- This is the brand new ModFree PC case from InWin.
Looks pretty nice, huh? But maybe it's a little big.
Well, don't worry about that
because the whole top just comes off.
Actually, this comes off too.
This also just kinda comes off, but we expect that.
And this comes off.
And you can actually take the whole front off,
if you really wanna,
because the whole computer is modular.
That's right, every single prism in this whole beast
of a machine can be just totally removed.
Completely toolless, completely simple.
Let's take a look over here.
The whole idea behind this case is that you only have to buy
what you need when you need it.
So you don't have to fret over being like,
"Oh, I wanna get this small case,
but what if I want more storage in the future?
I don't have enough drive mounts."
Well, at any point,
you can just get yourself an expansion module
that toollessly attaches right at the top
or at the bottom or at the sides even.
With the base version of the case, you get two modules:
the motherboard module and the PSU module.
You would put them, I don't know, I guess together
in like this kind of, you know, a traditional format
with a bottom-mounted power supply.
And then you would be able to put any side panels
or top panels that you want on it.
And you can get a 280-millimeter rad
that can be mounted at the top or at the front.
It also comes with a mount for your storage.
So you can have two 2.5-inch drives or one 3.5-inch drive.
And the cool thing is that you can
kind of put it wherever you want.
You wanna put it up here?
You can. You just gotta screw it in.
You wanna put it further back?
You can do that, too, and at the bottom.
You can even put 'em at the front.
And the storage module will hold
up to eight 3.5-inch drives,
which will allow you to basically transform this
into your NAS if you want.
Or you can put a whole other computer
in just the expansion module.
Currently supports an SFX power supply,
and as you can see, an m-ITX motherboard.
So if you're a streamer
and you wanna have a dedicated stream computer,
or if you're somebody who wants
to have network-attached storage,
but you don't wanna have to have another computer
sitting somewhere else, you can literally just,
I don't know, put this on the side, put this on the front.
Maybe not, probably not the best airflow configuration
to put a whole other computer on the front
of your other computer, but hey, I don't make the rules.
You do, and that's the beauty.
You can just have your base computer
with a bottom-mounted PSU.
Or you can actually put the module on the top
if that's what you prefer.
And if you go, "Uh-oh, maybe I need more cooling
for that new 4090 I'm getting,"
well, you can add another module or two modules
or even three more modules, which is,
this is the Mod tier that InWin is also gonna be selling.
There's a extra expansion module on the back.
You can see three fans, another module down there,
another module on the front.
Each of the expansion modules can hold
up to a 420-millimeter rad.
And you don't have to worry about compatibility
because you're not gonna deal with your radiator
going over your motherboard
and blocking some of the ports or whatever.
You just have this whole extra section.
One thing that's interesting is that, currently,
all of the modules that they have here at CES
are longer than the horizontal length of the case.
So if you want to add something on top,
it's gonna look a little weird.
It's gonna have a bit of a pompadour.
But you can always add it to the front, right,
for again, that better rad support.
One thing I would also like to see
is maybe a change to this mechanism.
Right now, it's just kind of a piece of metal.
I think if they added maybe just some, like,
rubber around the edges, that would really make it nice.
This is pre-production, and they're looking for feedback.
So if this seems like something
that you don't really care about,
then maybe they won't change it.
Or do a favor for me and tell 'em to put rubber on it.
That's enough about the modules.
Let's get back to the main case
and look at some of the features that we have.
You have some rubber grommets for cable management.
You also have a lot of options for cable management.
This is great because you don't know
where your cables are gonna go.
You can put your PSU on the front, top, or the back.
So they have to give this kind of extra space
to accommodate any configuration,
which is a pretty unique design challenge,
because a lot of times, when you're making a case,
you have something in mind of how it's supposed to go.
And that allows you to be like,
"We only need these options."
You have about an inch of clearance
on the back end for cables.
You have some tie-down points.
Here's some mounting points for, like, your RGB controller
if you're going, like, full RGB.
One thing I would like to see is maybe a mounting point
for a 2.5-inch drive in the back.
