This compact, chill PC case amps up MicroATX's potential
Years back, when a small website called out for product-review editors. I leapt at the opportunity: I’d just wrapped up a four-year stint as a systems supplier. That experience provided the credentials I’d need for the transition from industry supplier to industry observer. For one thing, I’d been the first source for an exposé on capacitor plague (“Got Juice”) at EDN.
The In Win A3 delivers outsize thermal performance and the company's distinctive styling in a winning, compact MicroATX chassis.
Many of us like to use the boxing analogy “punching above your weight class” when a person performs unexpectedly well. But what about PC cases? We've tested several compact ones of late that have delivered thermal performance well within the acceptable range. But it’s always hard not to think about how much cooler the same components might run in a case that is only slightly bigger. Take the In Win A3: This MicroATX case pumps up the typical size just a smidge, for a big payoff. Add attractive looks and distinctive In Win styling, and that makes the A3 a winner (and for us, an Editors' Choice award winner) if you're looking to go MicroATX, that curious 'tweener size often neglected by serious PC builders.
At only 13.6 inches high, the A3 is just over 1.5 inches taller than the recently reviewed CST350 Plus from FSP, another close MicroATX contender. That still leaves it comfortably within the mini-tower class (under 17 inches).
An inch of its height spent on feet, and another half inch spent on casing (including the plastic top panel cover), leaves the A3 with just enough space internally to mount a 240mm-class cooler (with two 120mm fans) above a MicroATX motherboard. The inner surface of the top panel is 54mm above the motherboard, and there’s a bit over an inch of horizontal space between the motherboard and any top-mounted cooling system to run cables.
It's easy to take the sides off: Snaps at the top of the A3’s side panels allow these to be tilted slightly sideways and lifted from tabbed slots at the bottom, without tools. A vertical cover behind the glass left-side panel conceals the frontal area, where up-top power-supply and bottom hard drive mounts reside. A slot near the edge of that vertical cover is intended to hold two included brackets, one that helps to support large power supplies, and another that hoists heavy graphics cards.
Viewing from the opened right side, we see a 3.5-inch/2.5-inch drive tray mounted across the motherboard tray’s CPU-cooler-bracket installation opening, bridging over it, and another 2.5-inch tray behind the motherboard’s PCI Express slot area.
This angle also gives us a better look at the 3.5-inch/2.5-inch drive mount that’s in the bottom of the case, as well as the power supply's supplemental support bracket on the interior of the left side’s vertical cover.
The top panel slides slightly to the left, away from the port section, to lift off. Ports up top include both Type-C and Type-A USB 3.x connectors and a headset (headphone/mic combo) jack. Indicator lighting for the port section includes a power-on LED behind the power button and a drive activity LED behind a small hole alongside the power button.
In Win boasts a bit about the slimness of its addressable RGB (ARGB) rear-panel fan, though its 20mm thickness splits the difference between what most fan manufacturers refer to as a normal (25mm) and a slim (15mm) fan for its 120mm frame size. Notable features include passthrough connections to support an additional PWM fan and ARGB device.
Handily accessible from beneath the lower edge of its front panel, a full-length filter runs along the A3’s bottom panel. It provides dust control for its dual 120mm intake fan mounts, in this bottom-up airflow design.
Our build uses an overclocked 9th Generation Core platform that’s powered by FSP’s Dagger Pro 850W SFX power supply and cooled by Corsair’s two-fan iCue H100i RGB Pro XT liquid cooler. The power supply’s included adapter plate fits it to the A3 case’s full-ATX opening. Here's a breakdown of the test components we used...
As for the case's board cable leads, USB 3.x Gen 1, button/LED combo, HD Audio and USB 3.x Gen 2 cables connect the A3’s front panel to our ROG Maximus XI Gene test motherboard. In Win labels its power button/power LED/HD LED combo connector “EAD015,” but a Google search for this terminology produced no results.
The A3’s installation kit includes extension cables for the rear fan’s power and ARGB connections; a graphics-card support bracket with a rubber spacer; cable ties; separate packs for M3, #6-32 panhead and #6-32 Phillips/hex combo head screws; two standoffs; a handy socket that allows standoffs to be tightened using a Phillips screwdriver; and a card with links to an online manual.
