Features of INWIN D Frame ITX Mini Tower Cabinet (Black)

Boredom doesn't fit InWin any more than the adjective "standard" fits. In the past, the Taiwanese chassis manufacturer has presented - besides more conventional PC cases - a variety of spectacular case creations, such as the "multilayer tower" H-Frame, and now more recently the curved S-Frame or the D-Frame, whose open construction with welded aluminium tubes is reminiscent of the fourth letter of the alphabet (lying on its side) or when looking at the Midi-Tower case from the side.

And true to the motto "Extravagance for everyone", the D-Frame Mini is now also a smaller offshoot for SFF fans, as was the case with the H-Frame Mini and H-Frame. And the D-Frame Mini has succeeded once again: the words "small", "sensational" and "successful" hardly do it justice! In the version offered here, the frame tubes made of light aluminium are in orange, while the motherboard tray is in black and the 16 protective stand elements made of plastic are in blue. Each side of the D-Frame Mini therefore has four of them so that the compact case can be set up in any conceivable position.

The EATX Cabinet buyer will enjoy a huge amount of versatility with this half-open case, because InWin cleverly uses the advantages of the simple but ingeniously implemented frame construction: Top or bottom, left or right, upright or longitudinal - all this is available here in a virtually unbreakable form. The positioning of the I/O panel with two USB 3.0 ports and audio connections can be interpreted, at best, as a mere suggestion for when it comes to positioning this case.

Starting from this perspective, the D-Frame Mini only has more or less closed sides on the left and right, because like the big original, slightly tinted glass panes are attached here, which can be easily removed generally or only temporarily for swapping out hardware. At the top, InWin has designed the case to have a kind of S-shaped handle so that LAN users can comfortably take their SFF PC on the road with them. Needless to say, there is also a lot of craftsmanship in the frame, the orange aluminium struts are once again welded together very cleanly.

Up to 22 cm long ATX power supplies can be placed in a separate PSU area at the back, in front of which the Mini-ITX motherboard sits on the black tray with its I/O shield pointing upwards, towards the opening, where the monitor connections of a built-in graphics card are directed accordingly. Since the InWin D-Frame Mini has some things in common with benching tables, there are hardly any fan slots necessary nor available. The parts simply get their cooling from the ambient air, such as an up to 16.5 cm high CPU cooler or a graphics card, which can be as long as 34 cm.

Only above the floor of the D-Frame Mini, which weighs just over 5 kg, are two 120 mm fan slots, so optional fans can give the convection principle of warm air rising upwards even more impetus by actively sucking in new fresh air from the underside. But the fan slot plate is particularly attractive as a radiator shroud, because it is also possible to screw on a 240 mm dual radiator here - in other words: the InWin D-Frame Mini can even be equipped with internal water cooling!

Specifications of INWIN D Frame ITX Mini Tower Cabinet (Black)