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In Win Alpha 360 mATX Case
Author: Jason Kohrs
Manufacturer: In Win
Source: In Win USA
Purchase: PriceGrabber
Comment or Question: Post Here
Page: 5 of 7 [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ]
In Win Alpha 360 mATX Case
February 01, 2007

Installation:

We'll cover a few key portions of the installation as a test system is built up inside the In Win Alpha 360 case. The test system isn't cutting edge, but consisted of the following components, AMD XP2800+ processor, 2x 256MB DDR memory, Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9600XT AGP video card, Soyo VIA chipset Socket A motherboard, and a Qmax 300 Watt mATX power supply.


In general the installation was very easy, and the tool-less features were all some of the finest I had used. On that note, let's look at one of the portions of the installation where you will need to break out a screw driver. The below left image shows the internal 3.5" drive cage swung out to receive a drive. You do need to use three screws to hold the drive in place, but since it is swung out into open air it still only takes a few seconds to secure a drive. The below right image shows the drive cage back in place, a 5.25" hot swap hard drive cage installed in the top external bay, and you get a glimpse of the edge of the installed motherboard.

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The below left image shows the rest of the motherboard, another component that requires a screw driver, but that is never a tool-less point. The graphics card is held in securely by the tool-less expansion slot mechanism, and although the case supports ATX power supplies, I went with a mATX unit in order to keep the cable quantity and length to a minimum. The below right image shows that when in place, the CPU duct works perfectly with this system. It lined up well with the processor, and provided just enough clearance above the cooler's fan. Although it may have worked well here, there is no promise that your motherboard and CPU cooler will be such a nice fit.

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The next set of images show a problem with the front door. Although I did not install an optical drive, the hot swap hard drive bay I used showed that any device in these bays has to be perfectly flush with the case in order for the door to work. The drive bay didn't stick out much at all, but it was far enough to keep the door from closing. People with items like the hard drive bay shown, fan controllers with big knobs, and other bay devices may want to consider just how little room the Alpha 360 is going to allow them.

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