Image: InWin
A PC case is typically just a nice box for you to put all your parts in, with a few standardized mounting brackets, sufficient air ingress and egress for cooling, and maybe a USB port or two. But this year manufacturers seem to be stepping up their innovation, if only because PC-building customers are desperate for something new. The latest example is the POC from InWin, a Mini-ITX case that you literally assemble yourself by folding sheets of steel.
With its vibrant primary colors and interactive assembly guide, the POC seems more like an adult LEGO kit or Nintendo’s LABO cardboard line than a conventional PC case. But rest assured, once you’ve meticulously followed the instructions, complete with full 3D illustrations, you’ll have an ITX-compatible PC case ready to accept all your parts. A surprisingly capable case, too — thanks to an isolated and extended graphics card chamber, it can handle GPUs up to 3.5 slots wide and 346mm long.
InWin
Once you’ve carefully folded all the metal pieces a la a Metal Earth kit, you can install the electronics hardware: a 120mm RGB fan, a front panel with a USB Type-C port and two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, and a combination audio jack, and a PCIe 4.0 riser for the graphics card.
Internally the case can handle just one 2.5-inch hard drive or SDD, and power supplies of up to 160mm long. The design is travel-friendly with side handles (hello, GameCube!), but a little awkward to fit into a conventional desktop setup, with the front panel sitting squarely in the middle of the top of its rectangular frame. There appears to be only one mounting location for the included fan and no others, so those with high-power components and air cooling might want to pop out the triangular front-facing vents.
As spotted by KitGuru, the POC case comes in playful green/yellow or more serious blue/black colors. It’s a reasonable $95, now shipping from the InWin online store. It comes with a free aluminum mousepad at the time of writing.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer
Michael is a former graphic designer who’s been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.