Because this is probably going to be the core
of your system, I want this part to have
as much flexibility as possible
so that I don't feel like I'm forced to upgrade
as opposed to just having the opportunity to upgrade.
Also, this can support up to EATX motherboards.
You see the mounting holes up here, so you can go really big
with your motherboard if you're trying to do a crazy system
like that one over there.
We've mostly been showing off
their frosted acrylic side panels and stuff like that,
but they're actually gonna be offering
various different types.
You're gonna have good old-fashioned metal,
tempered glass, mesh panel, holes.
So really, it's gonna be whatever you prefer.
And they're also interested in hearing what you guys want
in terms of, like, materials.
Do you wanna maybe see, like, some woodgrain?
I like a woodgrain on my PC personally,
I wouldn't mind that. Okay, woodgrain.
I like the white and orange motif.
Oh, we gotta do a dbrand segue, don't we?
- So our sponsor for CES 2023 actually dropped out,
but dbrand footed the bill.
The only catch is they want me to come out onto the streets
and offer tech tips to random people for free.
I'm not optimistic for how this is gonna go.
Excuse me, guys.
- [Passerby] 'Sup?
- Do you want a tech tip?
- A tech tip? - A tech tip.
- Sure. - Yeah?
- Yeah.
- You know when you plug in a USB
and it won't go in all the way?
- Yeah.
- Don't keep pushing 'cause there's a reason it's not going.
You wanna flip it over, probably.
- (laughing) Okay.
- [Riley] Yeah. Did that help?
- Yeah, super helpful.
- Okay, great. Awesome. - Yeah, thanks, man.
- Wait, can you do one more thing for me?
- Yeah. - Go to ShortLinus.com.
- Yeah, sure, man.
- You will? - Yeah, sure.
- You promise? - Yeah.
- Do you want a tech tip?
Have you ever swapped a processor?
- A lot of times.
- Oh, okay, you know when you take the thermal paste
off of the processor?
- Small is better.
- But you know the isopropyl alcohol
you use to take it off?
- So first, you rub it off.
- Yeah, you can't drink it.
- No, you can't.
- No, okay, can you do one more thing for me
after we're done? - Okay.
- Go to ShortLinus.com.
- Short? Oh, you follow Linus, and you're the short Linus?
(Riley laughing) I follow that guy too.
- I'm not the short Linus. I'm the tall Linus.
- Okay.
- For front I/O, you have two USB 3.1 ports
and a USB Type-C.
It'll be 3.2.
You also have a combo headphone-microphone jack,
power button, stuff like that.
Now, I don't know about you, but I don't really want wires
sticking out the side of my computer case.
I'm more of a top or a front kind of guy.
But you will actually be able to position this
where you want in the case
so long as it's kind of with this side panel.
So if you wanna have it bottom-mounted
because it's a square motherboard module,
you could mount it at the bottom.
What I'd like to see is probably I/O
that's more traditionally, like, at the top or at the front.
Maybe it's just 'cause I'm used to it.
Maybe I'm being closed-minded. Who knows?
Potential for future modules?
Well, as we said, there's a storage one coming.
One thing that might be cool to see would be, like,
something with, like, maybe an integrated reservoir
or just really strong water-cooling support.
Again, you can just give yourself more space
so you can find a reservoir that fits in there.
This isn't gonna be the thing for everybody.
For a lot of people, especially if you're, like, really new
to computers and you just want something to game on,
you might wanna go with something
that's a little bit more basic.
Not that this is hard to use, but you'll be cheaper going
with, like, a high-volume case from, I don't know,
you know, your Phanteks, Corsair, kind of stuff like that.
But for somebody who goes, "I know what I want now,
and I have an idea of what I want in the future,"
I think this is really exciting
because you're not gonna be tied down to that case.
And then you also, when you do wanna upgrade your computer,
you don't have to throw the rest
of the case away or sell it.
You can just add what you need.
InWin is going to launch this in spring 2023.
No price has been announced, but what would you pay for it?
Do you think it's cool?
Is it for you?
If you liked what you just watched,
then, well, get subscribed to ShortCircuit.
We got lots of more CES coverage coming.
InWin, neat.