Just over a year ago, I put my first gaming PC together, and part of that was the excellent Genesis Irid 353 PC Case. I love that case and reviewed it here at FULLSYNC.
The one thing I’ve learned about PC building is this……the itch never goes away, and you’re always looking for that next upgrade. I’ve done a few bits, mostly peripherals and a GPU (before the market went nuts!), but I wanted to square things up internally, and when I got the opportunity to review another case for Genesis, I knew this would scratch that itch AND give me chance to see how well different cases hold-up.
Enter the Irid 503. A Micro ATX case, full ARGB fans, all controlled on the case and honestly, room to swing a cat in, even though it’s so small.
What makes a good case?
Contrary to popular belief, RGB lighting isn’t the be-all and end-all of PC gaming. However……the Irid 503 lights up like a Christmas tree anyway! Fully controlled and the 5 pre-installed fans are all good to go.
Speaking of fans the Irid 503 comes with 4 (3 intakes, 1 exhaust) fans pre-fitted for you. With a mesh frontage to help with airflow, I really like how much cooling Genesis has managed to fit into such a small space. Added to that enough room to pop extra fans in the top, too, cooling is a high priority and so it should be.
Other than that, you need space! How do you fit your motherboard, your ram, your processor, your GPU, your processor cooling, your PSU and all the required cables into a small space? Apparently with great ease……
The Irid 503 has pre-cut slots for cables to be passed through in the most convenient positions. The PSU is hidden away behind a cleverly placed metal shelf, nicely disguised by adding the branding on it and seating all the internals above it!
Space, cooling and considerate cable runs. That’s how you build a case, right?!
The build itself
Talk is cheap, right?! I need to get everything in there and see what holds me back.
So I started with the SSD and HDD that seated in conveniently provided slots and a cage (tucked away near the PSU for the HDD). All quickly and tidily installed, I added the PSU. The power supply is the messiest bit, especially as mine isn’t modular, so it’s a little unwieldy!
The Irid 503 doesn’t care about unwieldy cables, it has plenty of space to run them to the places, and to hide the remainder behind the back panel.
Next up was the motherboard and a simultaneous water-cooler fitting. I had to get the fans for the water cooler in at the same time because it’s really tight at the top, and I didn’t want to drop the cooling unit onto the board. At the same time, I couldn’t fit the board in after the fact. So it was a little bit of juggling. This was literally the worst/hardest part, and honestly, it wasn’t that bad. It’s a little tight to add a bigger unit, but it fits properly and the screw holes are there for it, too.
After that, seating memory, connecting cables, and going through the always-fun case buttons on the motherboard, making sure everything is in properly, so it powers on, so the RGB lighting can be controlled etc.
The slew of USB 3.0 ports connected straight up, as did the older 2.0 ports, too.
Overall
In the Irid 503, you have a solid foundation on which to put your build together. I couldn’t be happier with how considered the manufacturing was, with cutouts in all the right places. Board stands pre-fitted ARGB controls and fans, and plenty of space to add extra bits.
With magnetic mesh covering the airflow holes, dust is getting caught before it hits your system, and they’re easily removable when you want to quickly wipe things down.
With the nicely built alcove for the HDD caddy and the PSU and ample space behind the back panel, the Irid 503 gives you the flexibility to get everything in and hidden (my cable management requires some re-thinking…..).
The case looks great, the fans are quiet, and everything is nicely nestled in without any cause for concern. Genesis know how to make cases, that’s for sure. The Irid 503 is no exception to that rule.
If you’re looking for a case and want the flashy RGB lights without the hassle of putting in your own controller, you could do far worse than this little gem.
You can find more information on this case on the official Genesis website HERE. And you can check out some of our other Genesis reviews and other hardware by clicking HERE.