When its time to build a new PC or just upgrade to a new case people like to see it can fit the latest Video Cards, good airflow and ample fans to keep your setup cool. It’s also great when you get a lot of good features for the price. In Win has a contender with a good number of fans. The IronClad comes with a total of four fans, with space to accommodate additional fans. For instance, the side panel alone can have up to six 120mm fans. Hopefully, this translates to good cooling potential! Of course it has plenty of other features to mention, but let’s save those for later on in the review.
Provided By: In Win
Price: $119.99
Closer Look:
At first glance, you see the one picture of the case on the box and it’s a small portion of it, but it is enough to give you an idea of what it will look like and the airflow it could provide. No doubt that this is full tower; the Ironclad weighs in at 29lbs. Moving on to the one side of the box, we have a table of specifications for the case. On the reverse side of the box, we have the In Win company logo above the IronClad logo centered on the box. Finally, moving onto the last side of the box, we have a list of features.
Unboxing the Ironclad was easy enough. It had two foam blocks on each end and was completely wrapped in plastic to protect it from any sudden movements.
The accessories bundled include: motherboard mounts, screws for the side fans when applicable, miscellaneous screws, case speaker, a couple of zip ties, two 3-4 pin power adapters, two rubber mounts for those longer power supplies, adhesive cable clips and two push-pin cable clips. Of course, we cannot forget the User’s Manual.
Onward to the side; you’ll get to see the 220mm LED fan that also happens to have an On/Off switch next to it. Last feature on the side is the ability to install six 120mm fans for some serious cooling. Every screw hole has a rubber grommet to aid in noise reduction.
At the top you can see the slots for two 120mm fans and there is enough room for a dual 120mm radiator if one decides to go that route.
Then you have the front panel with the Power/Reset buttons and it sports four USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire, HD Audio, and then last but not least, two e-SATA ports.
Moving on to the back, we see the whole back side is painted a matte black, with the power supply mount on the bottom. Above the power supply area there are the four water cooling tube inlets/outlets. Most cases I’ve seen only use two, maybe three at the most. Next feature I like is that it has 8 expansion slots, which means the Ironclad has more than enough room to handle triple GPU setups no matter what motherboard you have if one chooses to do so. Above the slots is the exhaust for the 120mm fan in the back. And last but not least, we have thumbscrews holding the panels on.
The inside itself is pretty large you probably do not need too worry about your graphics card of choice having size issues. Speaking of graphics cards, we have a tool-less solution to locking expansions cards. You must have also noticed the foam inside the case they decided to add in some foam to absorb sound. On the bottom of every case I’ve seen lately, there has been no shortage of PSU fan filters. Here we have one that can be removed without having to remove the PSU.
Something you don’t normally see caught my attention. Up front there is a tray where the drive rails reside on both sides. It rests in one of the 5.25” drive bays which, quite honestly, is an excellent idea and place. Below the drive rail tray resides the 2.5″” bay with its own detachable mount. NICE.
Features & Specifications:
| Excellent Thermal SolutionGaming Chassis utilizes 22cm side panel fan to accelerate air through and out of chassis to keep components cool.A ventilated floor panel, and a top vent with 12cm fan provide the optimal airflow on both intake and exhaust.Dust proof meshesThe air filter meshes are built into the front bezel side panel top panel and floor that keeps out of the dust and extend the life of components.Tool-free mechanical designScrew-less I/O expansion slots make assembling a fun, easy and enjoyable experience.Metallic Warship Enhances the structural steel sturdinessEight tool-free expansion slotsPatented shock-free railing system |
| Case Size:Full Tower Chassis |
| Material:1.0~0.8mm SECC Steel |
| Internal Drive Bay:1. 3.5” x 62. 2.5” x 1 |
| External Drive Bay:1. 5.25” × 52. 3.5” x 1 (Converted from one 5.25” drive bay) |
| Top I/O Ports:1. eSATAx22. USB2.0×43. IEEE1394A(FIREWARE)4. HD/AC’97 Audio |
| I/O Expansion Slots:PCI-E/PCI/AGP SlotX8 |
| M/B Form Factor:1. ATX2. Micro-ATX3. E-ATX(12″X13″) |
| Power Supply:1. ATX 12V2. PS 2 or EPS Power |
| Thermal Solution:1. Front:12cm Fan x 12. Rear: 12cm Fan x 13. Top:12cm Fan x 1 (Maximum Supports 12cm Fan x 2)4. Side:22cm LED Fan with switch x 1 (Maximum Supports 12cm Fan x 6)5. Water-Cooling Hole Ready |
| Safety:1. CE and FCC Class B Requirement2. RoHS |
| Dimension(HxWxD):550x225x566mm (21.7″x8.9″x22.3″) |
Conclusion:
The IronClad performs well against the competition. This case doesn’t just look nice, it also has several useful features built-in. Water cooling capability is a nice feature to see come to a case. In Win also puts in solid, tool-less solutions, which are available to the HDD, ODD, and the expansion devices. Speaking of the expansion devices, it supports eight. There were some other future I love such as the heatsink backplate hole in the motherboard tray and the fact the case was painted inside and out.
I did have my share of issues with the case, Wire management was limited, as there was no space to put wires in this case. I was able to tuck some wires to make my setup neater, but it’s very limited. Despite the flaws, this case makes quite a killing for the price. This case is one of the first I’ve seen to have dual e-SATA as part of its external I/O connections and also one of the few to feature IEEE 1394A.
