In-Win GRone Case Review: Do Features Make the Case
by Dustin Sklavos on September 18, 2012 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- In-Win
- ATX
- E-ATX
Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
Our stock test results with the In-Win GRone were generally quite and demonstrated a healthy amount of thermal headroom for the case that should hopefully be reflected in the test results from our overclocked testbed, but they're still strangely underwhelming. With all of those fans running at full bore, the GRone should've decimated the charts instead of simply ranking. We'll see how things fare when greater thermal stress placed on the enclosure.
Test results in the "Turbo" fan mode are generally quite good and on par with the freak of nature that is the Antec Eleven Hundred, but the "Silence" mode performance is underwhelming. These thermals are certainly competitive, but "competitive" isn't what we're looking for at $160. You really want results closer to the AZZA Genesis 9000 at least, and certainly not below inexpensive cases like the Corsair Carbide 300R with less than half the sticker price.
With all that said, if acoustics be damned, the GRone will definitely give you some room to play. The GPU in particular is already pushing the limits of the chip itself, but if you have something hotter that you want to flex a bit, you'll be able to do it here.
Unfortunately we're still caught between two horrible options with the fan speed controller. "Silence" mode doesn't move enough air to keep the fans from working too hard (and thermals down as a result), but "Turbo" mode is punishingly loud. We really needed a middle setting here and we didn't get it.
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randinspace - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
It IS big.cjs150 - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
Lets start with the obvious, the front is ugly. They have taken the original Centurion Stacker and then made it a bit bigger and ugly.Sure it takes EATX motherboards which is useful for those that need that level of power and flexibilty. But other than that what does it actually do better than cases designed 5 or 6 years ago.
There has been no thought applied to this case. Lets take some obvious ideas for improvement:
1. If a case is designed for that many hard drives why is there no hot swappable ability?
2. Similarly for that many hard drives it would be nice to see some thought applied to cable management and power distribution to the hard drives
3. If the cases is intended for air cooling then cable management is vital - where is it?
Antec 280 may not be my favourite case, but they thought about what market to go for and designed a case to meet that market. Fractal Design produces nice cases, with features thought through for a particular market (esp water cooling). Heck I even like Lian li for trying different things, even if they do not come off. And, despite some doubtful quality control issues, I own a Silverstone TJ07 and am about to buy the TJ08E.
Skidmarks - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
Although I haven't seen it in the plastic & steel yet, judging it by the pics it looks like a dreadful mess to me.rickon66 - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
As an Antec fan, 1100 still overall best buy.angrypat - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
It does seem to be in fashion for cases to be overdone and scifi comic book like, I would rather have understated looks and form following function. And no damn doors or hinged covers, if I want to open an optical drive or access a usb port I don't want to open a door first. The question I never see asked is why so few cases have an SD card reader, much more useful than a front ESATA port; storage for laptops, tablets, phones and cameras. Rear expansion slot mounted fan controls suck, very inconvenient, and they are tossed in with many cases. As for myself, I build a pc, then may tweak occasionally but I am not constantly working in it, after 40 plus builds no case has really annoyed me to work in whether it was $20 or $100. The delivery people beating the crap out of them on the way to my door is another matter of course! Outside of a media center case I don't see any reason to spend more than $100 unless you want to show off. Cooling fans can always be added or changed, run off the mobo or a fan controller. The most important thing is to know what you are building; gamer, media center, office, everyday web surfer or a serious number cruncher etc.Grok42 - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
The reason door and covers are used is they provide a clean look for the front of the case. Because case manufactures insist on putting 3 to 9 external 5.25" bays in the case they have to cover them up so the case doesn't look like crap. I agree, get rid of the door as they just require more case depth. Instead, just don't have any external bays and it's a win/win.They don't put a SD card reader in the case because it's like putting a VHS deck or DVD drive in a TV. Remember those? Why build a piece of dead tech into the case itself? I still have a 10 year old Lian-Li case as my main workstation. I'm sure glad they didn't build a zip drive in it. The days of sneaker netting data from phones, cameras, tablets, etc are long gone. If you still have a few devices you must do it with, that is what $5 USB card readers are for.
bwcbwc - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
I take it this should be pronounced "groan"?Unfortunately I fall into the hate it camp at least based on the front panel aesthetic - it looks like a prop from the original Battlestar Galactica. Other design choices are less "groan" worthy, but as you say there are other companies in this price range with alternatives I find more appealing.
Solidstate89 - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
The GRone case? Are you kidding me right now? Who in marketing thought that would make a great name?MeanBruce - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
Buy a man's chassis, the Corsair 650D was $161.99 a couple days ago on Amazon free shipping no tax. Stand Up Boy!Bonesdad - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
If you like the way this case looks, there is something wrong with you.