In Win Chopin Review
Category : Cases
Published by Luca Rocchi on 17.03.16
Last June, during SBB, In Win presented their Chopin, SFF case. Made from brushed aluminum and SECC steel, the case is able to accommodate mini-ITX motherboards without dedicated graphics card. It is an elegant solution, based on high-quality materials and features a unique design. If you are looking for a really clean and classy case with a 150W 80 Plus Bronze PSU, we recommend you to check this review.
Rating |
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Cooling |
Features |
Layout |
Build Quality |
Value for Money |
| Pros |
+ Up to 43mm CPU cooler clearance
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+ PSU
+ Aluminum
+ Color stripes |
+ Enough space for 2x 2.5" HDDs/SSDs
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+ Good build quality |
+ Well priced |
| Cons |
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Preview
Specifications
| Model: |
Chopin |
| Case Type: |
SFF case |
| Dimensions: |
84 mm (W) x 244 mm (H) x 217 mm (D) |
| Material: |
Aluminum, SECC |
| Color: |
Black |
| Drive Bay: |
5.25": |
0 |
| 3.5": |
0 |
| 2.5": |
2 |
| Expansion
slots: |
0 |
| Form factors: |
mini-ITX |
| Cooling: |
Front: |
/ |
| Rear: |
/ |
| Top: |
/ |
| HDD-Rack: |
/ |
| PSU: |
150W 80 Plus Bronze |
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Features
Aluminum chassis
The entire exterior of the In Win Chopin
PC case is made from aluminum with 4mm thickness. This choice, not only gives strength and durability to the case, but also adds a special touch to
the design. |
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PSU
Inside the package there is a 150W 80 Plus Bronze power supply. The unit uses blacks cables and comes with all essential connectors. The cable length is adequate and tanks to pass-throughs you can achieve a nice and clean looking setup. |
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Customizable I/O Panel
Inside the bundle there are four, colored I/O bezels allowing you to customize your case. Since for our rig we are using a blue P8Z77-I Deluxe motherboard, we have decided to use the light blue bezel. |
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Product overview
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| The In Win Chopin is a small form factor case suitable for low power consumption ITX solutions that don't require dedicated graphics card. The Chopin measures only 84 x 244 x 217 mm with a total volume of 3.3 liter. The exterior is made of aluminum with 4mm thickness, while the interior is made of SECC steel. The front and bottom are quite simple, with a clean and elegant design while the top features a mesh. Even the side panels feature a simple look, whereas the left one offers a huge mesh that helps with the cooling. The build quality excellent and the aluminum panels as well as one the other parts couldn't be made in a better way. On the front profile there are two USB 3.0 connectors, the classic audio jack panel and the power-on button with backlight. |
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Installation
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As with any case there are two ways to do the cable management. Either you just throw the hardware and in the case and plug the cables in a way that everything is connected, or you're going to have a look at the case and check how you can come up with a decent cable management. Both works, but one looks nicer than the other and it's also a lot more time consuming. If you want to wire everything nicely into the Chopin you'll have to take the outer shell off, which then gives you good access. This way it's possible to hide the power supply cables in the corners of the case, where in the end you won't see them anymore. Having a look at where the different components are placed reveals a logical and intuitive layout. On the left side above the power supply there is the area for the motherboard while on the right side you can place your storage devices. The In Win Chopin can accommodate a maximum of two 2.5" drives, in other words you can easily build a compact HTPC system with one HDD and one SSD.
For our test system we used an ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe motherboard in combination with an Intel Core i5-2500K CPU, which was cooled by by a low profile cooler from Noctua. The mounting process has taken more time than expected due to the additional PCB on the motherboard that eats away a few extra millimeters inside the Chopin. |
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Temperatures
Overview |
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For testing purposes we are using an ASUS P8Z77-I ITX motherboard, an Intel Core i5-2500K CPU, which is cooled by a Noctua NH-L9i cooler. To put the CPU under full load, we are running prime95 for 10 min. The temperature ambient is set to 23°C. |
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All noise dampening panels installed |
Idle (°C) |
Full (°C) |
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Intel Core i5-2500K |
33 / 36 / 34 / 35 |
65 / 64 / 66 / 64 |
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Less is better |
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Conclusion
The Chopin from In Win is definitely amongst the smallest cases we've ever reviewed here on Ocaholic. It features simply perfect build quality and there are very nicely crafted aluminum parts as well as a solid construction. So to say, the Chopin is based on an inner and an outer shell, like many other In Win cases actuall. The external one is made of brushed aluminum and internal one is made of SECC steel. Despite the shape and the fact that this isn't a big case, it's simple to place the components inside the Chopin and it's even possible to create a nice cable management.
We like the fact that inside the package there is a 150W power supply with 80 Plus Bronze certification, which is enough to provide our test system with power. For our system we used a Sandy Bridge system with i5-K CPU. Apart from that it would also be possible to create a small casual gaming system based on an AMD APU. The A10-7860K 65W APU could for example be a good choice for that matter.
If you are looking for an high-end SFF-case with brilliant looks, then we can definitely recommend the Chopin from In Win. Since this is a In Win case it features aluminum and and since there is even a PSU included in the delivery the 90 Euro price tag is even surprisingly competitive. Bottom line this case deserves 5 out of 5 stars.
