Introduction

The Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II is a mid-tower case that costs USD 75 in the United States and can be an option for users on a budget. Let’s take a look at it.

The differences between the Halcon GS-6050 II and its predecessor, the GS6050, are: the design of the left panel, the presence of two 120 mm fans on the left panel instead of one 180 mm fan, the presence of one USB 3.0 port, and the addition of a 60 mm fan to cool down the main hard disk drive.

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Figure 1: Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II case

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Figure 2: Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II case

The left panel has a big mesh with two 120 mm fans that glow blue when turned on. These fans must be connected directly to the power supply, using a standard peripheral power connector. The manufacturers don’t publish the technical specifications for these fans.

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Figure 3: Left panel

The Front Panel

The Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II has three external 5.25” bays and one external 3.5” bay. The top-most 5.25” bay comes with a special cover with a spring mechanism for hiding the optical drive, so the face of the optical drive won’t be appearing. This is a nice touch, as this allows you to have a white or beige optical drive without having to worry that it won’t match the color of the case. The other two 5.25” bays and the external 3.5” bay have meshed covers with air filters.

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Figure 4: Front panel

The case comes with a 120 mm fan installed on its front panel, identical to the ones used on the left panel. It also glows blue when turned on and comes with a standard peripheral power connector. There is an air filter for this fan.

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Figure 5: Front fan

The Top Panel

The top panel of the Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II is meshed and comes with another two 120 mm fans identical to the ones used on the left and front panel, also glowing blue when turned on. Each is connected to a standard peripheral power plug.

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Figure 6: Top panel

The case comes with three USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, and the traditional audio jacks. The USB 3.0 port utilizes an external connector, so you must route its cable to the exterior of the case and connect it to a USB 3.0 port located on the rear panel of the motherboard. We think this is one of the most visible drawbacks to this case, since currently, internal USB 3.0 headers are standard, and we don’t see a reason to not use an internal USB 3.0 connector.

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Figure 7: Buttons and connectors

The Bottom and Rear Panels

The bottom panel has a big air filter for the power supply fan and for the optional bottom fan.

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Figure 8: Bottom panel

The rear panel and the interior of the Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II are painted black.

The case has seven expansion slots, using vented covers. These covers are not reusable; once you remove the cover you must toss it away.

There is a 120 mm fan on the rear panel that is identical to the other fans used on the product, meaning that it also glows blue when turned on and is connected to a standard peripheral power plug.

On the Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II, the power supply goes on the bottom part of the case.

There are two holes protected with rubber covers for hoses of liquid cooling solutions (and also to route the USB 3.0 cable to the exterior of the case), each measuring 0.70” (18 mm) in diameter.

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Figure 9: Rear panel

Let’s now take a look inside the Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II.

Inside the Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II

Both panels are attached to the chassis using black thumbscrews. The motherboard tray has a huge hole for you to access the backplate of the CPU cooler without having to remove the motherboard from the case, a few holes for you to route cables behind it, and a small number of metallic clips for you to fasten cables using cable ties.

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Figure 10: Overall look

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Figure 11: A view behind the motherboard tray

Figure 13 gives you another overall look inside the case. Expansion cards are fastened using individual plastic retention mechanisms. The Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II supports video cards up to 11” (280 mm) long.

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Figure 12: Overall look

As already explained, the power supply is installed at the bottom of the case. Note that it can be installed with either its bottom fan facing up or facing down, so you can decide if you want the fan of your power supply pulling air from inside the case or from outside of it. As already shown, there is an air filter for the power supply fan. The case comes with a foam frame to reduce the noise generated by the power supply.

The case supports the installation of an additional 120 mm fan on its bottom panel. When this fan is installed, you can only install power supplies up to 6.3” (160 mm) deep. The air filter for the power supply fan also covers the bottom fan.

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Figure 13: Power supply compartment

The Disk Drive Bays

The Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II has three 5.25” external bays, one external 3.5” bay, and four 3.5”/2.5” internal bays. Installation of 5.25” and internal 3.5” devices can be done without the use of tools or screws.

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Figure 14: Disk drive bays

Two of the highlights of the Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II are here. All 3.5”/2.5” bays are made of aluminum, which helps to dissipate the heat generated by hard drives and SSDs. One of the 3.5”/2.5” bays comes with a 60 mm fan to cool down the main storage device.

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Figure 15: One of the internal 3.5”/2.5” bays

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Figure 16: The internal 3.5”/2.5” bay that comes with a 60 mm fan

Main Specifications

The main specifications for the Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II include:

• Style: Mid-tower
• Application: ATX and smaller form factors
• Material: Zinc-coated steel (SECC) body
• Power supply: Doesn’t come with the product
• Available colors: Black
• Side panel: Meshed with small window
• Dimensions: 18.3 x 7.5 x 19.1 inches (485 x 190 x 465 mm) (H x W x D)
• Net weight: 13.5 Lbs (6 kg)
• Gross weight: 15.5 Lbs (7 kg)
• Bays: Three external 5.25” bays, one external 3.5” bay, and four internal 3.5”/2.5” bays
• Expansion slots: Seven
• Maximum video card length: 11” (280 mm)
• Maximum CPU cooler height: NA
• Fans: One 120 mm fan on the front panel (blue LEDs), two 120 mm fans on the left panel (blue LEDs), two 120 mm fans on the top panel (blue LEDs), one 120 mm fan on the rear panel (blue LEDs), and one 60 mm fan on one of the 3.5”/2.5” bays
• Optional fans: One 120 mm fan on the bottom panel
• Extra Features: None
• More Information: http://www.sentey.com
• Average Price in the U.S.*: USD 75.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.

Conclusions

The Sentey Halcon GS-6050 II brings several nice features for a case in its price range, but it also brings a few weak points that may bother some users. In summary, it is an excellent case if you like all the options it brings and don’t mind its weaknesses. Otherwise, you should look for a different product.

Strong Points

• Mechanism for hiding the front face of the main optical drive
• Vented covers with air filters for two of the external 5.25” bays and for the external 3.5” bay
• Air filter for the front, bottom, and power supply fans
• Individual mechanisms for fastening expansion cards
• Comes with six 120 mm fans
• Fan for cooling down the main storage device
• The internal 3.5”/2.5” bays are aluminum-made
• A huge hole in the motherboard tray for accessing the backplate of the CPU cooler
• Holes for routing cables behind the motherboard tray
• A few clips for fastening cables

Weak Points

• Only one USB 3.0 port, using an external connector instead of an internal one
• Plastic parts look cheap
• The fact that all fans glow blue when turned on may bother some users