Anyone who is familiar with In-Win Development knows that they can be counted on to bring us products that are anything but boring. They have a long-standing reputation for cases that are unique and do their job well. We've had the chance to review several of their offerings here at TBCS, and today we have another. Having recently gotten our hands on the Android mid-tower case, we were anxious to see if it lived up to In-Win's reputation...more after the jump.
The In-Win Android
The Android is another in a long line of distinctive cases from In-Win. That's one thing I love about these guys, they are always good for something different. The Android is a mid-tower case from their Destiny-Extreme series, which also includes the Ironclad and the Dragon Slayer, both impressive offerings. We'll see how the Android compares.
True to form, the Android really occupies a spot in the market not covered by the two cases above. It's not as large as the cavernous Ironclad, but it has more options internally than the Dragon Slayer. Each has their own advantages, and I have to say that I like all three of them.
The obvious thing that jumps out on the Android is its appearance. It's segmented front panel, with the under-slung lower intake mesh and bold front IO panel really grabs the eye. The raised upper exhaust fan housing and large meshed side panel with its striking blue LED add to the styling also.
Screams to be ogled, doesn't it?
Each of the segments on the front panel is an external drive bay cover. Unlike most, however, these not only come off easily with the press of a button, but snap right back in place with your drive installed. If you're not one to use your optical drive a lot, then the clean original look can be maintained just by snapping the cover back on.
Easy on, easy off.
Now you see them. Now you don't.
The Android comes stock with three 120mm fans (front intake, rear and top exhaust) and a single 200mm side intake fan with switchable blue LEDs. A single additional 120mm fan can be mounted in the front panel of the case, and the 200mm fan can be removed and replaced with two 120mm fans if desired. The last case that I reviewed from In-Win was the Dragon Slayer, and it was very surprising in the noise department, being literally the quietest case I've laid hands on. Unfortunately, the Android does not follow suit. In fact, it's just plain loud. The noise is more of air movement than fan motor noise, so this may be a configuration issue. Regardless, while the issue can no doubt be easily solved with a cheap fan controller or a simple in-line resistor, it should be noted. It's not the loudest case I've used, but it was enough that I wouldn't be able to have it running on my desktop without the above-mentioned modifications. Your mileage may vary.
Hard drive mounting is handled by a removable drive cage, with a front-mounted 120mm fan. This cage is held securely in place with the tool-free mounting mechanism and slides out the front of the case as needed. This cage will hold up to three 3.5-inch hard drives. If you have more than three hard drives to mount, adapters to the 5.25" form factor will be needed.
Easily removable, with well-routed fan power.
As I mentioned, the 200mm side panel fan has blue LEDs. Those of you who have read my other reviews know my feeling on blue LEDs, but they seem to still be popular with the masses so I can't fault the In-Win design team here. They were kind enough to include a simple toggle switch for people like me.
The test system used on the Android composed of the following components:
Gigabyte MA785G-UD3H full ATX mainboard
Thermaltake SpinQ CPU cooler
Gigabyte HD4670 video card
LiteON DVD drive
Western Digital 3.5" hard drive
Kingwin Mach 1 1000-watt modular PSU
The build went very smoothly in the Android case. Cable routing was particularly difficult as the hard drive and optical drive were both IDE, leaving me with ribbon cable to work with, and barely enough of it. This is not the fault of the case, and I see no reason why a system with adequate cabling couldn't be made as neat as the user wanted inside. The tool-free expansion card retention system, while not as innovative as that in the Ironclad, was more than adequate, as were the tool-free drive retainers.
Conclusion: I think In-Win has another winner here. While the Android isn't the stellar performer that the Ironclad or the Dragon Slayer were, with a sale price of only $79.99 on Newegg, and with a lot more options than its equally-priced cousin, it gives us the things we've come to expect in a quality mid-tower case today: solid tool-free mounting hardware, good ventilation, bottom-mount PSU (why did that take so long to become a standard?), and a few options for internal hardware mounting. And like all of In-Win's lineup, it does it with style. The only true fault I can find with this product is the noise level. If they were to install different fans or change the intake mesh on the ones they have to quiet it down, this would be a 5-star product hands down. As it stands, I have to give it 4.
An excellent product, all in all, and well worth the price. Keep up the good work!
This product was provided free of charge, by its manufacturer for the purpose of review.
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