InWin made a splash at the end of last year, releasing a fully modular PC case. Dubbed ModFree, the aim was to let you build the case you want with optional expansions. Now, the brand has innovated on the concept, making it both dinky with ModFree Mini and giving it a dash of artificial intelligence with the comparatively huge ModFree AI Workstation.
ModFree Mini
Small form factor is all the rage right now. ModFree Mini shrinks down the original concept in a particularly classy way, adorning the case with a walnut wood panel that’d fit in a work office or as a console-sized gaming PC.
You can get it in two different mini ITX form factors. Each supports up to 65mm CPU coolers, four 2.5in storage drives, and at least two 120/140mm fans. IO ports include one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C, two USB 3.2 Gen 1, and a HD Audio Combo.
The smaller of the two, ModFree Mini Mod-II Edition, supports up to 320mm GPUs across 3.5 slots, a 240/280mm radiator, three 3.5in storage drives in lieu of 2.5in, and up to a 240mm PSU. The larger ModFree Mini Mod-III Edition ramps this up to a 420mm graphics card, a third 120/140mm fan, bigger 360/420mm radiators, and four 3.5in drives. It does sacrifice some PSU space, supporting up to 170mm instead.
There are expansion modules of both the Mod-II and Mod-III, and you can stick them together side-by-side in any way you want. From what I can gather, it seems like it’s the most efficient and space-saving way to have a dual PC setup. There will also be front panel accessories so you can personalise things a bit. These should all be available at the same time as the main case.
ModFree AI Workstation
Artificial intelligence can require a lot of power depending on what you’re doing. Current chasses just aren’t going to cut it if you want to stack graphics cards on top of graphics cards. That’s where the ModFree AI Workstation comes in.
Much like the ModFree Mini, you build the case outwards instead of upwards like the original. In the one we saw at CES 2024, the main case was paired with a 9x PCIe Mod-I expansion at the front and four 3.5x PCIe Mod-III expansion slots either side.
InWin gives you the option to continue building outwards with more Mod-IIIs if you fancy, but it’s far from limitless. While you can keep adding power supplies to juice it all up, you’ll be at the whim of your motherboard’s bandwidth.
Both ModFree Mini and ModFree AI Workstation only come in black and are built using SECC. We don’t yet know how much either will cost, but they should be available soon.
