In Win Dragon Slayer M-ATX Case Review
- Author: Joe
- Published: Nov 12, 2011
- Price: £70.00
- Rating: 8 /10
Final Thoughts
Installation
The tool-less installation mechanisms consistent throughout the In Win Dragon Slayer design make the installation process very easy to carry out indeed. The 5.25” (optical) drives and smaller 3.5” drives are secured via a small clip whilst the hard drives, after attaching rails with two screws on each side, slide into position in the HDD cage.
Graphics cards and other PCI devices simply lock into place by pushing down another clip (note that this isn’t overly secure though and so you may choose to add in a screw too), with the motherboard and PSU using screws to hold them in place. Overall, it’s an innovative design though that speeds up installing or swapping components considerably over using screws throughout the whole design.
Cooling & Noise
With four fans included as standard, the Dragon Slayer is not short of cooling and I’m pleased to say that each fan vent has an attached dust filter. Moreover, extra fans can be fitted on the side panel if you choose.
In terms of noise, the fans aren’t particularly noisy but the smaller (80mm and 90mm) ones are slightly whiny.
Pricing
With the Dragon Slayer being very new to the market, we haven’t been able to obtain a specific price point but we expect the chassis to be priced at around the £70 mark.
Conclusion
For Micro-ATX users, In Win’s Dragon Slayer chassis is certainly worth considering. With such unique visuals, the appearance seems like the perfect place to start: the design is certainly out there and the “dragon slayer” concept a little whacky, but it works. Of course the meshing and bold exterior might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it can’t be denied that the case has a much broader appeal than previous In Win designs.
The internals are well built too catering for large graphics cards despite the size and the installation mechanisms work well to make swapping components incredibly easy.
There is room for improvement though: whilst the cooling is very good the noise levels from the 80mm and 90mm fans is a little higher than we’d like and the PCI clips are a little flimsy.
On the whole, the In Win Dragon Slayer hits the mark offering a USB 3.0 solution, unique visual appeal and a robust layout. To all M-ATX users out there looking for a new chassis, our advice to you - take a look at the Dragon Slayer.
|
 |
Thanks go to In Win for providing the Dragon Slayer case for review.
