A Closer Look - Inside

Upon taking off the side panel and turning it around, we are greeted by an air duct and an opening below that. Both of these are not visible from the outside, due to the plastic structure covering these holes. In Win has placed dust guards on both as well. The air duct can be removed to give way to larger CPU coolers out there. Taking a quick look at the interior of the chassis, it becomes apparent that the In Win GD has the same internal structure as the X-Fighter. The mainboard backplate has no openings, so you are forced to remove the mainboard to install water cooling or special CPU coolers, which use a base plate.


The front of the X-Fighter can be easily pulled off. You have to do so to install the external drives and to pull out the tray with all the rails on it.


In Win has decided to place two fans in a plastic contraption right next to the mainboard expansion slots. These units draw air from the bottom opening of the side panel. In Win has decided to stick with Molex connectors for these two units, so you can daisy chain them if you wish. To drop the entire plastic part down, simply slide the lime green square to the side, which will release the lock holding the plastic cover in place.


Doing so reveals the hard drive bay. You may wonder, because there seems to be only space for four drives, but the actual base on the very bottom of the case also acts as the fifth hard drive bay. You may turn the cage around about 30 degrees, giving you access to the front intake fan. This unit also has a dust filter and features a mainboard header unlike the cooling fans on the side.


Moving on up, the external drive bays are not movable in any way. As you can see, In Win has placed the rails on a seperate tray on the very bottom bay. Two of the four 5.25 inch ones also have holes for screws, so you may use devices other than optical drives in those. The 3.5 inch bays on the other hand cannot, as they only allow for the rails to be used.


Turning our focus to the rear of the chassis, starting at the bottom, In Win has chosen to go with a screw-less system for the mainboard expansion slots as well. This system is made completely of plastic, but seems to be surprisingly robust. Above that is another fan to exaust hot air out of the chassis. This makes for a total of four included units - filling every possible space within the X-Fighter. The top holds the PSU bay. There is nothing out of the ordinary here.


Taking a quick look at the cables, In Win has chosen to include both a two and a three pin power LED connector - a nice touch. The front I/O connectors are nothing uncommon, but you also get an HD-Audio connector with an extension to use in case your mainboard only features an AC'97 soundcard.