InWin Shift Open-Framed Chassis Review

TweakTown Rating: 91%

Our Verdict

The InWin Shift is well built, practical and elegant. While its not for everyone, modders will love it as an open frame chassis, while tech reviewers will love its test bench versatility.

Pros

• Build quality
• Blank canvas design
• BTF compatibility
• Ideal test bench

Cons

• Price tag - but expected
• No included I/O - again expected
• The power button rear connection is exposed and looks out of place

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

InWin has, over the years, produced a number of eye-catching, limited-edition cases that you could, I guess, call concepts, given their extravagant design, price tags, and scarce availability through its Signature Product line-up.

Now, InWin has released the InWin Shift, an open-frame chassis that InWin says brings a clean, fluid form and offers a subtle nod to the artistry and craftsmanship that serve as a canvas for creative expression. Built entirely from CNC-machined aluminium, the Shift features a hidden-cable design, DIY features, and versatile hardware support. Sadly, the InWin Shift won't be available in the US market for consumers to appreciate, but it can be purchased for €449.99.

Given what InWin states about this case, the materials used, and the price tag, you would expect it to be bundled in with the aforementioned Signature Product category. However, the Shift is aligned with InWin's iBuildiShare platform, joining the Dubili, ModFree and POC cases as part of the line-up. The iBuildiShare ideology is all about producing interactive and engaging products that the end user can customise and truly make their own, before sharing the final product with like-minded enthusiasts. If, for some reason, you have a query with the Shift when building, InWin also provides a free mobile app for iOS and Android that shows an easy-to-follow 3D assembly guide.

So, is the InWin Shift an intriguing, interactive and engaging product? Well, luckily enough, I have one here today to take a look at, see if the artistry and craftsmanship claims are true, and if it's worth spending so much money on an open-framed chassis.

Packaging

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My review sample from InWin arrived in a rather large, unassuming cardboard box, given the premium product that it contains. The front of the packaging features a printed image of the Shift chassis, with its name in the bottom-right corner.

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InWin lists the Shifts specification to the side, detailing the case's key features. While not specified here, the InWin Shift does support BTF motherboards for a cable-free front view.

Further Open Air Cases Reading – Our Latest Reviews

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"Shift Beyond Boundaries" gets your mind thinking about the possibilities of this open frame chassis when looking at the image of the Shift here on the side. It also shows the chassis's versatility, which can be stood up or laid flat.

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As I started to open up the box, I was greeted with a flat piece of cardboard that, when removed and flipped over, becomes a little more self-explanatory. Here, open-cell foam is aligned around the chassis and glued to the cardboard to protect it during shipping.

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With this piece removed entirely, the top of the Shift is visible, with a mirror-image of the top packaging fitted below the chassis for transport protection. Each corner of the Shift features a boot to protect the aluminium legs, and the case is also wrapped in a protective plastic bag.

The front of the InWin Shift

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With the InWin Shift removed from the packaging and standing up, you really start to see the quality of its craftsmanship, appreciate its form when you cast your eye around it, and feel it in your hands. The CNC-machined aluminium is sandblasted for a smooth finish, and while it weighs 4.25 kg / 9.37 lbs, it's light yet feels rigid and substantial.

As an overview of the front, the InWin Shift features three wings, one on either side, and on top, these can be used for mounting various components such as fans, radiators or even a power supply. The central tray houses the motherboard and graphics card, with large cut-outs for cable management and BTF board installation.

In its most compact form, the InWin Shift measures 490 x 490 x 309 mm, and then with the wings expanded, this increases to 773 x 773 x 309 mm, so it's not the smallest chassis and will certainly dominate the space it occupies.

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Viewed from the side, in its standing configuration, the InWin Shift reclines at an angle, with stability provided by the bottom carry handle bracket and legs. When used as a system and on display, this is the most likely orientation for the Shift, enabling you to display your creation as the centrepiece of a setup.

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The versatility of the InWin Shift means it can also be laid flat, and my immediate thought was that it looks like a drone, ready to take off, given the shape and structure. Up to now, I have called the InWin Shift an open-framed chassis, and while that is true, it also offers the option to be used as a test bench. If you frequently swap out motherboards or graphics cards, for example, my initial impression would be that the InWin Shift would certainly be worth considering.

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Moving around the central area, the motherboard tray is flanked by thin, subtle red detailing to the left-hand side that flows past the PCIe bracket. To the right are the power button and two tool-less GPU support brackets with height adjustment. Finishing off the right-hand side is detailing, with engraved stripes on the aluminium and laser engraving for the "Start" text by the metal, backlit power button, and "Shift Beyond Boundaries," which we saw on the packaging, resurfacing on the motherboard tray by the central CPU cutout.

