Sharkoon Rebel C50 RGB Review

We first saw the Sharkoon Rebel C50 RGB at this year's Computex and it looked promising enough. In addition to loads of mesh ventilation for air flow you get four ARGB fans and a clear glass panel that shows off the main compartment. They told us the Rebel C50 RGB was a Hero product and we figured they might be correct, but it would take a full review to be sure.

 

Main features

• ILLUMINATED ELEGANCE
  The hardware installed in the Rebel C50 RGB always shines in its best light thanks to its elegant, screwless side panel made of tempered glass and the four pre-installed 120 mm PWM fans with addressable RGB lighting. A modern, space-saving RGB controller in the top of the case offers connection options for the built-in fans and four additional LED components. A total of eleven 120 mm fans are possible: three in the front, four on the side panel, one on the rear panel, and three more in the top of the case. A detachable dust filter on the bottom panel provides extra protection against dust and dirt.
• IMPRESSIVE COOLING PERFORMANCE
  Apart from a modular power supply tunnel, the Rebel C50 has a mounting bracket under the top of the case and another behind the mainboard tray. With these brackets, up to four fans and even a top-panel 360 mm radiator can be easily pre-mounted and then inserted into the case. In addition, there is room for another radiator alongside the mainboard tray for even more cooling performance.
• GRAPHICS CARD IN VIEW
  To prevent modern graphics cards from drooping, the Rebel C50 comes with a graphics card holder, complete with a rubberized contact surface. For those who prefer to mount the graphics card vertically in the case, there is the optionally available “Rebel C50 VGCK 4.0 installation set, which is equipped with a high-performance PCIe 4.0 riser cable.
• SPACIOUSLY MODULAR
  Using the mounting bracket behind the mainboard tray, also the HDDs and SSDs can be pre-mounted and placed all together inside the case. The Rebel C50 can accommodate up to three 3.5-inch HDDs or up to three 2.5-inch SSDs. Of course, the rest of the case’s space is also used as efficiently as possible. Thus, there is enough room for graphics cards with a length of up to 40 cm as well as a CPU cooler with a height of up to 16.5 cm. Power supply units with a maximum length of up to 27 cm can also be accommodated.
• MODERN CONNECTION OPTIONS
  To be sure of the greatest possible compatibility well into the future, the Rebel C50 not only provides a modern USB-C connection, but also a TRRS connection for audio and microphone. The ports for these connections can be found on the top panel of the case. Alongside these, there are, of course, also two USB 3.0 ports for further peripheral devices.

Specification:

• Motherboard support: ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX.
• Power supply support: ATX.
• Expansion slots: 7.
• Included fans: 3x 120mm ARGB 1,500rpm front intake, 1x 120mm ARGB 1,500rpm rear exhaust.
• Fan mounts: 3x 120mm/140mm front, 3x 120mm + 1x 120mm side, 3x 120/2x 140mm roof, 1x 120mm rear.
• Radiator mounts: 360mm side, 280mm/360mm roof.
• 5.25-inch optical drive bays: None.
• Internal drive bays: 3x 3.5-inch/2.5-inch.
• Front I/O ports: 2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, audio.
• Dimensions: 495mm H x 460mm D x 230mm W.

Testing

To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an Intel Core i5-14600K, Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4080 Gaming OC and an SSD. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the Sharkoon Rebel C50 RGB’s cooling capabilities.

Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i5-14600K
• CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Pro X
• Memory: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6000
• Graphics card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Gaming OC
• Power supply: Seasonic Focus GX-1000 ATX 3.0 Gold
• SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 M.2 NVMe
• OS: Windows 11

Cooling Performance

Cooling Performance Overview

The Sharkoon Rebel C50 RGB did a decent job keeping our test PC cool. Under load the Core i5-14600K was pulling 155W while the Gigabyte RTX 4080 demanded 325W, with a total power draw at the wall socket of 605W. Despite that both the CPU and GPU were lovely and cool and we had no problems whatsoever.

Closing Thoughts

Sharkoon is trying to maintain a tricky balance with the Rebel C50 RGB and it mostly achieves when it comes to the features on offer with this case.

Join us as we work down the check list of Tempered Glass (check), ARGB fans (check), Mesh panels on all sides (check), decent support for 280mm and 360mm AIO coolers (check) and as a final bonus we have a value vertical GPU support with a PCIe 4.0 riser.

The downside is that there are plenty of cases on the market that offer similar features, and many of them are considerably easier to work with.

You might have noted in our review that we didn't make much fuss about the news that the radiator/fan rack in the roof was due to be updated. The explanation is that we were keen to avoid using top cooling as it was so time consuming and this gave us a good reason to use side cooling instead. This meant removing the front of the power supply shroud and carefully routing a bunch of fan cables to avoid mess and problems. We could have complained about that process but we are confident that after watching our video you will draw your own conclusions.

We also have to factor in the Cougar MX600 that James recently reviewed. It's a very similar price and offers very similar features, but does have the edge in a few key areas and offers some other innovation with the PSU shroud and convertible top panel.

You can buy the Sharkoon Rebel C50 RGB in White from Amazon approximately £120 plus delivery HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

Pros:

• Stylish and clean looks.
• Side panels pop off easily.
• Four 120mm ARGB fans included in the price.
• ARGB fan hub with hardware control.

Cons:

• The top radiator/fan rack is awkward to remove and install.
• Using side cooling means you lose the GPU support bracket.
• The ARGB fans are rather basic.

KitGuru says: The new Cougar MX600 offers a similar list of features to the Sharkoon Rebel C50 RGB at the same price, however it is better in a number of areas including cable management and support for multiple radiators.

Become a Patron!

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here