In-Win GRone review

November 27, 2012 | 08:01

Tags: #e-atx #water-cooling

Companies: #in-win

In-Win GRone - Interior

With the sides off, you'll find that the panels are nice and rigid for the most part, with just a tiny bit of flex to the flat right one. Thumbscrews for the side panels and PCI brackets make your build that little bit easier, although we've become a bit spoilt recently and couldn't help but feel disappointed that the motherboard standoffs do not come pre-fitted to the GRone. Nevertheless, a standoff tool is provided, so mounting your motherboard is little effort.

*In-Win GRone Review In-Win GRone - Interior *In-Win GRone Review In-Win GRone - Interior
Click to enlarge

As for the rest of your system, getting it inside the GRone is mostly fuss free, we're pleased to say. The interior of the chassis is nice and spacious, and well-machined too, with rounded edges protecting your fingers. Also, a huge cutout on the motherboard tray will make installation of large coolers slightly less annoying than they it already is. The PSU is left to sit on some metal stands, rather than rubber ones as we've seen elsewhere, but this is no big deal and our test unit fitted snuggly.

*In-Win GRone Review In-Win GRone - Interior *In-Win GRone Review In-Win GRone - Interior
Click to enlarge - Neither the front panel (left) nor the roof (right) can be fully detached from the chassis

The painted interior only slightly increases the unity of the GRone's colour scheme, as the internal front panel cables are clad in varying colours. Bright yellow optical drive mounting tools also struck us as an odd choice, although we're not ones to deduct points for aesthetics. Essentially you just pull these mounting pins out slightly, slide your drive in, align it and push the pins back in to secure the drive.

The eight plastic drive mounts can house 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drives, although you'll need to whip our your screwdriver for SSDs. We really like the smooth way they open up and slide out, and that they ensure all of your drive cables go towards the right of the case for easier routeing. However, getting a hard drive in can be a bit tricky, as it has a tendency to dislodge the pins that are meant to lock it in place.

*In-Win GRone Review In-Win GRone - Interior
Click to enlarge - There is ample room in the roof for a half height triple radiator with fans

The two front fans come connected to the fan controller already, and it's easy to daisy chain the other three to it as each fan has male and female 3-pin connectors. However, for those more interested in water-cooling, there's room in the roof for a half height triple radiator with fans and along the bottom for a full height double radiator with fans, which is excellent for a £100 case.

The middle five internal drive bays can be removed, as can the lower three, although this one was particularly stiff at first. Helpfully, the internal fan does not need to be removed along with the drive cage. You'll need to pull the lower three out if you want to install a double radiator there, and will want to ensure that you attach the fans to your radiator after it's installed in the GRone, or else it won't fit through the drive bay support column.

*In-Win GRone Review In-Win GRone - Interior *In-Win GRone Review In-Win GRone - Interior
Click to enlarge - The drive bays feature a smooth sliding mechanism (left) and can be fully removed (right)

Internal rubber grommets on the cable routeing holes are much better than the external water-cooling ones, staying secure even with a whole host of PSU cables shoved through them. The routeing holes are clearly geared towards E-ATX users based on their position, but there's enough of them to build a tidy ATX system, along with ample room behind the motherboard tray and zip ties. The hole above the motherboard is particularly useful for fan cables and the CPU power connector, but the large bottom right hole is left uncovered and as such slightly spoils the clean look.
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