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When viewed from an engineering standpoint, the InWin Shift has been designed with being used as a test bench very much at the forefront of InWin's mind. As a result, they have reinforced the motherboard standoff threads with extra craftsmanship to withstand numerous installations. The InWin Shift is designed for reuse by testing professionals and enthusiasts, as noted on the InWin product page, providing peace of mind for longevity and repeated build cycles.

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The attention to detail spans wider, with rubberised protection to all the corner feet, while one of the legs, when laid flat, is able to be adjusted, so even if the surface you are standing this chassis on is uneven, this can be compensated for, and will prevent rocking and mitigate vibration.

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All three wings surrounding the motherboard tray can be used to mount various components. They all feature 120mm spaced rails, so fans or radiators can be attached with ease. Given the versatility the InWin Shift offers, the power supply or storage bracket that is pre-mounted to the rear can be moved and placed here for easy access if being used as a test bench, or as part of a custom build where moving components allows your dream design and layout to come to life.

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Not only do the wings offer various mounting options, but they can also be adjusted in angle from 0 to 90 degrees. This is achieved using a tool-less clamp system, where each wing can be released, adjusted and secured back into position. Don't want them there at all? Well, being modular, they can also be completely removed if not needed by removing the screws that hold them to the main tray.

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Before we move to the rear, the seven-slot PCIe bracket allows either vertical or horizontal graphics card installation by changing the bracket's orientation. Cards up to 350mm can be installed on the Shift before it starts to interfere with the right-hand side wing.

The rear of the InWin Shift

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Looking at the back of the motherboard tray, the InWin Shift is almost as majestic as the front. All the cut-outs give plenty of access from behind with the storage and power supply brackets to the right-hand side. To the centre is a support bracket to take the weight of the power supply, with InWin stating that units up to 280mm can be installed in your preferred position, top or bottom. One thing you might notice around the back is that there are no cable tie-down points. I will cover them later, but do take note of the sets of two screws holes dotted around the back of the tray.

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Where you install the power supply and storage, however, is completely down to you. Both brackets can facilitate either or. Here, the storage bracket is attached to the right-hand side frame. The options here are wide: install a power supply underneath, move the second bracket to the front for a secondary power supply, and fit the storage bracket to another wing.

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Moving to the other side of the tray, both graphics card support brackets simply hand-tighten to the motherboard tray and can be adjusted in length. Both are finished with a rubber cap to the threads. My only real complaint about the GPU bracket is that there is no horizontal adjustment, something I have again mentioned numerous times for other cases.

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When you concentrate on the back or bottom of the InWin Shift, you see more of the beauty of the design. The four corner legs feature an intricate, swept design. InWin say this is "Sculptural Elegance", and yes, I agree. Combined with the CNC craftsmanship, the fit of the legs to the main tray is almost seamless. It feels well-engineered, but not overly so, and time has been taken throughout the design phase to bring the InWin Shift to life.

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I almost feel bad at this point, given how much I like the InWin Shift so far, that I have to mention something I don't like. Given all I have said so far, and the attention to detail InWin has put into this chassis, I do feel like they have missed a trick with the rear of the power switch and included cabling. See, you have this well-crafted, elegant sculpture, and then, bang, let's throw some blue-and-white plastic into the mix and leave the back of the power button exposed.

Given the price and that InWin has used CNC machining throughout, was it too much to ask that they consider machining a cover for the back of the power switch? The switch includes enough thread to engineer a solution here, and while the power and reset cables are braided to an extent, putting these into an ASUS-style EZ Front Panel Connector seems like a missed opportunity to really refine every last detail.

If you are looking at the Shift from the perspective of it being a test bench, purchased for its durability across multiple installs and a life of abuse, then I guess this detail won't matter so much, with function being the priority. For a modified, focal-point, high-end type of build, though, I think it should be addressed, and chances are modders will come up with a solution that InWin has missed.

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Going back to the positives, and before I build out a system on/in the InWin Shift, let's take a look at the included accessory pack, as it's more than just some screws and zip ties. InWin provide everything in a nice plastic case, with everything inside feeling a little more substantial than usual.

What I really want to look at here are the included cable management brackets, made from aluminium. These small brackets can be installed on the back of the motherboard tray and used in conjunction with the included zip ties or Velcro ties to finish off the cable management. It's a nice idea, so that only what you need is installed, keeping the rear as clean as possible.

