IN WIN D-FRAME MINI Computer Case Review

By David Ramsey

Manufacturer: IN WIN Development Inc.
Product Name: D-FRAME MINI Mini-ITX
UPC: 827955015640
Price As Tested: $339.99 (Amazon | Newegg)

Full Disclosure: IN WIN provided the product sample used in this article.

If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary for your mITX build, the Taiwanese company IN WIN has some products you’ll want to check out. They offer a variety of uniquely-designed computer cases ranging from the weird to the…well, OK, actually, they’re all pretty weird, from the all-glass Tóu to today’s subject, the IN WIN D-FRAME MINI. Benchmark Reviews builds a high-end gaming system in this expensive open-air mITX case to see what it’s got.

Materials	Hand-welded aluminum tubes, aluminum plate, tempered glass
Dimensions (W,H,D)	16″ x 9″ x 9.7″ (405 x 230 x 501mm)
Motherboard Sizes	mini-ITX
Drive bays	2.5″/3.5″ x3
PCI Slots	2
I/O	USB 3.0 x 2, HD audio
Power Supply	PS/2 ATX up to 220mm
Cooling	Supports – 120mm Bottom Fan x 2 – 240mm Liquid Cooling Radiator – CPU Heatsink up to 165mm
Weight	5.25kg

Let’s unbox this case and take a look at the exterior in the next section.

The IN WIN D-FRAME MINI can be placed on any of its six sides: the orange rubber bumpers will support it. The open latticework of hand-welded aluminum tubes is visually confusing at first: it’s not obvious where things go.

Although the case can be oriented any way you want, this side, with its integrated handle, is probably the best candidate for “top of the case”, and it’s how I’ll orient the case for this review. Just to the left of the handle you can see the two PCI slot openings: the motherboard is oriented vertically, with the I/O ports at the top. No, IN WIN does not include any PCI slot covers with this case.

These three removable plates are the mounts for your drives; each can accommodate a 2.5″ or a 3.5″ drive. There is no support for an internal optical drive of any sort. Just a few months ago, the NZXT H440 was the first case I’d reviewed with no optical drive support, but now it’s common.

Looking at the back of the case we can see the cable routing holes in the motherboard tray– a solid 1/8″ thick slab of aluminum– as well as the mounting area for the power supply at the right of this image. The power supply can be screwed in from either the top or the bottom of this mounting area.

There’s right at 3/4″ of clearance between the motherboard tray and the glass panel over it. Not too tight, but 1″ would have been better.

The front panel is sparse: from the top, there’s a power button, a recessed reset button, two USB 3.0 ports, audio ports, and a drive activity LED. While the power supply LED is blue, the drive activity LED on this review sample was yellow.

Let’s take a more detailed look at this case in the next section.

IN WIN says that the skeletal tubing is all hand-welded. The welds are certainly neat enough. The frame appears to be powder-coated, which should make the finish very durable.

The smoked glass side panels are supported by rubber collars around the screw posts. In this close-up picture you can see the edges of the glass hole are chipped. This was true on all eight mounting holes, but the nuts that secure the panel hide this.

The motherboard tray is peppered with cable routing holes and much smaller, round holes. The threaded holes are for mounting the screw-in wire ties. The smooth holes are for…well, actually, I have no idea what they’re for. I wish more of them had been threaded, though.

This removable tray is the only place to mount fans. Two 120mm fans will fit, and since the case comes with no fans at all, you’re free to choose whatever you like. There is no dust filter, but really, does that matter in an open case?

Note how the edges of the cable routing holes are beautifully polished and chamfered.

A minimal accessories package includes screws for mounting your drives, motherboard standoffs, screw-down cable ties, a manual, and a black cloth to polish the glass side panels.

OK, it’s time to build a system…

Since I’m a gamer, I’m going to stuff this system with high-end components:

• ASUS Z87i-DELUXE motherboard
• Intel Core i7-4770K CPU
• 16GB RAM (2x8GB)
• Corsair Hydro 100i CPU cooler
• Silverstone 850W power supply with PP05-E short cable kit
• NVIDIA GTX780 graphics card
• Crucial M550 1TB SSD

The build starts well: the ASUS Z87i-DELUXE motherboard and Silverstone 850W power supply seem almost dwarfed by the space available. This is the largest mITX case I’ve ever reviewed.

