In-Win GT1 Case Review: Fighting an Uphill Battle
by Dustin Sklavos on March 8, 2013 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- In-Win
- ATX
Assembling the In-Win GT1
In-Win's GT1 gets to be the first benefactor of our shiny new testbed motherboard. Our old Z68 micro-ATX board ran into a serious problem: it wasn't splitting CPU PCIe lanes to the second PCIe x16 slot for SLI, which is the "next level" of testing. Even though I tried just as hard as I could to find another comically undersized board to install in our enthusiast cases, unfortunately I had to get a full ATX board that would be more representative of what users might build with. Rejoice, my year of spiting readers complaining about the micro-ATX board is over! (Actually, you guys were right. The added flexibility of using a micro-ATX board wasn't worth the downsides. Mea culpa.)
Because In-Win included motherboard standoffs effectively extruded from the motherboard tray, installing our new test board was actually a very simple affair. They do include additional standoffs if you're using a smaller board like the previous test board, though. Wiring the motherboard was also easy enough to do, but In-Win includes two power LED leads: one for three pin spaces, another for two, instead of just splitting the positive and negative leads.
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The toolless drive installation also went absolutely swimmingly. For 5.25" drives, the toolless clamp is secure and the bay shields themselves pop in and out easily enough without being frustratingly loose. 3.5" drives fit snugly into the trays; the trays themselves are a pretty sturdy plastic with exactly enough flex, and pins snap into the side screw holes of the drives. 2.5" drives can be bottom-mounted to the trays, but In-Win also includes two dedicated installation points for 2.5" drives. The second is in the bottom of the case, beneath the last drive tray, but the first is actually at the bottom of the top drive cage. There are two wedges that slot into the side screw holes of the 2.5" drive; you angle the drive in, then screw in the other side, and it's held into place securely. You do have to remove the left panel of the cage first, though; that's held in place by a single screw.
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Mounting the power supply went easily enough, but when we get to the expansion cards we see another place where In-Win cut costs. The expansion slots are covered by perforated steel instead of actual slot covers, so once you pop 'em out, they're open for business forever unless you buy some aftermarket covers. The steel In-Win used for the case is actually pretty damn sturdy, too, and I was surprised at how much force I had to apply to eventually remove the covers.
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Where installing our testbed into the GT1 goes haywire, though, is the cabling. There are a couple of major problems going on here. First, there's no routing hole for the AUX 12V line, so you'll have to run it across the motherboard. Second, the routing holes that feed into a channel around the motherboard aren't just small, they're actually already mostly occupied by the case's leads.
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The third problem is the biggest, in my opinion. Our review unit came with all the fans and fan controller connected incorrectly. The fan controller used in the GT1 isn't like the ones I've seen in other cases; it's a single three-pin lead connected to a molex adapter, and if you plug the chain of fans into the wrong side of the sequence, all the fans just run at full speed. That's exactly how the GT1 shipped to me, and if it hadn't dawned on me after a deep and restful sleep to go back and recheck the connection order, this review would be missing an entire set of results and the fan controller declared bunk.
Putting together the GT1 was ultimately fairly easily, but was heavily marred by the cable routing issues and the incorrectly-assembled fan control. I will tell you that with both video cards installed (along with everything else), this case gets cramped in a hurry, but that's to be expected from a mid-tower.
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Sleepingforest - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
No, the backup shouldn't always be plugged in, otherwise whatever damage happens to the computer (fire, flood, virus, and so on) won't happen to the backup drive. If you get a good external drive, moving it while it's off has no consequences--you know, the thing people do with laptops? There are cameras with USB 3.0 because it's faster, as seen here: http://usbtips.com/nikon-d800-dslr-launches-with-s... I happen to use my phone even when I sit at a computer, so it's helpful to charge it while it's next to me.So no, you look like the idiot here. You have a narrowly focused world view that can't comprehend usage scenarios beyond your own, you don't think through anything you say, and most of what you say is insults anyway.
dawp - Sunday, March 10, 2013 - link
why can't we flag obvious spam like this?CeriseCogburn - Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - link
Because although Anandtech favors whining crybaby commentears, they do not like rude non first amendment jerks who wish to dominate and control everyone else, when it is clear you don't like it, since you wasted our time whining about it and bringing more attention to it.I know, it's hard not to get some revenge satisfaction voting people off the comment area like a 3rd world dictator, if you want that crap go to toms - oh wait you do, then in a frenzy -20 as many people who talk sense as you possibly can, causing everyone else who doesn't have a bleeding tampon on display constantly having to go through the trouble of unhiding the often sentient comments you idiot fanboy whiners have hidden.
Now, that's why I say, and admittedly for the first time ever that may not be exactly correct, but you did ask, you power hungry evil person, and you got an answer.
keithh - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link
I'm guessing that you don't pay the electricity bill. I did the math and it was cheaper for me to decommission a bunch of smaller drives and replace them with a single 2TB drive. The cost was recovered in a couple of years. Further, the newer drives are faster, quieter, and cooler.I second the recommendation to invest in a NAS.
CeriseCogburn - Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - link
Umm, excuse me - but after "several years" of saving 5 watts per drive or so, and you've finnally "recouped your initial costs", although that isn't counting the possible REAL INVESTMENT of that added expense and the wonder of combined interest, you want to spend a wad on a very expensive rip off NAS ?LOL
Dumb as can be, NAS is an "investment"....
Computer parts are not investments - you know maybe - if you are really goofy and you go to the raving loon retro section of ebay you could get a bit more than scrap weight price after a few years.
You aren't INVESTING, okay ?
Pass that along to the thousand other wannabe faux acting CEO's on this board, won't you ?
Spending on crap that depreciates faster than cars is NOT an investment.
keithh - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link
Uh, no Director12, that would give him a whole *4* GB of mirrored data. That's more than enough for lots of applications - especially if you have your important stuff (photos & music) on the NAS in the basement.xygtshadow - Wednesday, March 13, 2013 - link
I do have a pair of 4GB drives from the 90's... But I couldn't fathom using them anymore. They're horrendously slow and my motherboard doesn't even support PATA ribbon cables.angryblanket - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link
1x usb 3.0 port and this thing looks like crap?! It would be OK without the brand naming but my goodness that huge "I U" in red makes me want to willingly gouge my eyes out.CeriseCogburn - Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - link
Please do as they obviously are not used to read articles, thus saving you pain and suffering on your artsy fartsy doofus assessment, better for the feminine area of some girly tupperware get together.sarahjordan - Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - link
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