Test System, Installation, and Finished Product

Building on/in the InWin Shift, as you might have guessed, is as straightforward as it gets. Being open-framed and marketed as a test bench, it would be quite concerning if I had run into any issues. Before I could install anything, some prep work was needed as the motherboard tray stand-offs had to be installed. Some cases can feel repetitive or a chore to build, but here I enjoyed the process, as you get to appreciate some of the engineering a little more.

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Using some of the included screws, I could also attach the cable management brackets around the back. I haven't gone all out here, but InWin include mounting locations that make sense in the most part. I would have liked to see a couple more potentially around the back where the power button is installed, but as you can see, we have managed to get all the cabling needed installed.

BTF motherboards are certainly the right fit for this chassis, keeping all the wiring tucked away and out of sight. This test build represents a sort of worst-case scenario, so pick your motherboard and custom cables wisely if going down that route. I would advise using fans that also reduce the number of wires you need to run, as there aren't many places to hide these away for a clean look.

Kris' Test System Specifications

Final Thoughts

The system I have built for testing includes an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X CPU, housed in an MSI B850 Tomahawk Max Wi-Fi Motherboard, paired with two sticks of 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 memory. Our CPU is kept cool using the be quiet! Dark Rock Elite. For storage, I am using a Corsair MP700 Elite 1TB NVMe M.2 drive. Finally, for graphics, I have an ASUS Prime RTX 4070 12 GB Super. Testing is completed with PBO enabled, AXMP1, and MSI Smart fan configuration.

All testing was completed using Aida64 Engineer's System Stability Test v7.65.7400 for 2 hours. Other software used was HWiNFO 64 v8.34-5870, TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.68.0, and CPU-Z v2.15.0 x64.

For testing, the heating keeps things at a warm 23 °C, and given the case's open-frame design and the lack of any included fans, we are relying entirely on the system's cooling setup to bring cooler air into the heat sinks and keep temperatures low. I have decided that, for the InWin Shift, to drop the be quiet! air cooler from my standard setup, and instead go with their Pure Loop 2 360mm AIO to carry out our testing and fill up some of the room the Shift provides. To display the graphics card vertically, I am using a TRYX String PCIe 5.0 x16 riser cable in black.

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The InWin Shift performs amazingly well on CPU temperatures, reaching a high of just 71.2 °C, and an average of 67.9 °C over the two hours of testing. Both here and in the delta calculations across all cases tested, it is pretty much tied in 1st place with the HAVN BF360 when I added an extra two 180mm fans to the top of that case. This is a testament to HAVN and to how well airflow is managed within a closed case; obviously, here the Shift has access to as much fresh air as it wants, with no restrictions in place.

Graphics temperatures throw up good results too, but not as good as some closed cases. 70 °C on average and a high of 71.5 °C. Our ASUS card, then, could do with some airflow directed towards it, but it only lags behind our best-performing case by 3 °C, so it certainly isn't an issue.

Drawing a conclusion on the InWin Shift is a little different from most mainstream PC cases, given its open-framed design and versatility as a test bench. I think there will primarily be two groups of people who will look at the InWin Shift as their next case: reviewers/testers and the enthusiast/modding community.

For reviewers and testers, it is an ideal chassis due to the solid workspace, which makes it easy to swap out components, streamlining the process and enabling quicker, more complete testing of various components. The Shift provides easy access to everything you need to get your hands on, and in those use cases, and with its seeming durability, it's certainly a contender.

The other group of people who will look at the Shift are modders and enthusiasts seeking a foundation on which to build something unique and extravagant. Something that offers the ability to change things up with a modular design, and its form lends itself to custom-made add-ons. 3D Printing, laser etching, and other craft avenues can all be explored here, with your imagination the only limit on what can be designed and built around the Shift. Of course, a custom water-cooling setup would lend itself fantastically to this chassis, and, by using components and fittings that complement the aluminium, I think it would look amazing. Powder coating or painting offers even more aspects to explore, but would you really want to cover that lovely sandblasted finish? Maybe not.

For the mainstream gamer, this might not be the case for your next build. If you hadn't noticed, I didn't mention any I/O , and the reason is that it's not included, nothing, just the power button. So, people looking for extra USB ports or an audio jack, well, you're out of luck here. While it performs well, it doesn't offer the dust protection that you might want, and this case would soon become a cleaning chore for many. With those drawbacks, it really is a specialised chassis for a specific use case.

Having said that, for those enthusiasts and testers out there who are passionate about the modding space and see this as a canvas to paint their artwork, it might just be worth your attention.