I know most of you have not heard of Sentey before, as I had not either. They are very new to the computer enthusiast world being just founded in 2010. They were first introduced to gamers via The Extreme Experience, an event they jointly hosted with Intel. Sentey philosophy for each of their products is a focus on performance, quality, innovation, and sustainability. Their approach to establishing themselves is by providing a number of products in several markets. Today we will be looking at their GS-6000 Optimus computer case in the entry level market.
Features and Specifications
The case is 19.09″ (L) x 7.48″ (W) x 18.31″ (H) and weights 4.9 kgs. Its constructed of SECC 0.7mm steel with a plastic face and mostly plastic top. It is a mid-tower case and will accept ATX and microATX motherboards. It has 3 front expansion slots, 4 internal 3.5” slots, and a bottom mounted PSU. The case is 100% tool-less with the only exception being SSD’s which will require 4 screws (included) to connect to a HDD frame. The mobo tray also has a large cutout for CPU cooler mounting. There are also cut outs and zip tie bars on the rear of the motherboard tray for cable management.
In additional to the standard front I/O of headphone jack, mic jack, and 2 USB ports, you can also find an MMC/SD card reader and fan controller. You receive 4 x 5 Volt fans with this case. 1 x 120 mm blue LED fan (Top), 1 x 120 mm blue LED fan (Front), 1 x 120 mm black fan (Rear), and 1 x 180 mm blue LED (Side). And it still has room for 2 additional fans in the top and bottom of the case. The front intake area and bottom of the case also have very basic, washable dust filters.
The Sentey GS-6000 Optimus has an MSRP of $59.99. If you shop around at several of their other distributors, you can find it as low as $48.99. As of the writing of this review, the Sentey GS-6000 was rather hard to find as many retailers did not carry it, or were sold out. I did find at least 2 distributors who had it in stock.
What’s In The Box?
As with many computer cases you buy, the packaging is very sparse. The box contains the GS-6000 Optimus case, Styrofoam molds for protection during shipping, and a plastic cover to prevent scratches. Inside the case you will find a postcard with the warranty information, case user guide, and a Sentey product catalog. Attached to part of the case frame is a bag containing screws, motherboard stand offs, 4 zip ties, motherboard speaker, and a replacement expansion slot plate. There is also an angled brace and 2 plastic push-pins included, but there is no explanation as to what these items do.
I would like to note the box seems to have taken a bit of a beating from the shipper, but the GS-6000 itself was in pristine condition.
First Impressions – Outside
The GS-6000 Optimus seems to get its name from Optimus Prime. The angles, side vent, top, and front intake all have a transformer-ish look to them. The vents in particular remind me of the front grill of several Peterbilt tracker trailers. At first, the overall look seems a bit gaudy, but it quickly grew on me.
The glossy black finish is well done and blends in with the plastic areas perfectly, which makes spotting the difference in materials very difficult. As you would expect, the glossy black finish is a finger print magnet for both the metal and plastic areas. I can’t say everyone will like the style of the Optimus, but I don’t think it detracts from the case.
First Impressions – Inside
The interior has a well done black matte finish, which still collects finger prints. The tool-less latches for the various parts are all a bright red color which is a nice accent and lets you know where tools will not be needed. The HDD cages retain their natural aluminum color. This makes them stand out in the interior as everything else is muted by the black color.
Unfortunately, the cables from the front I/O panel and Power/Reset buttons are not black or red and clash with the otherwise excellent cosemetics. It would have been a nice touch to complete the look with either black or red wire sleeves. This is a very minor issue as you will not find may cases in the same price range with solid black wires. All of the interior design including the great paint job is wasted as the case does not have a side window to view the interior while in use.
Test System Setup
The focus of the testing is to put the case in the worst case scenario. To achieve this I am using an larger sized PSU and stock cooling for testing and the following components to test fit and functionality.
Motherboard: Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5 – AM3+ socket
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 3.3 Ghz (3.7 Ghz turbo mode)
CPU Cooler: Stock AMD Phenom II cooler; Scythe Mugen II Rev. B; Noctua NH-D14
RAM: Kingston 1600 Mhz (PC12800) 8-8-8-24 4GB (2 x 2GB)
HDDs: 1x Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB SATA 3.0 & 1x Western Digital Green 2 TB
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6850 with Stock cooler; ASUS Radeon HD 5850 DirectCU
PSU: Antec HCP (High Current Pro) 850 Watt, 80+ Gold Certified; Rosewill Stallion Series 600 Watt
DVD Drive: NEC 22x DVD RW +/- IDE
Our operating system of choice was Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate and we used AIDA64 Extreme Edition v1.8 and AMD Overdrive 4.04 to monitor and for testing purposes. Let’s see how these parts get along in our system.
Installation Notes
I did run into a snag or two during installation, but working with this case overall is very easy. The mid-tower form factor makes some of the wire management a bit difficult here and there once you have your rig in place, so getting a head start during the build is a good idea. The two primary issues I had with the GS-6000 Optimus was the cramped space and the expansion slot’s tool-less system.
Sentey seems to be using an older design for the expansion slot’s tool-less system. It consists of plastic, U-spring style clamps with hook on the end. It worked ok with my Asus DG 5.1 sound card and the AMD Radeon HD 6850 as both have stock face plates. When I tried the ASUS HD 5850, the top clamp could not lock due to the hook. The system also doesn’t hold heavy GPU’s well, so I would recommend using screws if you have a dual slot card.