While screw-in PCI Express slot covers are the norm in mainstream cases, and snap-off slot covers are frequently found on low-end units, the A3’s combination of two screw-in and two snap-off slot covers is an odd compromise: Our motherboard’s x16 slot is in the second slot position, so that our dual-slot graphics card will require us to remove one screw-in cover and one disposable breakout plate. Note: Asus designed its ROG Maximus XI Gene with 0.7 inch trimmed from the bottom(Opens in a new window) , so the space you see above the bottom fan mount in this build will not exist in most other MicroATX motherboard installations.
The case’s sheet metal appears darker than that of our power supply or its factory adapter plate in the next photo, which makes it easier to see which parting line belongs to the case’s mounting hole. Our power supply is too short to reach the lower support bracket, which is probably only needed when installing heavier ATX 12V units, anyway.
A couple of other things to point out from the above photo is that the iCue H100i RGB Pro XT radiator barely fits, and only with its tubes at the front. Since the end cap with the tubes is larger, flipping it around the other way prevented it from aligning with the case’s screw holes. Also notice that the screw holes appear to be offset in the wrong direction.
Our installation made good use of the graphics-card support bracket, so we took some measurements and determined that the top of our graphics card is 206mm below the power supply mount. Raising the card to the motherboard’s top slot would have left 186mm of vertical space between it and the power supply mount, so we’re not sure why In Win rates the A3’s maximum power supply depth at only 170mm when installing graphics cards that are more than 11 inches long. Playing it safe, we suppose.
Since we haven’t needed it before, we were surprised to realize that our test motherboard has no ARGB header. Lighting up the A3’s ARGB fan required a controller, so we pulled one from the installation kit of another case. But know that having an on-motherboard ARGB header will be handy for this case's aesthetics.
If we were only going to judge the In Win A3’s suitability by its CPU temperature, we’d note that it placed third out of four in a tight comparison with other compact cases while running an overclocked Core i5 under extreme load. Its results get better from here.
To start, our motherboard has three fans surrounding its voltage regulator when mounted in the A3, which is close to ideal for keeping that component cool. While some might label this comparison apples-to-oranges in regard to the Lian Li A4-H2O and its required Mini-ITX motherboard, the fact that the SilverStone Alta G1M produced similar readings to the A4-H2O while using the same MicroATX motherboard we used in the In Win A3 makes us more comfortable in declaring this a win for the In Win.
Results get even better for the A3 when considering its GPU temperature results: Lacking any front-panel ventilation, the only viable airflow path was from the bottom panel's intake vents and over the installed graphics card. The A4-H2O’s GPU temperature followed closely behind, but it got those temperatures by placing the graphics card's intake face up against side-panel vents.
The A3’s noise levels also beat most configurations: Though the Lian Li A4-H2O sounds slightly quieter from its fanless side, the right panel's vents being situated next to graphics card fans is a design feature that can’t reasonably be ignored.
Roughly 5 inches lower and 3 inches shallower than our average mid-tower chassis, In Win’s A3 provides outsize performance that’s a closer match to that larger class of case. The second-largest "compact" case we’ve tested this year behind SilverStone’s Alta G1M, it delivers great performance that makes it the best choice for anyone whose space-saving needs aren’t so stringent as to exclude tipping into traditional mini-tower dimensions. For that, we give it an Editors' Choice award for the MicroATX class.
The In Win A3 delivers outsize thermal performance and the company's distinctive styling in a winning, compact MicroATX chassis.
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Years back, when a small website called out for product-review editors. I leapt at the opportunity: I’d just wrapped up a four-year stint as a systems supplier. That experience provided the credentials I’d need for the transition from industry supplier to industry observer. For one thing, I’d been the first source for an exposé on capacitor plague (“Got Juice”) at EDN.
By that time, I’d already self-published some guidelines on hardcore PC stuff: pin-modifying processors to defeat compatibility checks and overclock non-overclockable systems. I saw a chance to get paid for my knowledge, and have since written more than a thousand pieces (many of them for the seminal tech site Tom's Hardware) before finding my latest opportunity: with PCMag.
PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
PCMag supports Group Black and its mission to increase greater diversity in media voices and media ownerships.
© 1996-2023 Ziff Davis, LLC., a Ziff Davis company. All Rights Reserved.
PCMag, PCMag.com and PC Magazine are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of PCMag. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant.