In Win Dragon Rider - Quick review

In Win has become well known lately, having released some great cases within the last year or two. Today Legit Reviews has a look at In-Win's latest addition from their "Destiny Extreme Series" line up, the Dragon Rider. Drawing its look from the medieval age, the Dragon Rider is designed to protect and keep even the most demanding components cool. This beast is prepared for E-ATX motherboards along with great features such as USB 3.0 capability, a 220mm side fan and an enlarged CPU cutout hole. The In-Win Dragon Rider is also priced at $159.99, which puts it directly in competition with other full tower cases such as the HAF series and Antec's full towers.

Here’s a little about In-Win and their view on the Dragon Rider:

“IN WIN Development Inc., an ISO 9001 manufacturer of professional computer chassis, power supplies and digital storage devices, is the leading provider of enclosure solutions to system integrators worldwide. Founded in 1985, IN WIN provides high quality chassis that conform to all safety regulations, as well as unsurpassed customer service..”

“With elegance, power and control firmly in its grasp, the Dragon Rider is designed to protect and cool even the most demanding of components. Enveloped totally in black, the dark design is only punctuated with bolts of striking yellow to create a subtle but distinct appearance. The unique side panel shield design creates the necessary space for tidy cable routing and multiple fan mounting points for up to 11x 120mm fans make it the ultimate chassis for cooling customization. Pre-fitted with a large 220mm side fan for effective graphics card cooling, the Dragon Rider also features additional front, top and rear fans for fantastic cooling potential. With the latest eSATA and USB 3.0 front panel ports, a back-supported CPU cooler removal hole, anti-vibration hard drive rails and tool-free installation, the large E-ATX Dragon Rider is packed with the latest enthusiast-class case features.”

IN WIN Dragon Rider Case Specifications:

Case Size:	Full Tower Chassis
Material:	1.0~0.8mm SECC Steel
Dimension(HxWxD):	556 x 239 x 578mm (21.9” x 9.4” x 22.8”)
Power Supply:	ATX 12V PS II Size and EPS
I/O Expansion Slots:	PCI-E/PCI/AGP SlotX8
Thermal Solution	Rear 12cm Fan x 1 Front:12cm Fan x 1 Top:12cm Fan x 1 (Maximum Supports 12cm Fan x 2) Side:22cm LED Fan with switch x 1 (Maximum Supports 12cm Fan x 6) Water-Cooling Hole Ready 12cm LED Side Fan
M/B Form Factor:	E-ATX(12"X13") ATX Micro-ATX
Drive Bays:	External 5.25'' x 5 Includes FDD Cage x1(5.25'' converted into 3.5'') Internal 3.5''x6 2.5” x 1
Front I/O(Ports):	e-SATA×2 IEEE 1394A×1(FireWire) USB 2.0 x 2 HD/AC’97 Audio USB 3.0 x 2

One may look and see that the In-Win Dragon Rider looks familiar to another case we reviewed earlier this year, the In Win Dragon Slayer. Obviously, size is a big difference between the two but they do share the same medieval theme which, I have to say, looks pretty cool.

Pros

·         Epic looking exterior, good cable management, fan expandable, good included cooling, roomy interior.

·         Build Quality, Design, Room For Up To Six 3.5' Disk Drives, 5 PreInstalled Fans (4x120mm/1x220mm), Room For Up To 11x120mm Fans, Top 240mm Radiator Space, Cable Management Space, USB 3.0 Ports, 8 Expansion Slots, 3 Years Warranty, Price (For Some)

·         Toolless design makes for a happy Wolfie, lots of places for fannage, two USB 3.0 ports on top, two eSATA ports on top, PSU can mount either facing up or down, most included fans either don't have LEDs or can switch them off.

·         Cool looks! In Win logo lights up!, Plenty of space for large mainboards, graphic cards and CPU coolers, Includes 3x 120 mm fans, Large 250 mm side fan included, Can hold up to five additional 120 mm fans if you want to sacrifice the 250 mm one, Perfect s

·         Plenty of cooling included and for expansion, CPU backplate cooling fan, Easy to install, Looks great.

·         Pretty affordable chassis, Great design & well built, Decent thermal solution, Toolless PCI locks & rails, Simple installation method, Charming In Win blue logo, Dust filter & acoustic absorbers, Water cooling ready, 2.5" HDD or SSD ready, eSATA.

·         Fast and easy installation with tool free system, Excellent design, E-ATX support, Great cooling performance

·         Toolless Bays, Full set of Toolless Rails, Extreme cooling, Cable Management, Sturdy Design, 2.5" Internal Bay, CPU cut out with Fan, Liquid Cooling ready, Room for 4 Way SLI/Crossfire.

Cons

·         Based On The Same Chassis As The IronClad/Maelstrom

·         Average to poor fan filtration, cable routing behind the mainboard tray is hard with a fan in the way, only two USB ports that use the mainboard headers.

·         Cable management possible, but no good way to hide them, Hard drives have to be installed with connectors facing mesh side panel, Not the quietest case out there, Inability to control CPU area cooling fan, I/O and case cables are of default color, Basical

·         Expensive

·         Need more room for tower CPU cooler, Prefer wheels are bundled as an option

·         Cable management requires improvement