Building the System: SSD and ODD Options and Completing the Build

SSD Options

There are a couple here, beginning with the same sleds used in the previous hard drive installation:

My build used one of the sleds for an SSD

In addition to the option of using one of the dual bay sleds for an SSD, there are also two clever 2.5" drive mounts which are easily removed with just a thumbscrew each.

These separate 2.5” drive mounts would be easy to wire neatly as well, since both have a cutout immediately behind for cable routing.

Optical Drive

Finally there is the option to add a slim optical drive to this case, and I’d never have guessed where. The large open area just behind the front panel provides airflow for the 120mm fan mount near the side I/O, but a closer inspection led to the removal of a cover at the bottom:

This area also allows for a hidden slim SATA optical drive to be mounted, and like the hard drive bays above this has the hot-swap connectors and cables pre-installed. Any standard (SATA) notebook drive can be installed here.

It's an interesting solution, and very easy to employ if desired.

Completing the Build

Next we'll look at the 120mm fan option.

As we've seen the case features the ability to install an external AIO liquid cooler for the CPU, and this is just as well considering the IN WIN 901 has a very limited internal cooling setup with only one 120mm mount and a small 90mm mount on the back. We've already looked at the rear fan so now it's time to check out this 120mm option.

The 120mm fan is mounted on a removable tray

Installation couldn't be easier, as the 120mm fan has its own compartment on this case. Once attached to the metal tray it's a simple matter to rout the fan cable through and slide the fan in place. The fan also features a very nice magnetically connection dust shield down below, which is particularly important here considering this is the enclosure's lone intake.

Hopefully this will create enough postitive pressure to make the small rear fan more effective.

The Finished Product

With everything installed the cable clutter is minimal with very little effort.

Building with the 901 is really, really easy! With both side panels removed it was painless to move from one side to the other and keep things organized during the build. Once the components are installed there is plenty of space to neaten up cables before replacing the side panels, and each group had readily available openings for cable routing.

Once it's all together the system regains its sleek appearance without too much of a view inside, thanks to the pretty strong tint on the glass:

The glass is dark enough to hide most of the cabling

Next we'll see what kind of temps this particular build created.

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