Overall and Final Verdict
I’ll get right to the point, I get a lot of products in and I only build rigs for my use with just a few of those parts. When I got the In Win D-Frame Mini in I knew right away that this would be a great case for a new LAN rig. It isn’t as small and easy to carry as my Lunchbox builds but as proud as I am of those builds they just don’t get the same amount of attention as the D-Frame Mini gets at events. On top of that I had more room to really go crazy and pack a GTX 980 into the build. It isn’t perfect though, the open air design does mean a little more cleaning. I was also a little disappointed at the cases size, I felt they could have gone much smaller and still fit the same build inside of it. Or they could go the other direction and support a Micro ATX motherboard, with a small amount of work one will drop in.
On the good side of things, the tinted side panels really set things off. They take the case from an open air design and turn it into a case but still let you get a peek inside at the same time. Using glass for the side panels was just one of the many things that really give the D-Frame Mini a quality feel. You certainly don’t feel like you are getting a tossed together product. The open air design has its benefits as well, when combined with the water cooling that the case supports my build ran cool and quiet and remember this was a GTX 980 and an i7-4790, it’s a bit of a beast. When at the LAN the ability to sit the case in any orientation really came in handy, I was able to sit it vertical and give myself a little more table space. You also have the option to put the D-Frame Mini on its side and run it like a test bench. Versatility is always nice!
So is this a case I would recommend? Well I do think it is an amazing case but it is really going to depend on your budget. Being hand built from high quality materials does push the price for the D-Frame Mini way up to $349.99, this has to be one of the most expensive Mini-ITX cases you could possibly get. Case Labs and others have proven that the price of a case isn’t always a limiting factor, so I’m not going to say you shouldn’t get the D-Frame Mini, but make sure if you do that you plan your build budget around it. With those glass side panels you are going to want to have some cool hardware to show off inside of it as well.
