Complete System
The Sharkoon HEX was easy enough to work with, at least in the regard that there were no major issues or surprises along the way that fouled up the build. There’s nothing really new here though, it’s a layout and form factor that’s pretty much expected these days, so I could have likely built it just fine with my eyes closed.
The pre-routered fan cables don’t take the most efficient routes, such as the front fans cables crossing to a far away hole when they could have added a closer hole near the front of the case. That being said, the fans do look pretty awesome.
The hardware compatibility is decent though and an RTX 2080 Aorus fit in there just fine, and that’s a pretty big card for an older GPU design. Plus a Noctua U12S is in there, again with no issues. This case will support radiators, but I think it’s fair to say that’s limited to slim AIO coolers rather than anything overly custom.
Cable routing is a little scruffy in small places, but largely, the case does a decent job, and there’s more room behind the motherboard and under the PSU shroud to cram any excess anyway. Plus, the inclusion of the RGB hub keeps the number of cables to the motherboard in check.
The case is fairly slim though, so while the overall width of this GPU isn’t an issue, keep in mind that 4000 series cards are very wide, and they need further room for their cables, so I wouldn’t suggest this case for RTX 4000 without a 90-degree power adaptor.
Overall though, it’s actually a really nice-looking gaming build, and the six RGB fans aren’t overkill as I suspected they would be. They light themselves up really nicely but don’t flood the case with light. You may not like this, but I do, it’s more understated and adds highlights to the build rather than bathes it in light.
The fans are surprisingly far back from the front mesh, that’s not a bad thing, but I am just pointing it out. So you can’t really see the RGB on them without looking through the front. Again, I prefer this, I don’t like my PC to light up my room, it’s not a lamp.