You can’t drop the radiator of this Corsair 100i closed-loop cooler directly into the fan bracket since the tank on the end won’t fit. But that’s OK: blow-through is my preferred setup. As shown below, the fans will mount in the fan bracket and push air through the radiator on top.

Here’s a shot of one of those screw-down cable ties IN WIN provides. If only they had more threaded holes to support them with.

No, you can’t install your motherboard’s I/O shield.

Here’s the completely assembled system, without the smoked glass side panels. Overall this was quite an easy build. Cable management was especially good, although I would have liked a few more threaded screw holes for the supplied screw-down table ties. Note the extra space in front of the GTX780: any video card should fit in this case.

The rear side is not as neat, but the details will be hidden by the dark smoked glass panel…when I put it on.

If you orient the case handle-side up, your cables will come out the top of the case. Other cases that mount the motherboard vertically generally have some sort of cover or cable routing for the things you need to plug into the back of the computer. The D-FRAME MINI does not. I’ve routed all but the video cable under one of the frame rails, but it’s still not very neat. After a couple of days I rotated the case 90 degrees counter-clockwise, which had the added benefit of making the logos on the coolant pump and graphics card right-side up, but also positioned the front panel on top.

It is very obvious that this is a case designed for style rather than practicality. Join me in the next section where I’ll give my final thoughts and conclusion.

At a startling price of $339.99 (Amazon | Newegg), the IN WIN D-FRAME MINI is the most expensive mITX case I’ve ever reviewed; I’m pretty sure it’s the most expensive mITX case, period. It costs about the same as the Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra Tower, a gigantic steel, plastic, and aluminum monster that can handle eATX motherboards, a dozen drives, and twin 360mm radiators. And while we’re talking about size, the D-FRAME MINI is also the largest mITX case I’ve ever reviewed. Here’s a shot of it next to my overall favorite mITX case, the $49 Cooler Master Elite 120:

Both cases support mITX motherboards, ATX power supplies, and three 2.5″/3.5″ drives. The design of the Elite 120 case places the power supply directly over the motherboard, limiting you to the stock or a very low profile CPU cooler, while the D-FRAME MINI supports water cooling and air coolers up to 165mm tall. On the other hand, the Cooler Master case supports a full-sized 5.25″ optical drive (or other device), which is impressive considering its tiny size. It’s much easier to build in the IN WIN case; the Elite 120’s cramped interior makes routing power and interface cables a pain. (As a side note, one reason I prefer Silverstone power supplies for small system builds is the availability of their PP05 Short Cable Kit.)

Is the D-FRAME MINI 7 times the case the Elite 120 is? Of course not. The Cooler Master case is a high-quality case that does an excellent job of supporting any non-overclocked mITX system…but it’s a rather boring black box, whereas the IN WIN case is a dramatic piece of hand-built desktop sculpture. It easily supports my weight (162 pounds) standing on top of it, whereas standing on the Elite 120 would crush it like a beer can.

But that’s what it comes down to: style. Like a high-end mechanical watch, the D-FRAME MINI offers quality and style as its defining characteristics, rather than prosaic function or value. If you’ve seen their other cases, like the Tóu or the H-Frame series, you know that’s how they roll.

The D-FRAME MINI might look weird, but it feels substantial, and you’ll be reminded of its quality every time you grasp its knurled handle, or even look at it. Despite its size and appearance, it’s really some sort of perfect Euclidian minimalist case, with just enough structure to support your components.

You’ll do without side panels, fans, dust filters, LEDs, and all that other frippery that adorns other cases. You’ll get a case that’s easy to build in, has a measure of hand-built exclusivity, quality, and just drips style. If the black frame is too somber for you, IN WIN also offers the case with a red frame and black bumpers, or an orange frame with blue bumpers.

You can’t justify this case on its functionality, but you’ll think the price was worth it every time you look at it on your desk.

+ Hand-built quality
+ Unique design and striking appearance
+ Easy to build in
+ Room for large graphics cards and CPU coolers

– No optical drive support
– No included fans
– Very expensive case

• Performance: 9.50
• Appearance: 9.75
• Construction: 9.00
• Functionality: 8.75
• Value: 6.75

Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.