It is nice to see some wire management included in the GS-6000. It is a fairly simple setup with wire cut outs in the motherboard tray and several loops stamped out for the included zip ties. The wire management helps prevent things from hitting fans during use. I would have liked the case to be just 0.25″ wider to get the thicker 24-pin cable routed behind the tray as well. As you can see, it really stands out like a sore thumb.
The top most PCIe slot for the motherboard I tested lined the card up with the 5.25″ bays. This allows the ASUS HD 5850 (end mounted PCIe power) an easy connection, because I could tuck the wires in the 5.25″ bay area even if all three bays were full. A second GPU of the same design would not work as it would line up with the HDD rack; however, you can get 2 GPU’s of this size with side PCIe plugs into the case. Two Radeon HD 6850 sized cards would fit regardless of how the PCIe plugs are attached.
As I stated before, the Antec HCP 850 Watt PSU is larger than your standard PSU. It does fit in the case nicely, but covers two of the screw holes for the bottom 120 mm fan mounting point. You could still use this extra intake with an 80 mm fan, even with a large PSU. Using a standard sized PSU like a Rosewill Stallion 600 Watt would allow you to use a 120 mm fan here. But you’ll also have to mind the cabling as the fan could be stopped by a stray cable.
The final piece of the puzzle is how much room you have for a CPU cooler. I was glad to see you can get a Noctua NH-D14 inside the GS-6000 Optimus. It required the removal of both the side 180 mm fan and the top 120 mm fan prior to starting the build. Both of these fans will require you to remove 2 security screws from the inside, then popping off the plastic covers to remove the fans from the outside. I also managed to get the Scythe Mugen II inside the case, but had enough room to keep the top 120 mm fan.
Thermal Testing Results
We are going to test worst case for thermals using the stock cooling of a Radeon HD 6850 and stock AMD CPU cooler over a AMD 6 core 1100T. All the temperature readings for the complete AMD system were taken using AMD’s Overdrive utility. AIDA64 was used as well for verification. AIDA64’s temperature readings for the CPU were -4°C, GPU was +1°C, and the motherboard tempers were always identical.
The Sentey GS-6000 Optimus provided improved air flow over open air which resulted in drops in temperature across the board. While the CPU and GPU only dropped 3 to 5 degrees, I saw a full 10 degree change for the motherboard chipset. This is very impressive for any entry level chassis.
Noise Level Results
The only thing you should note here is I left all the included fans for the Sentey GS-6000 Optimus at 100%. The 5V low RPM fans simply do not produce enough noise to change the overall noise level of the system. These noise levels were take from 1 meter away in a silent room using a noise level meter.
As can see, being able to contain the PC inside of the case greatly reduced noise levels at full load. This was a combination of both the case muffling the noise and providing better cooling which kept the stock AMD CPU cooler from going up to full speed.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
The Sentey GS-6000 Optimus is a unique mix of great build quality and lacklustre bonus features. Overall, I think increasing the height and width of the case by just a centimeter or two could make a world of difference for cable management and general tidiness. Issues like the 24 pin cable from the PSU not being able to be routed behind the motherboard tray, and clearance issues with very large CPU coolers could all be fixed with just a little more space here and there.
Starting with the front, the I/O panel could have been placed in the same area as the Power and Reset button to give the case four 5.25” bays. There is a slot in the interior frame for 4 external 5.25 bays, so why not use all of them? The fact most devices with MMC/SD cards come with a USB cable, makes the built-in MMC/SD card reader unneeded. I would have liked a USB 3.0, eSATA, or both on the I/O panel instead. But of course, the more you add, the higher the price.
The expansion slot’s tool-less system creates an issue with non-standard expansion card panels. It works ok with single slot cards, but the tool-less clamps don’t hold well enough for heavier ones. The whole design seems several years old and could benefit from a newer way to provide this feature. While still entry level, many gamers and enthusiasts opt for upgrades like dual GPUs to increase gaming performance.
The included instructions were almost useless. They do not properly guide you through installing components as steps seem to be missing. Explanations of many of the features are completely omitted, yet there was room for several pointless diagrams. While I did not need the instructions to build a rig with the Optimus, I would like to see some actual effort in writing the guide. A simple explanation of how your tool-less systems work and the best way to remove the front face can be a world of difference to rookie builders.
The Sentey GS-6000 Optimus packs a lot of good features you will not find in most cases in the same price range. It has solid build quality, produces little additional noise, is nearly completely tool-less, even includes 4 fans, and is competitively priced. It also includes washable dust filters in both intake sections which is a nice touch for any entry level case. Something that Cooler Master could really learn from as their CM Storm Enforcer is quite horrible in this regard and costs more. The minor issues here become moot points as almost every case in this size and price point will have them too.
The Sentey GS-6000 Optimus at an MSRP of only $59.99 is a well built, entry level case I think anyone should consider for a mid-tower build.
Pros:
- Solid Build Quality
- Great paint job
- Simple, easy to use Tool-less systems
- Includes 4 fans
- Very well ventilated
- Low noise
Cons:
- Rear tool-less clamps could be troublesome
- A little cramped
- Front I/O wastes 5.25″ bay
- Useless User Guide
Overall Rating: 7.5 /10.0
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Sentey GS-6000 Optimus Mid-Tower ATX Chassis – Photo Gallery
