Test System

Assembly

Installing the motherboard is done by simply screwing it down onto the pre-installed mounts. While these will work perfectly fine, some boards with long leads on their solder side may end up shorting out the board. Chances are slim, but it is still possible. There is plenty of space to the right and below the board at this stage, but you will have a hard time reaching the 4 or 8-pin CPU connectors with a big cooler installed as there is virtually no additional room above the motherboard.


Installing hard drives is quite easy because of the trays. If using a 3.5" drive, you will have to first apply the rubber rings as an anti-vibration measure. In such a scenario, no screws or tools are required as the metal pins will hold the drive in place securely. If installing a 2.5" drive, you will have to use traditional screws instead. Interestingly enough, In Win only offers a very limited number of screws, so you will need to get more if filling the chassis to the rim. It would have been good of In Win to include the right number of srews out of the box.


Once filled, simply slide the trays back into place until they snap down. In addition to these, you may install a 2.5" drive on top of the cage with two screws, which is perfect as it showcases your high-end SSD to envious onlookers at a LAN party, for example.


Installing an optical drive requires you to remove the locking bar made out of solid plastic first. Once the drive bay is free, slide the drive into place and secure it. No screws or tools are required, but you have the option to use screws to secure it properly. Considering it is a one-sided, neon-green mechanism, some may be inclined to go straight for all-black screws instead.


Installing the PSU bears no surprises. Simply put it in place and secure it. As there is very little space between the motherboard and PSU, you will have to watch your cable routing to make sure it does not get in the way of things.


With everything installed, the In Win 503 makes a clean impression, especially if you consider the gray cables, lack of rubber grommets, and open space by the PSU. I ran all the gray cables along the side of openings to make sure you would not see them in a running system; I also made a point of using gaps between the motherboard and PSU to route and hide cables as nicely as possible.

Finished Looks

With all the covers back in place, the In Win 503 actually looks pretty sexy for a case of its price point. In Win has once again nailed it in terms of design. The red and black elements combine well with the fan's red LEDs, which makes for a pretty nifty look. Unfortunately, the power LED has a bluish hue to it, which seems a bit out of place.


Looking at the front, the glass remains a real eye catcher. Turning the chassis around, the large window lets you look at all the parts within should you want to show them off at that next LAN Party. Everything in the rear is also where you would expect it to be, with the red LED fan pouring quite a bit of light into the 503 and out toward the back.