In Win 805 Case

Generally speaking, predictability isn’t a terribly desirable trait for a company hoping to win the favor of discriminating enthusiasts. For In Win, though, being predictable is high praise, because its cases are predictably unpredictable. Year after year, it seems like In Win introduces a handful of cases that find new and unexpected ways to impress. The 805 happens to be the latest, and, of course, it’s magnificent. If it feels like you’ve seen the 805 before, let us confirm your suspicions: This isn’t the first time In Win has used tempered glass side panels. Last year, we reviewed the Mini-ITX 901 chassis (see page 19 in the March 2014 issue) and used the midtower 904 to kick off the 2014 season of “CPU System Workshop” (see page 33 in the February 2014 issue), and since then In Win has released several other cases that make use of tempered glass. The side panels of the 805 are tempered glass, and only tempered glass. In fact, the 805 distinguishes itself from In Win’s 90X cases by adding even more tempered glass. The 805’s front panel is glass, too, save for the thin strip of brushed aluminum at the top, where you’ll find the case’s power button and I/O ports. Here, In Win presents buyers with three color choices; the strip of brushed aluminum is either gold (pictured), red, or black. The 805’s top panel is also brushed aluminum. The rest of the 805’s chassis is also aluminum, which makes the case both lightweight and sturdy. We can’t argue with the construction. For as visually arresting as the 805 is, it’s also surprisingly accommodating for builders. There are pre-cut holes for routing cables nearly everywhere you could ask for, including the upper left and right corners, on the motherboard tray. In Win also packages the 805 with five cable retention clips with adhesive backing, so you can stick them to the back of the case’s motherboard tray exactly where they’re needed. (Because the tempered glass side panels make clean cable routing critical on both sides of the motherboard tray, providing the ability for builders to create a custom cable conduit is a huge feather in the 805’s cap.) You can reorient the tool-less drive cage so that the trays run perpendicular to the bottom panel or you can remove it entirely. The latter is a viable option, since the 805 has mounts on the back of the motherboard tray for up to three 2.5-inch drives. (The drive cage itself has a fourth 2.5-inch drive mount.) The 805 is replete with other power user perks. Radiators up to 280mm are welcome inside the chassis, provided the thickness doesn’t exceed 60mm. Likewise, you can install graphics cards up to 12.6 inches long. The version of the 805 we reviewed included a Type-C USB 3.1 port, giving you access to the standard’s juicy 10Gbps data rate. An alternate version of the case swaps this port for a standard USB 3.0 port. All versions of the 805 have at least one USB 3.0 port, plus two USB 2.0 ports and headphone and mic jacks. All of this adds up to a case that will induce double takes without zeroing out your bank account. Available for a perfectly reasonable $199, the 805 is, predictably, another In Win winner.