“In Win” are a new name to us as we have never seen, or reviewed one of their products in the past. They recently emailed us with some marketing jargon for a new case which was more plastic than metal and featured quite a few unusual features such as an oval shape and a “one touch everything” design so we decided to give the product a test.

The Product

The In Win Alpha360 comes packaged in a standard retail box, there is a decent product shot on the front which gives a good idea of what the case looks like. Along the sides of the box key features and specifications are listed.

The case itself is well packaged within the box and there should be no scope for shipping damage. After removing the protective material we find the case is finished in metallic turquoise which certainly stands out from the crowd. Looking down on the top of the case we can also see that the shape is oval rather than rectangle, it does look very good. The main case material is steel on the internals however the painted chassis is actually plastic and helps keep the unit lightweight. In Win claim a tool-less design in their marketing material and the first glimpse of this occurs with the opening of the front panel. Just press the marked area and the panel springs open.

Below the spring loaded portion of the front panel we find the cases connectivity options. They come in the form of 1 firewire, 2xUSB 2.0, audio out and mic in. The power button is not a standard design and is feathertouch rather than requiring a larger push. What isn’t easily noticeable from the picture is the IR receiver on the front of the case. If the motherboard being installed has an IR jumper, this can be connected to take away the need for an external receiver.

Turning to the rear of the case we find another unique feature, a removable panel which covers the less attractive looking section of the PC. The full panel can be removed with the press of a button or alternatively each smaller section can be popped out.

To remove the side of the case we remove the back panel and press the black button just below the PSU. The removal is very smooth and no sliding or fidgeting with levers is required, a problem which appears all too often on cases.

Once the side is removed we find a large black plastic section. This is designed to assist with CPU cooling and when installed with a traditional heatsink will draw air down to the hole and on to the CPU. The section is both movable (as shown in the 2nd pic below) and removable if the install requires a little more room or the CPU cooler isn’t compatible. The HD bay is also moveable and with the touch of a button it can be swivelled out to make installation easier. Also noticeable on the pictures below are the motherboard standoffs, these are pre-moulded and remove the need for manual installation, just lay the board in the case and screw it on.

As with all cases the Alpha360 comes with the standard connectors for power, speaker and so on. There is no reset connector though as the case doesn’t have a reset button. Also included as standard though is a 9CM rear fan to assist with case cooling.