Cougar Challenger Case Review: Is Competitive Performance Enough?
by Dustin Sklavos on October 29, 2012 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Cougar
- ATX
Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock
My misgivings about the Cougar Challenger's somewhat garish aesthetic and abnormally staid internal design culminated around one central thought during the entire assembly process: "I really hope this case performs." So far Cougar hasn't offered a case that's actually bad (assuming the looks don't bother you), but they haven't offered anything that's really exceptional either. Yet there's promise in the cooling design, with the beefy 200mm intake fan. As it turns out, that promise is mostly fulfilled.
Ambient temperature during testing was between 22C and 23C; Indian Summer and fall are duking it out here in California.
Thermal performance at stock settings was actually very good. The Challenger produces very low temperatures on both the CPU and the graphics card, easily competitive with the best mainstream cases we've tested.
Fan speeds tell the same story. Airflow is not a problem with the Cougar Challenger, as the CPU and graphics card fans don't have to work too hard to keep their components cool.
Unfortunately, this is where you see the sacrifices. Thermal performance is great, but the Challenger isn't the quietest case in the shop. That front fan is basically running full bore the whole time, and though the copious ventilation is great for temperatures, it's lousy for containing noise.
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DanNeely - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
If noone bought these monstrosities the companies who designed them would've gone bust years ago?Perhaps the Cthulu cult is going hightech.
bigfire - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
Hah, yeah. It's quiet ugly.mattgmann - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
Please review some cases that an adult might actually consider purchasing. This may be the ugliest thing I've ever seen.Kepe - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/tag/casecoolingpsusLucian2244 - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
This must have looked well on paper because i can't explain how a design like this was chosen.Will you review the 200R ?
piroroadkill - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
That is the ugliest case I've ever seen. It's worse than your average 90s beige tower with bulbous plastic fronts. What the hell?jabber - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
...dragons or girls holding big guns on it.Good Grud that's awful.
DanNeely - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
"the USB 3.0 header cable actually includes an alternate USB 2.0 header built into it, both convenient features."Every case maker in the world needs to copy this feature ASAP instead of copping out with 2x3.0 and 2x2.0 ports on the front that are going to become a liability in a few years when even your USB Christmas tree us designed to use 3.0.
Kiste - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
This case is ugly. In fact, it's so ugly that it's probably gonna give me nightmares. It's a horrible monstrosity and an abomination and it needs to die.Orvtrebor - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
An 8yr old would love this case.I'm not being sarcastic, throw on a healthy dose of led's and you've got a gaming case that a kid would truly be proud of.
Not every case is meant to be used in a professional office environment or a tastefully done den/gaming room.