second, -- Moved to Member Reviews --

[Wander Away]

1 minute ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

First of all I apologize for our poorly named tech news subforum

Second, -- Moved to Member Reviews --

Oops. Sorry about that ;w;

[Trik'Stari]

Hmmmmm.....

[Tech_Dreamer]

nice review, the blue light looks a bit distracting tho!

[Wander Away]

1 minute ago, Tech_Dreamer said:

nice review, the blue light looks a bit distracting tho!

Maybe on camera, but it really is a subtle blue, and the light around the front connectors makes it really convenient in the dark. 

[The Benjamins]

I think the 805i is AWESOME. If only they would release it.

 

https://www.inwin-style.com/en/gaming-chassis/805i

 

 

[TrigrH]

10 hours ago, Wander Away said:

Maybe on camera, but it really is a subtle blue, and the light around the front connectors makes it really convenient in the dark. 

I have one of these on order, can you tell me about the BLUE lighting?

- is the plastic blue or are the leds blue?

- can you take a photo of the IO module from behind?

- can you just unplug the led power? how does that look?

[Wander Away]

10 hours ago, TrigrH said:

I have one of these on order, can you tell me about the BLUE lighting?

- is the plastic blue or are the leds blue?

- can you take a photo of the IO module from behind?

- can you just unplug the led power? how does that look?

As far as I can tell, the LED are powered off a sata power connector.

It's white backlighting with a cyan-ish translucent plastic on top

what do you mean IO module from behind?

[TrigrH]

2 hours ago, Wander Away said:

what do you mean IO module from behind?

like the pcb from inside the case.

 

do you know if the plastic is removable?

[Wander Away]

30 minutes ago, TrigrH said:

like the pcb from inside the case.

 

do you know if the plastic is removable?

As far as I can tell, the plastic cover is not designed to be taken off, but I'm sure there are ways around it. 

From the looks of it, the whole front side LED's are lit with one singular LED strip. Most of it is hidden behind a plastic bracket though. 

Spoiler

 

[TrigrH]

28 minutes ago, Wander Away said:

As far as I can tell, the plastic cover is not designed to be taken off, but I'm sure there are ways around it. 

From the looks of it, the whole front side LED's are lit with one singular LED strip. Most of it is hidden behind a plastic bracket though. 

well thats annoying, seems a bit silly that they would limit you to blue only  so the front IO still works without the LEDs connector on? and you cant seem to see anyway to take that assembly off without breaking it?

[Wander Away]

5 minutes ago, TrigrH said:

well thats annoying, seems a bit silly that they would limit you to blue only  so the front IO still works without the LEDs connector on? and you cant seem to see anyway to take that assembly off without breaking it?

You can probably take it off, since I don't see rivets holding it in, there's gotta be some way of taking it off, I'm just not going to bother trying to figure it out at the moment

[TrigrH]

1 minute ago, Wander Away said:

You can probably take it off, since I don't see rivets holding it in, there's gotta be some way of taking it off, I'm just not going to bother trying to figure it out at the moment

no worries, thanks for the help!

[TrigrH]

On 11/06/2016 at 11:43 AM, Wander Away said:

You can probably take it off, since I don't see rivets holding it in, there's gotta be some way of taking it off, I'm just not going to bother trying to figure it out at the moment

got mine today, LEDs are actually white, this just comes right out:

 

[mathmeister]

@Wander Away Is the two on the bottom and two on the top the fan configuration you use? Are the temps and airflow fine or would it benefit from more fans?

[Wander Away]

38 minutes ago, mathmeister said:

@Wander Away Is the two on the bottom and two on the top the fan configuration you use? Are the temps and airflow fine or would it benefit from more fans?

It's possible to have three 120 fans on the bottom, three 120 fans/radiator on top, and one 120 fan/radiator at the back. Currently I'm using a CM Nepton 240m for the CPU cooler/exhaust, two fans at the bottom for intake. Temps are looking fine, and more airflow might help, but I'm not sure by how much. 

[mathmeister]

9 minutes ago, Wander Away said:

It's possible to have three 120 fans on the bottom, three 120 fans/radiator on top, and one 120 fan/radiator at the back. Currently I'm using a CM Nepton 240m for the CPU cooler/exhaust, two fans at the bottom for intake. Temps are looking fine, and more airflow might help, but I'm not sure by how much. 

So you have none at the back. What are your ambient temps?

[Wander Away]

14 minutes ago, mathmeister said:

So you have none at the back. What are your ambient temps?

ambient is about 25 Celcius, idles at around 45C, 70C under load for both gpu and cpu. 

I do have an overclocked broadwell-e, which is dumping quite a bit of heat...

[mathmeister]

11 minutes ago, Wander Away said:

ambient is about 25 Celcius, idles at around 45C, 70C under load for both gpu and cpu. 

I do have an overclocked broadwell-e, which is dumping quite a bit of heat...

ok thanks for the help

[Dubesta11]

I love the case except for the non standard fan layout. I think it would make sense for hot air to rise, but as someone who doesn't use liquid cooling and has a large air cooler, I don't see how the airflow would work. Has anyone used this case with an air cooler? I have a large Be Quiet! Dark Rock 3.

[Wander Away]

11 hours ago, Dubesta11 said:

I love the case except for the non standard fan layout. I think it would make sense for hot air to rise, but as someone who doesn't use liquid cooling and has a large air cooler, I don't see how the airflow would work. Has anyone used this case with an air cooler? I have a large Be Quiet! Dark Rock 3.

 

 

Would it be able to mount the fans sideways? in which case (does this count as a pun?) it would blow air out of the rear exhaust. As long as you maintain positive pressure in your case airflow shouldn't be an issue

[Dubesta11]

5 hours ago, Wander Away said:

Would it be able to mount the fans sideways? in which case (does this count as a pun?) it would blow air out of the rear exhaust. As long as you maintain positive pressure in your case airflow shouldn't be an issue

Yeah, but there will be little positive pressure since the whole top acts as a vent. In order to get a good pressure and airflow, the top fan slots would need to be occupied. Which is why water cooling works great in this case, but probably not air cooling.

[Wander Away]

7 hours ago, Dubesta11 said:

Yeah, but there will be little positive pressure since the whole top acts as a vent. In order to get a good pressure and airflow, the top fan slots would need to be occupied. Which is why water cooling works great in this case, but probably not air cooling.

 

I remember seeing an article on the case, where the temp on cpu was about 3 degrees higher than a define r5 or something. So yes, it does make a difference, but not exactly too noticeable 

[Dubesta11]

1 hour ago, Wander Away said:

I remember seeing an article on the case, where the temp on cpu was about 3 degrees higher than a define r5 or something. So yes, it does make a difference, but not exactly too noticeable 

Thats fair. I will check it out at Microcenter to see if I like it.