Abkoncore Helios 500G Sync review - Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

It’s time for the conclusion. The Abkoncore Helios 500G is a nice and quite interesting chassis. It has RGB functionality, which can be managed via the motherboard or the attached remote control. You can see the internals of your build thanks to the tempered glass panel. The internal layout is typical, with the PSU installed at the bottom of the case. The installation process is rather straightforward, and you shouldn’t have any major issues here. You can’t complain about the build quality either, especially considering the budget. There are no other colour variants of this chassis, but you can choose a full-mesh front version called the H600X Sync (there are very few changes there). The side panels are secured with thumbscrews, and the left one is made of tempered glass. The PCI slots covers you need to 'break out'. In the noise and thermal division, this chassis is doing good, especially for the air-cooled CPU version of the test system.

Features

You get three RGB fans here, with a remote controller (+ spectrum control hub) to set things up if you don’t want to do it via motherboard software. You can install the GPU vertically (2 slots), so that’s a nice feature. You can fit radiators up to 360 mm at the front, 240 mm at the top and 140 mm at the back. There’s enough space for 355 mm long GPUs, 178 mm tall CPU coolers, and 195 mm long PSUs. This is more than enough even for a non-standard build. The I/O panel has a set of two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, audio jacks, and power + LED + reset buttons. It’s good that you can remove the 2.5/3.5” drive bay as well.

Aesthetics

Looks are always a subjective matter. The design of the new HELIOS 500G is very modern but not as flashy as some of the other products on the market. You get two tempered glass panels here, one of which is placed at the front of the case, but that’s ok, and you can still show off your gear if you want to. The black colour looks fine, so nothing to complain about here. However, the case has a bit too much branding. Especially the logo on the PSU shroud is not necessary.

The Verdict

The Abkoncore Helios 500G is a chassis that’s slightly smaller (more compact) than your typical mid-tower case. You get RGB lighting here (with a control hub and remote control), as well as two huge 200 mm fans at the front (that’s very nice) and one 120 mm fan at the back. In other words, the airflow is pretty decent, especially that the front panel is not fully solid, but has the mesh vents on the side. The case has two fan filters: one on the top (magnetic), and one at the bottom. The maximum motherboard form factor that you can use is standard ATX, and you can install 360 + 240 + 140 mm water cooling radiators and a 178 mm air cooler. That leaves nothing to be desired. PSU space is great, as even the lower limit (195 mm) should be enough to fit most units. Cable management is on the tough side, as there is only about 20 mm of clearance at the back of the motherboard tray. As for the features that we liked, the PCI bracket is useful, and it’s great that it’s possible to mount the GPU in the vertical position. The build quality is fair, especially considering the budget. Speaking of which, the price is €89,95/$99,95, so we can grant the “Approved” award here, for the very pleasant compromise between features and price. As for the things that could be corrected, I’d have to say: a smaller logo on the PSU shroud (or none at all), a 140 mm fan at the back, and maybe not just an RGB controller, but also a more sophisticated fan control system and normal PCI slots covers, not the ones that you need to physically break loose from the chassis.

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