In Win 904 Review

In Win 904 Review - Internals

While the In Win 904's modest dimensions may make for a stylishly petite ATX case, its width in particular does result in a bit of a problem. CPU cooler height is limited to just 145mm - less than what's needed to house even modest tower coolers such as the Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2 we use with our case test gear. Even dinky coolers such as Arctic's Freezer 7 Pro only just fit.


In-Win's defence is that the 904 has a 140mm fan mount for water-cooling radiators internally, and the rear grille section behind the 92mm fan mount can actually play host to a 120/140mm radiator mounted externally using included washers too. All-in-one liquid coolers are an option then, although doing so could utterly destroy the looks of the case with few things being more unattractive than a big black radiator.

For a £140 tower case, though, it does seem a bit bizarre not to be able to use a hefty heatsink. The side panels, mounts and the fact there's a sizeable gap between the motherboard tray and far side panel to hide cables are the culprits but we wonder how many people reading this wouldn't have minded a little extra width if it meant being able to use cheap air cooling as opposed to low-profile coolers or water cooling.


Thankfully there are few other complaints with the list of specifications. There are three 3.5in/2.5in tool free mounts that are all hot-swappable with custom shortened SATA data and power cables. If you plan on filling all three with hard disks then there are two further dedicated 2.5in mounts at the front of the case, although unfortunately, depending on your SSD's sticker orientation, it can result in it being upside down as there's only one way you can mount them.


There are two fan mounts - a 92mm rear mount and a rather oddly-located 140mm fan mount above the swanky-looking hole beneath the USB 3.0 ports. the plate you can see is held in place by a thumb screw, which pops off, allowing you to fit a fan, with a large mesh filter underneath. The side panels do allow a little air to get in, but overall, the cooling situation isn't spectacular compared to other cases this size.


The interior is also surprisingly cramped although there's plenty of places to hide cables both in front of the PSU or, if they're long enough, round the back of the motherboard tray. However, on the motherboard side, the cable routing is so basic that you invariably end up with a mass of cables pouring through the gap beneath the hard disks.